Armor versus archery

[daryush]

How did the Parthian archers differ from the Mongol archers that devastated Asia and eastern Europe? The Mongols had to deal with more modern plate and chain mail armor.

Thanks,

Jor

I'm not sure whether the Parthians at Carrhae were using the more modern "Hunnish" bow or the old "Scythian" bow. The last century BC through to the first two or so centuries AD may represent the transition era when Scythian bows were gradually replaced by Hunnish bows.

The most common type of bow in use by the conquest-era Mongols were symmetrical Hunnish bows (with curved and laminated siyahs). Some warriors must have used the slightly newer Turkic bows (with V-spliced siyahs) that started to appear in the 10th or 11th Century. The V-spliced construction is has much simpler joinery. A laminated siyah allows for a greater siyah angle and more energy storage.

During the late 1200s, features such as semi-flexible kasans, short recurved tips, and string bridges started to appear (features of Ottoman Turkish, Crimean-Tatar, Ming, and Korean bows). All of these bows have V-spliced rather than laminated siyahs.

I suppose the major difference would be the use of stirrups.