Quote Originally Posted by Doug-Thompson
I read that article earlier this year. It is worth reading.


However, the plain fact is that that there was no effective shock cavalry in the Roman era before the Goths, and they had stirrups.

In the East, the Sassinids did develop effective heavy cavalry pre-stirrup with their deep seated saddles and "barge pole" lances. However, they are the exception that proves the rule. Their social and political organization resembled later feudal societies in the West. Their armored horsemen were very much like knights, minor nobles with their own estates and income. It took many years of training to make a Sassinid heavy cavalryman. Stirrups were the shortcut that helped spread those tactics to Rome's other enemies.

Since I presume the enemies of Rome talked to each other, I wonder how much the Goths and others owe to the Sassinids.
Ave Master Doug

Not to hijack this thread (too much), but do you have some good sources that I can read? I think we all understand and agree that Wikipedia isn't always 100% accurate, but the stirrup article first states that they were indirectly documented in Europe during the 8th century. We should note that it just states "documented", not "appeared or arrived". Given that they were known in Scandinavia several hundred years earlier I can believe it, I'd just like to understand the discrepancy.

Cheers!