These horsemen are well disciplined and heavily armoured. Feared by almost any foe, they can be relied in any battle to deliver the crushing blow that will bring victory.

Elite
Disciplined
Hardy

The heavy Cataphract cavalry provides the hammer which forces infantry to stand their formations, providing the horse archers with the perfect target. If the enemy should break ranks the shock tactics employed by the Parthians on their armoured mounts were lightning quick and brutally efficient. These are the men that in Parthian armies were expected to deliver the crushing blow that brought victory. The arms they wield are the lance for shock action and the heavy mace to bludgeon armoured opponents. They are superbly equipped with a conical helm and attached scale aventail. A corselet of iron scale armour would protect the torso and laminated (banded) arm guards would emerge from the shoulder, completely encasing the arms down to the wrist. Thigh guards and leg defenses of banded armour would be attached to quilted cuisses secured to the belt with leather thongs.

Historically, a Cataphract charge was generally less impetuous than the charges of the feudal knights of Western Europe, but very effective due to the discipline and the concentrated mass of troops deployed. Any army consistently faced with the light horse tactics used by the steppe peoples tended to adopt a very cautious approach to battle. Pahlavân-î Zrêhbârân means armoured heroes, and the cataphracts were at Carrhae and in every Parthian army recorded victory.