Mongol Cavalry, 1219 and Greek Trireme, 480 BC

Above are some of the most formidable horsemen the world has ever seen: those of Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde. The term “Mongols” refers to a confederacy of Turkic and Mongolian tribes, first united in 1206 by Temujin, better known by his title the “Great Khan” or “Genghis Khan.” Their prowess as horsemen was evident in their conquest of the largest land empire in the history of the world. These horsemen are dated from 1219, when Genghis Khan invaded the Khwarezmian Empire in Central Asia.

First, is a heavy cavalryman. He and his horse are encased in armor made of iron strips laced together, known as lamellar. He is armed with a mace, although Mongol heavy cavalry were also armed with sabers, lances, and axes. He is also armed with a bow, like almost all Mongol cavalry, because the Mongol cavalry tactics involved withering their enemies down with arrows, before swiftly closing for close-quarters combat. He also carriers a shield, although it is likely that the Mongols only carried a shield for dismounted combat.

Two light cavalrymen are pictured next. The first is armed with a lance and like the heavy cavalryman his quiver is empty, as he depleted his arrows before switching to his secondary melee weapons. His lance has a hook, which was used to unhorse mounted enemies. Light cavalry could also be armed with javelins, as they preferred to avoid hand-to-hand combat. They normally only engaged in close-quarters combat after the heavy cavalry had delivered the coup-de-grace. They would only serve to follow through with the attack and then harry the retreating enemy.

The final rider is armed with the preferred weapon of the Mongol cavalry, especially light: the composite bow and arrow. The Central Asian tribes were renowned for horse archery and the Mongols were no exception. The Mongols used a composite bow, carried down from Ancient times. Although short, the composite bow was extremely powerful with its recurve action. The Mongols also developed a special thumb ring with a nock, this allowed the archer to pull the arrow back beyond his ear, giving the shot more accuracy and even greater power.

In a typical battle, the Mongol horse archers would begin by harassing the enemy, when the enemy pursued, the Mongol archers skillfully turned around in their saddles and shot their arrows back at their pursuers. Since this clever tactic was made famous by Parthians of Antiquity, it has become known as the “Parthian Shot.” If the enemy continued to pursue, they would lead them into an ambush. Such skillful tactics helped the Mongols conquer the greatest land empire in history.

Next, is the iconic vessel of the Classical World: the Trireme. This is a Greek, specifically an Athenian trireme from 480 BC, the year of the decisive naval Battle of Salamis.

The triremes are called what they are, because they carry three banks of rowers. The ship was primarily oar-powered. Although this trireme is pictured with its sails set, the sails were usually only hoisted for long journeys. In battle, they were lowered and relied entirely on oar-power.

A trireme had a crew of about 200: a trierarch or captain, a kybernetes(helmsman), two taxiarchs(lieutenants), a prorates(lookout), a keleustes(boatswain), a naupegos(shipwright), a pentekontarchos(qusrtermaster), an auletes(piper who sounded the rhythm of the oars), 10 hoplites and 4 archers serving as epibatai(marines), ten sailors to hoist the sails, and 170 rowers.

Contrary to popular belief, the Ancient Greeks did not normally employ slaves as oarsmen. Instead, the rowers were poorer citizens who could not afford to serve as fully armed and armored hoplites. In times of need, the epibatai hoplites were also employed as rowers. In rare instances of emergency, slaves were employed as rowers.

Three officers are shown on deck, while the kybernetes is at the stern operating the steering oars. On the front of the trireme is its primary weapon: a bronze ram. The ram could be used in a two main ways: they could ram the enemy ship’s hull or stern, sinking the ship or they could be used to destroy the enemy’s oars, immobilizing the vessel and then perhaps board the vessel. The Athenian triremes in the 4^th Century BC, Athenian triremes were equipped thirty spare oars to be prepared for the common dilemma of broken oars.

I featured triremes like this in my scene titled The Battle of Salamis, my depiction of the namesake watershed battle.

I also featured this scene, along with depictions of the concurrent land battles of Marathon and Thermopylae for an exclusive interview and co-commentary about the Greco-Persian Wars with my brother, an Ancient Greek enthusiast.

The video may be found here.