Mongol Heavy Cavalry Part 1: Weapons and Equipment

In this new series, we look at what the historical sources say about Mongolian heavy cavalry; how they were equipped and how much of the Mongol army was made up of them. In the following videos we will explore how they fare against the military powers across Asia.
Part 2: Mongols vs Jin Dynasty • Mongol Heavy Cavalry P...
Part 3: Mongols vs Khwarezm, Delhi and Qipchaqs • Mongol Heavy Cavalry P...
Part 4: Mongol Cavalry vs Knights: • Mongol Heavy Cavalry P...
Part 5: Mongols vs Mamluks • Mongol Heavy Cavalry P...
Video series on Nomad Blacksmithing: • Nomad Blacksmithing 1:...
Full Source List: docs.google.com/document/d/1V...
Select Bibliography
‘Ala-ad-Din ‘Ata-Malik Juvaini. The History of the World-Conqueror. Vol 1.
Campaigns of Činggis Qan [Shengwu Qinzheng Lu 聖武親征錄]. Translated by Christopher
Atwood. Forthcoming
“History of Jin 金史.” Chinese Notes.
The Hypatian Codex II: Galician-Volynian Chronicle. Trans. George A. Perfecky
Ibn al-Athir. The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh,
Part 3, The Year 589-629/1193-1231: The Ayyubids after Saladin and the Mongol Menace. Translated by D.S. Richards
Ibn Battuta. The Travels of Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1325-1354. Volume II. Translated by H.A.R. Gibb.
John de Plano Carpini. “History of the Mongols.” In Mission to Asia: Translated by a Nun of Stanbrook Abbey. Edited by Christopher Dawson,
Li Xinchuan. “Selections from Random Notes from Court and Country since the Jianyan Years." Trans. Christopher Atwood
Maurice’s Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. Translated by George T.
Dennis.
Marco Polo. The Description of the World. Translated by Sharon Kinoshita.
Master Roger. Master Roger’s Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the
Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars. Translated by Janos M. Bak and Martyn Rady.
Matthew Paris. Matthew Paris’s English History. Vol. 1. From the year 1235 to 1273. Translated by J.A. Giles.
Peng Daya and Xu Ting. “A Sketch of the Black Tatars.” Trans. Christopher Atwood.
Rashiduddin Fazlullah. Jami’ u’t-tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles: Trans. W.M. Thackston.
Rashīd al-Dīn. The Successors of Genghis Khan. Translated by John Andrew Boyle.
The Secret History of the Mongols. Trans. Igor de Rachewiltz.
Simon of St. Quentin. Simon of Saint-Quentin: History of the Tartars. Translated and edited by Stephen Pow, Tamás Kiss, Anna Romsics, Flora Ghazaryan.
Thomas of Split. History of the Bishops of Salona and Split. Translated by Damir Karbić,
Mirjana Matijević Sokol, and James Ross Sweeney
William of Rubruck. The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan Möngke, 1253-1255. Translated by Peter Jackson
Zhao Gong. “A Memorandum on the Mong-Tatars.” Trans. Christopher Atwood.
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#mongolempire #documentary #genghiskhan #heavycavalry

[@specalbearguy6951]

Imagine finding an authentic 13th century great helm in asia or japan

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

It would be really cool though the chances are incredibly slim. For now it remains in the realm of "technically possible but no way to prove it."

[@Heresjonnyagain]

Japan is in Asia

[@Aboredtaxan]

Yea and most likely not in we’ll condition if it’s in Japan

[@mustafmohamed6367]

Wow your probably the best and most detailed Mongol History channel on KZbin. Love your work, keep making great videos Jackmeister.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you very much, though I am not sure how many Mongol History channels there are on KZbin to compare to!

