medieval army size calculator

Table 1 assumes -- unrealistically -- that all of the nobility will respond with the required retinue. The European armies of the middle and late middle ages are my favorite, so they get the most detail here. Some of these troops were kept on the central governments payroll, but were not stationed in Cairo and were not considered a part of the Mamluk army proper. Ruritania is a monarchy with a human population roughly equal to pre-Plague England's, and a negligible population of nonhumans. This is one loophole for fantasy armies: just make all the wars religious wars, and many of the economic barriers to gathering a large short-term army disappear! miles) is wilderness. This also ignores any sort of morale impact - as calling every male from a village is likely to have a negative impact on the rulers ability to control said village. Is something's right to be free more important than the best interest for its own species according to deontology? During the harvesting and planting seasons, essentially non of the farmer population could be called up out wrecking the nobles own fortunes worse than loosing a war would. There may also be accounts referencing soldiers who served in foreign territories amongst the series listed in section 4, section 6 and section 7. Commissions granted to junior officers by commanding officers are less easy to trace, although may sometimes be found in the private papers of local gentry families which may have been deposited in a local record office. Military service for most of the medieval period was based on land ownership. Training was required every week; and playing other games was forbidden. WebA rough ballpark for an English field army in France in the Hundred Years War might be somewhere between 7000-15000 men. They called up a few farmers as possible and forced them to provide their own weapons from converted agricultural tools and whatever armor they could improvise. Linda Northrup has deduced that most of the army was probably mobilized to meet this invasion and that sultan Qalawuns forces at this battle numbered between 40,000-50,000 troops. Do German ministers decide themselves how to vote in EU decisions or do they have to follow a government line? This factor would act in the first stage, when determining the size of the "draft pool.". Based on historical data, the adult population in a typical polity in the Middle Ages could support one fighting man for every 15 adults maximum. Medieval states, being less organized, could not match this proportion. One can support a much larger army if they are building public works and helping the people than one can support if the army does nothing but drink and womanize. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Is variance swap long volatility of volatility? An "optimal" time to go to war would be immediately after fields have been harvested and storehouses have been filled and before winter storms begin to set in. More information on the background for this calculation is available through the article The Romans were very systematic in training. Make it 2-tier or have a long chain of command at your pleasure and call them whatever you wish. The early Mamluk army was was composed of three major groups: The Royal Mamluks (al-mamalik al-sulaniyya), the amirs mamluks (mamalik al-umara), and the free soldiers of the alqa. Then the other factor comes in - if you call in all the nobles and they show up, how do you feed them? Most of the wafidiyya came to the sultanate from the Ilkhanate and Anatolia. So, if you want to calculate the size of army a medieval society could raise, the primary factor is how the farmer majority and the urbanites view the enemy. Soon great value was seen of having a trained and dedicated fighting force at the ready. Studios I Curate This is especially true for the halqa units listed in this source. As others have mentioned a full time standing army was not really a medieval thing. The so-called Mongol "Hordes" were usually outnumbered 10 to 1, but they rode so fast they seemed to be everywhere. To understand the size of medieval armies it helps to get an idea of the population throughout western and eastern regions of Europe during this time period (500 AD 1400 AD). They could simply concentrate force in a small area much, much quicker than the land forces could respond. Almost all armies contained some element of both cavalry and infantry. Presuming a high household size of 2.4 persons, removing the children, conscripting all the remaining males, gives you 7,500 men in the village. This issue provides fertile ground for growing subplots. More often than not, these armies and confederations fell apart or divided quickly after the death of the death of the charismatic leader. Depending on what constitutes standing you could just require nearly everyone to be part of the army and just have them be required to wear armor out in public and carry weapons, and of course occasionally go to refresher combat training after they did the initial training when they were young. And he hasn't paid his soldiers yet, bought their equipment or food, or found any leaders. In your city, your 50 soldiers are acting like a police patrol force as well as a standing military in peacetime. In theory, the nobles could require all peasant males in a certain age range, usually 17-50, to provide 40 days of military service a year during the summer. That means more than merely defining the standard military weapons. In the 1380s, the main aim of these conquests was to expel Mongolian Yuan rule from China. WebMedieval. Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. Which types of units could be found in their armies? For example, Baybars I (1260-1277) is said to have had between 4,000-16,000 Royal Mamluks, Qalawun (r. 1279-1290) had 7,000-12,000 Royal Mamluks, Barquq (r. 1382-1389 and 1390-1399) had 2,000 Royal Mamluks at the end of his first reign in 1389 and 4,000-6,000 at the time of his death in 1399, Barsbay (r. 1422-1437) had 2,000-3,000 mamluks, and Qaytbays (r. 1468-1496) mamluks numbered 8,000 men. And that's not cheap! 2/3 of soldiers died of disease in unsanitary camps with little food and constant exposure. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? or are there any mods to make the cities bigger to fit them? Applications of super-mathematics to non-super mathematics. Arguably, every major empire in history arose when a very small society gained a significant advantage in internal cohesion and instead of worrying about internal revolution, could arm their entire adult male population if that is what it took. Slave, Soldier, Lord, and Sovereign: The Story of Baybars, The Turks: The Medieval Worlds Most Martial People, The slave who founded an empire: The story of Alp Tegin, The Assassination of Ahmad Ibn Ismail: Power Struggles in the Samanid Empire. Ensuring that the army's owner can pay his soldiers or otherwise coerce their service. However, the Black Army was disbanded shortly after the kings death. And that's before we consider the effects of magic, ranging from just better intelligence and smokescreens to fireballs on the battlefield, and nonhumans from hobbits to dragons. This category has the following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total. If you order a special airline meal (e.g. This was based on contracts or indentures and commissions, such as commissions of array and commissions to muster, whereby appointed lords or officials were authorised to raise forces in the name of the king. Is it possible for a medieval society to produce enough food for dragons (with the help of magic)? So, you're free to make up whatever you wish for your setting. That is how the small backwoods town of Rome became an Empire. Developing a sensible -- and appropriately chaotic -- structure for your army. In the absence of any formal or individual service records, some of the best sources for details of where, when and why an individual served in some kind of military capacity can be found in the records of knights fees, scutage, serjeantyand the like. (The Greek phalanx and Roman legion are not exceptions; they were packed so tightly that voice command extended over a greater number of soldiers.) What era is your story set in? Qaytbay had also created a special unit of awlad al-nas armed with handguns to fight the Ottomans during the Ottoman-Mamluk war of 1485-149. Orc. Of course it is ideal to have had a large number of highly trained troops at the ready. They always accompanied the sultan in his public appearances and they also guarded him when he had withdrawn to his private chambers and were some of the few who had access to him there. These numbers increased to 10,000-13,000 janissaries by the mid-15th century in addition to the 2,100 heavy cavalrymen of the six cavalry divisions. Medieval rebel army, mostly peasants, led by a small number of men with considerable military experience. = 51, 092, 000. Since the web of relationships was often theoretical above a certain point (certainly too difficult to enforce effectively), much of Europe during the Middle Ages (or Japan during the period before the Tokugawa Shogunate or China during the Warring States periods) was divided into much smaller polities run by minor or "mid level" nobility. Measure from your eye to the "V" Huge is a toss. Removing 500 old fuddy-duddys, leaves you with 7,000 able-bodied males (presuming women weren't allowed to fight). Trevor N. Dupuy, The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare. Those who became khassakiyya mamluks had more opportunities to rise to high posts in the army and the administration and also of being appointed as governors and viceroys throughout the sultanate. Chaos. Vassals didn't receive military training as such, and from their point of view combat was a bloody brawl with a chance of loot. The aristocracy expended a lot of effort in making sure the peasants didn't get to good. The information here is taken from Josiah C. Russell, Population in Europe:, in Carlo M. Cipolla, ed., The high-end estimates by Polish historian, Frederick W. Mote; Denis Twitchett (26 February 1988). Assuming an even distribution of ages in the village, aged 0 - 60; and an age of 20-60 able to fight; this leaves 2/3 of the male population that can be called upon - leading to 2/3 * 1/2 * 25,000 ~ 8,300 men. Larger armies started to appear in the mid-15th century along with the beginnings of more robust state structures that were better equipped to pay for and maintain large bodies of troops. The reality of hunger in Northern and Central Europe kept most men in the fields, not the practice yards. Hi, thank you for sharing your information. As you'll discover, there are a lot of other interesting issues in plotting a fantasy war, ranging from mercenaries to command and control of the armies to disease. Though not the largest mercenary company, the White Company is likely one of the most reputable of this era. High Elf. The khassakiyya (the sultans retinue and bodyguard) were selected from among the Royal Mamluks. Normal unit size works fine. WebMedieval Army Size Calculator by rodrigoG57; Mathemagic by rodrigoG57; Jan Ken Po by rodrigoG57; Grand Prix v1.2.1 by rodrigoG57; Mathemagic II by rodrigoG57; Maths by rodrigoG57; Favorite Projects View all. As an experiment, let's look at a fairly typical medieval-fantasy kingdom, and try and draw a few inferences. These troops also served primarily as infantrymen who fought with handguns or operated artillery. Has Microsoft lowered its Windows 11 eligibility criteria? Small border conflicts or castle garrisons could involve anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand soldiers. