Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / Achaemenid Immortals: Elite Warriors of Persia
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about satraps and spies, the postal system and the king's table — but there's one Achaemenid institution that's almost mythical: the Immortals. The 10,000 elite soldiers who supposedly never fell below that number. Luna: Right, the unit that always had a spare soldier ready to step in. I've heard that story since I was a kid. Lucas: Herodotus is the one who gave us that image. He says in his Histories that the Persians called them the 'Immortals' because if one died, he was immediately replaced, so the total never changed. But here's the thing — the Old Persian name for them is 'anušiya,' which literally means 'companions' or 'followers.' The term 'Immortals' might be Herodotus's own dramatic translation of a Persian word that actually meant something like 'the ones who carry the king's spear.' Luna: Wait, so the whole 'immortal' idea might be a Greek invention? Lucas: Partly. There's no surviving Achaemenid document that calls them 'Immortals' directly. But the concept of a royal guard with a fixed strength is plausible. We know from Persepolis fortification tablets that there were elite units called 'patishkansha' — that means 'those who stand before the king.' They were the king's personal bodyguards, and they carried a special weapon: a short spear with a golden or silver counterbalance at the butt. That's where the 'Apple Bearers' come in — they were a sub-unit of the Immortals who had gold pomegranates or apples on the butt of their spears. Luna: The Apple Bearers — that's such a vivid image. Were they really the king's bodyguards? Lucas: Yes, the highest ranking ones. Xenophon in his Cyropaedia describes them as the 'spear-bearers' who accompanied Cyrus the Great everywhere. And later, at Persepolis, they're depicted on the Apadana stairway reliefs — you see them standing behind the king, holding their spears with the butt resting on the ground. They're dressed in Median robes, not Persian — which tells you something about how the Achaemenids blended traditions. The unit as a whole was probably composed of Medes, Persians, Elamites, and others. Lucas: Now, the training. Like all Persian soldiers, the Immortals were trained from a young age at the royal estates, especially at Pasargadae. They learned to ride, to shoot a bow, and to speak the truth — the three things every Persian noble was taught. But the Immortals had additional drills in close-order combat with the spear and wicker shield — the spara. We have a quote from Herodotus: 'They carry a large wicker shield which serves as a cover for the whole body, and under it they carry a quiver.' Luna: So they were archers as well as spearmen. That's versatile. Lucas: Absolutely. The standard kit was a bow, a short spear about two meters long, a dagger called the akinakes, and that wicker shield. They didn't wear heavy armor — just a scale cuirass or even just a quilted linen corslet. Mobility was key. At the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, Xerxes sent in the Immortals on the third day to try and outflank the Greeks via the mountain path. Herodotus says they fought with 'great courage' but were beaten back by the Spartans — until the Greeks realized they were surrounded. Luna: And later, at Plataea, they fought Mardonius's contingent. That didn't go well for them either. Lucas: No, Plataea was a disaster for the Persian army. The Immortals fought in the center under Mardonius himself, and when he was killed, the whole line broke. But the unit survived. We know that as late as the reign of Artaxerxes II, around 400 BCE, the Immortals still existed. They were the core of the army that fought the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries at Cunaxa — the ones Xenophon wrote about. And later, under the Sassanids, the concept was revived. They had their own 'Immortals' — the 'Zhayedan' — which influenced later Persian military tradition. Luna: So the legacy lasted centuries. Did any modern units claim the name? Lucas: Yes, the Iranian army's 65th Airborne Brigade was called 'Nirou-ye Havayi' and sometimes linked to the Immortals. And the name has been used in pop culture, from Frank Miller's '300' to video games. But the real unit was less superheroic and more professional. They were the king's loyal companions, well-trained, well-equipped, and they represented the power and prestige of the Achaemenid court. I think that's more impressive than the myth. Luna: It is. And it makes you wonder what they thought, standing behind the king at Persepolis during the New Year festival. Lucas: Exactly. They were at the center of empire, witnessing all the ceremonies and diplomacy. They were the ones who could tell the king the truth without fear. That's a remarkable position to hold.