[@i_love_crpg]

probably the only one. jack is literally the best when it comes to mongol history from a western perspective because this guy purely cares about the history aspect and nothing else. every other western history channel on the other hand, talks out their ass. jack deserves far more subscribers imho

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Another video series that has been long requested: looking at how historical sources describe heavy cavalry of the Mongol Empire (and whether it existed in the first place) Part 2: Mongols vs Jin Dynasty: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIHEimCml7edm80 Part 3: Mongols vs Khwarezm, Delhi and Qipchaqs kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpC9eqporpmqrLc Part 4: Mongol Cavalry vs Knights: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWO9mJ-wfcl_eKs Part 5: Mongols vs Mamluks kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGjMm3SdfrmksKc Full source list here: docs.google.com/document/d/1V6_yNgy4O_BY1YbRe9KiahJbIf-VMrREh4sOHYBkBFc/edit

[@alexandermenschmaschine5361]

For me Mongol heavy cavalry was the real question. I heard that they have it and it was obvious that they should implement such a type of regiment when Empire grew larger and new peoples were taken under Mongolian control. But I had no idea how it looked like and operated. Thank you for the one more absolutely great video!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Very glad you liked it! It's been long requested so I was happy to finally start getting these made. Part 2 is now up early for patrons and channel members

[@majungasaurusaaaa]

They fielded anything from Jurchen style cataphracts to Armenian and Georgian european style couched lancers.

[@Vektordeformacio]

I think Age of Empires 2 depicts the mongols quite well. It does leave elite cavalry like paladins and plate barding off, so as a correlation to the civilizations it is reasonable. A good root for me, and this video is a good lead on further research. I like steppe history and I feel super lucky to find you, as this is such a territory where misinformation spreads like an epidemic.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you for the kind words! I am not really familiar with Age of Empires, but I googled them and I suppose they look alright for the scale. Though it looks like they gave them rather late medieval european type lances.

[@perrytran9504]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory AoE 2 came out in '99 before this information was widely available, the remaster in 2019 remained faithful with sprite design since the game definitely never tried to be super historically authentic. But it does often have nods to history with its tech tree like the OP mentioned.

[@Nickball97]

There is not a single civilizations that is even remotely "accurately depicted" in AoE 2.

[@rafael_yorkhan8805]

Video sumamente esperado!! Esto va a ser una joya Saludos Jack, un gustazo

[@ulfrsatyr642]

I’m a buhurt fighter and use a Mongolian style kit. I love hearing about the history or my armor of choice.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

A man of taste, I see

[@lobstereleven4610]

Thank you for the video, looking forward to the series!

[@lastbastia]

dude this was awesome, your stuff just keeps getting better--keep it coming PLEASE!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That's the plan! Next parts are on track for release next week

[@gulamman5817]

Thanks. Really excited to also see the heavy cavalry from ither parts of Asia.

[@wyattd5391]

Just found this channel. Only 10 seconds into this video and I'm thankful for you posting this kind of content!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you, I am very glad you enjoyed it!

[@lazyfimfim]

Really interesting. As i'm currentrly looking for sources to make a "quite"historically accurate mongol armor for buhurt, your video lands on time perfectly !

[@francisnicolas1819]

This whole channel is a great resource for a sadly neglected area of history. I love watching these, keep up the good work.

[@raminhistory]

Thank you for this video, Rashidaldin sitting beside Shanbe Ghazan, was a great view.

[@zakkart]

On the topic of battlefield loot, can you also make a video discussing how spoils from a battlefield are distributed and utilized by the different historical steppe peoples of Eurasia? Do they melt or reforge them into their own styles or sell them essentially for scrap if its been too damaged?

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That's a good question! I'm not sure if anyone has really done a study on that aspect beyond the Mongol example. There we see them collecting all of the loot and handing it out; not melting down but reusing it as is if it was in good condition (we know for instance that Batu even took king Bela's tent after the battle of Mohi, as a few years later European travellers saw it in his camp). But what about damaged equipment? I'm not sure but I will keep my eye out for it.

[@MagnumOpusMAGI]

Fantastic video with fantastic research and interpretation!!! Thanks!!!

[@rpersen]

Great video, subbed.

[@MariaLobacz-lh7dd]

Excellent and detailed presentation.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you, I try!

[@michaelrredford]

Thanks!

[@wyattw9727]

JFC, if the cavalry barding was using three or four layers of oxhide fused together with pitch that's like, north of 5-7mm or even more of leather depending on the varying parts of the hide. At least for the cavalry barding that would be near impenetrable by 13th century standards. No wonder they gave the horses week long breaks.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That's a very good point and I should have thought about that. It would certainly go a long way to explain why so many sources state things along the lines of "this type of armour is really, really good." Probably part of the interest in the lamellar armours at least, is that the mobility and weight of them in comparison to a full laminar-leather armour may have been easier on horse and rider in some instances.

