Parthian shot

The maneuver required significant equestrian and archery skill, since the rider's both hands held their composite bow and their body was turned around. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on balance to stay mounted and guide the horse.

The Parthians used the tactic to great effect in their victory over the Roman general Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae (53 BCE). After them and their successors, the Sasanians, the Parthian shot was characteristic of most nomads of the Eurasian Steppe, such as the Scythians,^[1] Xiongnu, Huns, Turks, Magyars (Hungarians), Koreans, and Mongols, but was not limited to them, having also been used by the Urartians and the Comanche.^[2]

A tactic similar to the Parthian shot was attributed to the Phoenicians from Sidon by Silius Italicus.^[3]

In the medieval period, the Parthian shot was used by the Hungarians in their victory in Battle of Lechfeld (910 CE) against the combined forces of East Francia and Swabia; by the Seljuk Turks under Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert (1071 CE) against the Byzantine Empire; by the Ghurid Empire under Muhammad of Ghor at the Second Battle of Tarain (1192 CE)^[4] against war elephants, heavy cavalry, and infantry from the Rajput confederacy; by the Mongolian general Subutai at the Battle of Legnica (1241 CE) against the Polish; and later by the Afsharid Empire at the Battle of Karnal (1739 CE) against the Mughal Empire.

"Parthian shot" is used as a metaphor to describe a barbed insult, delivered as the speaker departs.

You wound, like Parthians, while you fly,
And kill with a retreating eye.

With which Parthian shot he walked away, leaving the two rivals open-mouthed behind him.

• Feint
• Caracole, a similar cavalry maneuver
• Cantabrian circle
• L'esprit de l'escalier, also called staircase wit