Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Units of History Documentary on the Horse Archers of the Sassanid Army! Celebrate the anniversary of World of Warships: Legends - wowsl.co/46Gf0Kx

In this animated history documentary series we bring to life the military of the Sassanid Empire. However while our prior episode looked at the mounted wing of this eastern army, we now turn to its overlooked infantry wing. Chief among them would be the Daylamites who came to serve as elite bodyguards of the Sassanid Kings.

We begin by discussing the mountainous regions of Iran which borders the Caspian sea. It would be here that various mountain tribes stubbornly resisted the coming and going of numerous empires. In time these warriors would come to loan out their martial skills as mercenaries. However it would be the Sassanids who eventually embraced them as a core element of their armed forces. Such was the prestige of these Daylamaties that they would for the Gond-i-Shahansha, or army of the King of Kings.

Yet this transformation took time. Thus we explore how the Daylamaties took the field in terms of equipment, training and tactics. These are then put into practice with a review of their service almost 500 year history. As such we cover the rise of the Sassanid Empire under Ardashir I. We then cover the campaigns of his descendants againt the Roman Army, the Byzantine Army, the White Huns, the Arabs and more.

You can learn more about the Units of History through our documentary series:

THE NEAR EAST
Sassanid Horse Archers : youtu.be/StYxs7JHHeE
The 10,000 Immortals : youtu.be/Rg1WpzDfyNM

THE BYZANTINES
Byzantine Flamethrowers and Grenadiers : youtu.be/Q40yMWRYt7U
The Varangian Guard : youtu.be/0H2Gs87dTfU

THE GREEK WORLD
Macedonian Silver Shields : youtu.be/csw9uSRjUz8
Macedonian Companion Cavalry : youtu.be/bbLnrGGqyWY
The Spartan Skiritai : youtu.be/MSsUYZBd414
The Spartan Royal Guard : youtu.be/pSIh_mTEy_o
The Sacred Band of Thebes : youtu.be/xWsZwlN1j3c
Mycenaean Chariots : youtu.be/-TyVh8PlnS4
Balearic Slingers : youtu.be/3uDtrwNY0Zk

THE ROMANS
The Praetorians : youtu.be/SFXStbcdMIQ
Roman Cataphracts : youtu.be/NPdxGwyfy_Q
Roman Army Spies : youtu.be/xpPY5yU9w7I
Roman Army Scouts : youtu.be/EQIT0vP5pBg
The Frumentarii : youtu.be/Nm8aSZm4JUM

THE NORTHMEN
The Jomsvikings Mercenaries : youtu.be/ry_J2IPAZoE
Viking Berserkers : youtu.be/lVbjaoFDiFk
Early Germanic Warriors : youtu.be/DK1c4Bz01MU
Briton War Chariots : youtu.be/71xkLfOE1iA

THE EASTERN EUROPEANS
The Druzhina : youtu.be/6Yp5-0mX6PI

THE AFRICANS
Nubian Archers : youtu.be/qvO3_kYRRw8
The Sacred Band of Carthage : youtu.be/oX3y1GYcCEY
Carthaginian War Elephants : youtu.be/hDSRHGFCWEo
The Numidian Cavalry : youtu.be/3tv7EbkrX38

Credits:
Research = Soroush Torabi
Writing = Invicta
Narration = Guy Michaels
Artwork = Penta Limited
Reenactment = Eran Ud Turan

Source and Suggested Reading:
"The Armies of Ancient Persia - The Sassanians" by Kaveh Farrokh
"A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units" by Kaveh Farrokh
"Sassanian Millitary" by David Nicole

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:35 Mountain Tribes
05:53 Origins
08:10 Equipment
11:12 Organization
12:28 Training
13:29 Tactics
16:00 Service History
17:42 Wars in Yemen
19:32 Wars with Rome
21:15 Wars with the Arabs
23:42 Outro

#history
#documentary
#iran