06-27-2008, 06:12 AM
A quick look at some of the elements of the battle of Carrhae may be of interest:
Realizing he was facing a strong cavalry force, Crassus had formed his army into a square. The Parthian cataphracts prepared to charge, but drew up short when they saw the depth and clear determination of the Roman line. The horse archers then began to attack in earnest, hoping to inflict enough casualties to weaken Roman morale or create a gap big enough for the horsemen to pour in.
It should be remembered that the Parthian cataphracts were heavily armored lancers riding armored horses. They did not have stirrups but seem to have been equipped with horned saddles, and wielded the long kontos lance two-handed. They were the Suren’s personal bodyguard and would have been highly trained. The horse archers were probably nomadic Dahae, dependents of the Suren clan. Their military potential was most likely comparable to later Central Asian nomad horse archers, like the early Mongols.
There was only about one Dragon (1,000) of cataphracts and about nine dragons of horse archers, so the Parthians were greatly outnumbered. Still, Plutarch’s description makes it quite clear that even the Parthian ultra-heavy cavalry hesitated to charge because the Roman line was too deep, solid and determined.
And if a modicum of street cred is necessary in this discussion, I learned English saddle when I was a kid at Fort Riley, and I've spent more than a few leisure hours riding western saddle over the years. I've never ridden using a replica Roman saddle, and don't think I'd want to unless it was on a Roman-sized horse.
Realizing he was facing a strong cavalry force, Crassus had formed his army into a square. The Parthian cataphracts prepared to charge, but drew up short when they saw the depth and clear determination of the Roman line. The horse archers then began to attack in earnest, hoping to inflict enough casualties to weaken Roman morale or create a gap big enough for the horsemen to pour in.
It should be remembered that the Parthian cataphracts were heavily armored lancers riding armored horses. They did not have stirrups but seem to have been equipped with horned saddles, and wielded the long kontos lance two-handed. They were the Suren’s personal bodyguard and would have been highly trained. The horse archers were probably nomadic Dahae, dependents of the Suren clan. Their military potential was most likely comparable to later Central Asian nomad horse archers, like the early Mongols.
There was only about one Dragon (1,000) of cataphracts and about nine dragons of horse archers, so the Parthians were greatly outnumbered. Still, Plutarch’s description makes it quite clear that even the Parthian ultra-heavy cavalry hesitated to charge because the Roman line was too deep, solid and determined.
And if a modicum of street cred is necessary in this discussion, I learned English saddle when I was a kid at Fort Riley, and I've spent more than a few leisure hours riding western saddle over the years. I've never ridden using a replica Roman saddle, and don't think I'd want to unless it was on a Roman-sized horse.
