The sun beats down on an ancient battlefield. The Persians are once more clashing with their
Greek rivals, and below a gathering of crows who wait for the feast to come,
rows of men crash into each other. Blades stab, spears are hurled,
and the ringing of weapons falling on the Greek's bronze shields echoes across the battlefield.
The Greek are better trained in infantry tactics, and armed with superior bronze armor.
Their large shields interlock to form massive defensive walls,
which open up only briefly for spears to be thrust and javelins to be thrown.
The Persians are also well trained,
but their lighter infantry is ill-equipped to handle the heavily armed Greek formations.
Slowly, surely, the Greeks push forward, scything their way through the ranks of Persian infantry.
Then there's the sound of a horn being blown, followed by the distinctive thundering sounds
of thousands of feet marching together. The Persians fall back- the infantry has done its job
of wearing out the Greek defenders with their sacrifices... now it's time to secure victory.
Clad in bronze armor that runs from their shins to a thick bronze and leather breastplate,
faces hidden behind metal masks that fit in tightly under a bronze helmet,
ten thousand of Persia's greatest warriors- the legendary Immortals- march to meet the
Greek in battle. Unlike the other Persian forces, these Immortals are well disciplined,
and just as equally well equipped, with large shields comparable to the Greeks.
The Greek may be fine warriors, but the Persian numbers are vast, and after exhausting the Greek
infantry with its own, the Persian king now sends his finest warriors to secure victory.
In the ancient world, few military units were as feared as the legendary Immortals.
These were men personally handpicked from across the great Persian empire
to serve as the king's personal bodyguard and his shocktroops. Wherever victory seemed
elusive or difficult, the Immortals were sent in to secure it- and they nearly always did.
To become an Immortal you had to be personally selected by a senior military officer,
and then recommended to the King and his court for service. Only the most capable,
bravest, and most loyal soldiers could hope to claim a spot amongst the most elite of Persian
fighting forces. But skill, strength, and loyalty weren't all that was needed,
as Immortals needed to be men above all reproach, and thus strong moral character
was a necessary quality to serve. So much for the man-monsters pictured in the movie 300.
As one of the longest lived of the ancient world's military forces, the Immortals existed
since the reign of Cyrus II in 550 BCE, and were in service until sometime in the second
century CE. It's believed that the Immortals were organized by commander Pantea Arteshbod,
a woman, who would also go on to become their first commander. This may have been shocking to
other cultures, but in the Persian military women often held high-ranking positions. Once more,
it’s getting kind of hard to figure out who the good guys in 300 really were…
The soldiers who would serve as Immortals were recruited from amongst the best of the best,
and would be replaced the moment that one of them was killed, injured, or otherwise incapacitated
and unable to fight. This way the Immortals always maintained their numbers at exactly
10,000, which helped fuel myths of their invincibility in battle. In ancient warfare,
myths were just as useful tools in defeating your enemy as information warfare is today.
Soldiers who would become an immortal would often come from Persian and Mede noble families,
who could afford the expensive equipment required to be a soldier. These men would
begin to train at age of five with archery, javelin throwing, and horseback riding.
They were forced to endure the harsh elements with little protection,
and often had to forage for food to supplement their meager rations.
This was meant to toughen them up as soldiers and prepare them for the rigors of combat.
However, physical education was only part of the equation- a good soldier needs to be mentally
and spiritually tough too. To that end, the young men would then be taught Persian religion
as well as history of the Persian empire- with emphasis on the noble deeds of Persian heroes.
A strong moral compass was instilled into each young man,
along with loyalty to the Persian king and people both- all this at a time when
most Greek would happily sell themselves out as mercenaries to the highest bidder.
Lastly, Persian soldiers-to-be were trained to always speak the truth,
a fact that even their bitter enemies- the Greeks- made note of and approved of.
Being an Immortal was not just difficult and dangerous, as they would often go into
the most dangerous of battles, but it was also very profitable. Immortals received a pension
upon retirement as thanks for their service- along with other Persian military personnel-
but also would accrue great wealth during their service. They would often adorn themselves with
gold jewelry and gold embellishments, and were followed to most battles by baggage trains made
up of wagons full of concubines, slaves to serve them, and many of their own provisions
to supplement whatever the rest of the army got. This of course was all fitting reward
for some of the best trained, most pious, and most honorable of Persian soldiers.
Immortal equipment varied through the ages, with breastplates of bronze until
the widespread adoption of iron. Then, an Immortal would be clad in a bright,
colorful tunic with an iron breastplate that rather resembled fish scales.
Unlike the Greek who wore man-skirts to battle, the Immortals were clad in proper
pants under their long tunics. Each Immortal was trained to use not just the sword and spear,
but also the bow, and thus would carry arrows with them in a quiver on their back.
