cavalry to take the long and heavy as a weapon to wield a spear in both hands (Kontos) and therefore had no shield, have already appeared at the end of the second century, but in the third century that will significantly increase in number, at the time of the Emperor Gallienus, in the several contingents of cavalry up the military reserve for the frequent crises of war . In addition to read giavellottieri cavalry and archers, are developing units and heavily armed with horses with trappings that cover them in full imitation of Sarmatian warriors and Persian.
This type of horse expands strongly at the time of Tetrarchy and absorbs a good part of the military investments. These quotas are very expensive for their type of equipment and go to offset the lack of equipment for infantry troops, often lightweight and suitable primarily for skirmishes. In Fourth century, then, are subject to a further increase in the time of the emperors Julian and Constantius II.
Initially, these knights called Catafratti "that is literally" protected by armor "are similar to the Sarmatian knights who have been influenced by: adopt a conical segments riveted helmets, armor of scales and protections for horses only for the front lines, their weapon is the Kontos.
are effective if they fail to load in tight formation, but if they are missing, are easy prey for a joint action of cavalry and light infantry and fast.
A second type of horse called "Clibanari," an ironic title (it means the stove ..) with which the Romans mocked the noble Persian cavalry dressed from head to foot in full armor, and magnificent
... certainly very hot in the sun of the eastern plains. The imposing appearance and great strength is representative of these troops, the Emperor made this next nei trionfi e nelle riserve accanto alla sua guardia personale.
I Clibanari di ispirazione orientale adottavano elmi crestati ornati di cimieri, con il viso spesso protetto da un facciale sagomato o da maglia di ferro. Le armature erano composite di lamelle metalliche e maglia per il corpo e da segmenti circolari, simili a quelli da tempo adopted by the gladiators, for the arts. A small shield with the colors of the department, could be hung on the left shoulder. The horses are always covered with an armor or total, partial, front only.
Apart from their appearance, which surprised the Germanic tribes and instilled awe in the face of such a display of power, effectiveness of these cavalry was not always certain. Faced with a tight wall of shields and spears of the infantry, cavalry, even this was often ineffective. The difficulty to handle it as a body only change direction laterally made them easy prey for pincer movement by opponents more agile and fast.
However, in several situations, was also a strong psychological deterrent to the holding of the opposing front.
Esistevano anche "Clibanari Saggittari" , cioè arcieri corazzati a cavallo mutuati dalla tradizione Orientale.
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