02-28-2013, 08:16 AM
Thanks for replying Eduard. I have no knowledge of horsemanship so I am only guessing that carrying around a 3.5 metre to 4 metre kontus on horseback would be very tiring as unlike the sarissas of Macedon they didn't have counter balance spikes on the other end, especially with an iron head. I suppose the wealthier Sarmatians who could afford all the better quality armour and weapons had grooms or pages but I still think that they would be carried to their destination in wagons or carts as the Sarmatians were nomadic. Maybe the archers kept the enemy busy with arrows until the wagons arrived with the heavier weapons. But being made of fir which I think is a softwood maybe they broke easily and after a while the horsemen dropped their kontuses or kontii (to be retrieved later on)and then got into some close order fighting with swords, arkinakes and that terrible weapon which Alanus mentioned the sagaris. If you haven't already read it, earlier in this thread I put up a link to an article about "Sarmatian riding posture" with the Kontus which is pretty interesting reading.
Regards
Michael
Kerr
Michael
Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"