The historical consensus holds that the invention of the stirrup was a major development in military history. By permitting the horseman to keep his seat, the simplified story goes, the stirrup changed the dominant strategy from the infantry-based armies of antiquity to the shock cavalry-based armies that came to dominate in the middle ages.
I assume you've read Lynn White on this question? He devoted a whole book chapter to the stirrup and went into depth on the evidence for its introduction
I'm not sure your explanation holds up. After all, Japan suffered a similar social collapse and ended up dominated by a feudal military elite; however, the Samurai are best known as heavy infantry.
Conversely, the Cataphracts originated in Persia, which did have a strong government.
I assume you've read Lynn White on this question? He devoted a whole book chapter to the stirrup and went into depth on the evidence for its introduction
I'm not sure your explanation holds up. After all, Japan suffered a similar social collapse and ended up dominated by a feudal military elite; however, the Samurai are best known as heavy infantry.
Conversely, the Cataphracts originated in Persia, which did have a strong government.