In the report dedicated to Alessio I: Il restauratore dell'Imperio Byzantino (Alejo I: The Restorer of the Byzantine Empire), Storica National Geographic included the infographic of the Byzantine cataphracts, a heavy cavalry corp, in which, since the end of the 10th century, both the rider and the horse wore armor. Thanks to these characteristics, they constituted an irresistible shock force, and were also one of the few cavalry corps in history, capable of maintaining a combat with the infantry in closed order and for a long time. However, after the Battle of Manzikert (1071), in which they were defeated by the light cavalry of the Seljuk Turks, the cataphracts began to decline.
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