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General Category => Army Research => Topic started by: Duncan Head on February 28, 2020, 12:45:25 PM

Title: The shield of the Dentheletai
Post by: Duncan Head on February 28, 2020, 12:45:25 PM
The Dentheletai  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentheletae)were a Thracian tribe from the Macedonian borders. An article on their coinage by M Manov (https://www.academia.edu/27015277/The_Coinage_of_the_Thracian_Tribe_Dentheletae_-_New_Observations._-_In_%CE%97%CE%A1%CE%91%CE%9A%CE%9B%CE%95%CE%9F%CE%A5%CE%A3_%CE%A3%CE%A9%CE%A4%CE%97%CE%A1%CE%9F%CE%A3_%CE%98%CE%91%CE%A3%CE%99%CE%A9%CE%9D._Studia_in_honorem_Iliae_Prokopov_sexagenario_ab_amicis_et_discipulis_dedicata._Veliko_Turnovo_2012_121-142_In_Bulgarian_English_summary_) discusses an interesting coin type with a Dentheletian warrior on the reverse. (Don't be put off by the initial pages of Bulgarian text: an English summary version follows after it.) See also here (https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=1757&lot=78) for a larger illustraton of one of the coins in the series.

These coins are tentatively dated to the mid-4th century, which means that they fit into something of a gap in depictions of Thracian infantry – after the plentiful illustrations of "traditional" crescent-shielded peltasts in Greek art, and before we have good evidence for Thracians using long oval shields, such as in the Kazanluk tomb. They give us a useful insight into how Thracian infantry in Alexander the Great's army might have been equipped, for instance.

The warrior has his hair piled up in a topknot, as occasionally shown in other Thracian sources, and is probably clean-shaven. He wears a short tunic, and is armed with a sword – the angle of the blade suggests a kopis or something similar. I cannot see any reason to suspect the greaves that Manov says were noted in earlier descriptions, nor any footwear. The shield is interesting, being depicted as a half-circle. The inside surface is inscribed with parallel horizontal lines, suggesting a cane or wicker construction. There is a single vertical handgrip, probably intended to be central. What is not clear is what original shape this semi-circular shield is intended to depict. I suspect we are seeing the inside surface of a quite deeply dished circular or oval shield, and the artist has had a little difficulty depicting this. Could the original shield be the same type as the earlier Perspolis relief (https://www.ancient.eu/image/7109/men-with-shields-and-spears-from-persepolis/) that is thought to be a depiction of "Skudrian" Thracian tributaries?