Military History | Rise of Rome
Spanish Painting Guide

Updated 17 Mar 2009

This covers the Iberians (inc Balearic), Celtiberian and Lusitani. Check out my Field of Glory Ancient Spanish Army for more photos.

Item	Description
Tunic	White base with scarlet* decoration (national dress for all Spanish). For decorations see illustrations; minimum =strip around collar, cuffs, hem. A few of the rich Iberians (like Generals) in red tunics with white trim Celtiberians and Lusitani: I aimed for at most 1 in 12 tunics being black; rest are the normal white with red trim. * Polybius says Purple, but there are two problems with this: 1. Dye was expensive and purple dye was the most expensive, for example, only Roman Consuls wore purple. 2. Purple dye was expensive because it was hard to get; the only source I know of was in Palestine. There was no source in Spain. It is much more likely that the predominant colour was red given Spain was a major exporter of this colour. I fairly arbitrarily choose scarlet as the tone to use. I believe the Osprey Armies of the Carthaginian Wars specifies crimson instead of purple although i can't confirm this as I don't have the book.
Shield	Shield Face: Bright and patterned. Lots of variety. See illustrations for patterns. Edge of oval shield + boss: Iron Note: Celtiberians/Lusitani would use both Iberian and Gallic shield patterns. Possibly evenly distributed.
Helmet	Bowl if sinew (common): White* <== important Bowl if metal: Bronze Crest: Red, black, or white * My sinew helmets are white 'cause that is what I thought they would have been at the time I painted them army, but people in general paint them anywhere from off-white to light brown.
Body Armour	Mail: Iron Scale: Iron or Bronze one or more, square or round plates: Bronze including shoulder straps
Greaves (leg guard)	Bronze
Hair (their own)	Black or dark brown
Belt	Base material: Leather Fittings including plaques: Bronze, gold or silver
Sandals/boots + straps	Base material: Leather Fittings: Bronze
Sword and dagger	Handle: Ivory or wood or iron Scabbard: Wood or leather with bronze fittings, or entirely iron Blade: Steel; a few Lusitani with Bronze
Javelin, pilum, spear	Haft: Wood Shaft + Blade: Steel; a few Lusitani with Bronze
Standard	Emblem: Silver or bronze Haft: Wood
Instruments	Bronze or baked clay
Cloak	Note: Rich (officers, cavalry) are more likely to vary Black is common, plus a few with: Iberian : scarlet Celtiberian/Lustitani: About 1 in 3 is Gallic pattern (stripes or checks)