Dura Europos horse armor

 Salvete Omnes,

some years ago I posted about prof. Rostovtzeff's reports on the excavations at Dura Europos, a Roman fortress on the Euphrates frontiers that was captured, after a siege, by the Sassanians and never again functioned as a town & fortress. 
Dura Europos site is the sources of the Graffito of the heavy cavalryman 

and the horse armor that was preserved there within the destroyed town.

 Nowadays it is being preserved at the Yale University. 

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Sassanian helmet from Dura

enjoy

Valete

Late Rome's Nemesis - oldies but goldies again

 Salvete Omnes, 

 

short entry  with a grat link if you may be a Persian history afficionado

my friend Patryk Skupniewicz - via academia platform - published his article from the Ancient Warfare Magazine from 2008.

The article - Late Rome's Nemesis - deals with the Sassanian side of the Persian vs Roman-Byzantine conflicts, and concetrates on the cavalry and the armored Persian asavaran aka knight horseman. It includes a number of my illustrations, painted on paper. 

I think I have not done any drawings of the Sassanid Persian horsemen, being the kontophoroi or hippotaxatoi, in a long time... 

and some sketches to add more light to this minuscule entry

Valete

Dura Europos and recent research - podcast

 Salvete Omnes,

 

just a link to a podcast on the ancient military history and archaeology in context of the famous archaeological site of the Roman  fortress of Dura known as Dura-Europos, in present day Syria. 

I came across this podcast - The Ancients.
and one of their interviews includes a conversation/interview with Simon James, professor from the university of Leicester, author of the The Roman military base at Dura-Europos, Syria: an archaeological visualisation. (2019) - the review on .

 

The conversation is quite interesting, and easy to follow, even for many a person with rather little or no knowledge on the ancient world of this area and period.
Prof. James makes references to the present state of affairs, i.e., tremendous looting of the ancient sites during the current Syrian wars.
I am going to read the book, meantime you can read prof. James' article on the combat, stratagems, and chemical warfare aspects of the siege of Dura (from Academia).

ps

and if you like to read some good story telling - Harry Sidebottom's novel - 'Fire in the East' centered on the fictional siege of a Roman fortress on Euphrates, based on Dura and Amida sieges, is a very engaging historical novel - including lots of horse riding, fighting, old fashioned martial fidelity and passion, and last but not the least hunting lions on horseback in the desert. 

Valete