| # | Polity | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | Edit | Desc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Inferred for the early period because, though it seems that the Iroquois did wear armour before the introduction of firearms, it is not clear that it protected the torso specifically, though this seems reasonably likely. "Early reports suggest that a type of wooden slatted armour made of tied rods was used by the Huron and Iroquois."
[1]
"[T]he introduction of firearms and metal tipped weapons into native warfare forced the Iroquois to reconsider the way they approached combat. They discarded their wooden body armor and shields, which were only marginally effective against metal weapons and afforded no protection whatsoever against French guns. Moreover, continued use of wooden armor became impractical as Iroquois warriors learned to adapt their fighting style to the new weaponry. Shortly after the stunning debut of French firearms in the 1609 revolt of the Mohawks, Champlain recorded that the Iroquois had already learned to ’throw themselves on the ground when they hear the report’ of guns being fired. Wooden armor was too cumbersome for use in evolving Iroquois tactics, which also included hiding behind trees for protection until after the guns had fired. Armor and shields remained present in Iroquois society as teaching and protectice tools in the education of young warriors, but they no longer found a place in Iroquois wars."
[2]
[1]: (Johnson and Hook 22-23) Johnson, Michael G., and Richard Hook. 1990. American Woodland Indians. Men-at-Arms. Osprey. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/943RGM7A/itemKey/X87SHFX7 [2]: (Barr 2006, 28) Barr, Daniel P. 2006. Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/943RGM7A/itemKey/KA4QX6HF |
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Inferred for the early period because, though it seems that the Iroquois did wear armour before the introduction of firearms, it is not clear that it protected the torso specifically, though this seems reasonably likely. "Early reports suggest that a type of wooden slatted armour made of tied rods was used by the Huron and Iroquois."
[1]
"[T]he introduction of firearms and metal tipped weapons into native warfare forced the Iroquois to reconsider the way they approached combat. They discarded their wooden body armor and shields, which were only marginally effective against metal weapons and afforded no protection whatsoever against French guns. Moreover, continued use of wooden armor became impractical as Iroquois warriors learned to adapt their fighting style to the new weaponry. Shortly after the stunning debut of French firearms in the 1609 revolt of the Mohawks, Champlain recorded that the Iroquois had already learned to ’throw themselves on the ground when they hear the report’ of guns being fired. Wooden armor was too cumbersome for use in evolving Iroquois tactics, which also included hiding behind trees for protection until after the guns had fired. Armor and shields remained present in Iroquois society as teaching and protectice tools in the education of young warriors, but they no longer found a place in Iroquois wars."
[2]
[1]: (Johnson and Hook 22-23) Johnson, Michael G., and Richard Hook. 1990. American Woodland Indians. Men-at-Arms. Osprey. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/943RGM7A/itemKey/X87SHFX7 [2]: (Barr 2006, 28) Barr, Daniel P. 2006. Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/943RGM7A/itemKey/KA4QX6HF |
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Present in preceding and succeeding polities.
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Were in use in the Han dynasty
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we need expert input in order to code this variable
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we need expert input in order to code this variable
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not typical but we cannot rule out they used it for specialist reasons
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Inferred from previous polity
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inferred from previous polity codes
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Not mentioned in sources so far consulted.
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Not mentioned in sources so far consulted.
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Not mentioned in sources so far consulted.
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No finds interpreted as armor or protection in fight. Worth noting that Egypt was relatively slow to develop defensive military technology.
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"Body armour, in the form of small bronze plates riveted to linen or leather jerkins, with a a tapered lower half, began to be used."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 42) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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based on Cairan armour, which was probably the most advanced at the time
[1]
Greek armor used by Cairan and Ionians "covered much more of the body"
[2]
Under Persian rule Egyptian naval forces described by Herodotus had breastplates.
[3]
[1]: (Manning 2015, Personal Communication) [2]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 20) [3]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 39) |
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Inferred from previous quasi-polity.
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Inferred from absence of breastplates in previous and subsequent (quasi)polities in Paris Basin.
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Steel breast-plate (cavalry - often not worn). Cuirasses (cavalry, Cuirassiers du Roi). Breastplate (Gardes du Corps).
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Not mentioned in the literature.
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Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
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Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
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Suits of armor were incorporated into the funerary monument for Simon’s brothers (I Maccabees 13), suggesting a rigid body suitable for display. The "muscle cuirass" was in wide use across the Hellenic world.
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Not mentioned by sources in lists of artifacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
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Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
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Not specifically mentioned.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Technology not yet available
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Texts from Haft Tepe during the previous Kidinuid Period include "accounts of armour plates, belts, and other elements of armour in silver […]".
[1]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[2]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[3]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[4]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[5]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[6]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: (Potts 1999: 203) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WDUEEBGQ/q/Potts. [2]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [3]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [4]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [5]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [6]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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Texts from Haft Tepe during the previous Kidinuid Period include "accounts of armour plates, belts, and other elements of armour in silver […]".
[1]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[2]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[3]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[4]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[5]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[6]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: (Potts 1999: 203) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WDUEEBGQ/q/Potts. [2]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [3]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [4]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [5]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [6]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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Reference to the use of shields, helmets, greaves, breastplates dates to the Bronze Age.
[1]
[1]: (Guilaine 2008: 204-05) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/LZB53FDH. |
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Code inferred from Abbasid Caliphate
[1]
which occupied Yemen between 751-868 CE.
[1]: Hugh N Kennedy. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/SGPPFNAZ/q/kennedy |
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if meaning a metal breastplate present if meaning armor that covers the torso.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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if meaning a metal breastplate present if meaning armor that covers the torso.
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Present in preceding and succeeding polities.
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’For personal defence, there were two kinds of shields: round ones ornamented with vegetal or flower motifs, and long ones ornamented on the top border. The latter could be grouped together to form a kind of rampart. Both were probably of wood and hide, with metal plaques. Although most warriors wore only a kind of short=sleeved jacket (sometimes resembling the quilted ’armour’ in use in Mesoamerica), many were protected by a cylindrical cuirass, often with one or two knives lashed over it for close combat.’
[1]
’But before we do this, to avoid repetition, we shall consider what was the technological level of this army, that is, what were the weapons it used, for, of course, contrary to what Zhou Daguan affirms, namely that the use of bows, arrows, ballistae, and breastplates was unknown to the Khmer army, it did in fact have these arms.’
[2]
’At Angkor Wat, breastplates were mostly worn by soldiers of higher rank riding elephants and horses rather than by foot soldiers. The breastplates have a special wrap-around form which encloses the chest, leaving the arms and neck free.’
[3]
’Some soldiers also wore a sort of breast plate in two pieces bound togather across the chest with twine. Their use seems to have been discontinued dueing the reign of Jayavarman VII.’
[4]
Jacq-Hergoualc’h (2007 [1979]) discusses the royal army and its weapons examining the bas-reliefs of three temples: Angkor Wat, the Bayon, and Banteay Chhmar. The bas-reliefs of Agkor Wat depict the conquests of Suryavarman II (1113-c. 1150 CE), while those at the Bayon and Banteay Chhmar depict the conquests of Jayavarman VII (1181-c. 1218 CE). Thus, the detailed bas-reliefs of these three temples allows the scholar to examine Khmer military history spanning roughly one hundred years. Unfortunately, Jacq-Hergoualc’h does not make explicit (or quantify) the evolutionary changes over this time period. The earlier military technology at Angkor Wat depicts ’the most basic weapons, essentially lances, bows and arrows, and bucklers, sometimes in tandem with breastplates’ (Jacq-Hergoualc’h 2007: 173). As noted by Coe (2003: 186), ’[f]ar more sophisticated armament is to be seen on the Bayon and at Banteay Chhmar, especially among the infantry. This includes the ballista, mounted either on elephant back or on a wheeled vehicle that could be rolled onto the field of battle [...].’ According to Jacq-Hergoualc’h (2007: 35), none of these ’big machines’ are present on the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, the construction of which (c. 1113-1145 CE) pre-dates the great battles with the Chams during the reign of Jayavarman VII (beginning in c. 1181 CE). Furthermore, the emphasis on horses diminished and chariots were abandoned in favor of a more developed and elaborate corps of elephants surrounded by infantry.
