Cavalry

:This article is about cavalry, mounted soldiers. Cavalry is also a common misspelling of the biblical hill Calvary.

Origins

Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, but was offset by the difficulty of raising large forces and by the inability of horses (then mostly small) to carry heavy armor.

Related Topics:
Iron Age - Chariots

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The chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The chariot was quickly adopted by settled peoples both as a military technology and an object of ceremonial status by the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt as well as Assyrian and Babylonian royalty.

Related Topics:
Sintashta-Petrovka - Central Asia - Indo-Iranian - Pharaoh - New Kingdom of Egypt - Assyrian - Babylonian

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Cavalry techniques were, again, an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Use of chariots in battle was obsolete by the Persian defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great, but chariots remained in use for ceremonial purposes, for instance carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The first cavalry consisted of pairs of men, one using a bow while the other guided both of their horses.

Related Topics:
Equestrian nomad - Alexander the Great - Roman triumph

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In the armies of the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Republic, cavalry played a relatively minor role—in both civilizations conflicts were decided by massed armored infantry. The cavalry in the Roman Republic remained the preserve of the wealthy landed class—the class eventually dominated by the Roman emperors, who came to power and often succeeded to the throne by virtue of being successful generals of the Roman legions of citizens fighting on foot. In the army of the late Roman Empire, cavalry played an increasingly important role. Sarmatians were hired as cavalrymen. The Spatha, the classical sword throughout most of the 1st millennium, originated as a Roman cavalry sword.

Related Topics:
Ancient Greeks - Roman Republic - Landed class - Roman Empire - Sarmatian - Spatha

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As a result of selective breeding, the size and weight of war horses approximately doubled throughout the Middle Ages; while during the Migration period, a horse might bear an unarmoured horse archer, by the 11th century, it could bear the weight of a warrior in full chainmail armour, and by the 1400s, the Friesian could bear a weight of a knight in full plate armour, as well as additional armour protecting the horse itself. Due to this development, cavarly tactics also changed from the ancient "Parthian shot" and skirmishing techniques to the medieval massed cavalry charges relying on the horsemen's mere impact force. Among the first to use such cavalry charges were the Companion Cavalry of Macedon, although its power in this role was not fully used after Alexander the Great's death.

Related Topics:
Selective breeding - Migration period - Horse archer - Chainmail - Friesian - Plate armour - Parthian - Macedon

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