Mounted archery

Lore & Background

Horse archery first developed during the Iron Age, gradually replacing the Bronze Age chariot. The earliest depictions are found in the artwork of the Neo-Assyrian Empire of about the 9th century BC and reflect the incursions of the early Iranian peoples. Early horse archery, depicted on the Assyrian carvings, involved two riders, one controlling both horses while the second shot. Heavy horse archers first appeared in the Assyrian army in the 7th century BC after abandoning chariot warfare and formed a link between light skirmishing cavalrymen and heavy cataphract cavalry. The heavy horse archers usually had mail or lamellar armor and helmets, and sometimes even their horses were armored.

Since using a bow requires the rider to let go of the reins with both hands, horse archers need superb equestrian skills if they are to shoot on the move. The natives of large grassland areas used horse archery for hunting, for protecting their herds, and for war. Horse archery was for many groups a basic survival skill, and additionally made each able-bodied man, at need, a highly mobile warrior. The buffalo hunts of the North American prairies may be the best-recorded examples of bowhunting by horse archers.

In battle, light horse archers were typically skirmishers, lightly armed missile troops capable of moving swiftly to avoid close combat or to deliver a rapid blow to the flanks or rear of the foe. In the tactic of the Parthian shot the rider would retreat from the enemy while turning his upper body and shooting backward. Due to the superior speed of mounted archers, troops under attack from horse archers were unable to respond to the threat if they did not have ranged weapons of their own. Constant harassment would result in casualties, morale drop and disruption of the formation. Any attempts to charge the archers would also slow the entire army down.

Reader's Guide

Mounted archery was a highly successful technique for hunting, protecting herds, and war in large open areas. It was a defining characteristic of Eurasian nomads during antiquity and the medieval period, and also developed separately among the people of the South American pampas and the North American prairies following the introduction of domesticated horses to the continent; the Comanches were especially skilled. The expansion of these cultures had a great influence on other geographical regions including Eastern Europe, West Asia, and East Asia. In East Asia, horse archery came to be particularly honored in the samurai tradition of Japan, where it is called Yabusame.

Horse archers may be either light, such as Scythian, Hun, Parthian, Cuman, or Pecheneg horsemen, or heavy, such as Byzantine kavallarioi, Turkish timariots, Russian druzhina and Japanese samurai. Heavy horse archers typically fought as formed units, shooting in volleys to weaken the enemy before charging. The Roman Empire and its military also had extensive use of horse archers after their conflict with eastern armies that relied heavily on mounted archery in the 1st century BC. The Crusaders used conscripted cavalry and horse archers known as the Turcopole, made up of mostly Greek and Turks. Vietnam's mounted archers were first recorded in the 11th century, when Emperor Lý Công Uẩn of Đại Việt opened the Xa Dinh (archery school).

Did You Know?

• The term 'horse archer' specifically describes a warrior who shoots from the saddle at the gallop.
• The Parthian shot involved a rider retreating from the enemy while turning his upper body and shooting backward.
• Heavy horse archers often carried spears or lances for close combat or formed mixed units with lancers.
• The Comanches were especially skilled horse archers on the North American prairies.