[Basic Impetus] Ancient Mauryan Indians - Tremble the Earth

[Egbert]

Wonderful painted figures, Owen. I love specially the skin tones.

Great work.
Santi.

Hey Owen,
nothing else to say...they look real amazing.

[CliosPaintingBench]

Hey Owen,
nothing else to say...they look real amazing.

Thank you! Much appreciated.

--

"Rally to me! Rally to me!" Rishyasringa screamed, raising his sword, trying to run, heart pounding so loud it almost drowned out the screaming, his scream, their screams, the whole world shrieking. The pale Yavana invaders had broken through despite everything, steady and oddly rhythmic in their advance. They looked like a giant monstrous porcupine, bristling with long spears, bearing down upon them in a wall of glinting needle points. Oh by the Asura! He couldn't think. He didn't want to die and death was staring at him, in the shining spear points, in the cries of pain, in the liquid red violence. They had to run, had to- something was wrong. His leg didn't work. The angle was all wrong, like he was seeing his leg in some odd reflection yet it was conjoined to him regardless. Each stumble sent red agony up his ankles. Around him the dying and wounded howled like mad spirits, so loud, so loud to fill the Earth, all of them thrashing, writhing, so the whole scene looked like some hell made manifest. Things - events, the wounded, were moving so fast it all blurred in smears of colour; the brown of the earth, the blue of the sky, the red of... the red of everything.

Around them, around his dead brothers, gutted friends, amputated cousins he stumbled, catching his toes on warm bodies, his breath sawing in and out, tears leaking and blurring everything further, to his great shame. His vision was so blurred he missed the first sign of salvation; the bobbing of horses, as if driven on a wave. Subandhu's Aśvānīka crashed past him, hoofbeats layered into a cacophony, snorting, neighing bodies raced by, so close he could see the hair on their flanks, their wide eyes. The Aśvānīka were roaring their war cries, towering and fearless as they disappeared into the maelstrom and the turning of the tide.

--

Hello everybody,

So I'm back with another instalment of this army blog that gets updated so very rarely (honestly more than once a month may be a minor miracle and I think the stretch of time will be much longer,) but I'm chipping away. This time I've completed a unit of cavalry, based mainly of the Porus King army set by Lucky Toys, which is a great set because you get a little bit of every troop type.

I don't really have much waffle to plug here in which I think of as my 'general introduction' section, but I did have to do a lot of research on ancient Indian armies, which is not very common knowledge, so I've summarised my findings in a video to save people from reading the many books and articles I did, but also because this knowledge isn't necessarily easy to find, I wouldn't cover Roman history, it's abundant and accessible, but Ancient Indian history seems like a worthy topic of my efforts:



I also made a review on Linear-A's Roman Legion Set 2 - which isn't related really, but I don't know where else to plug it:



I intend to create a video tutorial of how I've made my units, but I need to finish a chariot unit first. The Ancient Classical Indian army was conceptualised as having four branches, this model being termed Caturangabala; from the original Vedic model of just foot soldiers and chariots, to the addition of cavalry and elephants. As these are the basic 'limbs' of the army, it would seem only right that I cover each troop type at least.

and lastly, because I've had to do research on this; here are my notes on the organisation of the Mauryan Indian military:

Mauryan Empire Army Organisation

I've needed to clarify the organisation of the Mauryan Empire army and the issue is that the information is contradictory. So my primary source, the Arthashastra says - "For every ten members of each of the constituents of the army, there must be one commander, called padika (master of 10); ten padikas under a senápati (master of 100); ten senápatis under a náyaka, (leader, master of 1000)." Ergo, it implies the organisation is by groups of ten.

