Sassanian riding a horse facing backwards

[druzhina345]

Moya Catherine Carey uses a silver-gilt plate (Sasanian period) Iran Bastan Museum 1275, Tehran, for the typical costume on Sasanian royal hunting plates:


It has the king sitting backwards on the horse. This is unusual as other Sassanid and post Sassanid plates have figures making Parthian shots mounted normally. For example:



Turushev plate, A Sasanian King Hunting Lions, 310-320 CE, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg


Hormizd plate, A Sasanian King Hunting Lions, 5th-6th Century, The Cleveland Museum of Art 1962.150


Ufa plate, Sasanian King Hunting Mountain Sheep, 1st half 7th century, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg


Post Sasanian or Khorosanian Dish with hunting scene, 7th-9th century, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg


Did they ride facing backwards? Is Iran Bastan Museum 1275 plate indeed Sasanian? Does it have a better dating?

Mirror site:
Silver-gilt plate (Sasanian period) Iran Bastan Museum 1275, Tehran

Druzhina345
Plates with figures from Persia and Central Asia

[Mamlaz]

Probably a depiction of showmanship in horse riding.

Just look at videos of various eastern European cavalryman riding around and changing positions all over the place.

Also, his sword has a medieval like crosssguard

[RangerGxi]

The Parthians did it so why not the Sassanians? Why would the technique and technology suddenly disappear?

Nomads have been doing it for centuries right up to today.

[druzhina345]

The Parthians did it so why not the Sassanians? Why would the technique and technology suddenly disappear?

Nomads have been doing it for centuries right up to today.

Did the Parthians sit backwards on a horse while hunting and shooting a bow? What evidence do you have that they did?

Druzhina345
Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

Lol clearly the artist was drunk that night.

As for the sword hilt, yes. Crossguards evolve out of steppe nomad style blades, beginning with the iron guard plates seen on Hun swords and eventually evolving into the traditional cross guards. Of course a Sassanian sword belonging to a Shahanshah would be richly and elaborately decorated, I would argue that these swords may be similar in appearance to the one found at Altlussheim in Germany.

[Cyclops]

Lol clearly the artist was drunk that night....

I agree this is not a depiction of a man facing backwards, its a poor representation of a man twisting 180' in the saddle. The sword is behind the near leg, not behind the horse: either the archer is forward facing and his leg is poorly depicted or he was carrying his sword inside his right leg, at odds with every other image displayed ITT which all have the sword at the left hip.

I might add in the equestrian noble culture of medieval Europe riding backwards on a horse was an act of shameful dishonour, similar to riding in a cart: a fool or a despised offender might do so. I imagine it was likewise in the honour focussed equestrian cultures of Iran and Turan.

I wonder if the craftsman that cast that coin had his hands cut off.

[druzhina345]

I might add in the equestrian noble culture of medieval Europe riding backwards on a horse was an act of shameful dishonour, similar to riding in a cart: a fool or a despised offender might do so. I imagine it was likewise in the honour focussed equestrian cultures of Iran and Turan.

As an example from 16th century India: Hamid Bakari is punished by being mounted backwards on an ass. A Moghul illumination in the Akbarnama.

An example from 16th century Ottoman Empire:

I Turchi. Codex Vindobonensis 8626

Druzhina345
16th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers