Gone are the days of the Knights
From a tame horse pulling a chariot to the salaried musketeer that retired the knight — 4000 years of military dominance, none of it planned.
- Animals domesticated
- Wheeled carts
- Horses — Carts were initially pulled by oxen and donkeys. Then horses were drafted into that existing vehicle economy.
- Bridle — Horses pulling a cart were now weaponized into chariots, but they were hard to control.
- Saddle — Charioteers now had more control, but what if you could mount a horse without an awkward chariot?
- Wooden stirrups — A saddle helps with stability but not lateral stability. Hanging wooden footholds buy the first real lateral support at the price of splintering under a melee hit.
- Metal stirrups — The geometry was already right, but the wooden material was the weak link.
- Turnplows — Rider gear became heavier and so did the deeper plows horses had to pull.
- High-backed saddle — Combat on horseback required additional stability.
- Iron horseshoes — Biomechanics solved, the bottleneck shifted to infrastructure: stone roads and campaigns caused wear and tear on horses hooves.
- Couched lance — Heavy riders could finally transfer all of that weight and strength into shock combat, causing armies to scatter in fear.
- Horse collars — Farming improvements led to surplus grain, and surplus grain could feed destriers.
- Longbows — And so knights enjoyed a period of military superiority, until new inventions disrupted their dominance.
- Pike
- Arquebus — Requiring less skill than a bow and packing a bigger punch, ranged weapons and very long weapons were effective against charging knights.
- Standing army