Yet in the Epics, it says the Indian army is grouped in threes: The smallest unit was called a patti, and had one chariot, one elephant, three cavalry and five infantry (10 members). Three patti made up a Sena mukha (30 members), and three Sena Mukha made up a Gulma (90 members). Other divisions were the Gana, Vahini, Pratana, Camu and Ani kini, each of which was three times as big as the one preceding it. The Aksauhini was composed of ten Ani kini, and was the largest unit in an army. It is possible that units of organisation were standardised as a mixed unit of combined arms, however

The term for patti is synonymous for infantry, so it doesn't seem appropriate for cavalry, chariots or elephants and implies the patti was infantry only, which implies the combined arms units was not accurate and there is always the alternative of groupings of ten. But I don't want to just ignore a whole potential facet of Indian military organisation. Furthermore, there are no names in the sources for the unit organisation of the groupings of ten, so I'm left bereft of detail. The names wouldn't be shared - having that much ambiguity in force strength and numbers in a military situation would be ridiculous. Furthermore how could units function in such an intricate fashion of combined arms? Infantry would slow the cavalry, orders would be made more difficult, the mixed capabilities of each unit would make their combined role ambiguous, unless each unit was just meant to be versatile.

So the way I've interpreted this information is: I can't know. But the fact the three fold organisation is in place is evidence of just that: it's a method of organisation, categorisation and measurement. So perhaps it was just to count unit strength and units formed more standard units of similar composition of other members on the battlefield; elephants with elephants, infantry with infantry, but perhaps not. In my head, the number of groupings below Gulma numbers are purely for logistics and organisation, with the Gulma being the smallest grouping to warrant a banner and a name and thusly a tactical representation as a constituent in the army, with units conceiving their identity as associated with a Gulma and then fighting with other similar unit types - elephants with elephants, infantry with infantry, in rough groupings of ten under their padika leaders.

--

1/72 Ancient Indian Mauryan Empire Army



Subandhu's Aśvānīka, Sūrya (Subandhu's Cavalry, The Sun - Sanskrit) are one of the cavalry units constituting the Gulma of The Sun. Subandhu serves as a vyuha (squad) of horsemen. While Subandhu is of lowly birth, he has risen to command by sheer bravery and valour, having distinguished himself in multiple battles against the Nandas. A poor station at birth is no hinderance in the Mauryan Empire. Was the emperor himself, Beloved of the Gods, not once a lowly peacock farmer, climbing to greatness by his virtue? Subandhu has served loyally through the years, with his exploits in hard close-quarters fighting serving as the stuff of local legend. For this, his emperor, Beloved of the Gods, has bestowed upon Subandhu the title of Neramodeganda; the wrestler of mountain strong-holds and Champion of the all-creator Brahma. He has taken these glories without conceit or complaint, simply accepting these as reflections of the reality of his deeds.



In recent times, Subandhu has taken to equestrianism. He much prefers the fluid, bold manoeuvring and exhilarating speed of cavalry warfare to the bloody ruthlessness of urban sieges. He has proven himself every bit as able as a cavalry commander. A man of few words; Subandhu stands quietly, observing, not venturing to speak unless necessary. Some have taken his silence for arrogance or disdain, but the wise know that Subandhu is cleverer than he lets on and knows the value of listening rather than talking. He may never be a poet, or have the wit to entice lovers with a sharp tongue, but his grasp of battle-craft is intuitive and he is a born warrior and his deeds speak for him in a way his words never could. He is neither larger nor stronger than the others. His greatness comes from within.



Subandhu's Sūrya gulma has mastered many battle formations, such as the Suchi vyuha (Needle formation), Chayana vyuha (Hawk formation) and Mala vyuha (Garland formation). Their horses are from the Kamboja tribe, which are renowned for their quality, though Subandhu has noted how their local horses seem to fare poorly compared to the foreign chargers that the Yavana have brought. The Aśvānīka are free to use whichever equipment they fancy and the men battle with an array of spears, swords, axes, maces and even the occasional bow, though mounted archery has never been popular in the subcontinent. Some warriors of the Sūrya Aśvānīka wear red belts, sashes or trinkets to distinguish themselves, as a point of unit pride and for easy visual identification. Through rehearsal, the troops come to know their roles with the intimacy of their homesteads and on the battlefield, find their place with confidence even through the chaos. In the din of war, they strike with great destruction, like seas with waters in commotion at the time of universal destruction. The fires of their wrath is like the forest conflagration and in their wake there is emptiness, like bamboo canes forsaken by terrified birds.



