Tactics for Repelling and Pursuing the Alans — Arrian, The Order of Battle against the Alans 23–31, Greek & English

§23

ἔστων δὲ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ας¹ ἑκατὸν κούφων λογχοφόρων, ὡς πᾶσαν ἐπιφοιτῶν² τὴν φάλαγγα ὅπου τι ἐνδεὲς καταμανθάνοι, ἐκεῖνο ἴδῃ καὶ θεραπεύσῃ.

And let there be about a hundred light-armed spear-bearers around him, so that he himself, going up and down the whole phalanx, wherever he might observe anything lacking, may see and remedy it.

§24

ἡγείσθω δὲ τοῦ μὲν δεξιοῦ κέρως παντὸς σὺν τῷ ἱππικῷ Οὐάλης, ὅσπερ καὶ τῆς πεντεκαιδεκάτης φάλαγγος ἡγεμών ἐστιν· τοῦ δὲ ἀριστεροῦ οἱ χιλίαρχοι τῆς δωδεκάτης.

Let Valens, who is also the commander of the fifteenth phalanx, lead the entire right wing along with the cavalry; and the tribunes of the twelfth, the left.

§25

οὕτω δὲ ταχθέντων σιγὴ ἔστω ἔστʼ ἂν πελάσωσιν ἐντὸς βέλους οἱ πολέμιοι· πελαζόντων δὲ ἤδη ὡς μέγιστον καὶ φοβερώτατον ἀλαλάζειν σύμπαντας τῷ Ἐνυαλίῳ, καὶ βέλη τε ἀπὸ μηχανῶν καὶ λίθους ἀφίεσθαι³ καὶ βέλη ἀπὸ τόξων, καὶ τὰς λόγχας οἱ λογχοφόροι ἀκοντιζόντων, οἵ τε ψιλοὶ καὶ οἱ θειασταί. φερέσθων δὲ καὶ λίθοι ἐς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀπὸ τοῦ συμμαχικοῦ ἐκ τῶν ὑπερδεξίων, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀκροβολισμὸς ἔστω πανταχόθεν ὡς ἔνι πυκνότατος ἐς τάραξίν τε τῶν ἵππων καὶ ὄλεθρον τῶν ἱππέων.

When they are thus marshaled, let there be silence until the enemy come within bowshot. But as they approach, let all raise the loudest and most terrifying war-cry to Enyalius, and let missiles from the artillery and stones and arrows from the bows be discharged, and let the spear-bearers, both the light-armed and the allies, hurl their javelins. Let stones also be thrown at the enemy by the allied forces from the higher ground, and let there be a general skirmish from all sides, as dense as possible, to throw the horses into confusion and to destroy the riders.

§26

καὶ ἐλπὶς μὲν ὑπὸ ἀδιηγήτου πλήθους τῶν βελῶν μὴ ἐπὶ πλέον πελάσειν τῇ πεζικῇ φάλαγγι ἐπελαύνοντας τοὺς Σκύθας· εἰ δὲ δὴ πελάζοιεν, ἐγχρίμψαντας ταῖς ἀσπίσι καὶ τοῖς ὤμοις ἀντερείσαντας δέχεσθαι τὴν προσβολὴν ὡς καρτερώτατα καὶ τῇ συγκλείσει πυκνοτάτῃ τὰς πρώτας τρεῖς τάξεις συνερειδούσας σφίσιν ὡς βιαιότατον οἷόν τε· τὴν τετάρτην δὲ ὑπερακοντίζειν τὰς λόγχας·

And there is hope that, under an unspeakable multitude of missiles, the charging Scythians will not approach any closer to the infantry phalanx; but if they should indeed approach, they must receive the assault as firmly as possible, pressing shield against shield and leaning with their shoulders, and in the closest lock the first three ranks must press together against them as violently as possible, while the fourth rank throws its javelins over their heads.

§27

καὶ τὴν πρώτην παίειν ἢ ἀκοντίζειν τοῖς κοντοῖς ἀφειδῶς ἔς τε ἵππους καὶ αὐτούς. ἀπωσθέντων δὲ εἰ μὲν φυγὴ λαμπρὰ γένοιτο, διαχωρεῖν ἤδη τὰς πεζικὰς τάξεις καὶ ἐπελαύνειν τοὺς ἱππέας, μὴ πάντας τοὺς λόχους ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἡμίσεας·

And let the first rank strike or thrust unsparingly with their pikes against both the horses and the men themselves. If, when they are repulsed, a clear flight should ensue, let the infantry ranks now open up and let the cavalry charge—not all the squadrons, but half of them.

