Grivpanvar The Grivpanvar ( literally : neck - guard wearer ) , were an elite late Parthian and Sassanian division who fought as heavy knights or Cataphract cavalry . According to Roman sources , the Grivpanvar had the ability to impale two men on the long , heavy spears that they carried . Historical evidence suggests that the heavily armoured Parthian grivpanvar were at least partially influenced by the military of the Central Asian steppes , who in turn had inherited their armoured cavalry traditions from the Massagetae and the late Achaemenid Persians . Etymology . The name Grivpanvar derives from the Middle Persian term " grīw - bān " ( neck - guard ) , a helmet armour guard , from whence " grivpan " warrior . In the 3rd century AD , the Romans began to deploy such cavalry calling them " clibanarii " , a name thought to derive from " griwbanwar " or " griva - pana - bara " . Weapons and tactics . Weapons and tactics used by the Grivpanvars were analogous to those of cataphract cavalry . Clad in chain mail with a breastplate and strong scale armour , they were armed with the famed Kontos lance used by many Iranian peoples during antiquity . To supplement their lances , it is possible that the Grivpanvar also carried armaments for use at close quarters such as long swords and maces . Their military tactics were also similar to the cataphracts and used “ shock tactics ” to wear down the enemy with successive cavalry charges prior to the administration of the final coup de grâce . Battle appearances . Parthian . Heavy grivpanvar knights appeared in many of the later Parthian and Sassanian battles , with one of the best - known encounters of the Parthian grivpanvar occurring at the Battle of Nisibis in 217 against the Roman army of Emperor Macrinus . According to the Roman historian Herodian , the imperial Parthian army led by Emperor Artabanus IV of Parthia , reformed many of their armies and units resulting in the emergence of a new force of camel mounted cataphracts . The grivpanvar appear to have been used against the heavy Roman legionaries . At dawn , the Parthians charged their heavily armored camels and grivpanvar cavalry into the Roman lines , but as they approached the Roman forces withdrew , leaving large numbers of caltrops behind , with fatal results . The Parthians ' horses and camels stepped on to these lethal weapons and fell , taking their riders with them thereby breaking the momentum of the charge . This vicious battle was the last Roman encounter with the Parthian grivpanvar . Sassanian . Nevertheless , the Sassanians continued to use the grivpanvar in their armies , starting from the reign of Ardashir I until the final ruler Yazdegerd III lost his throne . One of the first deployments of Sassanian grivpanvar occurred at the Battle of Edessa in 259 AD , where a powerful army of Sassanians led by the emperor Shapur I came under assault from Roman sovereign Valerian ' s soldiers , including the renowned and elite imperial Praetorian Guard . During the battle , the relatively small 40 , 000 - strong Sassanian army crushed a 70 , 000 - strong Roman force . Although little is known of the battle , records show that the Sassanians used grivpanvar in their army along with lightly armed horse archers . After the battle , emperor Valerian and many other high - ranking officials were captured by Shapur . The result was an overwhelming Persian victory , with the entire Roman force slaughtered or captured in stark comparison to the minimal number of Persian casualties . The Sassanians used grivpanvar during a raid on Arabia in 342 AD , when Shapur ordered his troops to destroy an Arab force that had attacked the southern borders of his empire . In 363 , Julian the Apostate marshaled an army of 60 , 000 Roman troops to invade the Sassanid territory with the intention of ravaging the Imperial capital at Ctesiphon . The Persian Shah , Shapur II , realized that his soldiers ' only chance of challenging the well - trained and better - equipped Romans was a clandestine attack . During the Battle of Ctesiphon , the grivpanvar were marshalled in a futile attempt to crush the invading Romans ; the grivpanvar stood alongside the clibinarii on the wings of the Sassanian army , which failed defeat the Roman forces . Ultimately , the death of Julian at Ctesiphon led to the withdrawal of the Romans . Under his successor Jovian , their forces were driven back to the border with heavy casualties .