The oldest known saddles - Subeixi Culture

 Salvete Omnes,

One of the oldest saddles found to this date - the Subeixi/Subeshi culture cemeteries (in Turpan/Turfan, Xinjang in PRofChina) contained saddles and horse tack, along with other martial culture and human mummified burials. Similar to the Altai Saka of Pazyryk/Ukok (known from the Soviet Union prof. Rudenko's discoveries and alter research in Russian Federation and Mongolia), these horse people, perhaps the Tocharians and/or the offshoot of the Saka of the pointed hats or Tigraxauda as known in the ancient Persia eg 

Apadana, Persepolis, the Saka delegation leading their tribute to Darius I, perhaps their own special war horse, a different type or breed

king Skunkha

the Behistun Darius the Great's inscription

Issyk

,   I wrote in 2011 a little bit about old Saka saddles in this post. And in this a did a sketch of Saka Tigraxauda.

 Patrick Wertmann  et al.,  The earliest directly dated saddle for horse-riding from a mid-1st millennium BCE.  Female burial in Northwest China (2023),  the article with illustrations - here  text, or pdf.

Subeixi saddle in more technical detail

comparison between saddles from Yanghai, Tuekta, Subeixi and Pazyryk no 3

saddle - different views - oxen, or perhaps goat

and more 

Yanghai cemetery

Saka of the Peaked Hat

the famous scale armor - 

bow with gorytus - ATARN's  Karpowicz & Selby article from 2010 

Prof. Mair's article about the Tarim basin mummies  from Penn State. 

Valete

How Did Roman Cataphracts Go To War? DOCUMENTARY

 Salvete Omnes,
a short entry

I would like to invite you to watch this production  on the ancient  Roman Cataphract, his horse and  equipment .
From Invicta - How Did Roman Cataphracts Go To War? 

comparable armored riders aka cataphracts (albeit with much different saddles) from across the Eurasian continent of the Chinese Northern dyansties -
the Northern Wei

 

and Nortehrn Qi 

 

and the Parthian and  Sassanid Persian Caathracts:

 

valete!

Aleksander Lesser - drawings of East-Central European arms and armor

 Salvete Omnes,

 

a short entry -  various drawings by a Jewish-Polish painter and draughtsman Aleksander Lesser , pre-Jan Matejko historical painter, among others he was a student of the German Nazarene movement artists like Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld et al. 

These drawings represent pan Aleksander's research within the  various arms and armor collections in Europe of his age. As he was a Polish historian-artist and researcher - they represent mostly items related to the  Polish-Lithuanian and Hungarian history of the early modern period. Karacena, chain-mail and bechter (mail and plate armor) armor, shishak style helmets, swords and even a winged hussar kopia.

a bechter

a karacena armor suit

Jan III Sobieski karacena armor

 bechter cuirass

a karacena armor suite

a szabla/sabre and a palasch

a pallasch

a koncerz

a kopia hussarska, hussar lance, hussar lance pennon

Pan Lesser studied old paintings eg - his sketches

you can explore these and other drawings and paintings via Polish National  Museum digital platform - Aleksander Lesser.

Valete