More Cretan toxotai in history than the island's population could've ever supported. English (style?) longbowmen recruited from Poland?
this is a really interesting tidbit. how were the headcounts done in the first place? is there archaeological evidence for those numbers or is it from written materials? conceivably they were just lying or exaggerating in writing.
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Historians reported headcounts. The generals knew how many head they were paying for, we're talking about mercenary armies primarily here. >just lying or exaggerating in writing Maybe? Toxotai were valued but they would report even 200 head which is not brag-worthy.
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Remember there was an incentive to under-count your own men and over-report the enemy so your battles looked better for the general. We're not talking about large empires bragging about their massive armies like Persia. Mercenary bands.
End of conversation
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