For a thousand years the Sarmatian tribes had contacts with the major military powers of the ancient world - Darian Persia, the Crimean and Pontic kingdoms, the Celts, Thracians and finally the Romans. These armoured horsemen of the southern Russian steppes migrated into the Roman world at first as invaders and later as heavy cavalry auxiliaries. In this book, an Eastern European archaeologist describes the history, armour, weapons and tactics of a colourful warrior people who even reached Britain, whom some believe are the origin of the myths of the knights of King Arthur.

Illustrated by: Gerry Embleton