Cataphract
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A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Central Asia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa.
Historical reenactment of a Sasanian-era cataphract, complete with a full set of scale armour for the horse. The rider is covered by extensive mail armour.
Close combat between soldiers in cataphract. Orlat plaques, 1st century BC.
Saka/Kangju cataphract armour with neck-guard. 1st century BC. Khalchayan. Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, nb 40.
Sculpture of a Sasanian cataphract in Taq-e Bostan, Iran, 4th century AD.
Heavy cavalry
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Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a tactical reserve; they are also often termed shock cavalry. Although their equipment differed greatly
Cataphract
…A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Central Asia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. Historically, the cataphract was a very…
Ottoman Sipahi heavy cavalry, c. 1550
Early 16th-century French gendarmes, with complete plate armour and heavy lances
Spanish Heavy Cavalry – Royal Armoury of Madrid, Spain
The oldest known relief of a heavily armoured cavalryman, from the Sasanian Empire, at Taq-i Bostan, near Kermanshah, Iran (7th century)