Depictions of archery in Sassanian silver plates and their relationship to warfare

Abstract

<p>This article provides an examination of archery techniques, such as drawing techniques of the bowstring, the method of grasping the bow grip and placing the arrow, and their relationship to warfare as depicted on 22 Sassanian and early post-Sassanian silver plates. These plates provide useful information on Sassanian archery equipment and techniques. These plates can be categorized into the following categories: (a) foot archery, (b) horse archery, c) dromedary archery and (d) elephant archery. All plates examined in this study depicting these categories are in a hunting milieu. The largest proportion of plates pertain to horse archery which in turn can be classified into four combat subsets: forward-facing horse archery, the backward-firing Parthian shot, horse archery with stirrups, and horse archery while appearing to ride backwards.</p>

Khosrow II (590–628 CE)

“…He regards the depiction of elephants as an allusion to India, while the roaming boars in extensive marshy lands imply the conquest of Egypt [40] (pp. [48][49]. This pictorial expression of the vastness of Khosrow's territories points out the increase in his farr that is also observable in the nimbus around the king's head in the second episode of the relief [40] (pp.…”

“…Thus, it can be assumed that the great ayvan was constructed to depict the increase in farr as a result of Khosrow's victorious campaigns in the west and the east [40] (pp. [47][48].…”

“…This pictorial expression of the vastness of Khosrow's territories points out the increase in his farr that is also observable in the nimbus around the king's head in the second episode of the relief [40] (pp. [48][49]. The depiction of the nimbus may also be a sign of a successful hunt, as this type of imagery was employed in late Sasanian metal plates [41] (p. 183).…”

“…Last but not least, the depiction of elephants, a non-native species in the heartland of the Sasanian Empire, is considerable. The elephant was a valuable animal for the Sasanian court: troops of elephants proved to be a real threat to the Roman army [48] (p. 92). The illustration of a great number of these large mammals in the service of Khosrow II could yet be another emphasis on his invincibility.…”

ScholarOne - The Colonial Origin of Population Resettlement: Evidence from Manchuria

“…For example, the Roman Empire resettled between 15,000 -30,000 peasant soldiers to its northern frontiers (Birley, 2013(Birley, , 1961Collingwood, 1921), 1 to fend off northern invaders while cultivating lands near their major forts. Khosrou I of the Sasanian Empire relied on 120,000 peasant soldiers (paighan) to guard the frontiers of his four military districts (Farrokh, 2012). Tsarist Russia ordered a large number of semi-military Cossacks to resettle in Siberia, especially at the confluences of major river and portages key to securing fur and ivory trade routes, following its conquest of the region in 1580 (Lantzeff and Pierce, 1973;Lincoln, 2007).…”