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Stirrups


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It is my understanding that stirrups originated in the orient and didn't make it to Europe until about the *th century. It is safe to say that the early Imperial cavalry didn't have them. I assume that the early Byzantine Cavalry of Belisarius et al did not have stirrups either. What about the late Sassanids? They had closer contact with the orient. Is there any evidence that they had access to stirrups? What about the HUns?--they supposedly came from the orient--why didn't they have stirrups?

 

Can anyone tell me when was the first recorded use of stirrups in the following locations:

 

Far East (China)

India

Mesopotania

Eastern Europe

Western Europe

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I don't know why they didn't think of stirrups in other places. Must have been a pain in the but (literally!) to mount and ride a horse without them! Especially with all that armor (poor cataphracts! :cry:)

 

I can't imagine the strenght and skill it took to ride a horse without stirrups!

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It is my understanding that stirrups originated in the orient and didn't make it to Europe until about the *th century. It is safe to say that the early Imperial cavalry didn't have them. I assume that the early Byzantine Cavalry of Belisarius et al did not have stirrups either. What about the late Sassanids? They had closer contact with the orient. Is there any evidence that they had access to stirrups? What about the HUns?--they supposedly came from the orient--why didn't they have stirrups?

 

Can anyone tell me when was the first recorded use of stirrups in the following locations:

 

Far East (China)

India

Mesopotania

Eastern Europe

Western Europe

 

I can point you to the works of Ann Hyland. She's done some extensive writing on the subject of horses in ancient and medieval history including how Roman and Byzantine cavalry were trained. Looks like interesting stuff.

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