Section: Armor
Variable: Laminar Armor (All coded records)
The absence or presence of laminar_armor as a military technology used in warfare. (also known as banded mail, example: lorica segmentata). Armor that is made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of sold armor plates.  
Laminar Armor
#  Polity  Coded Value Tags Year(s) Edit Desc
1 Kansai - Kofun Period absent Confident Expert 250 CE 299 CE
Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


2 Kansai - Kofun Period unknown Suspected Expert 300 CE 349 CE
Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


3 Kansai - Kofun Period present Confident Expert 350 CE 538 CE
Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


4 Tocharians unknown Suspected Expert -
-
5 Jin Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
-
6 Late Qing unknown Suspected Expert -
-
7 Great Yuan unknown Suspected Expert -
-
8 Chuuk - Early Truk absent Confident Expert -
-
9 Chuuk - Late Truk absent Confident Expert -
-
10 French Kingdom - Early Valois unknown Suspected Expert -
-
11 French Kingdom - Late Valois unknown Suspected Expert -
-
12 British Empire II absent Confident Expert -
-
13 Akan - Pre-Ashanti absent Confident Expert -
-
14 Archaic Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
15 Classical Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
16 Final Postpalatial Crete present Confident Expert -
-
17 Geometric Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
18 Monopalatial Crete present Confident Expert -
-
19 Neolithic Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
20 New Palace Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
21 Old Palace Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
22 Postpalatial Crete present Confident Expert -
-
23 Prepalatial Crete absent Confident Expert -
-
24 Cuzco - Early Intermediate I absent Confident Expert -
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
25 Erligang absent Confident Expert -
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)

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


26 Hmong - Early Chinese unknown Suspected Expert -
we need expert input in order to code this variable
27 Hmong - Late Qing unknown Suspected Expert -
we need expert input in order to code this variable
28 Northern Song present Inferred Expert -
"at least one 10th-century painting shows what are clearly dismounted cavalry in lamellar armour - like their T’ang predecessors." [1]

[1]: (Peers 2002, 35)


29 Late Shang absent Inferred Expert -
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)

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


30 Tang Dynasty I present Confident Expert -
lamellar coat [1]

[1]: (Peers 2002, 14)


31 Tang Dynasty II present Confident Expert -
lamellar coat [1] from late T’ang lamellar coats "derived from Central Asian traditions" [2]

[1]: (Peers 2002, 14)

[2]: (Peers 2002, 19)


32 Yangshao absent Confident Expert -
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)

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


33 Shuar - Colonial absent Confident Expert -
The ethnographic record contains descriptions of caps and ornamentation rather than physical armor in the conventional sense of the term
34 Ayyubid Sultanate unknown Suspected Expert -
"fully armoured" cavalry. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 18) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.


35 Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
36 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I present Confident Expert -
Laminated leather cuirass. Rawhide lamellar cuirass. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


37 Naqada I absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
38 Egypt - New Kingdom Thutmosid Period absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. A military historian suggests lamellar armour was introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?) [1] - can an Egyptian historian confirm its absence at this time?

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


39 Ptolemaic Kingdom I unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
40 Ptolemaic Kingdom II unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
41 Egypt - Thebes-Libyan Period absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
42 Egypt - Tulunid-Ikhshidid Period unknown Suspected Expert -
For Abbasid Caliphate: Some evidence of lamellar leggings in the sources. [1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


43 Atlantic Complex absent Inferred Expert -
"The indications are therefore clear that sheet-metal armour started its life with the Urnfield period and had an earlier history in organic materials." [1]

[1]: (Harding 2000, 287)


44 French Kingdom - Late Bourbon absent Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: (Parrott 2012, 62) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


45 Hallstatt A-B1 absent Confident Expert -
Not mentioned in the literature.
46 Hallstatt B2-3 unknown Suspected Expert -
Not mentioned in the literature.
47 Hallstatt C absent Confident Expert -
Not mentioned in the literature.
48 Hallstatt D absent Confident Expert -
Not mentioned in the literature.
49 Early Merovingian present Confident Expert -
Iron. [1]

[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London.


50 Proto-Carolingian present Confident Expert -
Iron. [1]

[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London.


51 The Emirate of Crete present Confident Expert -
[1] [2]

[1]: Κόλλιας, Τ., Τεχνολογία και Πόλεμος στο Βυζάντιο, 2005

[2]: Mc Geer, E., Sowing the Dragons Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century, Washington D.C., 1995.


52 Hellenistic Crete present Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: Everson, T. 2004. Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and Armour from the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great, Sutton.


53 Hawaii II absent Confident Expert -
No metals at this time.
54 Iban - Pre-Brooke absent Confident Expert -
-
55 Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial absent Confident Expert -
-
56 Kalingga Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
-
57 Mataram Sultanate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
58 Canaan absent Confident Expert -
-
59 Yisrael absent Confident Expert -
-
60 Deccan - Iron Age unknown Suspected Expert -
-
61 Deccan - Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
-
62 Delhi Sultanate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
63 Early A'chik absent Confident Expert -
-
64 Late A'chik absent Confident Expert -
-
65 Gahadavala Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
-
66 Gupta Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
67 Kannauj - Varman Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
-
68 Mughal Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
69 Vijayanagara Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
70 Akkadian Empire absent Confident Expert -
-
71 Neo-Assyrian Empire absent Confident Expert -
-
72 Ubaid absent Confident Expert -
-
73 Uruk unknown Suspected Expert -
-
74 Ak Koyunlu unknown Suspected Expert -
-
75 Qajar unknown Suspected Expert -
-
76 Safavid Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
77 Icelandic Commonwealth unknown Suspected Expert -
-
78 Latium - Bronze Age absent Confident Expert -
-
79 Latium - Copper Age absent Confident Expert -
-
80 Latium - Iron Age absent Confident Expert -
-
81 Ostrogothic Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
-
82 Papal States - Early Modern Period I present Confident Expert -
-
83 Papal States - Early Modern Period II absent Confident Expert -
-
84 Exarchate of Ravenna unknown Confident Expert -
-
85 Late Roman Republic present Confident Expert -
-
86 Roman Empire - Principate unknown Confident Expert -
-
87 Yehuda present Inferred Expert -
The lorica lamellata. [1]

[1]: Rocca (2009:21).


