Parthian shot

While performing a real or feigned retreat at full gallop, the horse archers would turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy.

The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his composite bow and his body was twisted around.

As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on balance to stay mounted and guide his horse.

In addition to the Parthians and their successors, the Sasanians, this tactic was used by most nomads of the Eurasian Steppe, including the Scythians,[1] Xiongnu, Huns, Turks, Magyars, Koreans, Mongols, as well as the Urartians and the Comanche.

[2] The Parthians used the tactic to great effect in their victory over the Roman general Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae.