Description
Cappadocian horsemen could be found in many armies of Asia Minor, but were most common in the forces of Pontus and Armenia. Although the riders had scale armour and open helmets, so as not to impair their vision, their horses were unarmoured, allowing them a good degree of speed and manoeuvrability. They were certainly faster across ground than the heavy cataphracts used by eastern armies. These horsemen were most often placed on the flanks of an army to counter any enemy infantry skirmishers or light horse. Charges into spear or pike-armed phalanxes would have been stupid, and fatal. At the Battle of Gaugamela in 331BC, Cappadocian cavalry overwhelmed Alexander’s Asian and Greek mercenary cavalry, only to be halted by the Thessalians.
