PERSIAN MERCENARY CAVALRY

Cavalry in the Persian army, and more precisely in the army of the Persian Empire, during the Achaemenid rule (around 550 BC - around 330 BC) always played a very important role and was treated as an elite formation in its own way. It was often recruited from noble Persian and Median families. In the course of battle, it was most often positioned on the wings of its own troops and was to perform a maneuver flanking the center of enemy troops. The Persian cavalry most often used relatively simple helmets, but not limiting the field of view. The basic weapons were usually javelins, short spears, short swords and daggers. Light shields and lamellar armor were rarely used as defensive weapons. The Persian cavalry, despite their good posture on the battlefield, failed to cope with the Macedonian cavalry during the expedition of Alexander the Great (334-323 BC).