Armoured camels

[dwkay57]

The subject has probably been discussed before, but I couldn't find any quick reference to it, so being lazy.....

In the old days, when I was a beardless youth, the Parthians had lancers mounted on armoured camels. In these more enlightened times, it is thought that such camels belonged to the armies of Hatra.

Thus my currently being developed 6mm army of Hatra has some armoured camels, but I have some figures left over. So, what can I do with them? Did any other post-Seleucid Near Eastern armies use (or may have) them?

My current thoughts are that they are used to bolster my Parthian army along with any left over horse archer figures when my army building days draw to a close. But will that be laughed out of court?

[DBS]

It depends on your view of Hatra. The traditional one tends to regard it as a pro Parthian autonomous city in the Roman-Parthian buffer zone. However in recent years there is the notion (that I personally tend towards) that it is simply a western sub kingdom of a rather federated Parthian empire, which just happens to be one part f said empire which gets a bit more exposure in Roman records.

In which case, IF camel cataphracts did exist, they may not have been uniquely Hatran, just something the Romans tended to encounter near Hatra...

[Andreas Johansson]

This would be the chief previous discussion of armoured camels:

https://forum.soa.org.uk/index.php?topic=2554.0

[dwkay57]

Thanks Andreas, interesting read although it did get diverted as is common with threads on this site.

Not with standing the discussion about whether "cataphract" means armoured rider or armoured rider and mount (of whatever species), it sounds as if I might sneak a few in if I ever get round to expanding my Parthians with left over figures.

[DBS]

One wild, possibly heretical, thought.  PB had caravan guards in the DBM Palmyrene lists and Armies/Enemies of Imperial Rome, despite the fact that, whilst the chaps existed, it is very questionable whether they ever served in the field in Palmyrene armies, in large enough numbers to warrant depiction as units, and indeed whether they would have been a unit...

Anyway, if one was logically going to hypothesise as to what sort of warrior might be used to fighting in armour astride a dromedary rather than a horse, maybe, just maybe, it is the caravan guard.  Palmyra, a caravan city.  Hatra, a caravan city not a million miles away.  Just one is broadly in the Roman sphere, the other in the Parthian sphere.  So if a meme (rather than fact) was going to inspire Herodian, maybe it is the heavies guarding the caravans?

Just a wild thought, as I say.

[stevenneate]

As you say, unlikely to form up as a viable battlefield unit. However, if a unit, what would they have added to the army beyond being an oddity? Scarey for horses?

Might be a fun element to introduce into a skirmish game around raiding the caravan.

I like David's suggestion that when reported they were seen near Hatra, so putting two & two together, we got 5, and introduced cataphract camels into army lists. The city of Hatra was famous for its artillery, fortifications and resilience plus being a stopover on a major caravan route. Providing a contingent to the local superpower seems a sensible strategy.

And, importantly, never let good figures go to waste!

[dwkay57]

I did google (or was it bing'd) "armoured camels".

Amongst some interesting or entertaining images, including a Bactrian camel in full armour, were these in the attachment. I'm now pondering how I can incorporate them into my 6mm Persian army.

[Keraunos]

I did google (or was it bing'd) "armoured camels".

Amongst some interesting or entertaining images, including a Bactrian camel in full armour, were these in the attachment. I'm now pondering how I can incorporate them into my 6mm Persian army.

 

[Erpingham]

I'm now pondering how I can incorporate them into my 6mm Persian army.

Do you have the Cyrus fantasy version to put them in?

[DBS]

including a Bactrian camel in full armour

Worth remembering that Hatra seems to have been one of the crossover points where Arabian dromedaries and Bactrian camels could both be found. There was one specific Hatrene relief, sadly feared smashed by Daesh, that showed a young one and a half humper, which camelid cognoscenti deemed a probable crossbreed.

[Andreas Johansson]

Hybrid camels tend to be stronger than either parent and were highly prized as pack animals from Arsacid into modern times.

Partly as a result of extensive crossbreeding, the border between dromedaries and Bactrians has moved approximately one Iran northeast over historical time.

For more information, see the Encyclopaedia Iranica entry on camels and Bulliet's The Camel and the Wheel.