88 Chalukyas of Kalyani unknown Suspected Expert -
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and corselet. [1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


89 Kadamba Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and corselet. [1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


90 Mahajanapada era absent Confident Expert -
Introduced later.
91 Vakataka Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
Vakataka "soldiers were provided with armours and helmets." [1]

[1]: (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.


92 Early Dynastic unknown Suspected Expert -
(also known as banded mail, example: lorica segmentata)
93 Ur - Dynasty III absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


94 Susiana - Muhammad Jaffar absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
95 Elymais II present Inferred Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians. For the Parthians: "The standard turn-out would have included ... a corselet of lamellar, mail or scale for the torso." [1]

[1]: (Penrose 2008, 223) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing.


96 Formative Period absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
97 Susiana A absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
98 Susiana B absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
99 Susiana - Early Ubaid absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
100 Pre-Ceramic Period absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
101 Sasanid Empire I present Confident Expert -
Laminated armour. [1] Mail and lamellar armour. [2]

[1]: (Farrokh 2005, 16) Farrokh, Kaveh. 2012. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.

[2]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


102 Sasanid Empire II present Confident Expert -
Laminated armour. [1] Mail and lamellar armour. [2]

[1]: (Farrokh 2005, 16) Farrokh, Kaveh. 2012. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.

[2]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


103 Seleucids unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
104 Susa I absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available.
105 Rome - Republic of St Peter II unknown Suspected Expert -
The Papacy did not maintain arsenals or arms workshops during this period, and equipment most likely would have been furnished by troops.
106 Papal States - High Medieval Period present Confident Expert -
General reference for this time period in Europe: in the fourteenth century (next period) a ’coat of plates’ like the roman lorica segmentata was worn over the mail hauberk. [1]

[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.


107 Early Roman Republic unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by Assyria.
108 Middle Roman Republic unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by Assyria.
109 Western Roman Empire - Late Antiquity present Confident Expert -
-
110 Republic of St Peter I unknown Confident Expert -
-
111 Republic of Venice III unknown Suspected Expert -
-
112 Republic of Venice IV unknown Suspected Expert -
-
113 Andronovo unknown Suspected Expert -
-
114 Phoenician Empire unknown Confident Expert -
-
115 Jenne-jeno I absent Confident Expert -
-
116 Jenne-jeno II absent Confident Expert -
-
117 Jenne-jeno III absent Confident Expert -
-
118 Jenne-jeno IV absent Confident Expert -
-
119 Mali Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
120 Songhai Empire - Askiya Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
-
121 Eastern Turk Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
122 Early Mongols absent Confident Expert -
-
123 Late Mongols unknown Suspected Expert -
-
124 Rouran Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
125 Shiwei unknown Suspected Expert -
-
126 Second Turk Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
127 Uigur Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
128 Xianbei Confederation unknown Suspected Expert -
-
129 Early Xiongnu unknown Suspected Expert -
-
130 Late Xiongnu unknown Suspected Expert -
-
131 Xiongnu Imperial Confederation unknown Suspected Expert -
-
132 Zungharian Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
133 Later Wagadu Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
134 Middle Wagadu Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-
135 Kingdom of Norway II unknown Suspected Expert -
-
136 Orokaiva - Pre-Colonial absent Confident Expert -
-
137 Orokaiva - Colonial absent Confident Expert -
-
138 Indo-Greek Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
-
139 Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period absent Confident Expert -
-
140 Kachi Plain - Proto-Historic Period absent Confident Expert -
-
141 Japan - Azuchi-Momoyama present Confident Expert -
‘lames in English, or sane in Japanese, and remained a central component of the relatively flexible armor developed in Japan throughout the medieval period... Even armor made during the early feudal era in Japan typically consisted of modular steel scales called lames atop leather laced together with leather, various types of cord, and silk.’ [1] "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [2] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [2]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.169.

[2]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


142 Heian present Confident Expert -
’The advantages of armor composed of lames, covered with lacquer, and using a combination of materials contributed to the widespread use of this type of armor construction in Japan from the late Heian period until the middle of the 14th century.’ [1] "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [2] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [2]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.170

[2]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


143 Japan - Initial Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
144 Japan - Middle Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
145 Nara Kingdom present Confident Expert -
’The advantages of armor composed of lames, covered with lacquer, and using a combination of materials contributed to the widespread use of this type of armor construction in Japan from the late Heian period until the middle of the 14th century.’ [1] "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [2] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [2]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.170

[2]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


146 Tokugawa Shogunate present Confident Expert -
‘lames in English, or sane in Japanese, and remained a central component of the relatively flexible armor developed in Japan throughout the medieval period... Even armor made during the early feudal era in Japan typically consisted of modular steel scales called lames atop leather laced together with leather, various types of cord, and silk.’ [1] "Japanese armor was built up from small iron lamellae, 7-8 cm long by 3-4 cm wide, laced together into larger plates. These were combined together to form an extremely effective suit that offered good protection from arrows and swords." [2] "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [3] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [3]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.169.

