Parthian shot - a tactical technique used by horse archers of the Ancient East . Known primarily for the Roman-Parthian wars (hence the name).
Content
Description
The Parthian horse archers in the course of a feigned or real retreat suddenly turned around in a saddle by 180 degrees and shot at a gallop at their pursuing enemy. For this maneuver, excellent riding skills were necessary, since both hands of the rider were occupied with bows , and stirrups were not yet invented during the Parthian kingdom . A similar tactic of avoiding hand-to-hand combat in combination with constant shelling from bows, leading the enemy to exhaustion, was used by many peoples of Eurasia: Scythians , Huns , Turkies , Mongols , etc.
The usual tactics of the Parthian light cavalry looked like this [1] . Riders were located in a free order of battle with intervals between horses of about 2 m. When attacking, they kept one arrow superimposed on the bow, and the others at the ready. With a light canter, they approached the target, from a distance of about 100 m they let the horse into a fast gallop and let out 2-4 arrows. At a distance of about 50 m they turned, usually to the right, and swept along the line of the enemy, firing arrows one after the other. Otherwise, the horsemen would reject the horse and turn in the saddle, having the opportunity to shoot back during the retreat. For the Romans, such a tactic, combined with the actions of the cataphractiarii , came as a complete surprise: it differed from everything they had previously encountered. Plutarch describes the actions of the Parthian horse archers in the Battle of Carrah [2] :
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| Fig. from the book of J. Verry [1] | |
| Fig. on the site "History of the cavalry" | |
... The Parthians, having opened, began to shoot arrows from all sides, almost without aiming (the Romans were so crowded and crowded that it was intentionally difficult to miss), bending their tight big bows sharply and thus giving the arrow a tremendous impact force. Even then, the position of the Romans became disastrous: remaining in the ranks, they received wound after the wound, and trying to go on the offensive, they were powerless to equalize the conditions of the battle, as the Parthians fled without ceasing to shoot arrows. In this, after the Scythians, they are the most skillful; Yes, and there is nothing more sensible than, in order to save oneself, to defend oneself and, thereby, take off the shame of flight.
In philology
In Russian [3] [4] , English [5] and French [6] , the expressions “Parthian shot” ( English Parthian shot ) and “Parthian arrow” ( English Parthian arrow , fr. La flèche du Parthe ) mean a replica or an action (usually hostile), reserved at the time of departure.
See also
- Cantabrian circle
- Caracol (cavalry)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Verry J. The Wars of Antiquity from the Greco-Persian Wars to the fall of Rome. Illustrated story. - M .: Eksmo, 2004. - 224 p. - ISBN 5-699-04128-1 .
- ↑ Plutarch. Comparative biographies. Crassus, 24 (publication on the website "History of Ancient Rome")
- ↑ Birikh A.K., Mokienko V.M., Stepanova L.S. Dictionary of Russian Phraseology: Historical and Etymological Reference. - SPb. : Folio-press, 1998. - 700 p. - ISBN 5-288-02132-5 .
- ↑ Parthian arrow / Large dictionary of Russian sayings . Online dictionaries.
- ↑ New English-Russian Dictionary / Muller V. K., Dashevskaya V. L., Kaplan V. A., and others. - M .: Russian, 1996. - 880 p. - 15 060 copies - ISBN 5-200-02363-7 .
- ↑ Le dictionnaire des expressions françaises décortiquées (Fr.) . Reverso Softissimo.