The ''Grivpanvar'' (literally: neck-guard wearer) were an elite late

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Mede ...

n and

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

division who fought as heavy

cataphract A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" or "c ...

cavalry. According to Roman sources, the Grivpanvar had the ability to impale two men on the long, heavy spears that they carried. Historical evidence suggests that the heavily armoured Parthian grivpanvar were at least partially influenced by the military of the Central Asian steppes, who in turn had inherited their armoured cavalry traditions from the

Massagetae The Massagetae or Massageteans (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Sakā tigraxaudā (Old Persian: , "wearer of pointed caps") or Orthocorybantians (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ),: As for the term “Orthocorybantii”, this is a translati ...

and the late

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

Persians.

Etymology

The name Grivpanvar derives from the

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

term ''grīw-bān'' (neck-guard), a helmet armour guard, from whence "grivpan" warrior. In the 3rd century AD, the Romans began to deploy such cavalry calling them ''clibanarii'', a name thought to derive from ''griwbanwar'' or ''griva-pana-bara''.

Weapons and tactics

Weapons and tactics used by the Grivpanvars were analogous to those of cataphract cavalry. Clad in

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

with a breastplate and strong

scale armour Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.Kontos lance used by many Iranian peoples during antiquity. To supplement their lances, it is possible that the Grivpanvar also carried armaments for use at close quarters such as long swords and

mace Mace may refer to: Spices * Mace (spice), a spice derived from the aril of nutmeg * '' Achillea ageratum'', known as English mace, a flowering plant once used as a herb Weapons * Mace (bludgeon), a weapon with a heavy head on a solid shaft used ...

s. Their military tactics were also similar to the cataphracts and used “shock tactics” to wear down the enemy with successive cavalry charges prior to the administration of the final

coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...

Battle appearances

Parthian

Heavy grivpanvar knights appeared in many of the later Parthian and Sassanian battles, with one of the best-known encounters of the Parthian grivpanvar occurring at the Battle of Nisibis in 217 against the Roman army of Emperor Macrinus. According to the Roman historian

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death ...

, the imperial Parthian army led by Emperor

Artabanus IV of Parthia Artabanus IV, also known as Ardavan IV ( Parthian: 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus V, was the last ruler of the Parthian Empire from c. 213 to 224. He was the younger son of Vologases V, who died in 208. ...

, reformed many of their armies and units resulting in the emergence of a new force of camel mounted cataphracts (Camelphracts). The grivpanvar appear to have been used against the heavy Roman

legionaries The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Repu ...

. At dawn, the Parthians charged their heavily armored camels and grivpanvar cavalry into the Roman lines, but as they approached the Roman forces withdrew, leaving large numbers of caltrops behind, with fatal results. The Parthians' horses and camels stepped onto these lethal weapons and fell, taking their riders with them thereby breaking the momentum of the charge. This vicious battle was the last Roman encounter with the Parthian grivpanvar.

Sassanian

The Sassanians continued to use the grivpanvar in their armies, starting from the reign of

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new ...

until the final ruler

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at th ...

lost his throne. One of the first deployments of Sassanian grivpanvar occurred at the Battle of Edessa in 259 AD, where a powerful army of Sassanians led by the emperor

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ar ...

came under assault from Roman sovereign Valerian's soldiers, including the renowned and elite imperial

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort f ...

. During the battle, the relatively small 40,000-strong Sassanian army crushed a 70,000-strong Roman force. Although little is known of the battle, records show that the Sassanians used grivpanvar in their army along with lightly armed horse archers. After the battle, emperor Valerian and many other high-ranking officials were captured by Shapur. The result was an overwhelming Persian victory, with the entire Roman force slaughtered or captured in stark comparison to the minimal number of Persian casualties.Sassanian elite cavalry AD 224-642 By Kaveh Farrokh, Angus McBride The Sassanians used grivpanvar during Shapur II's Arab campaign in 342 AD, when Shapur ordered his troops to destroy an Arab force that had attacked the southern borders of his empire.{{cn, date=June 2017

References