Alan?, ALAN!......

Following on from the Goths are the Alans.  Both the DBA and ADLG lists give Alannic Horse Archers as an option in the Visigothic lists.  I thought they would make a nice change from Huns in that role, so I opted for them.  Having managed to confuse myself over the appearance of the Goths I was ready for even more confusion over the Alans.  

They seem to have originated as a fusion between a Sarmatian tribe and remnants of the Scythian Saka peoples,  They originally lived somewhere between the Black and Caspian seas.  The Romans knew of their existence as early as the reign of Augustus but didn't consider them as a threat as they were only raiding into Parthian territory.  From Hadrian's reign we have Arrian's 'Order of battle against the Alans' to fall back on for details of the tactics and by inference some evidence for their equipment.  This was written shortly after 135CE and describes Roman tactics and deployment against an Alanni raiding force which had entered the Eastern Roman province of Cappadocia, in what is now North Eastern Turkey.  There are other mentions of them in Cassius Deo and Tacitus and in Parthian and Persian sources.  Rome hired them as mercenaries and by the time the Notitia Dignitatum was drafted, had some regular cavalry units either made up of Alans or named for them and presumably equipped in a similar way.  Arrian terms them Scythians but the Parthians (who were of Scythian descent) said otherwise

The Alans were living in the south part of modern day Ukraine when the Goth's came along and settled slap bang in the middle of their lands.  This split them into two groups the eastern half were conquered by the Huns with survivors ended up in modern Ossetia.  The Western group eventually settled on the fringes of Brittany hence Alain being a common Breton name.  Along the way they seem to have hung onto their 'genetic' identity rather more successfully than the Goths as both groups are described as tall and blond with piercing blue eyes.  Even in the 21st century it is not uncommon for Ossetians to fit that description.  A third group settled in the north of Pakistan probably having moved with the White Huns who invaded that area, and have also kept their blond, blue eyed look.

I used a slightly heavier ink wash than normal...whaddya think?

And clearly I need to get a handle on the iPhones focal length

So we have a reasonable idea as to the background and physical appearance of the Alans but what of their clothing and equipment?  Other Sarmatian peoples had a liking for heavy cavalry in scale or lamella armour armed with a Kontos, sword and often a bow too.  The Alans seem to have followed that pattern.  Arrian certainly deployed his troops to deal with a frontal charge by heavy cavalry and made sure to anchor his flanks on higher ground. He instructed the first four ranks to use their pila as spears (some commentators seem to assume this means they had long spears but Arrian mentions the long iron shaft which sounds like a pilum to me) with rear ranks throwing 'javelins' and adding bow fire to the defence.  He notes that their horses lack armour and are vulnerable to missile fire but expects that they will always charge on sight.  That said they don't appear to have done so when faced with Arrian's deployment but why that was isn't certain.  Arrian's determination to have his flanks covered suggests that they had sufficient light cavalry to make an attempt to get around the flanks a real risk.  

I can't find much information on clothing for Alan light cavalry but I'd expect the standard steppe horse warrior tunic and trousers.  The tunic may still have had the overlap frontal fastening (a bit like a double breasted suit jacket) favoured by their Saka ancestors and Parthian light cavalry but the pointed three lappet cap seems to no longer be in use.  In 6mm I have gone for Late Roman horse archers rather than Saka/Scythian horse archers.  I went with pale tunics and bright coloured trousers as the main colour choice and of course lots of blond hair, blue eyes though are beyond me at this scale!  When I get around to adding heavy cavalry I will use a mix of armoured and unarmoured Sarmatian cavalry.

Oh and when I looked a bit closer it wasn't Alan at all, it was Dave.