[1]: (Coe 2003, pp. 185-186) [2]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 13) [3]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 18) [4]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 34) |
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|
Neighboring Israel employed breastplates, as did the Carthaginians - though the latter only adopted the breastplate as a result of their wars with the Greeks.
|
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|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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"There was little armor during the Early Classic, with the primary Teotihuacan innovation being the use of protective helmets of quilted cotton."
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 48) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
Relative to military technology used in this period, sources only mention the atlatl and spears.
[1]
However, armour made from wood and cloth has been documented for the later periods, so its absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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"Hasan-i Nizami, in describing the campaigns of Mu’izz al-Din and Aybeg, refers with remarkable frequency to the Muslims’ use of the crossbow (nawak) and makes great play of the armour-piecing properties of the crossbow bolt."
[1]
Exported cuirasses.
[2]
[1]: (Jackson 2003, 16) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Nizami 1999, 178) K A Nizami. The Ghurids. M S Asimov. C E Bosworth. eds. 1999. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. Part One. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi. |
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|
The coins from the period show muscled cuirass, scaled corsets, metal grieves and thigh protectors made of leather.
[1]
There is also some limited archaeological evidence.
[2]
[1]: Sidky, H., The Greek Kingdom of Bactria, from Alexander to Eucratides the Great, Oxford, 2000, pp. 168-169 [2]: Nikonorov, Valeri P., and Serge A. Savchuk. "New Data on Ancient Bactrian Body-Armour (In the Light of Finds from Kampyr Tepe)." Iran (1992): 49-54. |
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|
In the New Kingdom: "Body armour, in the formof small bronze plates riveted to linen or leather jerkins, with a tapered lower half, began to be used." Jerkins do not have sleeves.
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 42) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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No references identified in the literature. RA.
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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|
Technology not yet available
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|
Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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|
not mentioned in literature
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|
Technology not yet available
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|
Technology not yet available
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|
Technology not yet available
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|
not mentioned in literature
|
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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|
This is possible, but I have found no references to it.
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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||||||
|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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||||||
|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
|
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|
Inferred from lack of breastplates in previous and later polities.
|
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|
Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour."
[1]
However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the preceding Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..."
[2]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media [2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press. |
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|
[1]
According to Laichen, the Chiang Mai chronicle states that Chinese soldiers wore "iron, copper and leather armor that could withstand the spears, swords, guns and arrows of the Lan Na armies."
[2]
[1]: http://greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2015/02/plate-armour-of-ming-dynasty.html [2]: (Laichen, 2008, p.507) |
||||||
|
Widespread use of armor seems to have developed alongside rise of large infantry forces only in Warring States period, 5th c. BCE.
[1]
[2]
[1]: (Dien 1981) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F82EE9ZF. [2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CSPZPNV5?. |
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|
Liang-tang armor worn during the Six Dynasties period: "One piece in the front and one in back, which we will call breastplate and backplate...joined by straps over the shoulders and a skirt attached below."
[1]
[1]: (Dien 1981, 26) Dien, Albert E. 1981. A Study of Early Chinese Armor. Artibus Asiae 43.1/2: 5-66. |
||||||
|
Traditional view: "Mounted warfare in Chinese armies began in the sixth century BCE, while the increasing projectile power of composite bows and especially the crossbow from the fifth century BCE led to the rise of heavy armour."
[1]
However, there is evidence heavy armour existed in the Western Zhou: "... suit has yet been unearthed, but a bronze breastplate and two bronze backplates have been found in a Western Zhou ..."
[2]
[1]: (Günergun and Raina 2010, 65) Günergun, Feza. Raina, Dhruv. 2010. Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media [2]: (Hong 1992, 84) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press. |
||||||
|
The ethnographic record contains descriptions of caps and ornamentation rather than physical armor in the conventional sense of the term: ’When the Jibaro warrior prepares for an attack against an enemy he puts on his head a sort of cap made of monkey’s skin, which he prefers to the ordinary head ornament made of parrot or tucan feathers (tawása). The ear-tubes ought to be as large as possible so that their ends nearly reach the shoulders. Around the neck the warrior wears a necklace of jaguar’s teeth and round the waist the usual cincture of human hair (akáchu). Old warriors, however, for an attack prefer to cincture themselves with a broad belt of the skin of the great boa. The uncovered part of the body, the face, the breast, the back, the arms, and legs, are finally painted black with genipa (sua).’
[1]
[1]: Karsten, Rafael. 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru.”, 287-288 |
||||||
|
When the Jibaro warrior prepares for an attack against an enemy he puts on his head a sort of cap made of monkey’s skin, which he prefers to the ordinary head ornament made of parrot or tucan feathers (tawása). The ear-tubes ought to be as large as possible so that their ends nearly reach the shoulders. Around the neck the warrior wears a necklace of jaguar’s teeth and round the waist the usual cincture of human hair (akáchu). Old warriors, however, for an attack prefer to cincture themselves with a broad belt of the skin of the great boa. The uncovered part of the body, the face, the breast, the back, the arms, and legs, are finally painted black with genipa (sua).
[1]
[1]: Karsten, Rafael. 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru.”, 287-288 |
||||||
|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
||||||
|
not mentioned in archaeological record, but this code has not yet received an expert check
|
||||||
|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
refers to Greek mercenaries, who were likely used similar to Saite period and contemporary Greeks.
[1]
. Greek armor used by Cairan and Ionians "covered much more of the body"
[2]
Under Persian rule Egyptian naval forces described by Herodotus had breastplates.
[3]
[1]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 17) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [2]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 20) [3]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 39) |
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|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
In Egyptian warfare 3000-1700 BCE the "only personal protection was the shield".
[1]
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[2]
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [2]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"the Egyptians had been using bronze armor since the Eighteenth dynasty, "but it consisted of nothing more elaborate than metal scales sewn onto a leather base."
[1]
Bronze scale armor on short-sleeved, knee length shirt made out of linen or leather.
[2]
"Body armour, in the form of small bronze plates riveted to linen or leather jerkins, was introduced by the early New Kingdom".
[3]
[1]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 135-138) Fischer-Bovet (2014) Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge University Press [2]: (Gnirs 2001) [3]: (Shaw 1991: 42) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
Armour not worn during 3rd millennium BCE.
[2]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Spalinger 2013, 472) |
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|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
Armour not worn during 3rd millennium BCE.
[2]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Spalinger 2013, 472) |
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|
"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
||||||
|
In the New Kingdom: "Body armour, in the form of small bronze plates riveted to linen or leather jerkins, with a a tapered lower half, began to be used."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 42) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"The widespread use of firearms and waning popularity of jousting tournaments caused a steep decline in the production of armor in the seventeenth century. Because the symbolic value of armor outlived its effectiveness in battle, sumptuous examples were still made as diplomatic gifts and appeared in portraits of members of the royal family."
[1]
“The armour used by soldiers of the Tercio diminished over the years. The 16th century heavy coslete who fought exposed in the front several ranks of the squadron wore a full cuirass, a gorget tasset hanging down the thights, armour covering the upper and lower arms, and metal plated gauntlets.”
