Archery in Classical Warfare

[Aryaman2]

Don´t forget that a crossbowman could be heavy infantry as well, the typical infantryman of the XV century before the advent of pikemen was an armoured (usually brigandine or a combination of mail and plate) infantryman armed with crossbow, sword, bucklers and some kind of halberd. The same happened in ancient times, a phalangite could be quickly reconverted in a skirmishers by dropping his sarissa and taking a couple of javelins. In all I think that missile weapons in the west didn´t substancially change in his role until late XVI century at least. OTOH I agree with you that in Eastern cultures the Horse archer is the leading figure in the battlefield until XVIII century.