5 - Training and discipline

Summary

A high standard of training and discipline was a prerequisite for the tactical success of the military organization just described, but we can glean information about it from only a few scattered sources, which refer only to certain aspects. They can scarcely be said to paint a vivid picture, so that one has to be content with a general impression, keeping in mind that some references may apply only to a certain campaign and commander and may not be indicative of general practice.

In contrast to the Roman and, to a lesser degree, the Classical Greek armies about whose weapons and tactical training comprehensive accounts survive, Seleucid training practice, as well as that of other Hellenistic armies, is entirely obscure. Passing over various references to the pre-military functions of the gymnasiums, which ought not to be overestimated, all the information we have is that weapon and warfare instructors served in the military training school at Apamea (Strabo 16.2.10(752)). In view of the presumable organization of the Guard, it may be concluded that new recruits to the Guard, i.e. the sons of the military settlers, received their initial training there, which means in effect that all military settlers were trained at Apamea at one time or another. I do not imagine that there was a similar military school in the eastern part of the Empire, despite the administrative division of the Seleucid realm into two separate parts and despite the enormous distances recruits from Media had to cover on the way to Apamea.