Cantabrian circle

The Cantabrian circle (Latin: circulus cantabricus) was a military tactic born in the warfare in the ancient Iberian Peninsula.

It was employed by ancient and to a lesser extent medieval light cavalry armed with javelins or bows.

As Flavius Arrianus[1] and Hadrian[2] relate, this was the most habitual form to appear in combat of the Cantabri tribes, and Rome adopted it after the Cantabrian Wars.

The constant movement of the horsemen gave them an advantage against the less mobile infantry and made them harder to target by the enemy's missile troops.

The slower moving infantry have little to no hope of catching the cavalry, putting them at a distinct disadvantage.