[2]
[1]: “The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain. National Gallery of Art. Web. Accessed May 5, 2017. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WHH6KD3N) [2]: (López 2012, 91-2) López, Ignacio J.N. 2012. The Spanish Tercios 1536-1704. Osprey Publishing. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4EWFWHCQ |
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|
Mercenary professionals: "By the 17th century most had discarded all armor other than a helmet and cuirass".
[1]
"By the mid-17th century even cavalry units, which were still predominantly aristocratic in origin, discarded most armor other than the helm and breastplate."
[1]
Infantry armor became heavier as cavalry armor was discarded. e.g. pikeman who faced lancers. Breastplates and steel leggings were available but most wore stiff leather coats.
[1]
[1]: (Nolan 2006, 26) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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|
Breastplate late 13th century.
[1]
c1250-1330 CE: "development of weapons capable of piercing mail: the gradual introduction of pieces of plate (at first of whalebone, horn, and boiled leather, as well as of the iron and steel that ultimately prevailed) to cover an ever larger part of the mail). By 1330, every part of the body of a knight was nomally protected by one or several plates... By 1410, the various pieces of plate, including a breastplate and backplate instead of the earlier coat of plates, were all connected by straps and rivets in an articulated suit, or ’harness,’ of polished steel."
[2]
[1]: (Nicolle 2000, 19) [2]: (Boulton 1995 67-68) Jonathan D Boulton. Armor And Weapons. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. |
||||||
|
Breastplate late 13th century.
[1]
c1250-1330 CE: "development of weapons capable of piercing mail: the gradual introduction of pieces of plate (at first of whalebone, horn, and boiled leather, as well as of the iron and steel that ultimately prevailed) to cover an ever larger part of the mail). By 1330, every part of the body of a knight was nomally protected by one or several plates... By 1410, the various pieces of plate, including a breastplate and backplate instead of the earlier coat of plates, were all connected by straps and rivets in an articulated suit, or ’harness,’ of polished steel."
[2]
[1]: (Nicolle 2000, 19) [2]: (Boulton 1995 67-68) Jonathan D Boulton. Armor And Weapons. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. |
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|
The few who could afford it used body armour.
[1]
The military retinue of kings and magnates (including clergy) "had the most complete equipment and were virtually professional warriors."
[2]
c1250-1330 CE: "development of weapons capable of piercing mail: the gradual introduction of pieces of plate (at first of whalebone, horn, and boiled leather, as well as of the iron and steel that ultimately prevailed) to cover an ever larger part of the mail). By 1330, every part of the body of a knight was normally protected by one or several plates... By 1410, the various pieces of plate, including a breastplate and backplate instead of the earlier coat of plates, were all connected by straps and rivets in an articulated suit, or ’harness,’ of polished steel."
[3]
David Baker says present.
[4]
[1]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 12) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 14) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [3]: (Boulton 1995 67-68) Jonathan D Boulton. Armor And Weapons. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. [4]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank. |
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|
The few who could afford it used body armour.
[1]
The military retinue of kings and magnates (including clergy) "had the most complete equipment and were virtually professional warriors."
[2]
c1250-1330 CE: "development of weapons capable of piercing mail: the gradual introduction of pieces of plate (at first of whalebone, horn, and boiled leather, as well as of the iron and steel that ultimately prevailed) to cover an ever larger part of the mail). By 1330, every part of the body of a knight was normally protected by one or several plates... By 1410, the various pieces of plate, including a breastplate and backplate instead of the earlier coat of plates, were all connected by straps and rivets in an articulated suit, or ’harness,’ of polished steel."
[3]
David Baker says present.
[4]
[1]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 12) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 14) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [3]: (Boulton 1995 67-68) Jonathan D Boulton. Armor And Weapons. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. [4]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank. |
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|
Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
|
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|
Light breastplate c100 BCE or before.
[1]
"Bronze statuette of a warrior from Liechtenstein dated to the 5th century BC. Note the Greek/Etruscan-style cuirass."
[2]
Diodorus Siculus mentions iron breastplates.
[3]
Glauberg, Germany c400 BCE. [4] [1]: (Kruta 2004, 110) [2]: (Allen 2007, 24) [3]: (Allen 2007, 115) [4]: (Kruta 2004, 60) |
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|
Breastplate late 13th century.
[1]
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 CE) reference: upper and lower breastplates.
[2]
[1]: (Nicolle 2000, 19) David Nicolle. 2000. French Armies Of The Hundred Years War. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [2]: (Wagner 2006, 27-29) John A Wagner. 2006. Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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|
Cuirasses.
[1]
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 CE) reference: typical French knight wore "plate armor for shoulders and limbs topped by a bascinet, a metal helmet with projecting hinged visors and air holes. Instead of the surcoat, they wore a shorter leather jupon, and their warhorses were also armored, with plate covering their heads and mail or leather their flanks."
[2]
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 CE) reference: upper and lower breastplates.
[2]
[1]: (Carroll 2006, 113) [2]: (Wagner 2006, 27-29) John A Wagner. 2006. Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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|
The sources refer to smocks decorated with sheet gold and silver worn by military commanders, but their characterisation as armor is questionable and of a ’mystical’ nature: ’The most elaborate of these smocks, the Batakari [...], were possessed only by the Asantehene and major chiefs. The number of talismans on them showed the great sums expended upon them, and some were encased in sheet gold or silver with repoussé decoration by court goldsmiths. These smocks were usually worn with a talisman-covered cap, and sometimes with additional protective asuma[unknown] hung around the neck. These costumes were worn during wars, and at least one in the British Museum’s collection was obtained on the battlefield. [...] Possibly such heavy costumes offered some protection against arrows or slugs cut from bars of lead and fired from poorly maintained muzzle loaders.’
[1]
Commoner infantrymen seem to have worn no specialized gear apart from shields and weaponry.
[1]: McLeod, M. D. (Malcolm D.) 1981. “Asante”, 148 |
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|
The war-jacket does not seem to constitute a breastplate: "The gagong or war-jacket is a skin with a hole and slit in the neck of it to admit of the insertion of the warrior’s head, the animal’s face falling on his stomach, and its back hanging over his shoulders and reaching below the waist."
[1]
"...the woven jacket and waistband was an important part of the Iban warrior’s ritual paraphernalia, safeguarding him from attack whilst on the war-path."
[2]
[1]: Howell 1908, 92 [2]: Davison & Sutlive 1991, 208 |
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|
The gagong or war-jacket is a skin with a hole and slit in the neck of it to admit of the insertion of the warrior’s head, the animal’s face falling on his stomach, and its back hanging over his shoulders and reaching below the waist.
[1]
...the woven jacket and waistband was an important part of the Iban warrior’s ritual paraphernalia, safeguarding him from attack whilst on the war-path.
[2]
[1]: Howell 1908, 92 [2]: Davison & Sutlive 1991, 208 |
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|
According to the Chinese Nan chou i wu chih (A Record of Strange Things in the Southern Regions) written about 222-228 CE a volcanic country called ’Ge-ying’ (thought to be western Java) traded with the Malay Peninsula and imported horses from India. They were used by warriors.
[1]
It is likely they had some basic armour. Metallurgy was introduced after the third century BCE
[2]
so in addition to imported items, they may have had the ability to smith their own armour.
[1]: (Miksic and Goh 2017, 215) John Norman Miksic. Geok Yian Goh. Routledge. 2017. Ancient Southeast Asia. London. p. 215 [2]: (Bellwood 2004, 36) Bellwood, Peter. The origins and dispersals of agricultural communities in Southeast Asia. Glover, Ian. Bellwood, Peter. eds. 2004. Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History. RoutledgeCurzon. London. |
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|
The Borobudur reliefs depict armour but do not specify which kinds.
