[ExI] surprise invention

[Stuart LaForge]

This is not entirely accurate. Alexander the Great used his cavalry  
and his phalanxes as a hammer and anvil to take over most of his world  
without stirrups. People can fight from horseback without stirrups,  
just not as effectively. The main value of the stirrup was that it  
allowed for Heavy Cavalry so that during a charge a rider with a spear  
or lance could put not just their own weight behind the stab but the  
weight and momentum of the horse also. It basically allowed for  
cataphracts that evolved into armored knights of the medieval period.  
It also allowed for riders to fight more effectively from the saddle  
after the initial charge, and among other innovations in warfare  
allowed the Mongols to amass the largest land empire in the history of  
the world.

Stuart LaForge


Quoting Darin Sunley via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>:

> Yeah, this is one of those things that is common knowledge to basically
> every student of military history, but that almost no one outside
> their field has ever heard of.
>
> On Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 9:16 AM William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat <
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>> (from Wikipedia)  .......was one of the basic tools
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool> used to create and spread modern
>> civilization <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization>, possibly as
>> important as the wheel <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel> or printing
>> press <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press>.[4]
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirrup#cite_note-Baber_1996-4>
>> scroll down for answer after not coming up with anything,like me  bill w
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> the stirrup - enabled fighting from horseback
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