Page | 153 HISTORIA I ŚWIAT, nr 12 (2023) ISSN 2299-2464 e-ISSN 2956-6436 Kaveh FARROKH  (Langara College, Vancouver, Canada) Katarzyna MAKSYMIUK  (Siedlce University, Poland) Patryk SKUPNIEWICZ  (Siedlce University, Poland) Early Iranian Riders and Cavarly https://doi.org/10.34739/his.2023.12.09 Abstract: The expansion of the Iranian peoples in first centuries of the 1st millennium BCE coincides with the creation and further development of the cavalry warfare in western Eurasia, as well as with the creation of the pastoral nomadic life-style which dominated the Great Steppe for millennia to come. The mounted warriors replaced the light chariots which dominated the Bronze Age battlefields which required perfect horsemanship however application of the recurved, double reflex. composite bow for mounted combat seemed another important factor in development of the cavalry force. Mounted archery which doubled the fire power of the mobile troops, earlier dominated by the chariots triggered the evolution of the various forms of cavalry, both as a response to a threat of the horse archers and independent forces used by the sedentary societies. Iranian contribution in spreading (and most likely invention) of the new technology is undeniable. Although horse riding and recurved composite bows were known earlier they could not overcome the power of the chariot force separately. Only the combination of the factors allowed fielding large and efficient cavalry troops as was practiced by the Scythians and became the success factor for the Achaemenid Empire. Survival of the chariots as late as the Seleucid times was possible because of changing their tactical function from the highly mobile shooting platform to heavy, at least partially, armored terror and shock weapon. Key words: History, Iran, Military History, Scythians, Achaemenid Empire, Iranian Riders, Cavarly The times when the first identifiable states of the Iranian speaking peoples entered the political stage coincides with the development of the cavalry force in mili- tary history. The first ages of the 1st millenium BCE, marking also introduction of iron, were pivotal in the course of history, in several ways. The institutions, techno- logies and skills developed at that time defined the directions of evolution for further millenia, with the radical, truly revolutionary change coming with the introduction of the gunpowder. The development of the Scythian cultural horizon changed the shape of  Corresponding Author. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5732-2447. manuvera@aol.com  ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8709-0333. katarzyna.maksymiuk@uph.edu.pl; This work was supported by the Siedlce University under Grant 188/23/B.  ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8119-5449. patryk.skupniewicz@gmail.com