The horse archer was one of the most feared warriors of antiquity. Triumphing mobility and fluidity, these swift skirmishers came to epitomise a feared ‘eastern’ style of warfare. Renowned historical weapons expert and avid horse archer Mike Loades joins me to chat through horse archery's ancient history. Where did it originate? How did this method of warfare come to be? What sort of equipment did they use? Mike explains all. We first focus on this warfare method’s importance among ancient Near Eastern cultures before taking an in-depth look at antiquity’s superlative horse archers: the Scythians!

Mike is the author of ‘War Bows’, an in-depth history of four iconic weapons that changed the nature of warfare.