These infantry are disciplined and solid swordsmen well able to bring armoured spears to account. Their best use is against spear armed infantry.

Hardy

These men, seemingly 'armed in the Roman fashion' to the eyes of Roman witnesses, are highly regarded by all those they face in battle. These troopers are skilled swordsmen or Sooseramartik (soo-seh-ra-mar-teek) as the Armenians call them, who specialize in the frontal assault against spear and pike formations, so common to the ancient world. They use the distinctive bronze-faced oval thureos shield introduced by the Galatians following their invasion of Anatolia many years ago and are well armed with sword and javelin and wear iron scale corselets. Protected with their shields, they would throw their heavy javelins, before advancing to contact. These armoured guardsmen are well motivated and highly disciplined.

Historically, Mardig swordsmen were drawn from those of the Azat lesser nobility unable or disinclined to go to war mounted. The equipment they used and their battlefield tactics, though quite likely evolved without any major Roman influence, appeared to Roman observers similar to their own practices and they recorded it so. In modern times, these comments would give rise to the largely misguided notion of “imitation legionnaires”.