[@wyattw9727]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory In this instance I'd imagine the appeal of metal armors wasn't even due to superior protection but just weight efficiency, since it reaches the point of 'stopping a 200 joule thrust 95% of the time' without making an unhorsed rider waddle around like a turtle or exhaust a horse. It's a shame there isn't a statement on how many layers of hide were used for the rider's panoply vs the horse barding, since it could point to why Europeans were impressed by its performance.

[@-straenbegleitgrun-6499]

good video

[@Steven-dt5nu]

Love the breakdown on how contemporary and archeological sources work. Not what we feel.

[@Artur_M.]

Very interesting and informative video!👍

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you!

[@Artur_M.]

@The Jackmeister: Mongol History I loved the detail about local Germans in Bratislava (Pressburg/Pozsony) staring at the Ruthenian troops in "Tatar armour", and the thought of some Mongols invading Japan in captured European armour.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

It's quite the description that we get of Danylo's troops in the "Tatar armour." From the Halych-Volhynian Chronicle: "[Bela IV] rode forth with them to meet Prince Danilo, and Danilo approached him with all his troops in battle formation. The Germans marvelled at [their] Tatar armour: all of the horses had mail over their heads and [their bodies] were covered with leather, and the riders [also] wore armour. And the splendour of his regiments was indeed great due to the lustre of their weapons. [Danilo] himself rode at the king's side in accordance with the traditions of Rus'. The horse he rode was [wondrous to behold] and his saddle was of pure gold. His arrows and sword were adorned with gold and other ornaments, so that one did not cease marvelling at them, [while he himself was dressed in] a fur-coat trimmed with Greek olovir and gold lace and boots made of green leather stitched together with gold. The Germans could not cease staring and admiring [all of this] "

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

It is only unfortunate that the chronicle was not more precise regarding what precisely "Tatar armour," entailed, however.

[@Artur_M.]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Thanks for posting the whole excerpt!

[@zhutaizong6111]

The Mongol armies stationed near their homebase were heavily armoured. But this type of equipment needed a logistical base for maintenance. So most of the expeditionary forces towards the West were not equipped to the same extent as the forces in the East.

[@JerboGod]

Are you the one who draws all the drawings of your videos ? They're great ! I love the style (:

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Yes! Unless I state otherwise as every so often people contribute things.

[@MB-tj7xh]

This is a great video. Thank you for your work! I appreciate your unbiased interpretation of fact-checked material. And i know this question might come too late, but i wonder about mongolian fashion. What would your everyday mongol wear and what would a noble wear? do certain aspects that might've influenced the fashion like buddhism (uppointed boots?), already start to influence mongolian fashion? What about other cultures? I always see certain robes in chinese dramas that seem very turkic/mongolic originated. Are these results of early turkic-chinese civilizations Or did the mongol hordes spread them. Haha, so many questions^^

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

We actually have quite a bit of information on this (and a handful of 13th/14th century Mongol/Yuan garments that actually survive). I'll hope to do more work on this in future and compile the information, but in short: generally the cut and shape of garment did not differ too much between common Mongol or elite. What would differ is the material. So a rich Mongol had a deel of silk, or spun with gold. These are especially so-called "robes of honour" that the Khan would give out as reward, called jisün (Chinese zhama 詐馬), which made of nasij (its Arabic name; in Turkic nakh, Mongolian nashishi, Chinese 納失失, and the “Tatar cloth” of European sources). It was a silk weave, interwoven with gold threat. They would also wearing fine fur ermine-lined coats (or just coats entirely of ermine). Khubilai at one point also had shoes made of fish skin (supposedly to help with his gout).

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

It's quite an interesting topic and I'd like to read more into it for future videos, but I do have a video series more broadly on Mongol uses of silk: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5SZYX2mjKimn9U and kzbin.info/www/bejne/onymoqylpLStmNk

[@MB-tj7xh]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory thank you for the link!

[@user-jf4wx1fu2s]

Very good video.

[@abukharan5774]

Juda yakshi Interesting subject

[@nicktrueman224]

I find it striking that the 4th or 5thc find at Balik Sook is essentially exactly what the Mongols supposedly wore? It's a very important find the lamellar cuirass and laced up helmet are all preserved. Rag armour a form of barding is light, lamellar is heavier. I have worn maile with lamellar and I could not feel very hard hits from blunt edged weapons. I really do think with a good cuirass enemies would need to find weak points to cut you down. As for arrow I am unsure, definitely not at distance. Nice vid thanks

[@kirkcavenaugh758]

Good video

[@beepboop204]

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Exactly

[@papazataklaattiranimam]

I think Hephthalite Cavalryman art of jfoliveras actually represents a general summary of ancient Altaic war clothing.