(Subandhu's Aśvānīka is my first (and only - like Gaunt's Ghosts) cavalry unit for this army. My thoughts when making this was I wanted something standard, embodying the themes of the army. I used the same recipes for skin as before but I've discovered a new colour scheme which is - Ratskin Flesh, Devlan Mud, Ratskin Flesh over the raised areas, Dwarf Flesh). This is used on the lone archer. The unit keeps with the thematic identity of the rest of the army by having models with bared flesh, white pants, saffron 'saddle' patterns, saffron scabbards, saffron banner design and shield pattern, jewellery, bamboo. The flower theme has been continued, with flower decorations sculpted into the horse harnesses and a rudimentary lotus pattern painted upon the standard bearer's shield.





Our knowledge of ancient Indian dress is limited by the distance of time and the little detail of historical sources. This unit has red belts and in my conception of this army, different units may adopt different colours for regimental distinction, perhaps so different cavalry or infantry units may tell each other apart for example and also for unit pride, though I imagine not all units would feel the need to do this. The Sūrya gulma of this cavalry unit is different from the prior Candratāraka gulma of the archer unit and the red belts help to distinguish this as well. I imagine the chaos of war has thrown the disparate gulmas together and they're fighting in the same part of the battlefield from circumstance.





In terms of model choice, Lucky Toys King Porus' Army very neatly provides three cavalry models and they're great sculpts so I used them, but my units have four members for cavalry, so I included a standard bearer from the HaT box. The way the King Porus' Army models are armed are all different, so the unit ends up looking like a band of heroes, which is nice. I painted the banner design based on the carvings at the Sanchi stupa. I couldn't find the sanskrit translation for the union-jack, six-limbed cross, so I've decided it's a representation of the Sun and its rays - hence Subandhu's men fight as part of the Gulma of the Sun and are proud to bear one of its banners.

The bowstring on the archer's bow is made of hobby wire, which was not something I originally intended to even attempt, but Bluefalchion's challenge got to me. I don't like turning down a challenge so I bent some wire into shape and got it done. I'm sad that I'll have to eventually do it for my original archer unit because of all the extra work, even if the end result does look better. Such is the price of this hobby.





I substituted the Lucky Toys horses because they weren't Indian specific, so I could save them for a future project and therefore use the Indian horses from the HaT - Coates & Shine Indian Cavalry box, which have lovely Indian specific 'topknots' and coverings. The Indian Mahabharata mentions horse colours of dark grey, "pigeon colored", ivory white, piebald, and bay. However, Indian monarchs also imported foreign horses, so I am not limited to these colours but I wanted to reflect and create the most 'Indian' army I could, so I recreated the above listed horse coats for my mounts.





The base was done with the same principles as the Senānī's base. I sculpted a foam hill to give the unit height, and made the unit centrally posed, mid-advance)



(Unit 3 of 10 - Subandhu's Aśvānīka - Ancient Mauryan Empire Indian Army - Basic Impetus)

[Chariobaude]

Wow ! lot of nice figs, painting...and history ! Thank you Owen for this very interesting project, one of my favorite on this forum !
What are the sources used by modern scholars to depict those armies ?

[CliosPaintingBench]

Wow ! lot of nice figs, painting...and history ! Thank you Owen for this very interesting project, one of my favorite on this forum !
What are the sources used by modern scholars to depict those armies ?

Thanks man!

So I know you're a lover of history as well; so let's get into the nitty-gritty: the first thing I want to define is the time period, which is essentially the Second Urbanisation, from 600 to 200 BCE. Before this, in the Vedic period, Indian armies were quite similar but this is still a different time period for what we would consider to be Classical Indians, which covered a few empires and monarchies, such as King Porus and the Mauryan Empire I am focusing on.

Most of the written primary sources about warfare during this period that I can see tend to be Western (Roman): Arrian's Indica for example states:

"XVI. The Indians wear linen garments, as Nearchus says, the linen coming from the trees of which I have already made mention. This linen is either brighter than the whiteness of other linen, or the people's own blackness makes it appear unusually bright. They have a linen tunic to the middle of the calf, and for outer garments, one thrown round about their shoulders, and one wound round their heads. They wear ivory ear-rings, that is, the rich Indians; the common people do not use them. Nearchus writes that they dye their beards various colours; some therefore have these as white-looking as possible, others dark, others crimson, others purple, others grass-green. The more dignified Indians use sunshades against the summer heat. They have slippers of white skin, and these too made neatly; and the soles of their sandals are of different colours, and also high, so that the wearers seem taller."