[2]: (Lorge 2011, 49)

[3]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


147 Kansai - Yayoi Period absent Confident Expert -
Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


148 Western Turk Khaganate present Inferred Expert -
Present in preceding and succeeding polities.
149 Khmer Kingdom absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1]

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


150 Bamana kingdom absent Inferred Expert -
"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


151 Monte Alban IIIB and IV absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


152 Oaxaca - Tierras Largas absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


153 Cuzco - Early Intermediate II absent Confident Expert -
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
154 Cuzco - Late Intermediate II absent Confident Expert -
This technology is not known to have been developed anywhere in the Americas before European colonization.
155 Wari Empire absent Confident Expert -
This technology is not known to have been developed anywhere in the Americas before European colonization.
156 Sind - Abbasid-Fatimid Period unknown Suspected Expert -
[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


157 Sind - Samma Dynasty unknown Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


158 Kachi Plain - Urban Period II absent Confident Expert -
No evidence for laminar armor has been found from the Mature Harappan period. [1]

[1]: Cork, E. (2005) Peaceful Harappans? Reviewing the evidence for the absence of warfare in the Indus Civilisation of north-west India and Pakistan (c. 2500-1900 BC). Antiquity (79): 411-423.


159 Sakha - Late absent Confident Expert -
not mentioned in any of the sources that deal with weapons and armor
160 Rasulid Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
The Ayyubids had "fully armoured" cavalry. [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.

[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 18) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.

[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.


161 Sarazm unknown Suspected Expert -
-
162 East Roman Empire present Confident Expert -
-
163 Hatti - Old Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
-
164 Ottoman Empire II unknown Suspected Expert -
-
165 Ottoman Empire III present Confident Expert -
-
166 Roman Empire - Dominate unknown Confident Expert -
-
167 Cahokia - Lohman-Stirling absent Confident Expert -
-
168 Cahokia - Moorehead absent Confident Expert -
-
169 Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Early absent Confident Expert -
-
170 Cahokia - Early Woodland absent Confident Expert -
-
171 Cahokia - Emergent Mississippian II absent Confident Expert -
-
172 Cahokia - Late Woodland II absent Confident Expert -
-
173 Cahokia - Middle Woodland absent Confident Expert -
-
174 Cahokia - Late Woodland III absent Confident Expert -
-
175 Cahokia - Late Woodland I absent Confident Expert -
-
176 Cahokia - Sand Prairie absent Confident Expert -
-
177 Cahokia - Emergent Mississippian I absent Confident Expert -
-
178 Khanate of Bukhara unknown Suspected Expert -
-
179 Ancient Khwarazm unknown Suspected Expert -
-
180 Koktepe II unknown Suspected Expert -
-
181 Yemen - Qasimid Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
-
182 Durrani Empire present Confident Expert -
Worn by cavalry. [1]

[1]: Roy, Kaushik. War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849. Taylor & Francis, 2011. pp. 30-35


183 Hephthalites present Confident Expert -
Inferred as used by warriors of the steppe. [1]

[1]: Karasulas, Antony. Mounted archers of the steppe 600 BC-AD 1300. Vol. 120. Osprey Publishing, 2004, pp.64-65.


184 Eastern Han Empire present Confident Expert -
"Iron lamellar cuirass from Erh-shih-chia-tzu, Inner Mongolia. Han period." [1] "Infantry were often protected with leather or iron lamellar armour." [2]

[1]: (Peers 1995, 10)

[2]: (Peers 1995, 16)


185 Western Jin present Confident Expert -
"By the years around AD 300 ... the appearance of heavy armor for both man and horse" [1] "A pictoral representation dated to 357 shows us a fully armored warrior. "The body of the rider is almost completely covered by armor. ... The armor was made of lamellar plate, but one cannot say whether of iron or of lacquered leather." [2]

[1]: (Graff 2002, 41)

[2]: (Graff 2002, 42)


186 Erlitou absent Confident Expert -
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)

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


187 Jin present Inferred Expert -
In the preceding Western Zhou period "more flexible corsets began to be fabricated by employing lamellar construction techniques that linked small leather panels together with hempen cord." [1]

[1]: (Peers 2011, 441)


188 Longshan absent Confident Expert -
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)

[2]: (Tin-bor Hui 2005)


189 Great Ming present Inferred Expert -
"While Quan Tie Jia is no match for European plate harness, its multiple large rigid plates paired with thick fabric backing still offers good protection, a significant improvement over traditional Chinese lamellar and brigandine armour." [1]

[1]: http://greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2015/02/plate-armour-of-ming-dynasty.html


190 Northern Wei present Confident Expert -
"A pictoral representation dated to 357 shows us a fully armored warrior. "The body of the rider is almost completely covered by armor. ... The armor was made of lamellar plate, but one cannot say whether of iron or of lacquered leather." [1]

[1]: (Graff 2002, 42)


191 Rattanakosin unknown Suspected Expert -
No references in the literature.
192 Konya Plain - Early Bronze Age absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
193 Konya Plain - Late Bronze Age II absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
194 Middle Bronze Age in Central Anatolia absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
195 Late Cappadocia unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
196 Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
197 Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
198 Hatti - New Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
199 Kingdom of Lydia unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
200 Lysimachus Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
201 Konya Plain - Early Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
202 Konya Plain - Late Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
203 Ottoman Emirate present Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 23)


204 Ottoman Empire I present Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 23)


205 Tabal Kingdoms unknown Suspected Expert -
not mentioned in literature
206 Kingdom of Hawaii - Kamehameha Period absent Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: Kuykendall, Ralph S. 1968[1938]. The Hawaiian Kingdom, Volume 1: 1778-1854, Foundation and Transformation. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.


