A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units

Modern scholarship in the domain of classical military studies increasingly acknowledges the efficacy and professional nature of the Sasanian military machine, or Sph in antiquity. More specifically, scholars now acknowledge that the Sasanians matched the Romans (later Romano-Byzantines) in military sophistication.As expostulated in this book and in a 2017 text, the Sasanian army was (like its Roman counterpart) a professional organization composed primarily of armored cavalry, infantry, foot and horse archers as well as elephant corps. The Sph was often supported by auxiliary troops (esp. slingers and javeliners) as well as highly effective allied forces notably Albanian, Armenian and Narids cavalry. Western scholarship and Iranian military historians have significantly enhanced the breadth of research and academic maturity of the field of Sasanian military studies. This has resulted in a paradigm shift with respect to a previous generation of Western academics who have tended to minimize, downplay or even ignore the Sasanian military machine (especially the Savrn) with respect to influence on the Roman and Western military traditions.