Arrian also wrote the Anabasis:

"When Porus, who exhibited great talent in the battle, performing the deeds not only of a general but also of a valiant soldier, observed the slaughter of his cavalry, and some of his elephants lying dead, others destitute of keepers straying about in a forlorn condition, while most of his infantry had perished, he did not depart as Darius the Great King did, setting an example of flight to his men; but as long as any body of Indians remained compact in the battle, he kept up the struggle. But at last, having received a wound on the right shoulder, which part of his body alone was unprotected during the battle, he wheeled round. His coat of mail warded off the missiles from the rest of his body, being extraordinary both for its strength and the close fitting of its joints, as it was afterwards possible for those who saw him to observe."

Quintus Curtius wrote a text called - History of Alexander:

"They veil their bodies in linen robes as far as the feet, clothe their feet in sandals, bind their heads in linen, and precious stones hang from their ears; those who are eminent among the people for high birth or wealth adorn their wrists also and arms with gold. They comb their hair more frequently than they shear it; the chin is always unshorn, the rest of the skin they shave close, so that it appears smooth. "

One of the most famous texts is written by the great statesmen Kautilya, who penned the Arthaśāstra, a treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy:

"Having fortified a camp at the distance of five hundred bows he should begin to fight. Having detached the flower of the army and kept it on a favourable position not visible (to the enemy), the commander-in-chief and the leader should array the rest of the army. The infantry should be arrayed such that the space between any two men is a sama (14 angulas); cavalry with three samas; chariots with four samas; and elephants with twice or thrice as much space (as between any two chariots). With such an array free to move and having no confusion, one should fight. A bow means five aratnis (5 x 54 = 120 angulas). Archers should be stationed at the distance of five bows (from one line to another); the cavalry at the distance of three bows; and chariots or elephants at the distance of five bows."

Megasthenes wrote a book also called Indica about Indian society and culture during the time of the Mauryans. I believe Herodotus covers bits about Indo-Persian relations. There are many, many Indian epics as well, there was the Dharmasutras and the Smritis for regulation of public life.

In terms of archaeology, there's the Bharhut Stupa, Sanchi Stupa, Ashoka's Edicts and I'm sure there's more. The first two are useful for visual references as to what Indian armies looked like.

[Ochoin]

Great post, Owen. The text & the figures are an education.

cheers donald

[Chariobaude]

Many thanks Owen !!

[Bluefalchion]

The work you have done on those horses is tremendous, but I find the sculpts pretty comical.

I see you have added a bow string, very nice.

The energy you pour into researching your projects is truly impressive.

Very interesting stuff.

[Howlin]

These Indians look so good! I really like how you can see the build up of layers.

What army do you have to pit them against for a table top game?

[Peter]

Fantastic new posts Owen! Again a fantastic painted unit!

Thank you for the historical information!

[Susofrick]

I think I have seen these figures on PSR and I was definitely very much not interested in them. They looked badly sculpted, boring poses, etc, etc. Seems that you have done a very nice on them. Good figures always makes me interested to know more about the historical background and good painted figures does the same. So now I'm trying to catch up on some Indian history.

[CliosPaintingBench]

Great post, Owen. The text & the figures are an education.

cheers donald

Thanks Donald, I try. Hope things are going alright and we see more Pyrrhic troops soon.

The work you have done on those horses is tremendous, but I find the sculpts pretty comical.

I see you have added a bow string, very nice.

The energy you pour into researching your projects is truly impressive.

Very interesting stuff.

Haha, yeah, I don't think the horse sculpts are the best... their heads are too stocky, but I chalk it up to them being some ancient horse breed with wider, blocky jaws.

I actually added the bow string because after you raised the issue months ago it really started to bother me, I was thinking, if I'm going to spend all this time on miniatures, I might as well do it right. I'll have to modify my existing archers at some point.

Thanks! The way I figure, if I'm going to paint miniatures, I might as well fully commit to the army. I'm doing it because I love it, I don't do passion projects without obsessing about detail.

These Indians look so good! I really like how you can see the build up of layers.

What army do you have to pit them against for a table top game?