207 Peiligang absent Confident Expert -
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?.


208 Early Qing present Inferred Expert -
present at least as legacy armour. For high-ranking officers; "copper gilt plates alternating with brocade and copper studs." A lower-ranking soldier wore a long coat of quilted nankeen cotton or a thickly wadded jacket of bark-pulp paper "covered with thin plates of metal surrounded by brass studs." [1]

[1]: (Garrett, 2007, 28)


209 Sui Dynasty present Confident Expert -
Sui heavy cavalry equipped with "lances, swords and often full armour for both men and horses." [1] "They usually consisted of both infantry and cavalry, with the cavalry component made up largely of armored warriors riding armored horses. The horse armor was normally composed of small, rectangular sections (lamellae) of leather or metal, heavy enough to slow down the movement of the horse" [2]

[1]: (Peers 2002, 16)

[2]: (Graff 2002, 144) Graff, D A. 2002. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. Routledge. London


210 Early Wei Dynasty present Inferred Expert -
[1] "The elite troops in the state of Wei had to wear heavy armor and helmets" [2]

[1]: (Peers 2013, 31)

[2]: (Ebrey and Walthall 2013, 23) Ebrey, Patricia. Walthall, Anne. 2013. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning.


211 Western Han Empire present Confident Expert -
"Iron lamellar cuirass from Erh-shih-chia-tzu, Inner Mongolia. Han period." [1] "Infantry were often protected with leather or iron lamellar armour." [2]

[1]: (Peers 1995, 10)

[2]: (Peers 1995, 16)


212 Western Zhou present Inferred Expert -
In the Western Zhou period protective armour equipment existed in addition to helmets and shields. [1] "more flexible corsets began to be fabricated by employing lamellar construction techniques that linked small leather panels together with hempen cord." [2]

[1]: (Hong 1992, 89) Hong, Yang. 1992. Weapons in Ancient China. Science Press.

[2]: (Peers 2011, 441)


213 Neguanje absent Confident Expert -
No discussion in literature of this. In this case it is evidence of absence since this is in line with logical expectations for this late-complexity society.
214 Tairona absent Confident Expert -
No discussion in literature of this. In this case it is evidence of absence since this is in line with logical expectations for this late-complexity society.
215 Shuar - Ecuadorian absent Confident Expert -
The ethnographic record contains descriptions of caps and ornamentation rather than physical armor in the conventional sense of the term
216 Badarian absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


217 Late Angkor absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour.(Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2);
218 Egypt - Dynasty I absent Confident Expert -
"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.


219 Egypt - Dynasty II absent Confident Expert -
"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.


220 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III present Inferred Expert -
Earlier Mamluk period: laminated leather cuirass and rawhide lamellar cuirass. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


221 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II present Confident Expert -
Laminated leather cuirass. Rawhide lamellar cuirass. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


222 Egypt - Middle Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
"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.


223 Magadha - Sunga Empire present Inferred Expert -
According to one military historian (this data needs to be confirmed by a polity specialist): lamellar armour "became more widespread" after the Macedonian invasion of India. [1] Inferred from continuity with Mauryan polity . [2]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies Of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.

[2]: (Roy 2016, 19) Kaushik Roy. 2016. Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. Abingdon.


224 Naqada II absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [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, 21) 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.


225 Egypt - Dynasty 0 absent Confident Expert -
"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.


226 Egypt - New Kingdom Ramesside Period absent Confident Expert -
"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.


227 French Kingdom - Late Capetian unknown Suspected Expert -
The miles (mounted knight) was the core fighting unit and in this period he became a landed aristocrat. [1] Called a "heavy cavalryman" [1] which implies at least the wealthiest nobles had access to the full panoply of armour.

[1]: (Hallam and Everard 2014) Elizabeth M Hallam. Judith Everard. 2014. Capetian France 987-1328. Second Edition. Routledge. London.


228 Egypt - Classic Old Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
"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)


229 Egypt - Late Old Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
"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)


230 Egypt - Period of the Regions absent Confident Expert -
"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.


231 Egypt - Saite Period absent Inferred Expert -
"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]

[1]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 135-138) Fischer-Bovet (2014) Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge University Press


232 Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


233 Abbasid Caliphate I present Inferred Expert -
Some evidence of lamellar leggings in the sources. [1] Although abna were often armoured, they would also fight without cuirass or even shield." [2]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

[2]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing.


234 Spanish Empire I absent Inferred Expert -
"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] “Captains and wealthier nobles might have three-quarter armour, consisting of a closed helmet, curiass (breastplate), arm defences, and leg defences that ended at the knees. Those of lesser means made do with a helmet and some form of leather or cotton armour. In time, however, the Spanish began to favour the native-style quilted cotton armour, which was far more comfortable to wear in the humid climate of the New World.” [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]: (Pemberton 2011, preview) Pemberton, John. 2011. Conquistadors: Searching for El Dorado: The Terrifying Spanish Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires. Canary Press eBooks Limited. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3SI549GS


235 Beaker Culture absent Confident Expert -
"Protective equipment is virtually unknown before the third millennium and was only seriously developed in the Bronze Age, when weapons became common and conflict more formalized and predictable." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2006, 299)


236 French Kingdom - Early Bourbon absent Inferred Expert -
Only references are to plate armour. "The full suit of body armor was thus a product of the end of the age of armor, and still in use into the 16th century. But personal plate became ineffective and obsolete with introduction of more powerful firearms capable of using corned gunpowder, which gave far greater penetrating power to handguns and cannon. At that point, the weight of ever-thickening plate became too great a burden: a fully articulated suit of 16th-century plate weighed 60 pounds." [1]

[1]: (Nolan 2006, 25) 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.


