Secondly, the Ethiopian army was based on a feudal system of organization, and as a result, nearly the entire army was a peasant militia.
In reply, the peasant militia cut off the water supply to Barcelona.
A large peasant militia calling itself the "Army of the Land" and numbering approximately 8,000 marched on Barcelona again, as they had a year earlier.
On 26 January Mortier's army defeated a peasant militia of some 4-5,000 men at Alcañiz.
He was asked to lead a peasant militia during the Crimean War but declined on account of poor health.
Secondly, the Ethiopian army's feudal organization meant that nearly the entire force was composed of peasant militia.
Farmers were also encouraged to join peasant militias to act as supporting units to the official standing army.
"I think," he said carefully, "you would do better to restore the peasant militias you once had than to spend your coin on foreign troops."
In several states radical governors armed peasant militias.
Soon after coming to power, David created the regular army and peasant militia in order to be able to resist Seljuq colonization of his country.