Steppe Merc, don't worry, it was not every city, or even most of them, but a number of them that suffered such increadible actions. Poor old Persia really got the stick. And why? Because the Shah (he was a Shah right?) executed a few 'diplomats' for spying. It sounds like Great Khan looked for a reason to invade, and one where he could dish out a good deal of punishment. I believe he said as he died that he wanted a specific city burned to the ground... Is that spiteful or not?

Now of course historians of the time, christian and muslim tended to view the steppe peoples as savages, but honestly they were not that nice to the settled peoples, so I can't fault them.

Roman Equites were not bad per se. They were brave, dashing and often quite capable in their own right. But often they were significantly outnumbered by heavier cavalries, and they suffered from a lack of attention from the commanders who really only saw them as stopgaps against the enemy cavalry.
Magnesia shows that Equites could fight well enough, routing cataphracts and the Seleucid Agema head on while slightly outnumbered.
But great they never were.

Soul, do you mean what a US citizen is called? Well, I have never heard anything but American, but I ahve too wondered at this for years. Isn't it a bit arrogant to lay claim to the entire continent? Yes US citizens are Americans, but so are Mexicans, Canadians and a whole lot of other people, and they are far more numerous.