Sassanid Cataphract In Scale And Mail Armor Ancientworld Historical reenactment of a sasanian era cataphract, complete with a full set of scale armor for the horse. the rider is covered by extensive mail armour a cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalry that originated in persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout eurasia and northern africa. The rider was fully armored as well though their armor might consist of scale, mail, lamellar, or a combination of the three. a cataphract’s primary arm was the massive kontos spear which required two hands to wield. auxiliary arms might include a sword, mace, or bow. sasanian era silver plate with gold coating, from azerbaijan museum, tabriz.
Cataphract Armor Heavy Cavalry Sasanian Empire Inspired Parthian The sasanian army was the primary military body of the sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the sasanian navy. the birth of the army dates back to the rise of ardashir i (r. 224–241), the founder of the sasanian empire, to the throne. ardashir aimed at the revival of the persian empire, and to further this aim, he reformed the military by. A stone etched relief depicting a parthian cataphract fighting against a lion. housed in the british museum. (wikimedia commons) the charge of the cataphracts. generally, the cataphract is used to charge en masse into enemy lines. due to the sheer weight of their armor, a cataphract charge can deal a great blow to the enemy. The cataphract played a crucial role in many ancient and medieval battles. they were used both as a shock troop, charging into enemy lines with their lances or spears, and as a formidable defensive force, protecting the flanks and rear of an army. the charge of a cataphract was a terrifying sight for the enemy. The armor would be buckled in the front around the animal’s chest, or, in the case of the dura example (see below), slipped over the head like a poncho. scaled, and later mailed, head armor was also developed. the parthian and sassanid persians perfected the tactics that could crush an infantry army such as the romans almost always deployed.
Comments are closed.