[@coleob8071]

LOL. What the turkified arab, iranian and greek of anatolia doing here?

[@conquistador5228]

​​@@coleob8071 it seems trying to portray anything about Mongolians like as if they are linked to Turkics is their national duty. These turks are cringe LoL.

[@Sultan_Of_Rum]

OMG I found your comment in every vid I watched like you are a bot.

[@GreaterAfghanistanMovement]

One again i see you on every video and claiming Afghan empires like Heptalithes! Get a life you Greek!

[@vladimirboskovic]

You got a new subscriber

[@nowthenzen]

Everything is 'fun' JM until a warrior elite leads a nomadic hoard across an unfordable river, defeats your ill prepared army and depopulates your neighborhood by 70% so their horses have grass to eat.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That just sounds like a different type of fun

[@RenGader]

I've seen depictions of Mongol armour where metal lamellar and leather laminar plates were laced in layers one after the other. Do you know of any specific reason why this was done?

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

To my knowledge there is no direct explanation for this. Two possibilities come to mind but I am open to others. 1) cheaper than a full set of just metal lamellar (you cut out half of the metal, and reduce the cost) 2) maximize protective qualities of both. Metal it more durable, but less potential gaps between plates that can be exposed, if half of it is bands of laminar. And sources are otherwise very clear that the leather laminar was perfective protective in its own right so it's not that much of a sacrifice protection-wise.

[@hidesbehindpseudonym1920]

Calvary is a place. It's spelled right in the title.

[@fennisdembo34]

it's a nitpick to be sure, but when it's repeated dozen of times... maaaan. otherwise: excellent, excellent video.

[@battlez9577]

3:39 Might this source might be speaking less of the horses of the early Mongolian empire, and those available to trade by the Golden Horde, situated as it was on the Western half of the Eurasian Steppe, and so a further reason for a small number of heavy cav in a sea of light cav

[@rockman2010]

It’s most definetely horses gained by trade or conquest of new areas. Native Mongol horse breeds are small and not suited to be armored.

[@kaybevang536]

The Golden Horde adopted a bit of Cuman Khipchak armor but the crusader helmet would Be the most bizarre yet hilarious sight to behold

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

There actually isn't very good evidence for the Golden Horde adopting specific Cuman-Qipchaq armours, because we have very few graves of Qipchaqs with armour and helmets that reliably pre-date the Mongol invasion; most of these graves that were previously dated to eleventh-twelfth century in older scholarship, have now been shown to be dating to late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.. The iconic masks that are so commonly associated with the Qipchaqs are not found in any of the pre-Mongol graves. The helmet-style that they are routinely found with actually appears to be a type of helmet that arrives to the region after the Mongols. The belief tends to be now that armour was very rare amongst the Cuman-Qipchaqs (perhaps much rarer than even among the twelfth century Mongols), and so far even maille is relatively rare; lamellar has not been found in association with them at all.

[@kaybevang536]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistoryupdate some people believe the Cuman Turkic Tribes May have not started the whole mask and helmet trend the mongols and eastern Turkic peoples had that style but with a mongol helmet and probably brought to the khipchaks in the 1230-1240s as archeologists found Cuman khipchak graves with these iconic helmets are the 13th And 14th so around the mongol and timurid period

[@TanielaKaufusi]

Alot of their armor and gear was acquired from neighboring countries through trade and/or war

[@tonlito22]

For Western European equipment taken and used by the Mongols, I have some theories of use. Mail, brigandines, lamellar, scale and breastplates would probably be worn mostly as is, though certain items of supplemental use like mail gauntlets or full mail leggings would likely only see use in close fights like storming a city. Some helmets, especially those with really good visibility would also probably be used as it, though almost certainly adapted to Mongol styles of fashion, perhaps a kettle hat might be painted or have a fox tail crest attached. Other helmets like the cervellier and early bascinets, the skull caps worn beneath great helms might form the basis of other helmets to be made in more steppe fashions with the additions of visors and aventails of lamellar or laminar. Then we come to the great helm. As funny as it is I have difficulty thinking a Mongol warrior would use one in combat outside of one purpose: storming a city in a close fight. Those look to me like something that would be kept as a trophy or maybe gifted perhaps even as an exchange medium: "I'll trade you three knight helmets for that bolt of silk."

