Besides the phalanx, Alexander had a considerable force of infantry who
were called shield-bearers: they were not so heavily armed as the
phalangites, or as was the case with the Greek regular infantry in
general, but they were equipped for close fight as well as for
skirmishing, and were far superior to the ordinary irregular troops of
Greek warfare. They were about six thousand strong. Besides these, he
had several bodies of Greek regular infantry; and he had archers,
slingers, and javelin-men, who fought also with broadsword and target,
and who were principally supplied him by the highlanders of Illyria and
Thracia.
The main strength of his cavalry consisted in two chosen regiments of
cuirassiers, one Macedonian and one Thessalian, each of which was about
fifteen hundred strong. They were provided with long lances and heavy
swords, and horse as well as man was fully equipped with defensive
armor. Other regiments of regular cavalry were less heavily armed, and
there were several bodies of light-horsemen, whom Alexander's conquests
in Egypt and Syria had enabled him to mount superbly.
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