Lastly, the cavalry in Alexander’s army was also admirable—at least equal, and seemingly even superior in efficiency, to his best infantry.[135] I have already mentioned that cavalry was the choice native force of Macedonia, long before the reign of Philip; by whom it had been extended and improved.[136] The heavy cavalry, wholly or chiefly composed of native Macedonians, was known by the denomination of the Companions. There was besides a new and lighter variety of cavalry, apparently introduced by Philip, and called the Sarissophori, or Lancers, used like Cossacks for advanced posts or scouring the country. The sarissa which they carried was probably much shorter than that of the phalanx; but it was long, if compared with the xyston or thrusting pike used by the heavy cavalry for the shock of close combat. Arrian, in describing the army of Alexander at Arbêla, enumerates eight distinct squadrons of this heavy cavalry—or cavalry of the Companions; but the total number included in the Macedonian army at Alexander’s accession, is not known. Among the squadrons, several at least (if not all) were named after particular towns or districts of the country—Bottiæa, Amphipolis, Apollonia, Anthemus, etc.;[137] there was one or more, distinguished as the Royal Squadron—the Agêma or leading body of cavalry—at the head of which Alexander generally charged, himself among the foremost of the actual combatants.[138] [135] See Arrian, v. 14, 1; v. 16, 4; Curtius, vi. 9, 22. “Equitatui, optimæ exercitûs parti”, etc. [136] We are told that Philip, after his expedition against the Scythians about three years before his death, exacted and sent into Macedonia 20,000 chosen mares, in order to improve the breed of Macedonian horses. The regal haras were in the neighborhood of Pella (Justin, ix. 2; Strabo, xvi. p. 752, in which passage of Strabo, _the details_ apply to the _haras_ of Seleukus Nikator at Apameia, not to that of Philip at Pella). [137] Arrian, i. 2, 8, 9 (where we also find mentioned τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἄνωθεν Μακεδονίας ἱππέας), i. 12, 12; ii. 9, 6; iii. 11, 12. About the ἱππεῖς σαρισσόφοροι, see i. 13, 1. It is possible that there may have been sixteen squadrons of heavy cavalry, and eight squadrons of the Sarissophori,—each squadron from 180 to 250 men—as Rüstow and Köchly conceive (p. 243). But there is no sufficient evidence to prove it; nor can I think it safe to assume, as they do, that Alexander carried over with him to Asia _just half_ of the Macedonian entire force. [138] Arrian, iii. 11, 11; iii. 13, 1; iii. 18, 8. In the first of these passages, we have ἴλαι βασιλικαὶ in the plural (iii. 11, 12). It seems too that the different ἴλαι alternated with each other in the foremost position, or ἡγεμονία for particular days (Arrian, i. 14, 9).