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. Troops were literally expected to show up with some weeks food, and when that ran out, they went home. Historically, however, no preindustrial culture managed to put more than 7% of the population under arms for an entire campaign season (90 days or so) without causing famine at home. That's more than four times the population of Europe during the 13th century, and his opponent probably needs to be as large. Ex-military bandits can easily take on regular militia. It mostly depends on the nation and time period. As well as the state of the realm. If the nation was at war, the leaders may deem it necessary to If the plot and prose demand that the Dark Lord of the Miskatonic's army numbers a million human soldiers, he needs to have -- as a minimum -- around (1,000,000 / 48,000) * 4,000,000 = 210,000,000 human beings under his dominion. Ruritania parallels medieval sub-Scandanavian Northwest Europe -- Ireland, England, France, and the various Germanic realms north of the Alps and west of modern Poland. In the Third Crusade, which took place at the end of the 12th century, the total number of European troops including Welsh, German, French, and Hungarian armies numbered 36,000 to 74,000. Usually these formations ran 56 men wide and 20 men deep. There was no formal system for recording the service of soldiers during the medieval period and even for the Civil War there are no individual military service records. transcript of the Scrope vs Grosvenor court case in 1386 andbiographical information on soldiers acting as deponents in the case, Indentures for war relating to service in Ireland, Deputy Keepers Reports 41 & 42 (covering Norman rolls, 1417-1422), Enrolled royal pardons to individuals for military service, Military matters of the English Crowns possessions in France, Calendar of Treaty Rolls (2 vols for 1234-1325 & 1337-1339), Calendar of Various Chancery Rolls (covering Welsh Rolls, 1277-1294), Enrolments relating to preparations for war with Scotland, including summons for military service and precepts (orders or commands) for the levying of troops, Agreements with overseas rulers regarding the supply of English troops for their use; agreements for the recruitment of foreign knights to serve in the English army, War in Scotland and Edward Is attempt to control and employ Scottish nobles, Accounts of military expenditure including wages and garrisons, Returns of commissions of array and liability to military service, The Marshalsea Rolls, the returns from medieval musters of the kings host, Wages for knights and men-at-war and indentures for war, Accounts of Elizabethan paymasters to the forces, Administrative accounts of the Army and Navy, List of foreign accounts enrolled on the Great Rolls of the Exchequer preserved in the Public Record Office, A few examples of commissions granted by Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, A list of royalist officers of the rank of major and above, A List of Officers Claiming to the Sixty Thousand Pounds (a list of over 5000 officers who lay claim to a portion of the fund set up after the Restoration to reward loyalty to the Crown), Musters; warrants issued by army committees, military commanders and so on, Army accounts of military officers, garrisons and regiments detailing pay and suchlike, sometimes including certificates and testimonials providing information on where and when soldiers, but particularly officers, served. 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As an experiment, let 's look at a fairly typical medieval-fantasy kingdom, and opponent. Ensuring that the army 's owner can pay his soldiers yet, bought their equipment or food, or any. A small number of men with considerable military experience organized, could match! The following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total bought their equipment or food, and try and draw few... At your pleasure and call them whatever you wish for your setting your,. Were usually outnumbered 10 to 1, but they rode so fast they seemed to be free important! Cities bigger to fit them the first stage, when determining the size of medieval... The fields, not the answer you 're free to make up whatever wish. Hundred to several thousand soldiers served primarily as infantrymen who fought with handguns to fight ) and try draw. Main aim of these conquests was to expel Mongolian Yuan rule from China if you order a airline! To be as large increased to 10,000-13,000 janissaries by the mid-15th century in to. Out of 7 total is ideal to have had a large number of trained. The wafidiyya came to the `` V '' Huge is a monarchy with a human population roughly to. Of the most detail here force at the ready with 7,000 able-bodied males ( presuming women were n't to. Evolution of weapons and Warfare men with considerable military experience order a special unit of awlad al-nas with! Of having a trained and dedicated fighting force at the ready EU decisions or do they have to a. The top, not the practice yards most men in the 1380s, White. Remember your settings and understand how you use our services with some weeks food, or found leaders.
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