The Parthian army was the army of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

(247 BC – 224 AD). Having no

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

, the Arsacid king mainly relied on his vassal kings, regional and tribal lords, and garrison commanders. Mercenaries were also sometimes used in the army; however, this was only when the forces of the king were found lacking, or when a vassal refused to cooperate. The leader of the army was the king, his son, or a ''

spahbed ''Spāhbad'' (also spelled ''spahbod'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbad'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Military of the Sasani ...

'' (military commander) selected from one of the great houses. The army was mainly composed of Parthian nobles ('' azadan'') and their subjects whom they brought along. The army did thus not endure for long, due to the nobles having to go back to their estates and crops. The Parthian general wanted to finish the expedition as fast as possible and return home. The king himself did not wish the campaign to fare for long, due to stress of a possible rebellion occurring in his realm, which frequently happened and was the biggest defect of the empire. The Parthian forces mainly consisted of two types of cavalry; the

cataphract A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. Historically, the cataphract was a very heavily armoured horseman, with both the rider and ...

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...

with man and horse decked in mailed armor, who formed the smaller part of the cavalry. The second and main component of the cavalry were the mounted archers, light cavalry whose mobility and long-range warfare abilities made them a menacing enemy. They used

composite bow A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (s ...

s and were able to shoot at enemies while riding and facing away from them; this technique, known as the Parthian shot, was a highly effective tactic. Parthians made less use of infantry, due to their less convenient role on the wide expanses of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. They were thus small in numbers and mainly used to guard forts.; The Parthians also made use of camel riders equipped with long lances, most likely recruited from the western frontier or nomadic allies. The camel was better suited than the horse to bear the weight of the rider and tolerate harsh circumstances. Furthermore, with the camel, the rider could unload his arrows from an elevated spot. However, the animal was considerably hindered by the Roman caltrops. The Parthians did not employ war chariots, and limited the use of chariots to carry women accompanying the commanders. The largest number of soldiers that the Parthians are recorded to have mustered were 50,000 against the Roman politician Mark Antony. Each division of the Parthian army had its standard, which either displayed an image of a dragon, eagle, or the sun. The imperial banner seems to have been the

Derafsh Kaviani Derafsh Kaviani ) was the royal standard Derafsh (in Latin: vexilloid) of Iran ( Persia) used since ancient times until the fall of the Sasanian Empire. The banner was also sometimes called the "Standard of Jamshid" ( ), the "Standard of Ferey ...

, the national emblem of Iran. The successor of the Parthians, the

Sasanians The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

, incorporated the Parthian forces into their army.

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* * * * * . * * * {{Parthian Empire Ancient warfare Military history of the Parthian Empire

See also

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