237 Proto-French Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
The miles (mounted knight) was the core fighting unit and in this period he became a landed aristocrat. [1] Called a "heavy cavalryman" [1] which implies at least the wealthiest nobles had access to the full panoply of armour.

[1]: (Hallam and Everard 2014) Elizabeth M Hallam. Judith Everard. 2014. Capetian France 987-1328. Second Edition. Routledge. London.


238 Carolingian Empire I absent Confident Expert -
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] David Baker says absent. [3]

[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]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank.


239 Carolingian Empire II absent Confident Expert -
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] David Baker says absent. [3]

[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]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank.


240 Middle Merovingian present Confident Expert -
Iron. [1]

[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London.


241 La Tene A-B1 absent Inferred Expert -
The only mention of armour is chainmail. "Diodorus also mentions that some warriors wear iron breast plates of chain mail. Seated figures of stone from the sanctuary of Roquepertuse (Fig.163) and a stone statue of a Gaul from Vachères (Basse-Alpes) (Pl. VI), dating to the late first century BC, are shown wearing chain mail, and actual examples have been found in a few burials, including that of the warrior provided with the bird-crested helmet, who was buried at Ciumesti. One of the features of Celtic warfare which impressed itself upon the Classical mind was the fact that some warriors fought naked except for the sword belt and a gold neck torc." [1]

[1]: (Cunliffe 2000, 98-99)


242 La Tene B2-C1 absent Inferred Expert -
The only mention of armour is chainmail. "Diodorus also mentions that some warriors wear iron breast plates of chain mail. Seated figures of stone from the sanctuary of Roquepertuse (Fig.163) and a stone statue of a Gaul from Vachères (Basse-Alpes) (Pl. VI), dating to the late first century BC, are shown wearing chain mail, and actual examples have been found in a few burials, including that of the warrior provided with the bird-crested helmet, who was buried at Ciumesti. One of the features of Celtic warfare which impressed itself upon the Classical mind was the fact that some warriors fought naked except for the sword belt and a gold neck torc." [1]

[1]: (Cunliffe 2000, 98-99)


243 La Tene C2-D absent Inferred Expert -
The only mention of armour is chainmail. "Diodorus also mentions that some warriors wear iron breast plates of chain mail. Seated figures of stone from the sanctuary of Roquepertuse (Fig.163) and a stone statue of a Gaul from Vachères (Basse-Alpes) (Pl. VI), dating to the late first century BC, are shown wearing chain mail, and actual examples have been found in a few burials, including that of the warrior provided with the bird-crested helmet, who was buried at Ciumesti. One of the features of Celtic warfare which impressed itself upon the Classical mind was the fact that some warriors fought naked except for the sword belt and a gold neck torc." [1]

[1]: (Cunliffe 2000, 98-99)


244 Ashanti Empire absent Confident Expert -
’The custom of wearing talismanic war garments was well established by the nineteenth century, and some were worn with other northern appurtenances. ‘Their vest was of red cloth, covered with fetishes and saphies in gold and silver; and embroidered cases of almost every colour, which flapped against their bodies as they moved, intermixed with small brass bells, the horns and tails of animals, shells, and knives; long leopards tails hung down their backs, over a small bow covered with fetishes. They wore loose cotton trowsers [ sic], with immense boots of a dull red leather, coming half way up the thigh, and fastened by small chains to their cartouch or waist belt; these were also ornamented with bells, horses tails, strings of amulets, and innumerable shreds of leather; a small quiver of poisoned arrows hung from their right wrist, and they held a long iron chain between their teeth, with a scrap of Moorish writing affixed to the end of it.’ [1]

[1]: McLeod, M. D. (Malcolm D.) 1981. “Asante”, 147


245 Hawaii I absent Confident Expert -
No metals at this time.
246 Hawaii III absent Confident Expert -
No metals at this time.
247 Java - Buni Culture unknown Suspected Expert -
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.


248 Kediri Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
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.


249 Majapahit Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
"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.


250 Medang Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
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.


251 Kingdom of Ayodhya present Inferred Expert -
1st CE Greek historian who chronicled the campaign of Alexander the Great "Quintus Curtius speaks of armour made of iron laminae connected in rows within each other." [1]

[1]: (Egerton 2002, 11) Wilbraham Egerton. 2002 (1880). Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


252 Chalukyas of Badami unknown Suspected Expert -
"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 metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, corselet, mail and breast plate. [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.


253 Post-Mauryan Kingdoms unknown Suspected Expert -
A military historian states that metal armour was not widely used before the Macedonian invasion of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE [1] - do ancient Indian historians agree? It can be implied from Gabriel (2002) that metal armour was present, at low level (elite) useage for sometime before the Macedonian invasion, but no source yet consulted mentions scaled armor at this time.

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group.


254 Hoysala Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and corselet. [1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


255 Kampili Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and corselet. [1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


256 Magadha - Maurya Empire present Confident Expert -
According to a military historian (this needs confirmation from a Mauryan specialist): present. [1]

[1]: Gabriel, Richard A. The great armies of antiquity. p. 218-220


257 Rashtrakuta Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions metal fabric, metal plate, cuirass, and corselet. [1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 142-143) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


258 Satavahana Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
Ancient Indians used iron for armour cuirasses and breastplates but copper was also used. [1] Likely referring to time following the Macedonian invasion.

[1]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.


