men raised from the tributary nations, and to command the armies
of the country, entered one or other of these bodies. The cavalry
was the arm chosen by the richer classes. It was seldom that it
numbered more than a thousand strong. The splendour of their armour
and appointments, the beauty of their horses, the richness of
the garments of the cavaliers, and the trappings of their steeds,
caused this body to be the admiration and envy of Carthage. Every man
in it was a member of one of the upper ranks of the aristocracy;
all were nearly related to members of the senate, and it was considered
the highest honour that a young Carthaginian could receive to be
admitted into it.

Each man wore on his wrist a gold band for each campaign which he
had undertaken. There was no attempt at uniformity as to their
appointments. Their helmets and shields were of gold or silver,
surmounted with plumes or feathers, or with tufts of white horsehair.
Their breastplates were adorned with arabesques or repousse work
of the highest art. Their belts were covered with gold and studded
with gems. Their short kilted skirts were of rich Tyrian purple
embroidered with gold.

The infantry were composed of men of good but less exalted families.
They wore a red tunic without a belt. They carried a great circular
buckler of more than a yard in diameter, formed of the tough hide of
the river horse, brought down from the upper Nile, with a central
boss of metal with a point projecting nearly a foot in front
of the shield, enabling it to be used as an offensive weapon in a
close fight. They carried short heavy swords similar to those of
the Romans, and went barefooted. Their total strength seldom exceeded
two thousand.