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Yes, this is more or less my opinion. Likely the reason we don't tend to see gauntlets/full helms developing in the other areas of the world is due to this continued reliance on horse archery; any equipment interfering with that (anything that obstructed hands, the movement of pulling the bow, and the vision) was only ever going to see very limited usage. We obviously cannot categorically say a Mongol in 1241 did, or did not, pick up a discarded great helm at Mohi and decide he was going to wear it across the rest of Asia. But it's unlikely he would have kept kept wearing it in many battles, given the Mongols' preferred style of warfare. Perhaps, as you indicate, he kept it tied to his saddle to wear for city assaults, and in the mean time it became a glorified bucket for other purposes.

[@kaybevang536]

Custom character 😂 with the crusader helmet

[@shastaganti7555]

I need a ghosts of Tsushima mod where Khotun Khan has a Great Helm

[@perrytran9504]

One thing Ive been wondering about, do we know how the historical Mongols sat on their horses? In the Medieval European tradition we have both a light (a la jineta) and heavy (a la brida) method. A la jineta uses short stirrups with the rider bending their knees, while a la brida uses long stirrups while sitting straight. I figure your drawings are primarily for illustrative purposes, but I notice they often depict something more resembling a la brida.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

You have good eyes! The 13th century Mongols (as most peoples of the steppe still do today) tended to use rather short stirrups, but with a high saddle. Textual descriptions most usually describe them standing in the saddle (especially at the gallop), but do not, as far a I have personally seen, specify how straight or bent their legs were or were not. One of our main sources for the Mongol invasion of Hungary, Thomas of Split, makes an interesting remark that "[the Mongol] horses are short but sturdy, able to tolerate hunger and toil, and they ride upon them in the manner in which country people do. They race over rocks and stones like mountain goats, without the use of metal shoes." What precisely he means by "country people" has eluded commentators, but it may perhaps be a reference to the "angle" of the riders. Surviving artwork (mostly from the ilkhanate but a few Yuan-era pieces survive) can be a bit hard to interpret due to Mongol clothing and armour obstructing a clear view of the legs, but they're most usually standing and, when in battle, usually with a slight bend to the knee (but there is some variation). Of course we should always be careful with the artwork, where proportions and scale can be a bit off and following artistic conventions. Ethnography of past centuries and modern observation show Mongols and other riders of steppe horses riding in an almost "z"-like posture; lower legs straight, then bending at knee so that the rider is almost "squatting," and then the rider's upper body is bent towards the horse's head, especially for archery. This contrasts again with our surviving artwork, where the steppe riders are normally shown with a much straighter-posture (though, again, this may just be artistic convention rather than accurate reproduction of how they actually riding).

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Probably this is not an exact answer to your question, but this is basically the data set we have to work with and out interpretations must be based on that.

[@fnansjy456]

Did the mongols have infantry ?

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Yes! These used local infantry in China, Islamic world etc. For all their campaigns. By 1216 there are more Chinese fighting for them in China, than there were Mongols fighting there

[@fnansjy456]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory ah I see ,was There ever ethnic mongol infantry unit besides cavalry being used as infantry .

[@ElBandito]

@@fnansjy456 There were no dedicated Mongol foot soldier units. Mongols by nature are horsemen, so without a horse a Mongol would feel very handicapped when going into combat. Sieges, and naval battles would require the Mongols to dismount, however.

[@fnansjy456]

@@ElBandito ah I see

[@fnansjy456]

@@ElBandito thanks

[@kurtru5selcrowe607]

For the algorithm

[@robertfaucher3750]

So i know its been a year but... Would Mongols wear silk shirts for comfort perhaps?

[@t3ngrist620]

mongols so badass that majority didnt even required an armor. damn

[@jabohonu]

12:40 songs name ?

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Desert Caravan, by Aaron Kenny. If I remember right I may even have gotten it from KZbin's Audiolibrary

[@jabohonu]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory thanks 💪. I literally have being looking for it months hahaha

[@ElBandito]

Have the Mongol successor states used different mounts than the hardy Mongolian ponies in their battles, I wonder. After all, they interacted with European, Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Turkic nations along the way, each with different mounts. Was there a favorite breed?

