RomanArmyTalk

Salvete omnes,
can someone help me finding out about Parthian cavalry archers´ secondary weapons of the 1st centuries BC/AD?
I´m not interested in the heavy cavalry: I just need to understand if the horse archers had anything besides the bow to attack/defend.
That I know, there are no representations of archers´ swords found (so far?) but to me it seems plausible to have another weapon of choice in case of contingency. Moreover, in the battle in which Ventidius Bassus destroys the horse archers first and then the renegade infantry from Quintus Labienus, the horse archers (and the cataphractii) are led into a suicidal attack uphill: would they have attacked/charged with bow only?
As for the type, I think that probably a longsword or a sabre would be too big/clumsy to bring with them in battle, so I am more propense to think about something like an Akinakes. Problem with the Akinakes is: that I know, there are only 2 findings which are dated to the period of interest and one of them is in bronze, thus causing me problems with accepting the attested period.
Is there anyone who can help me?

Hello,

I don't think it will be possible to associate any finds of Parthian swords directly to archers. But there are some published Parthian swords:

Karamian, G. - Farrokh, K.: A unique Parthian sword in the Bonyad-e Mostazafan Museum, Historia i świat 8, 2019, p. 211-214.

Farrokh, K. - Karamian, G. - Delfan, M. - Astaraki, F.: Preliminary reports of the late Parthian or early Sassanian relief at Panj-e Ali, the parthian relief at Andika and examinations of late Parthian swords and daggers, Historia i świat 5, 2016, p. 31-55.

Karamian, G. - Farrokh, K. - Kiapi, M. F. - Lojandi, H. N.: Graves, Crypts and Parthian Weapons excavated from the Gravesites of Vestemin, Historia i świat 7, 2018, p. 35-70.

Hopefully it will help you a little.

Kind regards,
Alexandr

Hello again,

Also check this plaque of a Parthian archer from the British Museum. The "thing" on the quiver looks a little like a sword. And according to the description there is a "four-lobed sword on his right thigh", but well, it is quite badly visible.

Greetings,
Alexandr

(07-03-2020, 05:23 PM)Alexandr K Wrote: [ -> ]Hello again,

Also check this plaque of a Parthian archer from the British Museum. The "thing" on the quiver looks a little like a sword. And according to the description there is a "four-lobed sword on his right thigh", but well, it is quite badly visible.

Greetings,
Alexandr

That´s great help Alexandr, many thanks. All documents you posted I already read but actually the plaque´s comment shows what I had under my eyes and never saw... He has indeed a sword/dagger stripped directly to the right thigh.
Curiously the length of this sword is more or less equal to the one in the quiver (which still I tend to see as a dagger and not as a bundle of harrows).
Moreover... the archer seems to have a third sword: I seem to recognize the handle on his left side... but I may be wrong.
As for the Akinakes, the 3 daggers shown in your third link are quite different in design with respect to the akinakes so I may then tend to consider this las sword as pre-iron age.
Many thanks

And the more I look at the quiver, the more it seems strange. There are 3 sections: could it be containing a mace on the left section, a dagger (or maybe really a bundle of arrows) in the central one and maybe an unstrung bow in the right one?