Under late Persian rule during the Sassanian Empire in the second century CE,
the Immortals became a cavalry unit, and were clad from shin to head in iron armor.
Thick plates covered their legs and arms, joining to an iron breastplate and an iron mask that slid
into place under an iron helmet. According to Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus,
the only vulnerable spot on an Immortal was the two eye holes in his metal mask through which
he could see through, and the tip of the nose that they breathed through. He also commented
that if the men stood absolutely still they could easily have been mistaken for statues.
During a time that so much iron cost a princely sum to excavate,
forge, and then hammer into weapons and armor,
each Immortal represented a heavy investment by their sovereign. Far more often than not though,
the Immortals proved themselves worth every penny, securing victory after victory.
The Immortals however had a rocky start early in their history.
After being used to claim large swathes of what would become the Persian empire,
the Immortals joined the forces of Darius I in his invasion of Greece in the 5th century BCE.
The Persians famously were defeated at the battle of Marathon, of which historians believe
the Immortals did take part in. However, the Immortal's most famous defeat was at the hands
of Spartan general Leonidas I and his small alliance of several thousand Greek soldiers.
Despite vastly outnumbering the Greek defenders, Leonidas had positioned his
forces at the pass in Thermopylae, where the path narrowed with cliffs on one side and
mountain slope on the other. This completely negated the Persian numerical advantage,
as they could only send limited numbers at a time. This also allowed Leonidas
to rotate out his wounded or exhausted troops with fresh ones from the rear.
Greek Historian Herodotus recorded the battle and the role the Immortals played. He described
how Persian forces were withdrawn after several attempts to break the Greek line, badly mauled
by each try. Running out of patience, Xerxes I called for his elite shock troops, the Immortals,
and sent them against the Greek defenders. All expected that the Immortals, legendary
and feared throughout Persia, would make short work of the few Greek defenders, but upon meeting
Leonidas and his Greek coalition, the Immortals suffered just as badly as others had before them.
The Immortals fared so poorly at Thermopylae and other early battles against the Greek because of
the superior equipment of Greek forces. Their bronze and leather cuirasses and shields were
far more durable than those of the Persians, who were still using light armor and wicker shields,
meant for fast moving battles against similarly armed foes in Asia. The Greeks also had superior
spears with much longer reach, and their formidable shields interlocked into the
famous phalanx formations that made them living tanks. Because they had never faced
such well equipped foes before, the Immortals had never needed to upgrade their equipment.
The Immortals would withdraw from Greece for the time being, though
no major upgrades would be made to their equipment. This would cost them dearly
when faced with the invading armies of Alexander the Great, who's superior
military tactics and better equipped troops once more defeated the Immortals. However,
Alexander was so impressed with their ferocity in combat and discipline, that upon conquering the
Persians instead of disbanding the Immortals, he retained them as an elite military force.
The Immortals would be brought back to glory during the time of the Sassanian Empire, beginning
in the second century CE. Major upgrades to their equipment saw them equipped with full-body iron
plates and helmets, as well as long lances, battle axes, swords, and bows. Turned into a cavalry
force, the Immortals became true shock troops, used to attack along an enemy's flanks or conduct
charges straight through the heart of an enemy formation. In either case the goal was the same-
penetrate the enemy as deeply as possible so as to make an opening for infantry forces to exploit.
The new Immortals were so successful that they were feared by the Romans,
who suffered numerous defeats at the hands of Persian Immortals. They are largely credited with
helping keep Rome's legions out of Sassanian territory and checking the eastward spread
of the great Roman empire. Thanks to their battle prowess and loyalty to the throne,
the Immortals helped ensure the stability of the Sassanian empire for nearly four centuries.
Sadly though, the Immortals would meet their match against an ironically much lighter-armed foe-
the horse and camel archers of the Muslim Arabs who would go on to conquer the Sassanian Empire.
While Immortals by this time were heavily armored and well equipped,
the much more maneuverable and agile forces of the Muslim invaders easily outfought the
encumbered Immortals, specially in rough terrain.
The Immortals would have one last gasp of life though when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran
created an all-volunteer force known as the Javidan Guard. He declared this elite
unit of palace guards his “Immortals” in an attempt to connect them with the legendary
fighting men of Iran's past. Sadly, they would be disbanded shortly after the Shah
was ousted by the Iranian revolution in 1979, and the only battle they would ever see was
against their own people as they clashed against civilians and military defectors
fighting on the side of the revolutionaries. Now find out about the Immortal’s most famous foes
with Most Hardcore Soldier: Spartan, or check out this other video instead!