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

We actually do have sources making references to Mongols riding Arab stock horses (called tafchaq in the sources). But it's very unclear if this was a widespread thing, or restricted to a few members of the elite as a matter of status/prestige. I lean towards the later, as we episodes where we see access to these horses making various princes jealous or causing conflict between them, which seems to imply they were not in great supply.

[@MB-tj7xh]

Interestingly the horses( not ponies) might actually be much older than a lot of european breeds. some old breeds like the icelandic pony have been (supposedly) genetically linked to the mongolian horse. the theory might be that mongolian horses where traded from russia by swedish traders. Which then influenced breeds such as the Fjord, Shetties etc. According to Wikipedia the mongolian horse might also be the founding stock of native japanese horse breeds. But thats wikipedia. I personally know of efforts to crossbreed with faster breeds but since mongolia gets very cold and they keep their horses outside all year round, thats probably going to be difficult. So yeah, probably the mongol horse had a hardiness that was required and very few breeds could keep up with.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Yes! And in general, ancient breeds of horse tended to be there stockier, steppe-style horses. The modern tall, long-legged horse (which I have a great deal of experience with in Canada) is a rather fragile animal all things considered, compared especially to even-modern steppe stock. Both in terms of diet (these larger breeds cannot subsist just off of grass) internal biology (it seems to me the larger breeds are much more susceptible to colic etc) but also physically. A steppe horse (and other stocky breeds like it), if it has a fall while on a run, can pick itself up and keep going. A fall for a larger breed (greater weight, longer, thinner legs, greater speeds) can easily cause irreparable damage to the animal.

[@GreaterAfghanistanMovement]

Idk about other Islamic nations but Afghans got their sabres from the Mughals ("Mongol" in Pashto & Persian) and so did the Persians during the Ilkhnahtes.

[@samwill7259]

It was thinking that it would be hard to get up off your back if you fell wearing all that. But then I figure that if you fall flat on your back from the horse in the middle of a battle you probably wouldn't have long to worry about i

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That's true, but if you fall off a horse in any scenario the fall might seriously injure you, regardless if there's armour on you or a battle going on. I mean, look at what happened to actor Christopher Reeve after his fall from a horse in 1995, and he had access to the best medical technology of the time.

[@samwill7259]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Oh. Yea that's also true. I was more considering the charging mass of Chinese or Indians or Mamluks that would probably be along promptly to stick a spear through the gaps in your armor. But the fall might do the job for them

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

@@samwill7259 Certainly; there isn't really an ideal scenario for falling off a horse, I suppose, especially if there's a lot of guys trying to kill you running around at the same time.

[@perrytran9504]

Getting off your back in heavy armor is very doable but needs practice to be optimal and timely. I am speaking as someone who practices in armored combat - basically you need to use leverage and momentum to help you on your way up.

[@user-kd8jx9ze9u]

Thank you for the video, but resources need to be worked with professionally, not just repeated.

[@perrytran9504]

I wonder how the two-handed method they use to hold the lance would perform in practice, as it looks very dissimilar to European methods. The primary sources you quote are somewhat contradictory (no doubt since the Mongols held a large empire with shifting doctrine over time), and I can't find any tests of that among modern reenactors or jousters. No doubt that's partly because most with this kind of money reenact various 15th century West European settings, and even earlier centuries in Medieval Europe get a lot less attention.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

This two-handed lance method seems to be, generally, more consistently used than the couched-lance grip outside of Europe. So it dominates in Chinese written accounts and depictions, for example. Now generally the written sources overwhelming depict this two-handed grip, but in artistic depictions (both for Mongols, Chinese, and others) we see grips that could be interpreted a couched-grip; however, it is hard to know if they are supposed to be presenting the grip on the charge, or a transition as the rider shifts from a one-hand hold at rest to two-hand grip for the attack.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

In terms of effectiveness vs. a couched grip, that's harder to measure. I would suspect the two-handed grip allows a certain degree greater flexibility with the lance. But whether one was actually better than the other in any respect I think is very difficult to say and would require some serious testing.

