Editing Cataphract (section)

==Hellenistic and Roman adoption==
[[File:ParthianCataphract.JPG|thumb|left|200px|A stone-etched relief depicting a Parthian cataphract fighting against a lion. Housed in the [[British Museum]].]]
The [[ancient Greece|Greeks]] first encountered cataphracts during the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] of the 5th century BC with the Achaemenid Empire. The [[Ionian Revolt]], an uprising against Persian rule in Asia Minor which preluded the [[First Persian invasion of Greece]], is very likely the first Western encounter of cataphract cavalry, and to a degree heavy cavalry in general. The cataphract was widely adopted by the [[Seleucid Empire]], the Hellenistic successors of [[Alexander the Great]]'s kingdom who reigned over conquered Persia and Asia Minor after his death in 323 BC. The Parthians, who wrested control over their native Persia from the last [[Diadochi|Seleucid]] Kingdom in the East in 147 BC, were also noted for their reliance upon cataphracts as well as horse archers in battle.

Besides the Seleucids it is possible that also the [[Kingdom of Pergamon]] adopted some cataphracts. Pergamese reliefs show cavalry similarly armed and equipped as Seleucid cataphracts, indicating an adoption. Yet these were probably equipped from trophies taken from the Seleucids,<ref>{{cite book|first=Duncan|last=Head|page=237|title=Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars 359 BC to 146 BC|year=2016 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781326256562}}</ref> which would suggest limited numbers.

The Romans came to know cataphracts during their frequent wars in the [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic East]]. Cataphracts had varying levels of success against Roman military tactics more so at the Battle of Carrhae and less so at [[Battle of Tigranocerta|the battle]] of [[Lucullus]] with [[Tigranes the Great]] near [[Tigranocerta]] in 69 BC.<ref name="Eadie 1967 163f">{{harvnb|Eadie|1967|pp=163f.}}</ref><ref name="Perevalov 2002, 10">{{harvnb|Perevalov|2002|p=10}}</ref> In 38 BC, the Roman general [[Publius Ventidius Bassus]], by making extensive use of [[Sling (weapon)|slingers]], whose long-range weapons proved very effective, defeated the uphill-storming Parthian armored cavalry.<ref>{{harvnb|Campbell|1987|p=25}}</ref>

At the time of [[Augustus]], the Greek geographer [[Strabo]] considered cataphracts with horse armor to be typical of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenian]], [[Caucasian Albania]]n, and [[Military history of Iran|Persian]] armies, but, according to [[Plutarch]], they were still held in rather low esteem in the [[Hellenistic world]] due to their poor tactical abilities against disciplined infantry as well as against more mobile, light cavalry.<ref name="Perevalov 2002, 10"/> However, the lingering period of exposure to cataphracts at the eastern frontier as well as the growing military pressure of the [[Sarmatia]]n [[lancer]]s on the [[Danube]] frontier led to a gradual integration of cataphracts into the Roman army.<ref name="Perevalov 2002 10ff">{{harvnb|Perevalov|2002|pp=10ff.}}</ref><ref name="Eadie 1967 166">{{harvnb|Eadie|1967|p=166}}</ref> Thus, although cavalrymen with armor were deployed in the [[Roman army]] as early as the 2nd century BC ([[Polybios]], VI, 25, 3),<ref>{{harvnb|Rubin|1955|p=276, fn. 2}}</ref> the first recorded deployment and use of cataphracts (''[[equites cataphractarii]]'') by the Roman Empire comes in the 2nd century AD, during the reign of Emperor [[Hadrian]] (117–138 AD), who created the first, regular unit of auxiliary, mailed cavalry called the ''ala I Gallorum et Pannoniorum catafractata''.<ref>Eadie, John W. (1967). "The Development of Roman Mailed Cavalry". ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Vol. 57, No. 1/2 (1967), pp. 161–173.</ref>  A key architect in the process was evidently the Roman emperor [[Gallienus]], who created a highly mobile force in response to the multiple threats along the northern and eastern frontier.<ref>{{harvnb|Eadie|1967|p=168}}</ref> However, as late as 272 AD, [[Aurelian]]'s army, completely composed of light cavalry, defeated [[Zenobia]] at the [[Battle of Immae]], proving the continuing importance of mobility on the battlefield.<ref>{{harvnb|Eadie|1967|pp=170f.}}</ref>

The Romans fought a prolonged and indecisive campaign in the East against the Parthians beginning in 53 BC, commencing with the defeat of [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] (close benefactor of [[Julius Caesar]]) and his 35,000 [[Legionary|legionaries]] at Carrhae. This initially unexpected and humiliating defeat for Rome was followed by numerous campaigns over the next two centuries entailing many notable engagements such as: the [[Battle of Cilician Gates]], [[Battle of Mount Gindarus|Mount Gindarus]], [[Antony's Parthian War|Mark Antony's Parthian Campaign]] and finally culminating in the bloody [[Battle of Nisibis (217)|Battle of Nisibis]] in 217 AD, which resulted in a slight Parthian victory, and [[Macrinus|Emperor Macrinus]] being forced to concede peace with Parthia.<ref name="Eadie 1967 163f"/><ref name="Perevalov 2002, 10"/> As a result of this lingering period of exposure to cataphracts, by the 4th century, the Roman Empire had adopted a number of [[vexillation]]s of mercenary cataphract cavalry (see the [[Notitia Dignitatum]]), such as the [[Sarmatian]] [[Auxiliaries]].<ref name="Perevalov 2002 10ff"/><ref name="Eadie 1967 166"/> The Romans deployed both native and mercenary units of cataphracts throughout the Empire, from Asia Minor all the way to Britain, where a contingent of 5,500 Sarmatians (including cataphracts, infantry, and non-combatants) were posted in the 2nd century by Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]] (see [[End of Roman rule in Britain]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=D'Amato |first1=Raffaele |last2=Negin |first2=Andrey Evgenevich |date=20 November 2018 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |title=Roman Heavy Cavalry (1): Cataphractarii & Clibanarii, 1st Century BC–5th |pages=11–12 |series=Elite |volume=225 |isbn=978-1-4728-3004-3}}</ref>

This tradition was later paralleled by the rise of [[feudalism]] in Christian Europe in the [[Early Middle Ages]] and the establishment of the [[knighthood]] particularly during the [[Crusades]], while the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Romans]] continued to maintain a very active corps of cataphracts long after their [[Decline of the Roman Empire|Western counterparts fell]] in 476 AD.