Thank you sir, historically the Indians most famously fought against Alexander the Great's Macedonians, but they also fought the Seleucid empire. The Ancient Persians had Indian infantry and cavalry in their ranks, so they interacted, you could make a case for skirmishes there, but most warfare seemed to be between Indians. They also fought the Scythians down the line.

However, I'm rather lax with my table top games. I'll let them fight anyone in the ancient world lol. I'm going to match them against my Celts at some point.

Fantastic new posts Owen! Again a fantastic painted unit!

Thank you for the historical informatian!

Cheers Peter!

I think I have seen these figures on PSR and I was definitely very much not interested in them. They looked badly sculpted, boring poses, etc, etc. Seems that you have done a very nice on them. Good figures always makes me interested to know more about the historical background and good painted figures does the same. So now I'm trying to catch up on some Indian history.

Haha, well, in terms of Ancient Indians, the Lucky Toys King Porus' Army are probably the best sculpts in 1/72 scale that exist in plastic thus far. I think the HaT ones aren't that great, but PSR seem quite okay with the Lucky Toys set: "There is no flash anywhere, and all figures and parts are both well detailed and properly proportioned... Technically the set cannot be faulted, and it is certainly a very attractive product."

I personally find the sculpts to be quite decent, fitting human anatomy and the faces are fine, but I do think the Coates & Shine / HaT models could be a little better. There's two sets currently depicting Ancient Indian Infantry so there's not much choice, to be honest, though Newline Designs and Speira Miniatures make metal and resin Ancient Indians respectively, and they're great sculpts but obviously they're pricier.

I guess how good a model is subjective. In comparison to Linear-A or Gamesworkshop perhaps they do look badly sculpted lol, but I think they're fine for my purposes. Luckily, Linear-A are making a new Indian set: Linear-A Indus Culture 3300BC to 1300BC. I look forward to it with great interest.

Indian history is tricky for me. The hard part is the names and the unfamiliarity. I grew up with information about the Romans and Alexander the Great. Emperor Chandragupta is not a household name for myself, haha.

[Ochoin]

I rather like the HaT figures but the problem is I don't think they'd work with the Lucky Toys set nor the Newlines. So an army - for me- would have to be only HaT.

Actually, after your post, I went & looked at Newline figures: now they *are* nice!

I wonder where the Linear A figures will fit? Probably more Newline than HaT.

A future army of Indians is not out of the question for me but I think I'll wait & ponder the possibilities.

donald

[Howlin]

I am a lot the same way, I have a few ancient armies and I would very much like to see mix matched things for fun. Are you familiar with the game Age of Empires? That game has been deeply part of my life though its odd I have not really ever played a table top game. But that will change!


My main focus has been on the ships and castle walls so far, so people may need to play with some unpainted figs as I focus on the terrain world. Then can start painting each army (greek/ roman/ persia first)

India is just so much fun though and would be a focus if more were out. Such a fascinating culture in contrast to everything else at the time.

[Santi Pérez]

Great post, Owen. The text & the figures are an education. cheers donald

This is my opinion too, Owen. You have completed the high quality of your painted figures with a lot of very instructive information about them.

Great work, my friend.

Santi.

[CliosPaintingBench]

I rather like the HaT figures but the problem is I don't think they'd work with the Lucky Toys set nor the Newlines. So an army - for me- would have to be only HaT.

Actually, after your post, I went & looked at Newline figures: now they *are* nice!

I wonder where the Linear A figures will fit? Probably more Newline than HaT.

A future army of Indians is not out of the question for me but I think I'll wait & ponder the possibilities.

donald

Yeah the styles of HaT and Lucky Toys vary a lot, if I have to be entirely frank, I suspect the Lucky Toys set isn't historically accurate - for one, Indians didn't use horse archers really, their infantry shields weren't circular or so wide and some of the helmets I've never seen before. I like style diversity in my armies so I'm happy to mix and match, but I could see why it could look jarring to use both companies' models together.

I do hope Linear-A keeps to their trend and make great Indians, I don't think a new set of Ancient Indians have come out in plastic for at least a decade.

Haha I don't blame you for staying on the sidelines, the model range isn't the best, I suspect I'll have to do a lot of converting for some of the more esoteric units, like jungle or mountain tribesmen.

