Byzantine Cataphract Cavalry

Timeline

1. 500–700Anatolia · AnatoliaWorks such as the Strategikon record kataphraktoi charging in dense wedge formations, coordinating with archers and light cavalry for combined arms; cataphracts became the main arm of the Eastern Roman eastern front against Persian and Arab heavy cavalry.
2. 1161–1170Eastern Anatolian frontier · AnatoliaManuel I relied on cataphracts of pronoia vassals cooperating with the Varangian Guard in multiple expeditions against the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia; in battles such as the 1167 Battle of Sirmium, heavy cavalry still bore the decisive shock role, but high costs limited establishment size.