[1]
Old Mataram was a ’highly Indianized culture’ until it was replaced by an East Javanese one "that increasingly promoted various elements of the island’s older indigenous traditions."
[2]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’armour, shield, helmet’.
[3]
[1]: (Draeger 1972, 23) D F Draeger. 1972. Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia. Tuttle Publishing. [2]: (Unesco 2005, 233) Unesco. 2005. The Restoration of Borobudur. Unesco. [3]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
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|
"After the formation of the Majapahit Dynasty, however, weapons and warfare underwent significant changes. The military dress completely evolved from the Indian to the East Javanese fashion."
[1]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’armour, shield, helmet’.
[2]
The Borobudur reliefs depicted armour but do not specify which kinds.
[3]
[1]: (Powell 2002, 325) John Powell. 2002. Weapons & Warfare: Ancient and medieval weapons and warfare (to 1500). Salem Press. [2]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. [3]: (Draeger 1972, 23) D F Draeger. 1972. Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia. Tuttle Publishing. |
||||||
|
Old Mataram was a ’highly Indianized culture’ until it was replaced by an East Javanese one "that increasingly promoted various elements of the island’s older indigenous traditions."
[1]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’armour, shield, helmet’.
[2]
[1]: (Unesco 2005, 233) Unesco. 2005. The Restoration of Borobudur. Unesco. [2]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
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|
Inferred from use in preceding and succeeding polities.
|
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|
"Several Chalukyan epigraphs refer to kavacha or armour. A good number of sculptures at Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal show not only armoured soldiers but also caparisoned horses. Metal armours served as shields against attack by enemies, protecting both men and animal forces."
[1]
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a breastplate.; Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "Helmet, neck guard, cuirass, corselet, mail, breast plate, and thigh guard".
[2]
[1]: (Dikshit 1980, 266) Durga Prasad Dikshit. 1980. Political History of the Chalukyas of Badami. Abhinav Publications. New Delhi. [2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used.
[1]
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor, a metal coat of mail, metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and breast plate.
[2]
[1]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi. [2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions "dense structures made of the skin, hooves, and horns/tusks of the river dolphin, rhinocerous, Dhenuka, and cattle" used as armor and a leather shield.
[1]
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
"Iron stirrups and heavy armour, for both horses and horsemen also became common during this period."
[1]
According to Ibn Battuta in 1333 Delhi forces employed heavy-armoured cavalry.
[2]
Elephant armour (bargustawan-i-pil) included plate.
[3]
[1]: (Ahmed 2011, 99) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. [2]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [3]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 137) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
"The Ak Koyunlu were the natural enemies of the Ottomans who, however, unwittingly aided the preservation of samples of their armour and weaponry by capturing the entire Ak Koyunlu baggage train at the battle of Otluk Beli in 1473. This equipment was shifted to the armoury of St. Irene in Istanbul."
[1]
"This mail and plate armour is characteristic of the Ak Koyunlu Turkoman".
[2]
[1]: 1991. Islamic and Indian Art, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures. Sotheby’s. page 56. [2]: (Jones ed. 2012, 92-93) Gareth Jones. ed. The Military History Book: The Ultimate Visual Guide to the Weapons that Shaped the World. Dorling Kindersley Limited. London. |
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|
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a breastplate.
[1]
"The period between the post-Gupta era and the Islamic invasions is generally regarded as a sort of ’quasi Dark Age’ in India ... military historian U. P. Thapliyal asserts that after AD 500, there were no innovations in the theory and practice of warfare."
[2]
Kaushik Roy disagrees with this evaluation but I presume with respect to the idea of a lack of new innovation.
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [2]: (Roy 2013, 27) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. London. |
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|
Corslet: "In the Uttararama-carita a great contingent of soldiers armed with corslets, staves and quivers..."
[1]
[1]: (Mishra 1977, 146) Shyam Manohar Mishra. 1977. Yaśovarman of Kanauj: A Study of Political History, Social, and Cultural Life of Northern India During the Reign of Yaśovarman. Abhinav Publications. |
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|
Referring to Vedic texts: "The use of shields and protective armour is throughout in evidence."
[1]
Presence of breastplates is inferred from a mention in a hymn to arms in the Rig Veda (Samhita 6.75): "I cover with armour those places on you where a wound is mortal."
[2]
The hymn does not mention the material of the armor.
[1]: (Singh 1965: 116) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QW5EBAAU. [2]: Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century (New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2008), p.188. |
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|
Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used.
[1]
Likely referring to time following the Macedonian invasion. Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a breast plate.
[2]
[1]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi. [2]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
Inferred from use in Mauryan Empire. The Sunga Dynasty was in effect the continuation of the Mauryan Empire as it was established in a coup by the Mauryan general Pushyamitra Sunga (Roy 2015, 19).
[1]
[1]: (Roy 2015: 19) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/35K9MMUW. |
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|
Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used.
[1]
Vakataka "soldiers were provided with armours and helmets."
[2]
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a breast plate.
[3]
[1]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi. [2]: (Majumdar and Altekar 1986, 277) Anant Sadashiv Altekar. The Administrative Organisation. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar. Anant Sadashiv Altekar. 1986. Vakataka - Gupta Age Circa 200-550 A.D. Motilal Banarsidass. Delhi. [3]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards."
[1]
Some evidence of breastplates in the sources in the armies of the earlier Abbasids.
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178 |
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|
In the Stele of the Vultures, soldiers are "dressed in sheepskin kilts, with some type of sash (leather or colored cloth?) over their left shoulders. ’King Eannatum himself’ leads the army wearing a thick sheepskin kilt and long sheepskin robe".
[1]
[1]: (Hamblin 2006: 56-57) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4WM3RBTD. |
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|
"As with the rest of the Near East, there is little evidence for warfare in Neolithic Mesopotamia."
[1]
[1]: (Hamblin 2006: 33) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4WM3RBTD. |
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|
"We have no evidence for warfare. In contrast with later periods, ’Ubaid seals show no depictions of weapons, prisoners, or combat scenes".
[1]
[1]: (Stein 1994: 39) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/V94SXJRJ. |
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|
Late 3rd - early 2md millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. |
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|
"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards."
[1]
Sassanid cavalrymen wore a breastplate
[2]
and evidence that Abbasids had breastplates.
[3]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. [3]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178 |
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|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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|
No reference to plate armour. Plate armour more typical for heavy cavalry which carried lances rather than horsemen with bows. However, some Mongol cavalry carried lances.
[1]
[1]: Martin, H. Desmond. “The Mongol Army.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1 (April 1, 1943): 52. |
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|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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|
"Cuirass (char-a’ina). Iran, Qajar period, early 19th century. Steel, gold, and textile."
[1]
[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 6) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven. |
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|
Armoured knight had protection for the torso, arms and legs.
[1]
"During the reign of the first King Khosrow, or Chosroes (531-79), a cavalryman’s equipment consisted of body armor, breastplate, helmet, greaves and arm shields".
[2]
[1]: (Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. |
||||||
|
Armoured knight had protection for the torso, arms and legs.
[1]
"During the reign of the first King Khosrow, or Chosroes (531-79), a cavalryman’s equipment consisted of body armor, breastplate, helmet, greaves and arm shields".
[2]
at the muster parades of Khusrau I (second Sassanid period) cavalry units required to have "mail, breastplate, helmet, leg guards, arm guards, horse armour, lance, buckler, sword, mace, battle axe, quiver of thirty arrows, bow case with two bows, and two spare bow strings."
[3]
[1]: (Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. [3]: (Chegini 1996, 58) Chegini, N. N. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf |
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|
Breastplates, or cuirass, were probably worn by officers in the army (based on the military code of Amphipolis, which mentions breastplates with reference to officers), but it is likely that soldiers also wore breastplates as protection from increasingly advanced and prevalent missile technology in enemy armies.
