Arabian Warhorse

Timeline

1. 700–750Najd and Hejaz regions · NajdDuring the Umayyad period, Arabian tribes in the peninsula's interior maintained strict horse pedigree records and selective breeding traditions, producing light warhorses suited to long desert raids and providing the core breeding stock for the caliphate's cavalry.
2. 701–750Damascus · SyriaThe Umayyad Caliphate equipped its light cavalry and raiding forces with Arabian warhorses, which played a key role alongside mounted-archery tactics in the expansion into North Africa and West Asia; warhorses were dispatched from the peninsula to conquered regions such as Syria and Iraq, forming a regional horse administration and military horse supply system.
3. 750–800Baghdad · IraqAfter moving the capital to Baghdad, the Abbasid Caliphate continued and expanded military horse procurement and breeding systems, with the Arabian warhorse remaining the core cavalry mount; exchanges with Persian, Turkic, and other horse breeds increased, but peninsula-bred horses still held an important place among elite cavalry.