15mm Babylonians

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Texus Maximus
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Posts: 318
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 4:04 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

15mm Babylonians

Post by Texus Maximus » Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:04 pm

This 15mm army depicts the military forces of Babylonia from the time of the Kassite occupation of Babylon until the time of Nabonassar’s establishment of a native Babylonian kingdom. In Triumph! Terms, the army is:

4 x Chariots
5 x Light Foot
1 x Bad Horse
3 x Skirmishers
2 x Bow Levy

1 x Fortified Camp battle card

For a total of 15 elements worth 48 points.

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Note on historical accuracy:
Although I currently have this army organized per the Kassite and Later Babylonian list, the figures used are more appropriate for the 7th century B.C.

A more historically accurate army for this period would have troops wearing kilts instead of tunics. The chariots would have an open framework and be drawn by only two horses.

I opted to use the later style Neo-Babylonian figures so they could serve in multiple army lists.

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Chariots
The Kassite and Later Babylonian list calls for 2-horse chariots, but I had two of the larger chariots already on hand from an old DBA army. These were repainted and the basing was made to match the rest of my current armies. The crewmen are wearing conical helmets and sleeveless scale corselets like the Babylonian guardsman depicted in Armies of the Ancient Near East.

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Light Foot
Armies of the Ancient Near East has an illustration of Chaldean troops wearing short sleeve tunics that reach to mid-thigh and either a headband or a stocking cap on their heads. They are barefoot and have beards. One of the figures has an oval shield with cutouts on the sides. These Old Glory figures are a perfect match for the illustration; I added some helmets and stocking caps with Green Stuff.

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Bad Horse
Babylonian cavalry in the 7th century B.C. were equipped like the infantry, except they lacked shields. Two of these figures were modified by cutting them apart at the waist and repositioning them to face forward instead of shooting to the side.

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Skirmishers and Bow Levy
These figures are mostly wearing tunics in plain colors instead of the more varied tunics of the Light Foot.

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Scatter Terrain
Babylon was an important center for trade across the known world, so this piece of scatter terrain depicts a weary trader making his way back home after a journey of hundreds of miles. His clothes are reduced to rags and he is walking with a stick. The trader is a Blue Moon brand figure leading a donkey from Gladiator(?) with long ears added.




Reference:
Armies of the Ancient Near East. N. Stillman and N. Tallis. WRG, 1984
Gregorius
Companion-at-Arms
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2017 10:08 am
Location: Armidale, NSW, Australia

Re: 15mm Babylonians

Post by Gregorius » Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:04 am

Very nice work again Paul. You are certainly churning out the armies, and all to a high standard.

Cheers,
Greg in the antipodes.
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