I am a lot the same way, I have a few ancient armies and I would very much like to see mix matched things for fun. Are you familiar with the game Age of Empires? That game has been deeply part of my life though its odd I have not really ever played a table top game. But that will change!


My main focus has been on the ships and castle walls so far, so people may need to play with some unpainted figs as I focus on the terrain world. Then can start painting each army (greek/ roman/ persia first)

India is just so much fun though and would be a focus if more were out. Such a fascinating culture in contrast to everything else at the time.

Oh, I LOVE Age of Empires! I got the first one in a CD from a box of cereal, then bought the Rise of Rome expansion from a computer store? Oh I miss those days, computer stores don't exist like they used to. I'm looking forward to AoE4, should be great.

It's cool you have ancient armies in 1/72 scale, I feel like it's not common to wargame with them. I plan to do the Greeks, Romans and Persians too, but I've realised that I want to do cultures that people don't see often, I think I just love the novelty.

I'd offer you a game but I think I'm way, way too far from you lol. Anyway, good luck with the wargaming, I think having a wargaming club helps, that's how I started with 1/72.

This is my opinion too, Owen. You have completed the high quality of your painted figures with a lot of very instructive information about them.

Great work, my friend.

Santi.

Thank you Santi! It means a lot, especially someone who got a reply from the Swiss Guards!

[Xantippos]

I like that the figures are so bright, and the pic of the elefant in the jungle is superb .

I love the Lucky Toys set, but it is a pity it is so diverse and so few figures are included. To get a good set, at least one should buy 3 boxes! I would be inclined to believe they are historically accurate, maybe not exactly for King Porus, they look a bit of a mix-match of various eras and times.

The HAT figures are bordering the acceptable in my opinion . Specially the cavalry, the heads are a bit too big. All the same I have them all, except the Hat Indian Elephant as I have the Macedonian which is essentially the same except for a couple of poses. For me, I explain these differences as ethnic groups, so Hat forces would be from a kingdom/region, and Lucky Toys from another one . An army of a big empire could control over all them and so include them in their armies .

[CliosPaintingBench]

I like that the figures are so bright, and the pic of the elefant in the jungle is superb .

I love the Lucky Toys set, but it is a pity it is so diverse and so few figures are included. To get a good set, at least one should buy 3 boxes! I would be inclined to believe they are historically accurate, maybe not exactly for King Porus, they look a bit of a mix-match of various eras and times.

The HAT figures are bordering the acceptable in my opinion . Specially the cavalry, the heads are a bit too big. All the same I have them all, except the Hat Indian Elephant as I have the Macedonian which is essentially the same except for a couple of poses. For me, I explain these differences as ethnic groups, so Hat forces would be from a kingdom/region, and Lucky Toys from another one . An army of a big empire could control over all them and so include them in their armies .

Thanks mate! I think the Lucky Toys is mostly accurate, there's just tiny things that I haven't seen in my reading and I think they could be overlooked because ancient sources don't depict everything. I'm happy with it overall.

Okay yeah, the HaT sculpts aren't the best haha. I actually have the same reasoning in my head for the differences in sculpts; different peoples have different body and facial structures and they've all been brought together.

[CliosPaintingBench]

"Had our mentality been like yours, India would have been the largest nation in the World. But we Indians do not cast an evil eye on any nation. No matter how we are, we are very happy." - Attributed to King Purushikta (Porus) - from Porus, Episode 84.

Welcome back, to another instalment of the gathering forces of the Mauryan Empire! It's good on my part to see the army coming along. I'll be back with a video tutorial on this army shortly, but please enjoy the latest unit in the meantime.

--

1/72 Ancient Indian Mauryan Empire Army



Ambhik’s Rátha, Chandra (Ambhik’s Chariots, The Moon – Sanskrit) are drawn from the Gulma of The Moon, marked by the green belts that adorn their persons. While the allegiances of different Gulma vary- some are loyal to the Samrat (Emperor), others to their Senápati, all while the Padikas squabble for influence, The Gulma of the Moon is firmly under the iron hold of the former Raja (King) Ambhik, son of Raja Ambhiraj. Ambhik is heir to a controversial history; his father sided with Alexander and the Macedonians and participated in the Battle of the Hydapses, after which he was given governorship under Macedonian patronage, continuing to retain his authority until the Samrat Chandragupta defeated Alexander’s satraps. Ambhik himself then, is no longer a king, having been absorbed by the Mauryan Empire and has adopted the mantle of Senápati. He sees the former Raja Veevek content in his role as a Senápati and the people say, perhaps Ambhik has adopted Veevek’s lead. He waits, observing the many changes overturning like ploughed earth in the wake of the Nandas. He sees the reforms in the government, the ongoing wars on the borders, the strength of the armies, the simmering tension that accompanies any great change. He watches and waits.



