The
bravest and best armed troops were placed in front; the ranks towards
the rear being occupied by those of inferior quality. The depth of the
ranks was usually very great, since Oriental troops cannot be trusted to
maintain a firm front unless they are strongly supported from behind.
No attempt, however, seems to have been made at forming a second line of
battle in the rear of the first, nor does there even seem to have been
any organized system of reserves. When the battle began, the chariots
were first launched against the enemy, whose ranks it was hoped they
would confuse, or, at any rate, disturb. After this the main line
advanced to the attack, but without any inclination to come at once to
close quarters. Planting their shields firmly on the ground in front of
them, the Persian heavy-armed shot flight after flight of arrows against
their foe, while the slingers and other light-armed in the rear sent
clouds of missiles over the heads of their friends into the adverse
ranks beyond them. It was usually the enemy which brought this phase of
the battle to an end, by pressing onward and closing with the Persian
main line in a hand:to-hand combat. Here the struggle was commonly
brief--a very few minutes often decided the engagement. If the Persian
line of battle was forced or broken, all was immediately regarded as
lost--flight and rout followed. The cavalry, from its position on
the wings, might attempt, by desperate charges on the flanks of the
advancing foe, to stay his progress, and restore the fortune of the
day, but such efforts were usually unavailing. Its line of battle
once broken, a Persian army lost heart; its commander commonly set the
example of flight, and there was a general rush of all arms from the
battle-field.

For success the Persians trusted mainly to their numbers, which enabled
them, in some cases, to renew an attack time after time with fresh
troops, in others to outflank and surround their adversary. Their best
troops were undoubtedly their cavalry, both heavy and light. The heavy,
armed in the old times with bows, and in the later with the javelins,
highly distinguished itself on many important occasions. The weight of
its charge must have been great; its offensive weapons were good; and
its armor made it almost invulnerable to ordinary weapons. The
light cavalry was celebrated for the quickness and dexterity of its
manoeuvres. It had the loose organization of modern Bashi-Bazouks or
Cossack