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ARMY In the character of their warfare, the Persians of the Sassanian period did not greatly differ from the same people under the Achaemenian kings. The principal changes which time had brought about were an almost entire disuse of the war chariot and the advance of the elephant corps into a very prominent and important position. Four main arms of the service were recognized, each standing on a different level: viz. the elephants, the horse, the archers, and the ordinary footmen. George Rawlinson "''The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World: The Seventh Monarchy: History of the Sassanian or New Persian Empire''" Page 189 Ranks
Cavalry .]] in the 2005 hit PC game .]] s War elephants in the Battle Of Vartanantz ]] The backbone of the ''Spah'' سپاه (army) in the Sassanid era was their heavy armoured cavalry. This was made up of noblemen who underwent extensive exercises in warfare and military manoeuvres through military training, gaining discipline and becoming truly elite soldiers. Within the Sassanian military, the cavalry was the most influential element, and Sassanian cavalry tactics were adopted by the Romans, Arabs, and Turks. Their cavalry systems of weaponry, battle tactics, Tamgas, Medallions, court customs, and costumes influenced Romano-Byzantine and medieval European culture, and this book allows the reader to see how a little-studied eastern power affected the development of cavalry traditions in the western world. Farrokh, Kaveh ''Sassanian Elite Cavalry, AD224-642''. Book Description It was after several wars between the Sassanids and Romans that the Romans came to realize the importance of heavy cavaly, and afterwards they re-organized their heavy cavalry units around oriental (Sassanid in particular) models. They called these newly formed units Clibanarii ; It is said the word clibanarii is derived from Persian word ''griwbanwar'' or ''griva-pana-bara'' meaning ''neck-guard wearer''. Shapur II reformed the army by adopting heavier and more effective cavalry. These mounted units were clad in thick iron plates which covered their entire body. This made them look very much like moving iron statues. Some were armed with a lance and some with a sword and/or mace. There are depictions of aforementioned cavalry, one of the best preserved ones is on a rock relief at Taq-e Bostan where Khosrau II is on his favourite horse Shabdiz . The fighting equipment of the heavily-armed Sassanid horsemen were:
Along with the heavy cavalry there were lighter-armoured cavalry which were not made up of Sassanids but were recruited from their allies and supplemented by mercenary troops. Gelani (Guilani), Albani , Hephthalite s, Kushan s and the Khazar s were the main suppliers of this light to medium armoured cavalry. They were an essential part of ''spah'' because of their endurance and speed on the battlefield. Both types of cavalry units were supported by War Elephant s and elite Foot Archer s who showered the enemy with storms of arrows. The elephant corps held the first position. It was recruited from India, but was at no time very numerous. Great store was set by it; and in some of the earlier battles against the Arabs the victory was regarded as gained mainly by this arm of the service. It acted with best effect in an open and level district; but the value put upon it was such that, however rough, mountainous, and woody the country into which the Persian arms penetrated, the elephant always accompanied the march of the Persian troops, and care was taken to make roads by which it could travel. The elephant corps was under a special chief, known as the Zend−hapet, or "Commander of the Indians," either because the beasts came from that country, or because they were managed by natives of Hindustan .George Rawlinson "''The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World: The Seventh Monarchy: History of the Sassanian or New Persian Empire''" Page 189. These giant beasts acted as walking towers on battlefields and caused panic and disorder in enemy ranks, creating openings in the lines that cavalry could take advantage of.
Infantry s.]] The infantry were mostly lightly-armoured spearman but in some battles heavy infantry was deployed. These well-paid, heavily-armoured infantry (carrying either sword or mace) were the equals of the Roman legions. For instance during Khosrau I era, his infantry were more disciplined and better equipped than Byzantine legions. The Daylam and Sogdiana provinces of the empire were famous for their formidable ability as foot soldiers. The archers formed the elite of the Persian infantry. They were trained to deliver their arrows with extreme rapidity, and with an aim that was almost unerring. The huge wattled shields, adopted by the Achaemenian Persians from the Assyrians, still remained in use; and from behind a row of these, rested upon the ground and forming a sort of loop−holed wall, the Sassanian bowmen shot their weapons with great effect; nor was it until their store of arrows was exhausted that the Romans, ordinarily, felt themselves upon even terms with their enemy. Sometimes the archers, instead of thus fighting in line, were intermixed with the heavy horse, with which it was not difficult for them to keep pace. They galled the foe with their constant discharges frombetween the ranks of the horsemen, remaining themselves in comparative security, as the legions rarely ventured to charge the Persian mailed cavalry. If they were forced to retreat, they still shot backwards as they fled; and it was a proverbial saying with the Romans that they were then especially formidable.George Rawlinson "''The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World: The Seventh Monarchy: History of the Sassanian or New Persian Empire''" Page 184
Siege weapons The Sassanids (unlike the Parthians) had organized and efficient methods of siege warfare for conquering walled towns. Many methods were learned from the Romans, but soon the Sassanids came to match them not only in the use of offensive siege engines such as Scorpion s, Ballista e, Battering Ram s, but they also adopted excellent defensive tactics for their fortifications, such as methods for using and countering catapults, for throwing stones or pouring boiling liquid on the attackers or by hurling fire brands and blazing missiles.
AZADAN NOBILITY This class of nobility was first formed in Parthian times, and continuing to the time of the Sassanids they were a force to be reckoned with. They accompanied the king in the wars and stood against the enemy with great courage and discipline. Aztan (Azadan) آزادان (freemen) jealously guarded their status as descendants of ancient Aryan conquerors and the mass of origanlly non-Aryan peasantry. These Azatan formed a numerous minor aristocracy of lower ranking administrators, mostly living on their small estates and providing cavalry backbone of Sassanid army. Of most prestigious were the armoured ''"Aswaran"'' اسوران who normally decided the outcome of a battle. David Nicolle "''Sassanian Armies : the Iranian empire early 3rd to mid-7th centuries AD''" pp. 11 Despite their downfall in the 7th century AD, the legacy of the Savaran endures in Europe, the Caucasus, China, India and the Muslim world. It was the elite cavalry of Sassanian Persia who were the forerunners of the later Medieval European knights, the Arabian Faris, the Caucasian horsemen, the Indian Suwar (derived from Persian Savar), and the Turkish Tarkhans. "Sassanian Elite Cavalry" Book review by Dr. David Khoupenia SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES
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