259 Abbasid Caliphate II present Confident Expert -
"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] The earlier Abbasids likely used lamellar e.g. for leg protection. [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


260 Bazi Dynasty absent Confident Expert -
"Protection against weapons was still generally made of leather or thick felt, although the later second millennium saw growing use among those who could afford it of body armor made of overlapping copper or bronze platelets sewn onto the leather. It became more common in the first millennium, now made with iron rather than bronze scales." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD.


261 Dynasty of E absent Confident Expert -
"Protection against weapons was still generally made of leather or thick felt, although the later second millennium saw growing use among those who could afford it of body armor made of overlapping copper or bronze platelets sewn onto the leather. It became more common in the first millennium, now made with iron rather than bronze scales." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD.


262 Second Dynasty of Isin absent Confident Expert -
"Protection against weapons was still generally made of leather or thick felt, although the later second millennium saw growing use among those who could afford it of body armor made of overlapping copper or bronze platelets sewn onto the leather. It became more common in the first millennium, now made with iron rather than bronze scales." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD.


263 Isin-Larsa absent Confident Expert -
"Protection against weapons was still generally made of leather or thick felt, although the later second millennium saw growing use among those who could afford it of body armor made of overlapping copper or bronze platelets sewn onto the leather. It became more common in the first millennium, now made with iron rather than bronze scales." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD.


264 Achaemenid Empire absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


265 Elam - Awan Dynasty I absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. According to a military historian (a polity specialist needs to check this data): Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


266 Buyid Confederation present Confident Expert -
"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] Samanid period bowls show mounted warriors wearing lamellar armor [2] and the Abbasids likely used lamellar e.g. for leg protection. [3]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Khorasani 2014) Khorasani, Manouchehr Moshtagh. 2014. The Development of Persian Armour from the Sassanian to the Qajar Period. Harnischtreffen 26-28 September 2014.

[3]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


267 Elam - Crisis Period absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


268 Ilkhanate present Confident Expert -
Full-length lamellar cuirass of central Asian style shown in Ilk-Kanid manuscripts. [1]

[1]: David Nicolle, 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.241


269 Susiana - Late Ubaid absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


270 Seljuk Sultanate present Confident Expert -
Saljug art shows a lamellar cuirass [torso armour] worn over a mail shirt. [1]

[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.214.


271 Elam - Kidinuid Period absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


272 Elam - Igihalkid Period absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


273 Elam - Shutrukid Period absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


274 Elam I absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE).

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


275 Elam II absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE).

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


276 Elam III absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE).

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


277 Parthian Empire I present Inferred Expert -
Early Parthian: "Amongst the many graffiti discovered [at Dura] was one of a Parthian cataphractus dating from the second century A.D. It is a crude drawing - probably the work of a child - but still remarkably detailed and informative. The horseman wears a tall conical helmet with little streamers tied at the point. This would appear to be of segments or lamellae with a hood of mail falling to the shoulders. ... a skirt of mail. His arms and legs are barred with horizontal lines, which represent laminated armour." [1] Late Parthian: Rock carvings of Firuzabad, third century CE, show Parthians "have rounded helmets with curtains of scale or lamellar attached, scale or lamellar body armour covered by sleeveless surcoats, and both their arms and their legs are completely encased in laminated plates. The sleeves extend over the wrists on to the back of the hands." [1] "The standard turn-out would have included ... a corselet of lamellar, mail or scale for the torso." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Penrose 2008, 223) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing.


278 Parthian Empire II present Inferred Expert -
Early Parthian: "Amongst the many graffiti discovered [at Dura] was one of a Parthian cataphractus dating from the second century A.D. It is a crude drawing - probably the work of a child - but still remarkably detailed and informative. The horseman wears a tall conical helmet with little streamers tied at the point. This would appear to be of segments or lamellae with a hood of mail falling to the shoulders. ... a skirt of mail. His arms and legs are barred with horizontal lines, which represent laminated armour." [1] Late Parthian: Rock carvings of Firuzabad, third century CE, show Parthians "have rounded helmets with curtains of scale or lamellar attached, scale or lamellar body armour covered by sleeveless surcoats, and both their arms and their legs are completely encased in laminated plates. The sleeves extend over the wrists on to the back of the hands." [1] "The standard turn-out would have included ... a corselet of lamellar, mail or scale for the torso." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Penrose 2008, 223) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing.


279 Elam - Shimashki Period absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


280 Elam - Early Sukkalmah absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


281 Elam - Late Sukkalmah absent Inferred Expert -
"Of the Medes and Persians as a whole, only a few wore armour. Some had body armour of iron scales and wicker targes and only some of the cavalry wore helmets of bronze or iron. As both Greek mercenaries and Assyrians were amongst the best armed in this great force, one may assume that any armour worn by Persians was inspired by one or the other of these militant peoples." [1] No mentioned of laminar armour up to the Medes (715-550 BCE). Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


282 Early Angkor absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1]

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


283 Susa II absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. According to a military historian (a polity specialist needs to check this data): Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


284 Susa III absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available. According to a military historian (a polity specialist needs to check this data): Lamellar armour introduced by the Assyrians (9th century BCE?): "a shirt constructed of laminated layers of leather sewn or glued together. To the outer surface of this coat were attached fitted iron plates, each plate joined to the next at the edge with no overlap and held in place by stitching or gluing." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


285 Papal States - Renaissance Period present Confident Expert -
General reference for this time period in Europe: in the fourteenth century (next period) a ’coat of plates’ like the roman lorica segmentata was worn over the mail hauberk. [1]

[1]: (Rogers 2007, 31) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport.


