Cavalry regimes in 1260. (Patreon)

There was once a point when heavy cavalry dominated the world. Practically every advanced regime where horses were available was ruled some type of mounted aristocracy. This is a map of the type of cavalry that dominated different regions in 1260. Here are a couple things to notice.

1)In the jungle regions of South-East Asia where horses often died of disease, elephants were used as mounts. Fun fact, the rook piece in chess, since it originated in India, was originally an elephant. Surprisingly given their greater size, the elephant mounted regimes consistently lost battles to horseback mounted regimes, such as the Mongols and Mamelukes. 

2)Northern Italy, with its market economy, escaped most of Europe's feudal knight system. Instead they would hire knights from the rest of Europe called condonttierre. City states would have permanent armies of these and this was the origin of standing armies in Europe.

3)I gave this map a certain bias by making it at the high point of the Mongol Empire. Firstly, it shrinks the size of the Muslim horseback elites, which is the reason the Mamelukes survive in Egypt and India and no where between on this map. Also, China was a major civilization that didn't rely on a cavalry elite, instead using armies of pikemen supported by a vast bureaucracy.