Hypaspist

Hypaspistai, or hypaspists (shieldbearers), were elite foot guardsmen as used by Alexander the Great's Macedonian army. They often fought on the right of the Foot Companions; the right was the position of honor in most Greek armies.

After the death of Alexander the Great, control of most of his elite infantry and cavalry fell to the Macedonian, Antigonid, and Selecuid Empies, forcing the Ptolemaics to remake their own. Many of the orginal hypaspistai were wiped out in the first days after Alexander's death, during the bitter struggles that soon ensued. The last of Alexanders Hypaspistai participated in the Battle of Gabiene where they crushed the opposing center and causing 5,000 casualties while suffering virtually none of their own. They did not win the battle, however, and after they switched sides they were sent to Arachosia where the local satrap had them disposed off. But in both in Macedonia and the East, they were soon reformed due to the need for heavy, mobile infantry to protect the flanks. Often refitted between and before battles, they can fight in any combat situation, from assaulting mountain fortresses in Baktria, to defending the flank of the phalanx, to chasing down skirmishers.

Unlike the Hetairoi Heavy Cavalry, Chalkaspidai, and other elites, the hypaspistai were not formed from the noble class. Instead, they were drawn from the entire kingdom, any citizen with enough skill could join their ranks.