[1]
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p55. |
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|
"The dearth of illustrative material for the greater part of six centuries is largely due to the wanton destruction caused by two savage invasions from the east and only such finds as the stucco figures from Kara-shar [Central Asian warrior, eighth to tenth century] tell us that in all this period there had been little change."
[1]
The nomadic Turkman archer had the equipment of Turkic, rather than Persian, military culture. However, that the Sassanid cavarlyman wore breastplate
[2]
might suggest the Seljuk mamluk forces, which came from Islamic tradition, if not the Turkman forces themselves, may have worn breastplates.
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. |
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|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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|
"There were two types of armor, full body and left arm, both made of quilted cotton."
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 114) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "May Ninurta, Enlil’s son, set the helmet Lion of Battle on your head, may the breastplate (?) that in the great mountains does not permit retreat be laid on your breast!"
[1]
In India, cuirasses or breastplates of copper, iron, silver and gold are referenced in the Vedic epic literature.
[2]
Breastplates are known to have been worn by early Romans
[3]
and the advanced Greek Cairan armour c600 BCE included the breastplate.
[4]
In Persia, the Archaemenids (c5th century CE?) are known to have used iron breastplates
[5]
- did the cavalry of the Medes (715-550 BCE), who preceded them, wear breastplates? Physical evidence for the breastplate does not appear to be common in the ancient world though there appears to be some text references. We also code present on the basis of fabric/textile breastplates which are least likely to survive in archaeological contexts. For that reason a code of suspected unknown may be best at least back to the late bronze age.
[1]: Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird: c.1.8.2.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [2]: Singh, Sarva Daman. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. p. 116 [3]: (Cornell 1995, 179) Cornell, T.J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). London: Routledge. [4]: (J G Manning 2015, Personal Communication to Seshat Databanak) [5]: (Farrokh 2007, 76) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. |
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|
Found buried in the richest grave at Castel di Decima
[1]
. "Miniature weapons and armour (swords, daggers, spears, shields, pectorals also occur in central Italy in the Early Iron age, for example in a few tombs in the Latial cemetery of Osteria dell’Osa"
[2]
"The simple metal disc worn on the breast and sometimes the back of warriors was one of the oldest forms of body-armour. It was usually supported by crossed straps passing over the shoulders, as in the case of the statue of a seventh- to sixth-century B.C. Italic warrior from Capistrano in the Museo Nazionale, Rome".
[3]
[1]: G. Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome (2006), pp. 53-58 [2]: Osgood, Monks, Toms, Bronze Age Warfare (2000), p.104 [3]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. |
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|
On the basis of armour worn by French soldiers of the 12th-13th centuries we would expect helmet and shield, leather and quilted armour as well as metal breastplate, limb protection and chainmail.
[1]
[2]
[1]: Boulton in Kilber, W W. 1995. Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. [2]: Nicolle, D and McBride, A. 1991. French Medieval Armies 1000-1300. Osprey Publishing Ltd. London. |
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|
"Hoplite panoplies have been discovered in the so-called Tomb of the Warrior at Vulci, dating to c. 530 B.C., as well as in a tomb at Lanuvium in Latium dating to the early fifth century" (citing Torelli 1989 and Drummond).
[1]
[1]: (Forsythe 2006, 114) Forsythe, Gary. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War. University of California Press. |
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|
"Polybius reports all soldiers wore a bronze pectoral body armour, though lorica hamata (chain mail shirt) was preferred by those soldiers who could afford it."
[1]
"Polybius (6.22-23; 25) describes how the legion in this period was divided into four types of infantry. There were three different groups of heavy infantry: 1,200 hastati (’spearmen’), 1,200 principes (’leading men’) and 600 triarii (’third line men’). They were equipped in broadly similar fashion, with bronze helmets and greaves and either a simple square bronze chest-guard, or more elaborate body armour such as a mail tunic, according to each individual’s wealth and ability to provide his own protection."
[2]
[1]: (Fields 2007, 19) [2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 14-15) |
||||||
|
Worn by class I.
[1]
Probably "based upon the elaborate poncho-type cuirass discovered at Narce (Tomb 43) in Etruria."
[2]
"Hoplite panoplies have been discovered in the so-called Tomb of the Warrior at Vulci, dating to c. 530 B.C., as well as in a tomb at Lanuvium in Latium dating to the early fifth century" (citing Torelli 1989 and Drummond).
[3]
[1]: (Cornell 1995, 179) [2]: (Fields 2011) [3]: (Forsythe 2006, 114) Forsythe, Gary. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War. University of California Press. |
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|
There is little evidence for armor other than cotton armor and shields, as recorded by the Spanish at the end of this period.
[1]
[1]: Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
General reference for medieval warfare: "From about 1340, the plates covering the chest were combined to form a rudimentary breastplate, which first covered only the upper chest area. ... By about 1370 the breastplate was extended downward by means of an attached skirt of hoops, a fauld, so that the whole torso was protected."
[1]
General reference for medieval warfare: "The increasing use of gunpowder weapons as well as changes in tactics and the increasing sizes of armies led to the demise of armor in the seventeeth century."
[2]
[1]: (Smith 2010, 70) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [2]: (Smith 2010, 73) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
||||||
|
General reference for medieval warfare: "From about 1340, the plates covering the chest were combined to form a rudimentary breastplate, which first covered only the upper chest area. ... By about 1370 the breastplate was extended downward by means of an attached skirt of hoops, a fauld, so that the whole torso was protected."
[1]
General reference for medieval warfare: "The increasing use of gunpowder weapons as well as changes in tactics and the increasing sizes of armies led to the demise of armor in the seventeeth century."
[2]
[1]: (Smith 2010, 70) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [2]: (Smith 2010, 73) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
||||||
|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
||||||
|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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|
"The dearth of illustrative material for the greater part of six centuries is largely due to the wanton destruction caused by two savage invasions from the east and only such finds as the stucco figures from Kara-shar [Central Asian warrior, eighth to tenth century] tell us that in all this period there had been little change."
[1]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. |
||||||
|
’For personal defence, there were two kinds of shields: round ones ornamented with vegetal or flower motifs, and long ones ornamented on the top border. The latter could be grouped together to form a kind of rampart. Both were probably of wood and hide, with metal plaques. Although most warriors wore only a kind of short=sleeved jacket (sometimes resembling the quilted ’armour’ in use in Mesoamerica), many were protected by a cylindrical cuirass, often with one or two knives lashed over it for close combat.’
[1]
’But before we do this, to avoid repetition, we shall consider what was the technological level of this army, that is, what were the weapons it used, for, of course, contrary to what Zhou Daguan affirms, namely that the use of bows, arrows, ballistae, and breastplates was unknown to the Khmer army, it did in fact have these arms.’
[2]
’At Angkor Wat, breastplates were mostly worn by soldiers of higher rank riding elephants and horses rather than by foot soldiers. The breastplates have a special wrap-around form which encloses the chest, leaving the arms and neck free.’
[3]
’Some soldiers also wore a sort of breast plate in two pieces bound togather across the chest with twine. Their use seems to have been discontinued dueing the reign of Jayavarman VII.’
[4]
[1]: (Coe 2003, pp. 185-186) [2]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 13) [3]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 18) [4]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 34) |
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|
"The Aztecs used shields, various forms of body armor, warriors’ suits, and helmets […] the elite also adopted complete torso armor".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 139) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
Safavid and Mughal cavalry armour of the period included mail, cuirass (four breast-pieces, back and side plates), arm guards, circular shield, helmet.
