53 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[PEEIOD 



infantry, and 9,000 cavalry, all picked soldiers who had 

 fought in the wars in Spain until they were tried 

 veterans. The proportion of cavalry to the infantry 

 was much greater than in the Roman armies, and almost 

 the same as in the army Alexander the Great led into 

 Asia Minor. The cavalry of the Carthaginians was, 

 however, infinitely better in quality than that of the 

 Romans. They were divided into heavy and light. 

 The heavy cavalry wore coats of mail, helmets and 

 brazen greaves, and carried a sword and a short thrust- 

 ing pike as offensive weapons.^ They were formed up 

 according to the Greek custom in troops of sixty-four 

 men each, eight in front by eight in depth. The cavalry 

 of his Gaulish allies were heavy cavalry using large 

 broadswords, and being equipped and formed up and 

 manoeuvred in the same way as the Greek Cataphraeti. 



The Numidian cavalry, which formed the light horse 

 of Hannibal's army, were reputed to be the finest light 

 cavalry of the age. There are such conflicting accounts 

 as to their armament and equipment, that it is difficult 

 to describe their method of fighting with much certainty. 



Their horses were small thin animals, and ere 

 ridden without saddles, as in all the other ancient 

 cavalry.^ The men were poorly equipped, in fact almost 

 naked, and managed their horses with a whip or thong 

 of leather. The services performed by these horsemen 

 under Hannibal were so great that it is hard to conceive 

 that they were so poorly supplied. They used no reins 

 nor bridles, for Polybius, in describing the battle of the 

 Ticinus,* speaks of the heavy cavalry with reins, being 

 placed in the centre, and the Numidians upon the wings ; 

 the inference of course being that the Numidians used no 

 reins. The Numidians are also referred to by ancient 

 writers as *' gens insciafreni " and " Numidce infreni."* 



On the column of Trajan the Numidian horsemen are 

 represented as almost entirely naked, their only garment 

 being a small cloak or mantle worn across the shoulders 

 and flying loosely in the air.' Montfaucon describes one 



* Macdongall's Hannibal, 11. ' Beamish, 29, 30. ^ Polybius, 

 iii. ch. 13. * Silius Italicus, quoted in Beamish. 31. ^ Lempriure, 

 Numidia. Virgil. 



