03.09.2010, 17:48
Zitat:Zur Frage der persischen Schweren Kavallerie: Es gibt aus der Zeit des Dareios erste Darstellungen von Reitern deren Pferde teilgepanzert waren, und die erste Darstellung eines Kontus, also einer Reiterlanze die mit zwei Händen geführt wurde. Wobei der Reiter der diesen Kontus einsetzt auf diesem Bildbeispiel keine Rüstung trägt, und ansonsten nur mit einem Dolch bewaffnet ist. Auch hier scheint man überwiegend also vor allem auf Schnelligkeit, Beweglichkeit und Mobilität geachtet zu haben.
Trotzdem gab es wohl auch zu dieser Zeit schon in begrenztem Umfang gepanzerte bzw teilgepanzerte Kavallerie, die sich zu dieser Zeit allerdings primär aus dem Ostiran rekrutierte und bei vielen Feldzügen offenbar nicht eingesetzt wurde.
Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass die Kavallerie schon damals in nicht geringem Umfang eingesetzt worden ist, da sie über die Zeit stets optimiert wurde. Gerade die gepanzerte Kavallerie könnte sich vornehmlich aus Lydern aus dem Westen zusammengesetzt haben. Ihre Blütezeit hatte die schwere persischen Reiterei aber wohl unter den Sassaniden mit der Einführung des Feudalismus.
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Zitat:The Savaran: The Original Knights
The Heavy Cavalry of the Sassanians.
Dec 14, 2008 Grant Sebastian Nell
The Sassanians rose to dominance in the middle east and Persia after overthrowing the Parthians in AD 224.
The Savaran
Heavily armed and armoured horsemen were nothing new to Persia. The Persians had been using heavy cavalry for centuries. What set the Savaran apart from their predecessors was their emphasis on lance duelling, and their adherence to a code of conduct that bore a striking resemblance to medieval chivalry, centuries before the middle ages.
Sassanian heavy cavalry wore a combination of ring armour (around their legs and arms), lamellar plate and chain mail. They carried a long lance which they wielded two handed and wore conical helms that incorporated protection for the face and sides of the head. Other weapons included swords, maces, darts, and many carried composite bows and arrows. Their horses were frequently armoured as well. The introduction of the stirrup made mounted shock tactics by lance wielding warriors even more deadly, as warriors could now direct the combined weight of rider and mount into their charge.
It was the custom of the Savaran to challenge champions of an opposing army to single combat before battle was joined. Many celebrated lance-duels took place between the Savaran and Byzantine/eastern Roman warriors. Cataphracts, the super-heavy mounted horsemen of Byzantium, were directly inspired by the Savaran.
Like the Parthians before them and the Kingdoms of medieval Europe, they were a feudal society. This imposed it’s own peculiar problems when it came to warfare. Originally, only the top Aryan nobles were allowed to serve in the Savaran and this created a serious manpower shortage. This problem was solved by the reforms of Khosrow 1 (AD 531-579), who insisted that members of the minor nobility and landowners be allowed to serve as well.
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The word ‘Faris’, meaning horseman or knight, stems from ‘Farsi’, the Arabic word for Persian.
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Read more at Suite101: The Savaran: The Original Knights: The Heavy Cavalry of the Sassanians. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suite101.com/content/the-savaran-the-original-knights-a84214#ixzz0yTn83MlG">http://www.suite101.com/content/the-sav ... z0yTn83MlG</a><!-- m -->