Camel cavalry

Camel cavalry, or camelry (French: méharistes, pronounced [meaʁist]), is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows, or firearms.

Camel cavalry was a common element in desert warfare throughout history in the Middle East, due in part to the animal's high level of adaptability. They were better suited to working and surviving in arid environments than the horses of conventional cavalry. The smell of the camel, according to Herodotus, alarmed and disoriented horses, making camels an effective anti-cavalry weapon of the Achaemenid Persians in the Battle of Thymbra.