[@perrytran9504]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Shame I know nothing about the equestrian arts and don't have a horse, otherwise it'd be straightforward to run a preliminary test and publish the results. My uneducated guess is that this was done to achieve the same effect as a couched grip (i.e. reduce flexibility in exchange for greater transfer of impact force). If they just needed to run down routed opponents or perhaps attack over a shield formation once closed in, I would expect various "universal" uncouched grips which we also know knights would use if the situation called for it. Of course, there are so many other factors to consider behind the effectiveness of this technique beyond how to hold the weapon. How the rider sits on the horse, the physical abilities of the horse, etc.

[@perrytran9504]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Hey Jack - I was lucky to speak with some members of an Islamic martial arts group called Bayt al Assad, I was wondering if you have previously had any contact with their members. The head of their group Frank Perrin is an accomplished horse archer, and another member shared some insights from Mamluk treatises on the use of twohanded lance. The source used was "Kitāb al-makhzūn jāmiʻ al-funūn" (The Treasure that Combines All Arts), which predates the Mongols and Mamluks but continued to be used/revised well into the establishment of the Mamluk dynasty. The surviving edition is from ~1470, though the original was likely several centuries older. An open source English translation by their collaborators is ongoing but currently incomplete. According to these folks, the twohanded lance techniques (at least in the Islamic tradition) were primarily something practiced for close order melee, though they definitely were also used for impact charges. The main benefit would be tactical flexibility, which is very important for multi-role combatants (as you already mention, the Mamluks would also have conducted horse archery and brought many other weapons to battle.) I forgot if there was explicit discussion of couching the lance, but I think it is fair to say that the general technique was at least known to the Mamluks of as European knights had been long established in the Holy Land by the 13th century. Unfortunately, I can't say with any confidence if anything in this edition of the manual can be concretely extrapolated to the Mongols or even the Khwarezmians, Seljuks etc. All would have come and gone in between the oldest and latest editions of the treatise, and Turkic influence (some possibly predating the Mamluk dynasty) is very apparent throughout the entire document, but that is pretty much it.

[@elshebactm6769]

🗿👍🏿

[@UgandanWarriorofHell]

WAAAAAAAAAOEEEEEEEEEEUIUIIIIUUUUUUIIII!

[@Imnoexpert69420]

Great video, love that you cite your sources. Please stop pronouncing cavalry "calvery".

[@RealDawg-dr4ft]

I knew yhe Khuzaits were superior🫡

[@Sultan_Of_Rum]

Next, Mamluk Turk armor. +1 subscriber

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Mamluks will be the last video in this series!

[@Sultan_Of_Rum]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Ok thanks

[@kira7468]

Pls add mongolion captions

[@BackwardObservations]

Cav-ul-ree. Not calvary

[@MbisonBalrog]

They still did horribly going up against settled heavy cavalry up close CQB fighting.

[@coleob8071]

On 01:53, second photo of heavy armored cavalry belongs to Mongol-Rouran period not Turkic period

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

I would be very curious to read more into that identification! Do you have the source on hand so I can learn more about that?

[@AltaicGigachad]

According to Turkish historians who studied tribes in Turkey the Mongolian tribe Sulduz in Anatolia joined Turkmen tribes and than became Turkified even though they joined my Turkmen Derwisj tribe and possible we got mixed with the Mongols maybe I carry Mongol dna😅

[@user-pf4vv2ki3v]

Please talk about the history of the Arabs and the Arab empires Such as the Lakhmids, the Ghassanids, the Kingdom of Kinda, the Kingdom of Sheba, Himyar, the Hyksos, the Nabataeans, Hatra, and Arabaya

[@GreaterAfghanistanMovement]

This channel is dedicated to Mongol history, and Himarytes and Hyksos were not Arabs.

[@vk45de54]

Cavalry, not Calvary. Calvary is a church.

[@fpvillegas9084]

Did i hear "calvary", instead of cavalry.

[@BackwardObservations]

Nails on a chalkboard!

[@imeantherearethedarktownsy5210]

Great video (and channel!) but small pet peeve, please stop pronouncing it "calvary"!!

[@fredheadpokey]

It's CAValry not CaLvery. That's a place in the Bible. After a while it gets to be like fingernails on blackboard. For me, it makes the video less enjoyable. Other narrators on the web do that as well. I wonder why?

[@BackwardObservations]

Agreed. Painful

[@John-Jenin]

IWhat a load of bollocks..Islam is a religion, not a race or a continent or a country.