Qaramita Colors and Uniforms.....I've lost slingshot 265 or is it 256

[michaelguth]

Never fails, the only issue of Slingshot I am missing for the past ten years is the one with the article on the Qaramita. Could anyone pass on to me whether there are is any other uniform information on them other than red and faded red/pink textile armor? Is there any information on their standards or shields?


And yes, I confess that I have an interest in this army for competitive play for DBA. It has what I consider to be all that's wrong with  DBA 3.0: Camels at 3 which quick kill knights at 4; dismounting elements to give you an edge against any armies with 'fixed' ratios of mounted to foot; spears-which are now better than blades in almost all circumstances due to the 'side support' rule, and low aggression-so you can get the dunes you desire.....

Still, no reason why it can't be a pretty army, except that I can't find any other source material other than the above referenced article in Slingshot 265.....

[Duncan Head]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Tabulae_Novae_Exercituum/conversations/messages/13466 is the original post on which the Slingshot article was based.

For they are brave men and warriors, so that if they be found to the number  of a thousand in an army, that army cannot be defeated or worsted. They ride  not horses but camels, and in time of war they do not put on corselets  (thorakas) or coats of mail (klibania) but pink-coloured cloaks (peribolaia  rhodota), and have long spears (dorata makra) and shields as tall as a man  (aspidas andromekeis) and enormous wooden bows which few can bend, and that with difficulty.

They wear pink "peribolaia" instead of armour, suggesting some sort of padded jerkin or other textile armour. I don't think standards are mentioned, but probably white, since that's what most anti-Abbasid groups carried.

[tadamson]

From their religious background I'd suspect white flags with black script (or less likely back with white writing).   Plus there were several groups at different times.

If you want some background:
http://www.iis.ac.uk/WebAssets/Large/Encyclopaedia%20Articles/carmatians_logo.pdf
Carmatians, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Dr Farhad Daftary

Tom..