286 Roman Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
287 Ashikaga Shogunate present Confident Expert -
‘lames in English, or sane in Japanese, and remained a central component of the relatively flexible armor developed in Japan throughout the medieval period... Even armor made during the early feudal era in Japan typically consisted of modular steel scales called lames atop leather laced together with leather, various types of cord, and silk.’ [1] "Japanese armor was built up from small iron lamellae, 7-8 cm long by 3-4 cm wide, laced together into larger plates. These were combined together to form an extremely effective suit that offered good protection from arrows and swords." [2] "The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [3] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [3]

[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.169.

[2]: (Lorge 2011, 49)

[3]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


288 Asuka present Confident Expert -
Laminar armors were introduced in the 4th century CE [1] .

[1]: Farris, W. W., 1998. Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan.University of Hawaii Press, p.75


289 Japan - Incipient Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
290 Japan - Early Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
291 Japan - Late Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
292 Japan - Final Jomon absent Confident Expert -
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
293 Kamakura Shogunate present Confident Expert -
"The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [1] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [1]

[1]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


294 Warring States Japan present Confident Expert -
"The earliest armor used in Japan, as elsewhere, was padded or made of scales or rings sewn on cloth. The armor found in the grove mounds of prior to 400 B.C. is made by riveting together small pieces of iron to make helmets and cuirasses. Some of the latter give quite the effect of plate armor but are built up of small pieces. By the 10th century, the earliest time of which we have definite knowledge, it had assumed a characteristic form which it retained until armor was abandoned in the middle of the 19th century. A Japanese suit, fig. 78, consists of a helmet, kabuto, usually made of a large number of narrow plates riveted together with raised edges at the joints. It has a small peak, maizashi, in front and a wide neck guard, shikoro, made of strips of steel or of scales of leather or steel laced together with heavy silk or leather cords. One or more of these pieces is turned back in front to form ear guards, fukigayeshi. The front is usually decorated with two horn-like pieces, kuwagata, representing the leaves of a water plant; between them is an ornament, maidate, corresponding to the European crest. The face is covered by a steel mask, menpo, to which a laminated neck guard, yodare-kake, is attached. There are five varieties of menpo - covering the entire face - all of the face below the eyes - the forehead and cheeks only - and two for the cheeks and chin only. Of these, the second is much most used. A gorget, nodowa, was sometimes worn but was not considered as a regular part of the suit. The body was enclosed in a corselet, do, made of plates or strips laced together with silk or leather cords. It either opened at the side, do-maru, or at the back haramaki-do. Attached to it were shoulder pieces, watagami, from which it hung. The taces, kusazuri, made of strips laced together, hung from the do. Under these was worn an apron, hai-date, of brocade covered with mail or mixed plate and mail. The legs below the knee were protected by close fitting greaves, sune-ate, of plate; and the feet were covered with bearskin shoes, tsurumaki, or with mail or plate tabi. The arm guards, kote, were brocade sleeves covered with mixed plate and mail. They usually ended in guantlets which covered only the backs of the hands and thumbs. Mail guantlets were rare but were sometimes used. Large guards, sode, were hung on the shoulders. They were either single plates, two hinged together or made up of strops or rows of scales laced together." [1] "The Japanese made more varieties of mail than all the rest of the world put together." [1]

[1]: (Stone 1999, 60-61) George Cameron Stone. 1999. Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola.


295 Kara-Khanids present Inferred Expert -
"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.


296 Classical Angkor absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1]

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


297 Chenla absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1] Given that the later Khmer polity did not have laimar armor this suggests that this earlier polity didn’t either.

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


298 Funan I absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1] Given that the later Khmer polity did not have laminar armor this suggests that this earlier polity didn’t either.

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


299 Funan II absent Inferred Expert -
Jacq-Hergoualc’h’s (2007) in-depth and exhausting examination of Khmer armor discusses breastplates, rattan, resin-coated rattan, and thickly-braided cotton protective wear, but makes no mention of scaled armour, laminar armour, or plate armour. [1] Given that the later Khmer polity did not have laminar armor this suggests that this earlier polity didn’t either.

[1]: (Jacq-Hergoualc’h and Smithies 2007, Chapter 2)


300 Saadi Sultanate present Inferred Expert -
Present in Egypt at this time - the regime in the Morocco probably used weapons similar to those of its neighbours. We could also check - as yet unconsulted - references for Christians in contemporary Iberia who may have been used as mercenaries.
301 Segou Kingdom absent Inferred Expert -
"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


302 Khitan I present Confident Expert -
"Under Manchurian influence of the Liao dynasty, Koreans admired Khitan leather crafts and lamellar armor." [1]

[1]: (Snodgrass 2015, 348) Mary Ellen Snodgrass. 2015. World Clothing and Fashion: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. Routledge. London.


303 Mongol Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
Full-length lamellar cuirass of central Asian style shown in Ilk-Kanid manuscripts. [1]

[1]: David Nicolle, 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.241


304 Early Monte Alban I absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


305 Monte Alban Late I absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


306 Monte Alban II absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


307 Monte Alban III absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


308 Monte Alban V absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


309 Classic Basin of Mexico absent Confident Expert -
"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.


310 Late Formative Basin of Mexico absent Confident Expert -
The first evidence for the introduction of indigenously produced (copper-based) metallurgy in Mesoamerica is c.600 CE for ornamental valuables, [1] and the system closest to coinage ever practiced in Mesoamerica was the widespread use of cacao beans and copper axes as media of exchange during the Postclassic. [2]

[1]: Shugar, Aaron N. and Scott E. Simmons. (2013) Archaeometallurgy in Mesoamerica: Current Approaches and New Perspectives. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, pg. 1-4.

