CHAP. 1.] 



EAKLIEST CAVALRY. 



17 



to organise " the Asiatics into cohorts, dividing them 

 into spearmen, archers, and cavalry."^ King Cyaxares 

 died in 585 B.C., after reigning forty years. Sennacherib 

 lived about 100 years before him, and in his time, if not 

 before, the Assyrians were organised in distinct corps. 

 In the sculptures of his reign are found bodies of 

 cavalry on the march unaccompanied by infantry — 

 engagements where cavalry alone are fighting the enemy 

 — long lines of spearmen marching in double file, and 

 sometimes divided into companies, and archers drawn up 

 together in companies, each distinguished by its own 

 uniform.^ The slingers also are shown together, and all 

 clothed and armed alike. 



SECTION II. — PERSIAN CAVALRY. 



Cyrus the Great made many improvements in the 

 Persian army, and, if Xenophon is to be believed, was 

 the originator or founder of the Persian cavalry. His 

 desire of having a force that could pursue rapidly a 

 broken and retreating foe was the moving cause which 

 led him to organize a mounted corps. ^ His idea at first 

 was not to use the momentum of the horse to aid in an 

 opening attack, but more to harass and cut off the 

 retreat after the infantry had defeated the enemy's 

 masses. He armed them and their horses with breast- 

 plates, and the men with lances that could either 

 be thrown or held in the hand. He did away with 

 the bows and javelins and the custom of skirmishing 

 at a distance, and in fact organized a heavily-armed 

 force of lancers, and trained them for hand-to-hand 

 fighting. He formed them in squadrons of 100 in front 

 and 8 in depth.* 



At the battle of Thymbra Cyrus feared to i-isk his 

 horsemen against the Lydian cavalry of Croesiis, who 

 were very skilful in the use of the long lance and 

 managed their horses with admirable addres?'. He 



^ Lemprik'e, Classical Dictionaiy, Cyaxares. ^ Eawlinson, 



Ancient Monarchies, i. 462. ^ Xenophon, Cyropsedia, ii. 1 j iv. 3, 

 9 to 15. * Bardin, Milice Perse. 







