The Roman and Palmyran cavalry clashed on two occasions in AD 272, at the battles of Immae and Emesa. These battles determined the fates of the empires while demonstrating different approaches to the changing nature of cavalry warfare.
Following Valerian’s defeat in AD 260, Palmyra was left to face the Sassanid onslaught alone. Facing an enemy with far greater resources, the Palmyrenes relied on the mobility and striking power of their cavalry as a force multiplier. The Palmyrene cavalry drew heavily on the Near Eastern and Steppe traditions of the Sassanid Persians. As such, the most important component was the heavily armoured cataphracts. They were supported by lancers and mounted archers who could be armoured or unar-moured. Very lightly-armed Bedouin-style cavalry was included too. This cavalry was a force that was well trained and led, and remarkably effective on the battlefield. It proved its mettle during the retreat of the Sassanid army in AD 260, and later defeated Roman cavalry armies in Arabia Petraea and Egypt.
Rome was facing multiple emergencies and threats on various fronts during this period. The need for greater speed and mobility to deal with these threats forced the Romans to expand and reorganize their cavalry forces during the reign of Gallienus (r.260-268), so that they began to utilize a greater variety of different types of cavalry. The heavy cavalry consisted of cataphracts and lancers, but these units suffered heavy casualties when Aurelian was ambushed by the Alamanni in 272 AD and do not appear to have played a major role in the war with Palmyra. Rome also employed medium and light cavalry units, the most important of which were the and . Though comparatively few in number, the Romans had several units of horse archers as well. Roman cavalry was at its most effective when operating with
