THE
IBERIAN SOLDIERS
By:
José I. Lago.
The old authors describe to the
iberos soldiers dressed in white short dress with borders purple and their
íberas falcatas in the hand. Probably the dress were not "white",
but of the natural color of the wool, like it happens with the Roman gowns,
and probably the purple of the borders was not so, but a strip of scarlet
color.
In fact, it is evident that all
the Spanish soldiers did not dress equal way, far from it, but this
indumentaria yes that was most current and by that the Romans identified the
Spaniards of the army of Aníbal. An aesthetic one that is most repeated in
the ibero art.
The famous relief of Osuna,
Sevilla (Spain), shows the most well-known image of the soldier with its íbera
sword.

Warrior with iberian
falcata and shield

Figure
made by Jose Ignacio Lake that represents the typical Spanish infant of the
time of the Punic wars, so and as is described by the Roman historians and
appears in the relief of Osuna.
 Magnificent illustration
of Jeff Burn that shows a Spanish infant of the army of Aníbal.
The Spanish soldiers used a
great variety of armors to protect themselves in combat. Simplest he was the
pectoral one that then also used the Roman legionaries and who consisted of
a metal plate that protected the chest.

In the image of Angus
McBride a ceremony is reconstructed in which a soldier asks for the blessing
for his falcata before an altar. The soldier takes typical the pectoral one,
this one of round type and very decorated, with a lynx head, an original
feline of Spain of a great beauty. The soldier also carries a leather helmet,
grebas of bronze and a wide bronze belt also of which the case of the íbera
falcata hangs.

The famous "Glass of
the Soldiers" found in San Miguel de Liria shows iberos soldiers armed
with levels of grudges, lances and shields of céltico type. Also celta was
very used the mesh level, mainly by the celtíberas tribes.

Magnificent reconstruction
of the real aspect of the soldiers of the previous glass by Angus McBride.
In this drawing it can be appraised the íberas falcatas that these soldiers
used.
The most well-known weapon of the iberos is
the famous falcata.

Falcata found in
Almenedilla, Cordova. One of the best one conserved examples of this
beautiful Spanish sword.
The falcata is a weapon of
Spanish origin, in fact is a streamlined type of gladius Roman hispaniensis
or gladius, that after the arrival from Rome to Spain happened to comprise
of the Roman fighting equipment. The leaf of the falcata approximately
measures about 45 cm. in length, that is to say, the length of the arm. In
fact there were not two equal falcatas, since these valuable Roman swords
made of order, reason why each one had measures according to the arm of his
sir.
In all Mediterranean the
quality of these arms, made with an iron mineral was admired of highest
purity. Its flexibility was so that the armorers placed it on their heads
doubling them until the end and the grip touched their shoulders. If the
Roman sword returned to its straight position when loosen it of blow were an
art work, if it were not fused to return to make it. Greek that arrived at
Spain took the falcata with himself and had great acceptance, becoming the
second used weapon more after the hoplita sword.

Gladius hispaniensis and
pugio pertaining to the personal collection of Jose I Lago.
The Romans adapted their own grip to
gladius, but pugio continued with the typical Spanish grip.
The iberos used two types of
shields: the céltico, made oval, and caetra, that was round and smaller

Magnificent illustration
of Peter Connolly who shows a iberos rider and an infant. The infant carries
a lance of attack and the frightful soliferrum, a throwable lance as large
as a man and completely of iron. Here, both soldiers take leather helmets.
The one of the infant, in hood form, has a crest of horsehair of horse dyed
of red color.
Separate mention deserves the famous
honderos of the Balearic islands that formed one of the elite troops more
known the Antiquity arriving to comprise of the auxiliary troops of Julio
Caesar.

The frightful honderos in
a magnificent illustration of Angus McBride.
In the tombs, the iberas arms
are doubled carefully, made unusable, since, since we have seen in the
falcata, they were personal arms, made for each soldier in concrete and they
did not have to be used by any other. For that reason they were buried made
unusable with his owner. The bond that united to the Spanish soldier with
its arms was more important that their own life, for that reason preferred
to die before to surrender and to give their arms. Like soldiers, the
Spaniards were the cream of the auxiliary troops.
Punic and Roman they used them
widely, mainly to the heavy infantry and the Balearic honderos, whose deadly
skill in the handling of the deep era apreciadísima in the Antiquity. Of
fact, in Cannas, Aníbal had to alternate Spanish and Gallic companies
because it was not entrusted in these last ones and it knew that the
Spaniards always fulfilled the orders until the end
Each nation had its own arms
and their way to use them. In Spain, when being used the short sword, the
formation was in line, net offensive, since gladius is a powerful weapon
that of little serves the defensive. Of there the tremendous loss of life
caused by the Spaniards in Cannas and later to the legions romanas.
Altogether, the ibera tactics literally was copied by the Romans after the I
Punic War.
The Spanish infant carried the
frightful soliferrum, specially designed to perforate any type of shield,
even though this one outside metalist. After sending it against the enemy he
pulled out of a scabbard his frightful short sword and, protected by his
shield celta attacked using the sword for "puncturing", with the
arm moving perpendicular to the body. This form to fight, with the protected
affluent body, was lethal against an enemy who used his sword for "striking",
since he had to discover part of his body when raising it, moment that took
advantage of the ibero to cross it with his gladius.
The Romans were made an
impression by this form so to fight in Cannas who when they arrived at Spain
adopted gladius, now call hispaniesis, like standard weapon. Since the Roman
shield, the typical samnita shield, was better than celta and provided
greater protection, the Roman legions became authentic machines to prick
meat, although in front of the Spanish troops, with whole generations of
training to his backs, they underwent great disasters one after another one.
Why? because the legion to manipulate nonera the most appropriate unit for
this type of tactics, tactics that would find its total yield in the new
legions of Mario in which cohortes acted like a block, devastating the enemy
lines. Exactly equal to as the Spanish companies would act that Aníbal in
Cannas used. Since the Gauls fought in "phalange", that is to say,
in compact lines, it is easy to deduce that the Boat supeditó the Gallic
tactics to the Spanish and who those companies were normally used by the
Spaniards.
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