Senápati Ambhik, Lord of Takshashila and wider Gandhar has every intention of outdoing his father. Where Ambhik walks, his courtiers bow their heads in haste, servants barely dare to whisper and even his court laugh and carouse on a razor’s edge. There is nothing outwardly distinguishing him from any other former monarch. He is a tall, regal man, with a wry smile forever tugging at his cheeks, dressed in all the purple and finery of his former station. It is not his appearance that make farmers hide their children and their young women away. It is not in his bland, inoffensive smile that cow the other generals in Chandragupta’s court. It is entirely in his deeds, his ruthless brilliance at persecuting campaigns, his sadistic treatment of friend and foe alike, his bloody victories across a score of battlefields. Rumours of his cruelty and genius envelope him like a cloak and he is a figure of superstitious awe.



Ambhik once ruled without mercy. Men who opposed him died, sometimes openly, sometimes meeting unfortunate accidents. Sometimes they simply disappeared entirely, never to be mentioned again, save in dark corridors and behind closed doors. He lacks entirely the charisma of the Samrat, and it is said that Chanakya despises him. The truth to the man is a little different. He derives no joy from the cruelty he inflicts, looking instead to the stability of his realm. He recognises the value- and the drawbacks- of his reputation. Morality is no consideration to him at all, seeing it as incompatible with command. He is careful with his words, seeming to show no emotion at all. It is a mark of his value that he has retained his position at all. Chanakya sees the use of brilliant men, even if they cast long shadows.



The geography of the Mauryan Empire is centred around a solid, dense core with isolated capitals outward. The highest echelons of imperial society live in the inner circle composed of the ruler, his immediate family, other relatives, and close allies, who constitute the dynastic core. Outside this core are a string of armed capital cities in relative isolation. Takshashila is one of these capitals, and one of the four main provinces. Ambhik is given much independence. So far removed from the centre Pataliputra, he is effectively still a Raja, with the same old royal families now subordinated to the Mauryans but still very much in place. While Ambhik’s ultimate loyalty to the Mauryans is questionable, for now he remains a vital asset and the nascent Empire could ill-afford to waste men of his talent.



On the battlefield, the Rátha thunder and rumble like an elemental force, stampeding in force to break enemy lines or hold ground. It is unclear as to why Ambhik has chosen the traditionally heroic symbol of the chariot as his mount. He is rarely seen around elephants and keeps himself at a distance from the horses. When swords are clashing and arrows are flying, he can be seen far away in the distance, directing the flow of the fight. He has never been seen fighting directly, using his Ratha unit to shield himself from any harm and allowing them to engage around him, while he stands atop the carriage, expressionless among the dead and dying.

(Ambhik’s Rátha are my first Indian chariot unit. The Basic Impetus Classical Indians army list has one chariot unit, so this unit had to define and embody my concept of what an Indian chariot would be like. I first did some research on what Ancient Indian chariots were like. In the post-Vedic period, chariots could have four wheels. In both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, there are occasional references to four-wheeled and even eight- wheeled cars. There are references, too, to chariots being drawn by four horses. However, most chariots would have been light vehicles, pulled by two horses.



In terms of crew, I will quote directly from The Art of War in Ancient India by P C Chakravarti:

“Regarding the number of crew members that each chariot carried, the sources diverge. According to Curtius, each chariot carried six passengers: two shield-bearers, two archers, and two charioteers, who would also throw several javelins at the enemy once the battle commenced (Curtius 8.14.3). Even though Majumdar (1955) finds this account trustworthy, doubts may be expressed as to whether there would actually have been six men in the chariot. Smith (1914), when calculating the number of men in Chandragupta’s army, claims that the 8,000 chariots mentioned by Megasthenes would require 24,000 men, thus implying that each chariot would have a crew of three. This seems like a more plausible theory, especially when considering that if we follow Curtius’s description, the chariots would require 48,000 men to be fully operational. One may assume that a crew of three seems most probable.



