They were dressed in mail or lamellar armor and helmets, and they sometimes even had armored horses. During the Medieval times German and Scandinavia armies use of mounted crossbowmen. They were used as scouts and skirmishers, for protection of the flanks of the knights and infantry, and to chase away the enemy light cavalry. They would also charge at the enemy flank, and when close shoot at them and then attack the enemy with swords, without reloading.
Defense against the mounted archers were foot archers. Archers on foot or crossbowmen could outshoot the archers riding a horse which were also a larger target. Because of that many armies tried to have enough foot archers and crossbowman.
The Scythians are also credited with inventing the saddle, an almost equally important invention to human history as the bow. Across the ancient world, empires rose and fell. In turn, the Assyrians, the Persians and the Etruscan armies all employed horseback archers, each celebrated in their time for their nobility and expertise. Large armies rarely relied solely on skirmishing horse archers, but there are many examples of victories in which horse archers played a leading part.
Alexander the Great used mounted archers recruited among the Scythians and Dahae during the Greek invasion of India. Archery was not a usual feature of the Roman military as they belatedly realised , but the Romans, scarred from battles with mounted archers, later made use of foreign levies, with regiments of equites sagittarii acting as Rome's horse archers in combat.
However, not all mounted archers were fast and light. Heavyweight horse archers, such as those in the Byzantine and Turkish armies, gradually formed into disciplined units, and shot as volleys rather than as lightweight individual attackers. The most extraordinary triumph of mounted archery came from 12th-century Mongolian leader Genghis Khan. Over 50 years or so, this illiterate horseman and his handful of troops built the largest contiguous empire in history, defeating far more advanced armies with a well-trained army of disciplined archers on horseback.
Unlike his enemies, Khan realised the immense military potential of mounted archers and their ability to overcome greater numbers. His ranks included both heavy and light horse archers, with each soldier carrying up to 70 arrows with different points to cover a variety of battle situations, including armour-piercing steel points, grenades and incendiaries.
These arrows were carried in specially divided quivers. Khan saw that the massed arrow volley was a tremendous psychological weapon. His archers would ride in tight ranks and unleash volleys at targets selected and marked out by whistling arrows. On the Korean track one, two, or five targets are set up to the left of the rider, with their centre 1m above the ground.
The track is 90 or m long, and has to be finished, and all targets shot at, within 12 or 15 seconds. Various other disciplines are being practiced in different countries, and new ones developed all the time, even tracks with jumps and other obstacles, or 3D archery on horseback on cross-country courses. Advanced riding skills are a prerequisite in all forms of horseback archery. When handling bow and arrow, there is no hand left to hold the reins, and the rider has to be able to command his horse with his weight and legs alone.
This is the ideal time for arrow release, while the rider straightens up in the saddle. The next arrow has to be pulled out of the quiver and put on the string without taking the eyes off the next target. All breeds of horses are suited for horseback archery, but the horse has to be specially trained, so as not to spook when the rider is handling pointy objects within its field of vision.
The twang of the string and the sudden rapid movement of a projectile can easily result in panic reaction in unconditioned horses!
So the mount has to be taken through a process of careful training and conditioning to learn that there is no danger in whatever the rider does on its back — and it is the responsibility of the horseback archer to make sure it is so. Nowadays, there are HBA associations to be found in most European countries as well as in the US, to help people start their journey in this fascinating sport.
All of them, and many others throughout the world, help keeping the international traditions of horseback archery alive, and develop it into a sport of the future. Would you be able to provide the names or sources of the manuscripts referenced, particularly the 14th century manuscripts that references the Mongols?
Thank you! After the decline of communism in the 20th century, Hungarians sought to become reacquainted with their traditional roots.
Mounted archery as a martial art was very supportive in the rediscovery of Hungarian history and national identity.
Lajos Kassai is credited with helping to revive the sport of horseback archery first in Hungary than internationally. Kassai invented the competitive rule system of horse archery in the late s, and started to propagate this new sport. He familiarized himself with Zen-archery in Kamakura, Japan, and travelled to Shao-lin in China to study. Check out ArcherHistorian. Poland has been quick to take up the sport at a very high level and are very well represented at the very highest level of the sport.
The Polish track is typically much longer meters to 1 KM than other styles of competitive horseback archery and consists of a combination of many shooting style and arrangements. There is a strong continuum of archery practiced in Turkey. The ancient nomads of Anatolia relied on their composite horse bows for hunting and warfare. Much later, archery was still a highly regarded skill in the Ottoman empire. Turkey still has a strong archery tradition to this day with tournaments emphasizing flight shooting and the qabaq.
In the qabaq style, an object such as a metal plate or ball is placed on top of a mast several meters in the air. The horse archer must ride past the mast and try to hit the object on top.
This practice may have arisen from mounted archers shooting up fortified walls. Mongolia has a long tradition with horse bows and mounted archery. Nomadic life on the steppe preconditioned the Mongols for great success in warfare. Ghenghis Khan would not have been able to establish the largest land empire of history without his mounted archers. Over the centuries and with the introduction of firearms, traditional mounted archery had declined on the Mongolian steppe. Check out ArcheryHistorian.
Korea has a long history with archery, and some of the best professional modern archers are of Korean descent. In the South Korean government passed a law to help encourage and preserve traditional Korean martial arts, among them, horseback archery.
There are several Korean horseback archery tracks each with a different number of targets. The Samurai were well-practiced in the art of mounted archery. Eventually in Japan, like in many other parts of the world, archery began its decline with the introduction of firearms by the Portuguese in the 16th century. In recent decades, however the practice of mounted archery has seen a revival as many Japanese seek a connection with their national heritage and traditions.
The long, asymmetric traditional Japanese bow known as the yumi is used in both practices. Archery has long been practiced in China and has in recent times been revitalized. Several archery enthusiasts manufacture quality horse bows whose designs are influenced by many Asiatic composite bows throughout history.
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