Description
The camel is a curious thing in battle and, when clad in full armour, its strange looks are much enhanced. Camels are also rather smelly, and this makes horses uneasy unless they are used to the odour. Perhaps not the fastest of creatures, the camel does not charge particularly quickly, but the extra height it gives to its rider makes a lance rather effective. The word 'cataphract' derives from two Greek words, 'kata' - completely - and 'phraktos' - covered or protected. This neatly describes the all-over nature of the armour of both man and camel. Cataphracts were even adopted by the Romans, who used them in their Eastern Empire as auxiliaries.
