War horses and chariots

Caballeria
One of the earliest examples of the use of chariot mounted archers in battle where the arrows were thrown from mounted nozzles dating from the time of the Assyrian kings Asurnasirpal II and III Salmanasar.

The riders sat on the back of their horses, one uncomfortable position for quick movements, because of this, horses were often held by someone else allowing the archer to shoot with freedom so they were mounted infantry rather that a real cavalry.

The Assyrians developed the use of cavalry as a response to invasions of nomadic peoples of the north, such as the cimerios who entered Asia Minor in the eighth century BC and seized parts of Urartu during the reign of Sargon II, approximately 721 BC.

Warriors mounted as the Scythians also had an influence on the region during the seventh century BC and at the time of the reign of Asurbanipal in 669 BC, the Assyrians had already learned to sit more forward on their horses in the classic position of mount that can still be observed at present and could be termed as true light cavalry.

The ancient Greeks researched both light and heavy horse cavalry.
It is believed that heavy cavalry was developed by the ancient Persians in the era of Darius I 558-486 BC when Persian military tactics evolved to the point of requiring horses and rider to wear full armour so they bred a more muscular type of horse that could endure this extra weight.

Later, the ancient Greeks created a heavy armoured cavalry, whose units are the most famous legends in Alexandrian history. The Chinese in the IV century BC, during the period of the Kingdoms Fighters 403 BC-221 BC, began to use cavalry against rival kingdoms in response to the attacks of nomadic horsemen from the North and West.

The Chinese of the Han Dynasty 202 BC-220 AD developed highly effective mounted troops and the Romans developed heavy cavalry in their armies. The term catafracto refers to tactics with armour and weaponry used by mounted units from the time of the Persians until the Middle Ages.