Hephthalite Cavalry

Timeline

1. c. 450–500Tokharistan · AfghanistanAfter moving south from the north to occupy Bactria, the Hephthalite tribes fused Xiongnu-style horse archery with Persian-style heavy cavalry. Light horse used composite bows in 'Parthian' shot-and-turn tactics, while heavy horse charged in iron armor with long lances; infantry and cavalry jointly besieged cities, defeating and killing Sasanian emperor Peroz I in 484 CE, shaking Western Asia.
2. c. 501–560Sogdia · UzbekistanIn the first half of the 6th century the Hephthalites controlled key Silk Road routes and their cavalry power reached its peak. The Hephthalite khagan commanded tens of thousands of armored horsemen, raided northern India for wealth, maintained diplomatic maneuvering with Byzantium to the west, and pressed the Northern Dynasties' borders to the east. Byzantine historians such as Procopius recorded the strength of their cavalry; however, their loose internal alliance structure was later broken by a Turkic–Sasanian coalition.