When the Roman armies crossed the Danube and clashed with the tough Dacians of present day Romania they may not have counted on them bringing along their warlike allies, the Sarmatians. The Sarmatians seem to have become staunch friends of the Dacians, and together they proved to be a formidable opponent.

Their primary military arm was their cavalry, which they employed by the thousand. Most effective of all was the cataphract, a warrior clad in a full armour from head to toe and riding a strong horse which itself was well protected by skirts of leather cloth and armour.This armour was commonly called scale mail and could be made of iron, bronze or indeed horn.

They fought in massed units, using the Kontos, a wicked long spear wielded with both hands to skewer their opponents and secondary weapons included maces and, especially, long swords.

Supported by fearsome horse archers, some of whom were warrior women, they were a mobile and hard hitting foe, evading where possible the less mobile Roman marching columns until conditions favoured their style of attack.

Warlord's Sarmatians catch the wild look of these hard riding cavalry; woe betide your enemies when they break from their trot to a full charge!

Contains 8 metal Cataphracts including Command.

Models supplied unassembled and unpainted