Parthian shot
Encyclopedia
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
made famous by the Parthians
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
, ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat
Withdrawal (military)
A withdrawal is a type of military operation, generally meaning retreating forces back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a general retreat, to consolidate forces, to occupy ground that is more easily defended, or to lead the enemy into an ambush...
; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his bow
Composite bow
A composite bow is a bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the back of a wooden core. Sinew and horn will store more energy than wood for the same length of bow...
. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse.
This tactic was used by most Eurasian nomads
Eurasian nomads
Eurasian nomads are a large group of peoples of the Eurasian Steppe. This generic title encompasses the ethnic groups inhabiting the steppes of Central Asia, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe. They domesticated the horse, and their economy and culture emphasizes horse breeding, horse riding, and a...
, including the Scythians, Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
, Magyars, and Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
, and it eventually spread to armies away from the Eurasian steppe
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It stretches from Hungary to Mongolia...
, such as the Sassanid
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
clibanarii
Clibanarii
The Clibanarii or Klibanophoroi were a Sassanid Persian, late Roman and Byzantine military unit of heavy armored horsemen. Similar to the cataphracti, the horsemen themselves and their horses were fully armoured...
s and cataphracts.
A notable battle in which this tactic was employed (by the Parthians) was the Battle of Carrhae
Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...
. In this battle the Parthian shot was a principal factor in the Parthian victory over the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
general Crassus.
Parting shot / Parthian shot
"Parthian shot" is not to be confused with the phrase "parting shot". The first official record of the use of the phrase "parting shot" was by John McCleod, surgeon on board His Majesty's ship AlcesteHMS Alceste (1806)
The Minerve was a 38-gun Armide class frigate of the French Navy, captured by the British in 1806 and brought into Royal Navy service as HMS Alceste. She was wrecked in 1817.-French service:...
contained in "A narrative of a Voyage to the Yellow Sea" (1818):
In 1828 records in "The Friend, or Advocate of Truth" (a publication of The Religious Society of Friends) used the phrase in the figurative sense, being the first officially to do so on official records:
It is quite obvious that the two phrases have rather similar phonetic soundings but are actually separately derived at different times. Although the Parthian archers of old have been famous for their shooting the term "parthian shot" was actually officially used and recorded for the first time only in 1832 by Captain Mundy, ADC to Lord Combermere on a hunting trip in India:
The figurative use of the phrase "Parthian shot" only appeared much later in The Times (1842):
If chronology were to be the source, it would appear that the English usage of "parting shot" actually preceded the use of the phrase "Parthian shot". "Parthian shot" is now rather archaic and rarely used. "Parting shot" is far more likely to be encountered.
Parthian cavil
See also
- Mounted archeryMounted archeryA horse archer, horsed archer, or mounted archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow, able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals...
- FeintFeintFeint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will...
- Pyrrhic victoryPyrrhic victoryA Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
- CaracoleCaracoleThe caracole or caracol is a turning manoeuvre on horseback in dressage and, previously, in military tactics.- Dressage caracole :...
, a similar cavalry maneuver - Cantabrian circleCantabrian circleThe Cantabrian circle was a military tactic employed by ancient and to a lesser extent medieval horse archers. As Flavius Arrianus and Hadrian relate, this was the most habitual form to appear in combat of the Cantabri tribes, and Rome adopted it after the Cantabrian Wars.A group of horse...
- The Purloined Letter Approach