When it comes to the equipment of the charioteers, we once again find that the bow is the primary weapon employed (Singh 1965), and the chariots were primarily used as mobile firing platforms. Spears also seem to have been commonly used, and thrown at the enemies. Most knights also seem to carry mêlée weapons in their chariots, preferably swords, although maces are also mentioned (Singh 1965).”



Chariots were considered one of the four main arms of the so called “four-armed army”, or Caturangabala. Kautilya describes the use of the chariot as breaking the mass of the enemy force, and frightening it with magnificence and loud noises.



With a basis of what the Mauryan chariots could be like, I used the chariot from the King Porus’ Army set from Lucky Toys and the model from Coates & Shine / HaT. With my first Basic Impetus army of Celts, I’ve established a pattern of four horses per base, which equals to two two-horse chariots. I do enjoy the contrast in style between the Lucky Toys and HaT miniatures, so I had no problem having the two different companies’ minis riding side by side.



I’ve noticed that in my units I like to have a diverse skin tone, I don’t want all members of an eight man unit to have a similar skin tone for example. However, having three crew per chariot was an opportunity to break that pattern and have similar skin tones for each chariot crew member, so I deliberately made one dark and one lighter.



The lighter skin tones was a result of more paint experimentation. The recipe for Ambhik and the driver was:

Tanned Flesh, Dwarf Flesh, Elf Flesh, then a watered down wash of Bestial Brown.

I tried leaving it as is without the wash to reflect the lightest skin tones on the Indian subcontinent but their skin just contrasted far too much with the existing models. They looked like foreigners. Please note that Ambhik has a purple beard - "Nearchus writes that the Indians dye their beards various colours; some therefore have these as white-looking as possible, others dark, others crimson, others purple, others grass-green." I thought I would have very few opportunities to paint a historically accurate purple beard, so I gave him one. I want to differentiate my armies as much as I can.

The darker skin tones was also a result of experimentation. The recipe for the armoured noble and the driver was:

Scorched Brown, Scorched Brown / Tallarn Flesh , Scorched Brown / More Tallarn Flesh in the ratio / Tallarn Flesh

The recipe for the javelin-man was:

Scorched Brown, Scorched Brown / Barbarian Flesh, Scorched Brown / More Barbarian Flesh in the ratio

I wanted my horses to match, so I simply made two of them Cremello and two of them Bay. The chariot harnesses incorporate saffron in their colour scheme to abide by the army themes. With green and whites in the mix, both sets of horses subtly reference the current Indian flag. For the chariot carriages, I wanted to keep them unpainted and earthly – it would match with the Indian skin and I liked the plainer look. The HaT chariot was decorated with a freehand Lotus Flower symbol to keep with the floral themes of the army. All weapons were painted to resemble bamboo to match the other units. The models themselves evidence jewellery, which has been painted to match the rest of the army.





I wanted each chariot to have their own character. This influenced my choice of crew: the Lucky Toys model was quite good as it was, but the HaT model comes with a parasol-bearer- perfect to imply the lordly nature of Ambhik. The Lucky Toys chariot is also smaller and more compact, appearing to be less resilient than the HaT chariot, which sports an armoured and armed noble, and another armed crew member. As such, the Lucky Toys chariot is the command chariot, not designed for heavy fighting while the HaT chariot is the opposite.





The base was done with the same principles as the rest of the army’s.)



(Unit 4 of 10 - Ambhik's Ratha - Ancient Mauryan Empire Indian Army - Basic Impetus)

I also added wire bowstrings to my archer unit. Stringing the wires together on some of the models was very, very tricky. I guess once I did it for my cavalry archer, my army had to be consistent, so at least all the bows in the army match up now.



If you want to see more photos, please see my Instagram at @cliospaintingbench

[Howlin]

I liked the write up as much as the models. Great skin tones, and colors. The 2 chariots compliment each other nicely with a sense of impending clash (into enemy ranks) with such a closeness.

How much of the army is completed?

When will we see all the units together in one army formation?

[PhilC]

Excellent addition to your growing army!