Roman Cavalry

I think you will have to specify the period to get an answer. The early Republican cavalry was organised differently from the more professional cavalry of later times. Late Roman armies were different again.

Bede wrote:

I think you will have to specify the period to get an answer. The early Republican cavalry was organised differently from the more professional cavalry of later times. Late Roman armies were different again.

I am looking at the time period between 0 to 220 A.D.

Here are two books that might help you.

Karen R. Dixon and Pat Southern, The Roman Cavalry, 1992, (1997 paperback, Routledge).

Ann Hyland, Training the Roman Cavalry [From Arrian's Ars Tactica], 1993, Grange Books.

I have just had a quick read through The Roman Cavalry. In Chapter 9, Military Records and the Supply of Horses, it is noted that there was only one horse supplied per cavalryman and that sometimes there were not enough horses to go round.

A soldier was responsible for his horse and in the period you mentioned there was a standard value of 125 denarii deducted for the horse from his pay. There are records surviving from Dura Europos such as "Malchus Gora amisit equum" which means MG lost his horse. There were also laws preventing the export of military horses from the province.

I hope this helps. The book is full of references to original documents.

Bede wrote:

I have just had a quick read through The Roman Cavalry. In Chapter 9, Military Records and the Supply of Horses, it is noted that there was only one horse supplied per cavalryman and that sometimes there were not enough horses to go round.

A soldier was responsible for his horse and in the period you mentioned there was a standard value of 125 denarii deducted for the horse from his pay. There are records surviving from Dura Europos such as "Malchus Gora amisit equum" which means MG lost his horse. There were also laws preventing the export of military horses from the province.

I hope this helps. The book is full of references to original documents.

Thanks Bede. So, this basically applies to all period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, right?

I read further and it seems that one horse per cavalryman was still current into the fifth century. I also found that they took the price of the horse's food out of the man's pay as well.

For the later incarnations of the Roman army (especially after Diocletian's reforms--outside the period you mentioned, but you were also asking about whatever changes may have happened until the fall of the Western Empire, right?), you might want to check with the reenactment group COMITATVS and see if they could tell you about some detailed sources you could check out on the provision of horses for late Roman cavalry.

I suggest you to read VII Report of Dura Europos, then, contact with Dr. Simon James, who works in University of Leicester. In this work, you will find many discoveries of the cataphract and relative discussions in the fortification of Dura Europos, Syria.