How Rome Built Heavy Cavalry: Goths, Cataphracts & the End of the Ancient World | Roman History

Описание: In the second part of our Roman Cavalry History series, Rupert Isaacson is again joined by Dr. Philip Wirtz, former professor at SOAS University of London, to explore how Roman cavalry evolved during the late Empire—and how this transformation quietly laid the groundwork for medieval warfare.

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Picking up where Part 1 left off, this episode examines how Rome absorbed, systematized, and ultimately was challenged by the very horse cultures it had integrated into its military machine. As the Empire reached its height under emperors like Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius, Roman cavalry became increasingly sophisticated, combining light skirmishing forces with heavily armed shock cavalry capable of close, three‑dimensional combat.

Drawing on archaeology, reliefs such as Trajan’s Column, written sources like Ammianus Marcellinus, and material finds from frontier forts, the conversation explores the rise of the Roman saddle, long swords, heavy lances, and fully armored horse-and-rider units known as cataphracts—all developed without the use of stirrups.

The episode then follows the pressure building along Rome’s frontiers as Goths, Sarmatians, and steppe peoples pushed westward. These master horsemen did not merely defeat Roman armies—they inherited and expanded Roman cavalry traditions, turning them into the foundations of early medieval warfare. The sack of Rome and the fragmentation of the Western Empire marked not the end of Roman horsemanship, but its transmission into the next age.

This episode closes the Roman chapter of the story and sets the stage for the early medieval cavalry traditions that would shape Europe for centuries.


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What you’ll learn
• How Roman cavalry changed during the height of the Empire
• The difference between light cavalry, heavy cavalry, and mixed units
• Why the Roman saddle mattered more than stirrups
• How cataphracts fought with fully armored horses and riders
• What Trajan’s Column reveals about Roman riding and equipment
• How Goths and steppe peoples practiced advanced mounted skills
• Why Rome was vulnerable to the horse cultures it had adopted
• How late Roman cavalry evolved into medieval knighthood

Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: from early to late Roman cavalry
00:02:17 – Light and heavy cavalry roles in the Empire
00:06:00 – The imperial Roman army and cavalry organization
00:09:37 – Archaeology, inscriptions, and frontier evidence
00:12:19 – Elite cavalry horses and Trajan’s Column
00:14:11 – Goths, steppe peoples, and pressure on Rome
00:15:09 – Roman saddles, shock combat, and fighting without stirrups
00:18:47 – Frontier collapse and strategic retreat
00:22:20 – Cataphracts and the road to medieval warfare
00:28:36 – From Roman cavalry to medieval Europe

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