Mongolia / China: A Mongol horseman with a composite bow, c. 13th century

A horse archer, horsed archer, or mounted archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow, able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. Mounted archery was a defining characteristic of Steppe warfare throughout Central Asia, and throughout the prairies of America after the adoption of the horse, used by peoples including the Scythians, Sarmatians, Parthians, Sassanids, Huns, Byzantines, Bulgars, Cumans, Kipchaks, Magyars, Japanese, Mongols, Turks, Russians, Rajputs, Comanches, and others.