§28

τετάχθαι δὲ πρώτους οἵτινες καὶ πρῶτοι ἐπελάσουσιν. τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἡμίσεας ἕπεσθαι μὲν τοῖς ἐπελαύνουσιν, ἐν τάξει δὲ καὶ μὴ παντελεῖ τῇ διώξει χρωμένους, ὡς εἰ μὲν φυγὴ καρτερὰ κατάσχοι, ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν πρώτην δίωξιν ἀκμήτοις τοῖς ἵπποις, εἰ δέ τις ἐπιστροφὴ καταλαμβάνοι, ἐπιθέσθαι τοῖς ἐπιστρέφουσιν.⁴ ὁμοῦ δὲ οἵ τε Ἀρμένιοι τοξόται ἐπελαύνοντες τοξευόντων, ὡς μὴ παρασχεῖν ἀναστροφὴν τοῖς φεύγουσι, καὶ οἱ λογχοφόροι οἱ γυμνῆτες δρόμῳ ἑπέσθων· μένειν δὲ μηδὲ τὴν πεζικὴν τάξιν ἐν χώρᾳ ἔτι, ἀλλὰ προχωρεῖν θᾶττον ἢ βάδην, ὡς εἴ τι καρτερώτερον ἀπαντῴη ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, αὖθις εἶναι προβολὴν πρὸ τῶν ἱππέων. τάδε μὲν γίγνεσθαι, εἰ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης προσβολῆς φυγὴ κατάσχοι τοὺς ἐναντίους· εἰ δὲ ἐπιστραφέντες ἐς κύκλους ὑπὲρ τὰ κέρατα παρελαύνειν ἐθέλοιεν, ἀνατείνεσθαι⁵ ἐς τὰ ὑπερδεξιώτερα ἔτι τὰ κέρατα αὐτῆς τῆς ψιλῆς τοξείας· ὡς οὐ δοκιμάζω μήποτε ἀσθενῆ τῇ ἀνατάσει τὰ κέρατα γιγνόμενα ἰδόντες διʼ αὐτῶν ὤσωνται καὶ διακόψωσι τὸ πεζικόν.

And let those who are to charge first be marshaled in front. Let the other half follow those who charge, but in order and not engaging in a total pursuit, so that if a strong flight should continue, they may take over the primary pursuit with fresh horses, and if any turnback should occur, they may attack those who turn back. At the same time, let the Armenian archers also shoot while charging, so as not to allow the fugitives any chance to wheel about, and let the light-armed spear-bearers follow on the run. Let not even the infantry formation remain in its position any longer, but let it advance faster than at a walking pace, so that if any stronger resistance is met from the enemy, there may again be a barrier before the cavalry. Let these things happen if, from the first assault, flight should overtake the enemy. But if they should turn back and wheel in circles to ride past the wings, let the wings of the light-armed missile-shooters be extended still further to the higher ground; for I do not approve of the wings becoming weak through extension, lest they, seeing this, should force their way through them and cut through the infantry.

§31

ὑπερβαλλόντων δὲ τὰ κέρατα ἑκάτερα ἢ ὁπότερον οὖν,πᾶσα ἤδη ἀνάγκη πλαγίους μὲν αὐτοῖς γίγνεσθαι τοὺς ἵππους,⁶ πλαγίους δὲ τοὺς κοντούς. ἐνταῦθα δὴ ἐμβαλλόντων ἐς αὐτοὺς οἱ ἱππῆς, μὴ ἀκοντισμῷ ἔτι ἀλλὰ ταῖς σπάθαις αὖ συμφερόμενοι, οἳ δὲ τοῖς πελέκεσιν. οἱ δὲ Σκύθαι γυμνοί τε ὄντες καὶ τοὺς ἵππους γυμνοὺς ἔχοντες

But if they should overlap both wings or either of them, it is then of absolute necessity that their horses and their pikes be exposed sideways to them. There indeed let the cavalry charge them, engaging no longer with javelins but rather with swords, and some with axes. And since the Scythians are themselves unprotected and have their horses unprotected,

Syntax notes6 items

23ας
The reading ας in the manuscripts is corrupt, and is commonly emended to ὡς (about, approximately). The translation follows this emendation.
23ἐπιφοιτῶν
Nominative singular masculine participle. Although embedded within the clause of the third-person plural imperative ἔστων, its logical subject is the person referred to by αὐτόν (i.e., Xenophon himself), indicating that he himself is to go up and down.
25ἀλαλάζειν... ἀφίεσθαι
Infinitives used with the force of an imperative (infinitives of command). There is a shift in syntax to the third-person plural imperative ἀκοντιζόντων immediately following.
29τοῖς ἐπιστρέφουσιν
The infinitive ἐπιθέσθαι at the end of §28 governs the dative noun phrase τοῖς ἐπιστρέφουσιν ("against those who turn back") at the beginning of §29, forming a single continuous sentence across the section boundary.
30ἀνατείνεσθαι
Middle/passive infinitive of command. "To be extended." It describes the tactical movement of stretching the wings of the light-armed troops further up the higher ground to counter enemy encirclement.
31πλαγίους μὲν αὐτοῖς γίγνεσθαι τοὺς ἵππους
αὐτοῖς refers to the enemy (the Scythians/Alans). It denotes that as they attempt to ride past, it becomes necessary for their horses (τοὺς ἵππους) to present their flanks (πλαγίους) to the Roman forces.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-10-18)

2026-10-18 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg006.humanitext-grc2:23-31