The Mongols built an empire with this humble yet game-changing, technological invention: the humble stirrup.
*A rare, signed, higher resolution and non-watermarked version of this image is available for download at: https://creary.net/digitalart/@jaichai/empires-and-leather-straps.
[No one knows when the stirrup was first invented, but it was a boon to any military that used it.
Even the simplest of stirrups, a leather loop, let mounted soldiers ride longer distances and stay mounted on their horses during battle.
The military success of the forebears of the Cossacks is often attributed to two loops of leather.
Same with the Goths and the Huns.
Some believe the stirrup even shifted the balance of power in Europe from foot soldiers to mounted knights, dubbed the "armored tanks" of the medieval world by historian Roman Johann Jarymowycz.
Submitted FYI.
May you and yours be well and loving life today.
In Lak'ech, JaiChai
(JaiChai 23 Apr 2022. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.)