British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

After Alexander: Central Asia Before Islam

Nomad arms and armour

Osmund Bopearachchi

The present paper is meant to discuss the iconography of the commonest obverse type: ‘king on horseback wearing cataphractus and holding spear or whip and bow and arrows in a gorytus’ of Indo-Scythians who were the successors of Greeks who ruled over India. When both literary and archaeological evidence concerning cataphractus are taken into account, it is certain that use of heavy armour is attested in the ancient world at least from the 3rd century BC. The cataphracti - heavily armoured horsemen - usually fought in column order, holding their long spears against the infantry. The basic element of the protective armour of the Scythians and
Sarmatian horsemen was scale armour. On Indo-Scythian coins, this heavy armour is composed of four major elements: breastplate with a high stand-up collar, arm protectors, skirt protecting thighs and a helmet. Recent archaeological discoveries have been used in this study to compare the different aspects of the cataphractus: a cataphractus from Ai Khanum, the frieze from the Kushan palace of Khalchayan and the bone plates from Orlat.