SAGA: Ages of Ages

Historical Notes

The Mamertines caused the fall of Carthage.  A big claim perhaps but their role was pivotal in instigating the first of the Punic Wars, conflicts which ultimately led to the destruction of Carthage.
The Mamertines were Campanian mercenaries hired by Agathocles, Tyrant of Syracuse to help fight the 7th Sicilian War which pitted the Greek colony cities of Western Sicily against the expanding empire of Carthage in the east.  Their name derives from Mamers, the Oscan name for the war god the Romans called Mars.  The war ended in 307BCE in Carthaginian victory and the strategic city of Messina was ceded to Carthage.  After the war the Syracusans attempted to expel the Mamertines from Sicily but rather than leave, in 288BCE, they seized the city of Messina.  From this base they became troublesome brigands, eventually coming to the attention of Syracuse again.  Meanwhile the Syracusans had once again began fighting the Carthaginians in Sicily, under pressure they eventually invited Pyrrhus to help. The Mamertines allied with Carthage to try to prevent his landing – the city of Messina controls one side of the shortest crossing from Italy.  He landed in Sicily, campaigned successfully and drove the Carthaginians back.  The Syracusans put Messina under siege after their Carthaginian allies were defeated.  The Mamertines this time appealed for help from Rome, a fellow enemy of Pyrrhus.  Their appearance in Sicily eventually brought them into conflict with Carthage.

Research

There isn’t a great deal to go on here.  Their cousins the Samnites have left some tomb frescos that provide a good impression of their warriors but there is little from Campania other than painted pottery and this often shows warriors kitted out in hoplite panoply.

An interesting side note is the style of chiton (tunic) that the Oscans favoured.  The Greek style is usually mid thigh, sometimes worn off one shoulder.  The Oscan version is incredibly short and barely covers either genitals or buttocks.  They are also gathered above the point of the hips, under the broad metal belt that was an important signifier of manhood in Oscan society.  This style is shown here:

Miniatures

Disappointingly there aren’t any 28mm ranges that accurately reflect Oscan warriors.  The common error is to give them the Greek/Roman fashion of chiton – straight across at the bottom at mid-thigh length.  This is easy to understand given the lack of readily available sources but a little research would reveal the error.  The Oscan range for Crusader, Victrix Samnites and Aventine Samnites all suffer from this problem.  There aren’t any suitable options.  All I could find were the Samnite Characters for Clash of Spears which at least allude to the correct style.  There are some accurate ones that Agema had sculpted before selling the historicals to Footsore.  They have never appeared but I’ve messaged him to find out where they went.  Pictures were hard to find (October 2021 in Agema’s Facebook):

List build

The Syracusans are covered by the Graeculi list in Age of Hannibal.  There is no list specifically for Mamertines, there is one for Italiotes but this is javelin focussed and probably best suited to hill tribes like the Samnites.  On the plains of Campania the preference seems to have been for heavier infantry with hoplite gear.  Assuming a few local adaptations over the years for our Mamertines we will work with the Syracusan Graeculi list.  I’m basing it around a core of Mamertine hoplites with Campanian cavalry representing the most successful mercenaries.  I reasoned that they would have the pick of mercenary bands entering Sicily as they were based in the nearest port to Italy.  The list therefore includes both Greek hoplites and Samnite warriors from the mercenary lists.  Finally I’ve got some psiloi, representing either local levy or some ne’er-do-wells attracted to the Mamertines in the hopes of easy loot.  The Greek hoplites are expensive so for my standard force of 6 points there are two options:

Core list:

Mamertine (Syracusan) Warlord Mounted, Tyrant  – 0pts, 1 dice
2x 4 Mamertine Campanian hoplite Hearthguards in a unit of 8, Phalanx – 2pts, 1 dice
8 Samnite Mercenary Warriors – 1pt, 1 dice
12 Levy javelinmen – 1pt 1 dice

Then, either;

8 Mamertine mounted Warriors – 1pt, 1 dice
8 Mamertine warriors on foot – 1pt, 1 dice

or;

8 Greek Mercenary hoplites (8 Hearthguards, phalanx) – 2 pts, 1 dice

So there is a maxed out mercenaries force with 50% of the points coming from mercs but with only 5 Saga dice.  The other version has the benefits of a cavalry unit and an extra Saga dice for a total of 6.