Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

xti ORGANIZATION 503
appear later, the
elephant
against the Arabs.
corps rendered
signal service
Sasanian
cavalry was almost
entirely heavily armed,
like the knights of medieval Europe, the supply of light
cavalry being left to somewhat despised allies such as the
Saracens. The Persian
^
cavalry soldier, as we see him on
the bas-reliefs, wore a helmet and a coat of mail, and was
further protected by a round shield. His weapons included
a heavy lance, a sword, and a bow and arrows.
The horse, too, was so much protected by armour that
the dray-like chargers of the bas-reliefs were as necessary
as was the similar horse of the medieval European knight,
whose descendant draws the brewer's cart in modern
England. The archers, like the English bowmen of the
Middle Ages, formed the most important part of the
infantry, being trained to shoot with great accuracy and
rapidity from behind the wattled shields which the Achaemenians
had adopted from the
Assyrians, and which had
remained ever since in the Persian army. The rest of the
infantry, whose function was to support the archers, was
armed with spears and swords, but wore little defensive
armour. As the accounts of the campaigns show, these
armies were able to
fight Roman legionaries on equal
terms, whereas the Parthians almost invariably avoided a
hand-to-hand contest.
The Sasanian empire furthermore showed its superiority
j
;
to the earlier dynasty by studying the art of besieging
cities and by developing siege
trains. Against the Parthians
a fortified
city was practically impregnable, whereas
the Sasanian monarchs, especially in the later period,
captured almost every fortress of importance which they
invested. The usual method was to advance by means
of trenches and under the protection of wattled shields to
the ditch, which was filled up with fascines and earth.
Battering rams and other engines were then brought up,
and when a breach was effected an assault was delivered.
Or a mound was erected on which balistae were planted,
and the enemy was driven from his defences. There is,
of course, no reason to suppose that the Sasanians excelled
the Romans in the art of besieging cities : but they were