Cataphract Camels

[Patrick Waterson]

One may recall in passing the camelry fielded by the Seleucids at Mahnesia, which was deployed with the scythed chariots and left when they did.  From the close association of the two arms, either a shock role or a follow-up role seems indicated for the camelry.  However neither of our extant sources was considerate enough to specify whether the camels were armoured (the default assumption is that they were not).

I think Roy is right about the difficulty of training camels to execute disciplined group manoeuvres, although Lawrence of Arabia led at least one charge of camel-mounted Arabs against Turkish cavalry, and noted that on impact, camels bowled over Turkish horses (which were apparently 'used to' camels, for what good it did them).  I therefore suggest the following as a hypothesis.

Certain later Parthian monarchs, having noted the potential effectiveness of camels as a horse-toppling mount for warriors armed with long weapons, attempted to breed war camels, which would be trained as mounts for shock troops more or less from birth.  These became sufficiently effective and useful to at first supplement, and then substantially replace, horses as the primary mount of the cataphract arm.  The long peace with, or at least lack of serious campaigning against, Rome since Trajan's time allowed the new arm to develop.  The Romans were not wholly ignorant of the development, and planned their own countermeasures, which became apparent in the Battle of Nisbis (AD 217).  This inflicted a reverse on the 'camelphract' arm, an event which also presumably encouraged the ongoing Sassanid rising.   Three major Sassanid-Parthian battles later, the 'camelphracts' and Parthian Empire were no more.

[Mark G]

Primary mount of the cataphract arm?

Could I interest you in a new bridge across the forth?  I can offer a good price for cash payment!

[nikgaukroger]

The Wikipedia article on camel cavalry mentions in its exiguous Muslim Conquests section:

"The camel was used in this way by many civilizations, especially in Arabia and North Africa. Both camel and rider were sometimes armored like the contemporary late Roman cataphracts."

The only source cited in that section is The Sealed Nectar, an apparently hagiographic biography of Muhammad, and near as I can find from the Google Books version it doesn't have a word to say about armoured camels. They don't seem to be mentioned as battle mounts at all, although they're clearly used for off-battlefield transportation of fighters. Most mentions are of them as pack animals or booty, or simply as a measure of value.

Quite so. For example the Arabs of the conquest period despite access to significant numbers of camels and vast experience in training and using them, relied on their (initially limited) horses for mounted combat troops.

I think that wiki bit can be filed under "alternative facts"   

[Patrick Waterson]

I had a look at what the internet offers under 'armoured camels', and there are few topics with less information or even misinformation available.

But there was something on Turkish camel-wrestling (I kid you not).