[1]
[1]: (Roy 2014, 47) Kaushik Roy. 2014. Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships. Bloomsbury Academic. London. |
||||||
|
’For personal defence, there were two kinds of shields: round ones ornamented with vegetal or flower motifs, and long ones ornamented on the top border. The latter could be grouped together to form a kind of rampart. Both were probably of wood and hide, with metal plaques. Although most warriors wore only a kind of short=sleeved jacket (sometimes resembling the quilted ’armour’ in use in Mesoamerica), many were protected by a cylindrical cuirass, often with one or two knives lashed over it for close combat.’
[1]
’But before we do this, to avoid repetition, we shall consider what was the technological level of this army, that is, what were the weapons it used, for, of course, contrary to what Zhou Daguan affirms, namely that the use of bows, arrows, ballistae, and breastplates was unknown to the Khmer army, it did in fact have these arms.’
[2]
’At Angkor Wat, breastplates were mostly worn by soldiers of higher rank riding elephants and horses rather than by foot soldiers. The breastplates have a special wrap-around form which encloses the chest, leaving the arms and neck free.’
[3]
’Some soldiers also wore a sort of breast plate in two pieces bound togather across the chest with twine. Their use seems to have been discontinued dueing the reign of Jayavarman VII.’
[4]
[1]: (Coe 2003, pp. 185-186) [2]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 13) [3]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 18) [4]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 34) |
||||||
|
’For personal defence, there were two kinds of shields: round ones ornamented with vegetal or flower motifs, and long ones ornamented on the top border. The latter could be grouped together to form a kind of rampart. Both were probably of wood and hide, with metal plaques. Although most warriors wore only a kind of short=sleeved jacket (sometimes resembling the quilted ’armour’ in use in Mesoamerica), many were protected by a cylindrical cuirass, often with one or two knives lashed over it for close combat.’
[1]
’But before we do this, to avoid repetition, we shall consider what was the technological level of this army, that is, what were the weapons it used, for, of course, contrary to what Zhou Daguan affirms, namely that the use of bows, arrows, ballistae, and breastplates was unknown to the Khmer army, it did in fact have these arms.’
[2]
’At Angkor Wat, breastplates were mostly worn by soldiers of higher rank riding elephants and horses rather than by foot soldiers. The breastplates have a special wrap-around form which encloses the chest, leaving the arms and neck free.’
[3]
’Some soldiers also wore a sort of breast plate in two pieces bound togather across the chest with twine. Their use seems to have been discontinued dueing the reign of Jayavarman VII.’
[4]
[1]: (Coe 2003, pp. 185-186) [2]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 13) [3]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, p. 18) [4]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 34) |
||||||
|
This refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan, where ornamental breastplates were found: "Although not directly indicative of violence, ornamental shoulder decorations, epaulettes, were also found in the graves of young adult males (Figure 7). The epaulettes were fashioned from shaped pot rims and shoulders, and some had iron in the shape of buffalo horns attached to them. These were found in two burials at the shoulder of the skeleton and many looted examples were encountered. It is interesting to note that the marriage of martial and animal motifs is apparent on the walls of Angkor Wat where soldiers in Suryavarman II’s army wear helmets depicting a range of different animals (Figure 8). Jacq-Hergoualc’h (2007: 85) states that ‘perhaps these animal figures corresponded to the desire of the warriors to place themselves under the protection of this or that revered animal’. It may be that these animals are regional or clan signifiers. At Phum Snay buffalo iconography was very common, especially in the form of finger rings, on bronze bells and on epaulettes. Buffalo bones were also commonly encountered in male burials as a grave offering (O’Reilly et al. 2006b).
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, 452) |
||||||
|
The following refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan, where ornamental breastplates were found: "Although not directly indicative of violence, ornamental shoulder decorations, epaulettes, were also found in the graves of young adult males (Figure 7). The epaulettes were fashioned from shaped pot rims and shoulders, and some had iron in the shape of buffalo horns attached to them. These were found in two burials at the shoulder of the skeleton and many looted examples were encountered. It is interesting to note that the marriage of martial and animal motifs is apparent on the walls of Angkor Wat where soldiers in Suryavarman II’s army wear helmets depicting a range of different animals (Figure 8). Jacq-Hergoualc’h (2007: 85) states that ‘perhaps these animal figures corresponded to the desire of the warriors to place themselves under the protection of this or that revered animal’. It may be that these animals are regional or clan signifiers. At Phum Snay buffalo iconography was very common, especially in the form of finger rings, on bronze bells and on epaulettes. Buffalo bones were also commonly encountered in male burials as a grave offering (O’Reilly et al. 2006b).
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, p. 452) |
||||||
|
NOTE: this refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan, where ornamental breastplates were found (RA). "Although not directly indicative of violence, ornamental shoulder decorations, epaulettes, were also found in the graves of young adult males (Figure 7). The epaulettes were fashioned from shaped pot rims and shoulders, and some had iron in the shape of buffalo horns attached to them. These were found in two burials at the shoulder of the skeleton and many looted examples were encountered. It is interesting to note that the marriage of martial and animal motifs is apparent on the walls of Angkor Wat where soldiers in Suryavarman II’s army wear helmets depicting a range of different animals (Figure 8). Jacq-Hergoualc’h (2007: 85) states that ‘perhaps these animal figures corresponded to the desire of the warriors to place themselves under the protection of this or that revered animal’. It may be that these animals are regional or clan signifiers. At Phum Snay buffalo iconography was very common, especially in the form of finger rings, on bronze bells and on epaulettes. Buffalo bones were also commonly encountered in male burials as a grave offering (O’Reilly et al. 2006b).
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, p. 452) |
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|
"Made of quilted cotton, this armor was as much as two or three inches thick and found in two basic types at Teotihuacan: one covered the entire body and limbs like mail".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 82) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
"the warrior’s weapon includes a sword (Yašt 5.130; 10.131; 14.27), a spear (Yašt 10.39,102; 15.48; 17.12), bow and arrows (Yašt 7.28; 10.39) and a mace, which sometimes has a bull handle, sometimes it has 100 edges (Yašt 6.5, 10.96, 101, 132; 11,10), and sometimes it is made of gold (Yašt 10.96, 131). The body was covered by protective armor, the main part of which was a helmet made of a bull skin or metal (Yašt 13.45; 15.57) and a shield."
[1]
Vedic for ’breastplate’ is Indo-Iranian.
[2]
Not everyone agrees Vedic culture was descendant from, and thus can tell us about, Andronovo culture.
[3]
[1]: (Kuz’mina 2007: 137) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/UW7JEMDK/q/Kuz’mina. [2]: (Kuz’mina 2007, 137) Elena Efimovna Kuzʹmina. 2007. The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. J P Mallory ed. BRILL. Leiden. [3]: (Lamberg-Karlovsky 144-145) C C Lamberg-Karlovsky. 2005. Archaeology and language: the case of the Bronze Age Indo-Iranians. Edwin Francis Bryant. Laurie L Patton. eds. The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History. Routledge. Abingdon. |
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|
reference to an iron breastplate on Songhai askia 1588 CE.
