Parthian shot

The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous in the West by the Parthians, an ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse while retreating at a full gallop, would turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider's hands were occupied by his bow. As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse. The tactic also could be used during feigned retreat, with devastating effect.

You wound, like Parthians, while you fly,
And kill with a retreating eye.

This tactic was used by most Eurasian nomads, including the Scythians, Huns, Turks, Magyars, and Mongols, as well as the armies away from the Eurasian steppe, such as the Sassanid clibanarii and cataphracts.

A notable battle in which this tactic was employed (by the Parthians) was the Battle of Carrhae. In this battle the Parthian shot was a principal factor in the Parthian victory over the Roman general Crassus.

By way of metaphor, "Parthian shot" also is used to describe a barbed insult, delivered as the speaker departs.

A common opinion holds that, in a case of folk etymology, the term parting shot, used similarly, developed as an eggcorn-like re-interpretation of "Parthian shot", meaning the term was corrupted through common parlance, however, the two phrases have separate histories. The first record of the phrase "parting shot" was by John McCleod, surgeon on board His Majesty's ship Alceste, in A narrative of a Voyage to the Yellow Sea (1818):

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