Practice Field

The frequency with which the eastern empires deployed the bow as a weapon set them apart from their counterparts in the western Mediterranean, who used their reliance on the ‘coward’s weapon’ as part of a wider caricature of effeminacy at a cultural level. In reality, the light composite bow was a devastating and versatile weapon that played a central role in some of the most effective tactics of the day. It was often used as a disruptive tool from behind a wall of shields to enhance cavalry charges, and even as a finisher – the Parthian shot enabled horse archers to lure enemy troops out of position by feigning retreat before opening fire on their exposed ranks.