[1]
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[2]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[1]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[1]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[1]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[2]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[2]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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|
The last Yuan emperor Toghon Temur returned to Mongolia and established the capital of his new Mongol state ("which extended from Manchuria to Kyrgystan") at Karakorum. At that time the MilTech codes would be the same as for the preceding Yuan China. Over the next decades the state lost territory and there was civil war at the start of the 15th century although in 1409 CE they still managed to rout a very large invading Ming army. The Ming attacked again but the Mongols were not conquered. Under an Oirat noble called Esen (1440-1455 CE) they invaded China in 1449 CE with 20,000 cavalry and captured the Ming emperor. In 1451 CE Esen overthrew the Mongol Khan but he wasn’t a direct descendent of Genghis Khan and was killed during a 1455 CE rebellion. His rule was followed by minor Khans who ruled a Mongolia in which the Khalkhas were one of three ’left-flank’ tumens (in addition to Chahars and Uriangqais). The state also had ’right-flank’ tumens (Ordos, Tumeds, Yunshebus) and the Oirats of western Mongolia. "These 6 tumens were major administrative units, often called ulus tumens (princedoms), comprising the 40 lesser tumens of the military-administrative type inherited from the Yuan period, each of which was reputedly composed of 10,000 cavalry troops ..."
[1]
The narrative suggests at least for 1400 CE and 1500 CE the army was cavalry based and in continuity with the preceding Yuan. The Yuan Dynasty is coded present for this armour.
[1]: (Ishjamts 2003, 208-211) N Ishjamts. 2003. The Mongols. Chahryar Adle. Irfan Habib. Karl M Baipakov. eds. History Of Civilizations Of Central Asia. Volume V. Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. UNESCO Publishing. Paris. |
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|
reference to an iron breastplate on Songhai askia 1588 CE.
[1]
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[2]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[1]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[1]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
reference to an iron breastplate on Songhai askia 1588 CE.
[1]
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[2]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[1]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[1]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
The coins from the period show muscled cuirass, scaled corsets, metal grieves and thigh protectors made of leather.
[1]
There is also some limited archaeological evidence.
[2]
Yuezhi (Kushan) find at Tillya-Tepe: "decorative gold clasp depicted a Greek infantryman in a cuirass breastplate carrying a spear and an oval shield."
[3]
[1]: Sidky, H., The Greek Kingdom of Bactria, from Alexander to Eucratides the Great, Oxford, 2000, pp. 168-169 [2]: Nikonorov, Valeri P., and Serge A. Savchuk. "New Data on Ancient Bactrian Body-Armour (In the Light of Finds from Kampyr Tepe)." Iran (1992): 49-54. [3]: (McLaughlin 2016, 78) Raoul McLaughlin. 2016. The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China. Pen and Sword History. Barnsley. |
||||||
|
reference to an iron breastplate on Songhai askia 1588 CE.
[1]
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[2]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[1]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[1]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
reference to an iron breastplate on Songhai askia 1588 CE.
[1]
Knights: "The princes of Black Africa who could afford to outfitted themselves in complete or partial armor like that of the knights of the Western Middle Ages."
[2]
"coat of mail and iron breastplate, helmet, boots, javelin ... all of it."
[1]
However, due to climate complete knightly armour not as common as in Europe and in fact Songhai Askia Bano died of suffocation.
[1]
1000-1650 CE period: "body armor was rare. Among the cavalry empires of the Sahel and sudan, quilted horse and body armor were common but plate was rarely used."
[3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 117) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago. [3]: (Nolan 2006, 27) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
No evidence for weapons or armor, apart from arrowheads, spearheads, daggers and axes, have been found at Pirak. This may in part be due to preservation conditions at the site.
[1]
However, Harappan weapons are "characterised by the absence of shields, helmets and armour".
[2]
[1]: Jarrige, J-F. (1979) Fouilles de Pirak. Paris : Diffusion de Boccard. [2]: Sharma, R. S., ‘Material Background of Vedic Warfare’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 9 (1966):305. |
||||||
|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
iron-ore hematite breast plates have been found archaeologically and are known form artwork, but they may have been purely decorative (i.e. for status) and related to shamanistic rituals or the Mesoamerican ball game.
[2]
[3]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Niederberger, Christine. (1996). "The Basin of Mexico: Multimillenial Development toward Cultural Complexity." In Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, edited by Emily P. Benson and Beatriz de la Fuente. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, pp. 83-93. [3]: Niederberger, Christine. (2000) "Ranked Societies, Iconographic Complexity, and Economic Wealth in the Basin of Mexico Toward 1200 BC." In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 169-192. |
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|
The following implies that shields were the only form of armor: "In reaction to slings, shields were widely adopted in the Late Formative, especially rectangular ones that protected most of the body [...] The protection afforded the trunk and the limbs".
[1]
breastplates are known from figurines, but they may have been purely decorative (i.e. for status).
[2]
[3]
[4]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Niederberger, Christine. (1996). "The Basin of Mexico: Multimillenial Development toward Cultural Complexity." In Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, edited by Emily P. Benson and Beatriz de la Fuente. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, pp. 83-93. [3]: Niederberger, Christine. (2000) "Ranked Societies, Iconographic Complexity, and Economic Wealth in the Basin of Mexico Toward 1200 BC." In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 169-192. [4]: Piña Chán, Román. (1971). "Preclassic or Formative Pottery and Minor Arts of the Valley of Mexico." In The Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 10, ed. G. F. Ekholm and I. Bernal. Austin: University of Texas Press, 157-178. |
||||||
|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
iron-ore hematite breast plates have been found archaeologically and are known form artwork, but they may have been purely decorative (i.e. for status) and related to shamanistic rituals or the Mesoamerican ball game.
[2]
[3]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Niederberger, Christine. (1996). "The Basin of Mexico: Multimillenial Development toward Cultural Complexity." In Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, edited by Emily P. Benson and Beatriz de la Fuente. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, pp. 83-93. [3]: Niederberger, Christine. (2000) "Ranked Societies, Iconographic Complexity, and Economic Wealth in the Basin of Mexico Toward 1200 BC." In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 169-192. |
||||||
|
The following implies that shields were the only form of armor: "In reaction to slings, shields were widely adopted in the Late Formative, especially rectangular ones that protected most of the body [...] The protection afforded the trunk and the limbs".
[1]
breastplates are known from figurines, but they may have been purely decorative (i.e. for status).
[2]
[3]
[4]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Niederberger, Christine. (1996). "The Basin of Mexico: Multimillenial Development toward Cultural Complexity." In Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, edited by Emily P. Benson and Beatriz de la Fuente. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, pp. 83-93. [3]: Niederberger, Christine. (2000) "Ranked Societies, Iconographic Complexity, and Economic Wealth in the Basin of Mexico Toward 1200 BC." In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 169-192. [4]: Piña Chán, Román. (1971). "Preclassic or Formative Pottery and Minor Arts of the Valley of Mexico." In The Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 10, ed. G. F. Ekholm and I. Bernal. Austin: University of Texas Press, 157-178. |
||||||
|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
Sources
[1]
only mention very little archaeological evidence for military technology for this period, and this does not include armour. However, armour made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so their absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Relative to military technology used in this period, sources only mention the atlatl and spears.
[1]
However, armour made from wood and cloth has been documented for the later periods, so its absence in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
If "the first archaeologically recognizable, large post-Indus urban settlements are not earlier than the fifth century BC ... solidly visible states ... appear in a sudden profusion in the late first millennium B.C."
[1]
- who was king Stabrobates of India who used war elephants against a queen of Assyria (considered Shammuramat?) in the 9th century BCE?
[2]
One could infer king Stabrobates, if not based there himself, must have subdued and controlled the Kachi Plain region in order to invade Mesopotamia from ’India’. (Another source says Assyria invaded India and were driven out of Pakistan and India).
[3]
Diodorus Siculus says this too, queen Semiramis was based in Bactra (Bactria?).
[4]
If king Stabrobates’s polity controlled the Kachi Plain then we must code the according to the military technology he possessed. This would have included armour. Note: one military historian estimates that the Assyrian army had a strategic range of 2000 km
[5]
which places the Indus region in reach of their forces.
