Peltast
Type of ancient Greek light infantry / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Pelta" redirects here. For the suffix "-pelta", see List of commonly used taxonomic affixes. For Peltæ, see Peltae.
A peltast (Greek: πελταστής, peltastes) was a type of light infantry originating in Thrace and Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried.[1] Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, while Xenophon in the Anabasis distinguishes the Thracian and Greek peltast troops.[2]
The peltast often served as a skirmisher in Hellenistic armies. In the Middle Ages, the same term was used for a type of Byzantine infantryman.