06-16-2014, 08:32 PM
Hi Alan,
Well, as you may realise from all my previous posts, I've never thought and told that it was impossible for Parthian arrows to pierce Roman shields and armour. My problem is only that from the accounts of Plutarch and Dio and also from the articles/books of many modern historians and from many posts of military enthusiasts on the internet it seems, that it was quite normal that Parthian arrows regularly or even often penetrated them and killed/wounded the men behind them and that this was one of the main reason, why the Romans lost. This is what I do not believe and what I tried to argue is not true, and this is why I wrote that Plutarch's and Dios reports are exaggerated in this respect. That's all. So, if you ask me whether a Parthian arrow could have pierced Roman chain-mail and incapacitate the wearer, I say yes, sometimes under favourable circumstances from a short distance, yes.
Greetings,
Alexandr
Well, as you may realise from all my previous posts, I've never thought and told that it was impossible for Parthian arrows to pierce Roman shields and armour. My problem is only that from the accounts of Plutarch and Dio and also from the articles/books of many modern historians and from many posts of military enthusiasts on the internet it seems, that it was quite normal that Parthian arrows regularly or even often penetrated them and killed/wounded the men behind them and that this was one of the main reason, why the Romans lost. This is what I do not believe and what I tried to argue is not true, and this is why I wrote that Plutarch's and Dios reports are exaggerated in this respect. That's all. So, if you ask me whether a Parthian arrow could have pierced Roman chain-mail and incapacitate the wearer, I say yes, sometimes under favourable circumstances from a short distance, yes.
Greetings,
Alexandr