[1]: (Ahmed 2014, 64) Mukhtar Ahmed. 2014. Ancient Pakistan - An Archaeological History: Volume V: The End of the Harappan Civilization, and the Aftermath. Foursome Group. [2]: (Mayor 2014, 289) Adrienne Mayor. Animals in Warfare. Gordon Lindsay Campbell. ed. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [3]: (Kistler 2007, 18) John M Kistler. 2007. War Elephants. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln. [4]: Diodorus Siculus. Delphi Complete Works of Diodorus Siculus. Delphi Classics. [5]: (Gabriel 2002, 9) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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|
"Besides not producing many socketed weapons, the Indus is also lacking in narrow-bladed axes and square-sectioned spears. These axe designs have been connected with the appearance of body-armour, and the ensuing need for piercing weapons (Yadin 1963: 40), and the square-sectioned spears may arguably have been a response to the same stimulus. The absence of these designs in the Indus, or at least of weapons that seem to have an emphasis on piercing through something, implies that armour (presumably made of organic materials, as no metal helmets or scales of armour have been found) was not commonly used."
[1]
[1]: (Cork 2006: 174) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IQQCEMPC/q/cork. |
||||||
|
"Besides not producing many socketed weapons, the Indus is also lacking in narrow-bladed axes and square-sectioned spears. These axe designs have been connected with the appearance of body-armour, and the ensuing need for piercing weapons (Yadin 1963: 40), and the square-sectioned spears may arguably have been a response to the same stimulus. The absence of these designs in the Indus, or at least of weapons that seem to have an emphasis on piercing through something, implies that armour (presumably made of organic materials, as no metal helmets or scales of armour have been found) was not commonly used."
[1]
[1]: (Cork 2006: 174) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IQQCEMPC/q/cork. |
||||||
|
"Young people up to a certain age looked after the herds, drove them from one place to another, caught, saddled, and loaded horses. They were called uollar, which means fellows. Among them the older and more skillful ones were called batyr -- knight, khosun -- warrior, and bargan (byargyan’) -- good shot, and roamed through the taiga not far from the settlements, hunting and fishing. Many of them had coats of mail (kuyakh) made from plates of iron and bone sewn over a leather caftan."
[1]
[1]: Sieroszewski, Wacław. 1993. “Yakut: An Experiment In Ethnographic Research.”, 716 |
||||||
|
"Young people up to a certain age looked after the herds, drove them from one place to another, caught, saddled, and loaded horses. They were called uollar, which means fellows. Among them the older and more skillful ones were called batyr -- knight, khosun -- warrior, and bargan (byargyan’) -- good shot, and roamed through the taiga not far from the settlements, hunting and fishing. Many of them had coats of mail (kuyakh) made from plates of iron and bone sewn over a leather caftan."
[1]
[1]: Sieroszewski, Wacław. 1993. “Yakut: An Experiment In Ethnographic Research.”, 716 |
||||||
|
No references in the literature.
|
||||||
|
The Fatimid arsenals contained "the full range of medieval military technology such as mail, scale armor, horse armor, helmets, shields, pikes, lances, spears, javelins, swords, two-handed maces, slings, bows, and crossbows.
[1]
[1]: (Hamblin 2005, 749) Shillington, K. ed. 2005. Encyclopedia of African History: A - G.. 1. Taylor & Francis. |
||||||
|
Preiser-Kapeller says present.
[1]
"In the infantry of the later fifth and sixth centuries ... breastplate, helmet, leg-armour (splinted greaves of either iron or leather or felt), and wide round or oval shields."
[2]
[1]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences) [2]: (Haldon 2008, 473) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
||||||
|
Inferred, based on presence in the contemporary Pontic kingdom.
[1]
[2]
[1]: McGing, B. C. (1986) The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus. Leiden: Brill. [2]: Erciyas, D. B. (2006) Wealth, Aristocracy and Royal Propaganda under the Hellenistic Kingdom of the Mithradatids. Colloquia Pontica: Brill, Leiden, Boston. |
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"In the infantry of the later fifth and sixth centuries ... breastplate, helmet, leg-armour (splinted greaves of either iron or leather or felt), and wide round or oval shields."
[1]
[1]: (Haldon 2008, 473-474) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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The fourth century Thracian army:“Light cavalry was now likely to have the basic protection of helmet and shield, while heavy cavalry took to wearing iron helmets and composite corselets.”
[1]
[1]: Webber, C. (2003) Odrysian Cavalry, Army, Equipment and Tactics. Bar International Series 1139, pp. 529-554. p537 |
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Even when the Seljuks adopted new military organisation mounted archers remained central to their forces. The ghulam slave soldiers “fought and were equipped in much the same manner as the ghulams and mamluks” elsewhere in Middle east.
[1]
At its best equipment was similar to that used in Iran "with perhaps some Byzantine or even Western European influence.”
[1]
General reference for this time period in Europe: cuirasses.
[2]
[1]: Nicolle, David. Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350: Islam, Eastern Europe and Asia. Rev. and updated ed. London : Mechanicsburg, Pa: Greenhill Books ; Stackpole Books, 1999. p.208 [2]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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Sources only mention shields
[1]
. It should be noted that sources that specifically describe the way the Illinois Confederation waged war are relatively rare.
[1]: Illinois State Museum, The Illinois, Technology: Weapons (2000), http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/te_houses.html |
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Though it’s not clear whether the Iroquois ever used "breastplates" in the sense of torso protection, by this time they had stopped using body armour altogether. "[T]he introduction of firearms and metal tipped weapons into native warfare forced the Iroquois to reconsider the way they approached combat. They discarded their wooden body armor and shields, which were only marginally effective against metal weapons and afforded no protection whatsoever against French guns. Moreover, continued use of wooden armor became impractical as Iroquois warriors learned to adapt their fighting style to the new weaponry. Shortly after the stunning debut of French firearms in the 1609 revolt of the Mohawks, Champlain recorded that the Iroquois had already learned to ’throw themselves on the ground when they hear the report’ of guns being fired. Wooden armor was too cumbersome for use in evolving Iroquois tactics, which also included hiding behind trees for protection until after the guns had fired. Armor and shields remained present in Iroquois society as teaching and protectice tools in the education of young warriors, but they no longer found a place in Iroquois wars."
[1]
[1]: (Barr 2006, 28) Barr, Daniel P. 2006. Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/943RGM7A/itemKey/KA4QX6HF |
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When the Iroquois went to war the "chiefs wore large plumes and warriors wore slat armor and carried leather or bark shields." The slat armor was usually made from wood.
[1]
[2]
[1]: (Engelbrecht 2003: 159) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/FJ3EAI76. [2]: (Jones 2004: 59) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IPU9UA8I. |
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"The dearth of illustrative material for the greater part of six centuries is largely due to the wanton destruction caused by two savage invasions from the east and only such finds as the stucco figures from Kara-shar [Central Asian warrior, eighth to tenth century] tell us that in all this period there had been little change."
[1]
The Sassanid cavarlyman a wore breastplate.
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. |
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"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards. The invader came under the influence of the remarkable Persian culture and no doubt, in due course, took advantage of the superior craftsmen now at his disposal for the making of his own equipment."
[1]
The Sassanid cavarlyman a wore breastplate.
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. |
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These do not appear to be included in depictions of"warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991).
[1]
However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK. |
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These do not appear to be included in depictions of"warriors" in North Yemeni rock-art from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, as reproduced in Jung (1991).
[1]
However, Jung himself does not state these were not in use, nor does he remark on their absence in said depictions.
[1]: (Jung 1991) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK. |
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Code inferred from Abbasid Caliphate
[1]
which occupied Yemen between 751-868 CE.
[1]: Hugh N Kennedy. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/SGPPFNAZ/q/kennedy |
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