[2]: Berdan, Frances F., Marilyn A. Masson, Janine Gasco, and Michael E. Smith. (2003) "An International Economy." In Michael E. Smith and Frances F. Berdan (eds.) The Postclassic Mesoamerican World. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, pg. 102.


311 Terminal Formative Basin of Mexico absent Confident Expert -
The first evidence for the introduction of indigenously produced (copper-based) metallurgy in Mesoamerica is c.600 CE for ornamental valuables, [1] and the system closest to coinage ever practiced in Mesoamerica was the widespread use of cacao beans and copper axes as media of exchange during the Postclassic. [2]

[1]: Shugar, Aaron N. and Scott E. Simmons. (2013) Archaeometallurgy in Mesoamerica: Current Approaches and New Perspectives. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, pg. 1-4.

[2]: Berdan, Frances F., Marilyn A. Masson, Janine Gasco, and Michael E. Smith. (2003) "An International Economy." In Michael E. Smith and Frances F. Berdan (eds.) The Postclassic Mesoamerican World. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, pg. 102.


312 Middle Postclassic Basin of Mexico absent Confident Expert -
"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.


313 Oaxaca - Rosario absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


314 Oaxaca - San Jose absent Confident Expert -
Metalworking was not widely used in Mesoamerica, with metal products consisting mainly of small beads and ornaments. [1] [2]

[1]: Coe, M. D., Koontz, R. (2013) Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (7th ed.) Thames and Hudson, London, p157

[2]: Kowalewski, S. A., Feinman, G. M., Finten, L., Blanton, R. E., Nicholas, L. M. (1989) Monte Albán’s Hinterland, Part II: Prehispanic settlement patterns in Tlacolula, Etla, and Ocotlan, The Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, Volume II. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Number 23. Ann Arbor.


315 Toltecs absent Confident Expert -
"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.


316 Cuzco - Late Intermediate I absent Confident Expert -
This technology is not known to have been developed anywhere in the Americas before European colonization.
317 Cuzco - Late Formative absent Confident Expert -
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
318 Inca Empire absent Confident Expert -
This technology is not known to have been developed anywhere in the Americas before European colonization.
319 Kachi Plain - Aceramic Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
Only flint, bone and copper tools tools have been found at Mehrgarh [1]

[1]: Petrie, C. A. (in press) Chapter 11, Case Study: Mehrgarh. In, Barker, G and Goucher, C (eds.) Cambridge World History, Volume 2: A World with Agriculture, 12,000 BCE - 500 CE. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge


320 Kachi Plain - Ceramic Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
Only flint, bone and copper tools tools have been found at Mehrgarh [1]

[1]: Petrie, C. A. (in press) Chapter 11, Case Study: Mehrgarh. In, Barker, G and Goucher, C (eds.) Cambridge World History, Volume 2: A World with Agriculture, 12,000 BCE - 500 CE. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge


321 Kachi Plain - Chalcolithic absent Confident Expert -
Only flint, bone and copper tools tools have been found at Mehrgarh [1]

[1]: Petrie, C. A. (in press) Chapter 11, Case Study: Mehrgarh. In, Barker, G and Goucher, C (eds.) Cambridge World History, Volume 2: A World with Agriculture, 12,000 BCE - 500 CE. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge


322 Kachi Plain - Post-Urban Period absent Confident Expert -
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.


323 Kachi Plain - Urban Period I absent Confident Expert -
No evidence for laminar armor has been found from the Mature Harappan period. [1]

[1]: Cork, E. (2005) Peaceful Harappans? Reviewing the evidence for the absence of warfare in the Indus Civilisation of north-west India and Pakistan (c. 2500-1900 BC). Antiquity (79): 411-423.


324 Sakha - Early absent Confident Expert -
not mentioned in any of the sources that deal with weapons and armor
325 Egypt - Kushite Period absent Inferred Expert -
"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]

[1]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 135-138) Fischer-Bovet (2014) Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge University Press


326 Umayyad Caliphate unknown Confident Expert -
[1]

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 168-178)


327 Ayutthaya unknown Suspected Expert -
No references identified in the literature. RA.
328 Fatimid Caliphate absent Inferred Expert -
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.


329 Byzantine Empire I present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "Thematic cavalry were armed with mail, lamellar, or quilted armour, according to individual wealth and status" [2] "Infantry wore quilted or lamellar body-armour, or mail, although those that could afford the more expensive mail or lamellar equipment may also have possessed horses and been classed among the mounted troops: the evidence suggests that, on the whole, the foot soldiers were less well outfitted than in the late Roman period." [2]

[1]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[2]: (Haldon 2008, 476) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


330 Byzantine Empire II present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1]

[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)


331 Byzantine Empire III present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] "light cavalry and infantry continued to be armed, like their Seljuk or Saracen enemies, with the traditional combination of lamellar corselets or mail, quilted fabrics or boiled leather, felt and cotton headgear" [2] Varangian guard wore a lamellar cuirrass.

[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[2]: (Haldon 2008, 477) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


332 Konya Plain - Ceramic Neolithic absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
333 Neo-Hittite Kingdoms absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
334 Phrygian Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
Technology not yet available
335 Rum Sultanate present Confident Expert -
Saljug art shows a lamellar cuirass [torso armour] worn over a mail shirt. [1]

[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.214.


336 Early Illinois Confederation absent Confident Expert -
"The Illinois made tools and utensils out of many different materials obtained from nature, including wood, bone, antler, shell, and stone." [1]

[1]: Illinois State Museum, The Illinois, Technology: Tools and Utensils (2000), http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/te_tools.html


337 Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Late absent Confident Expert -
Only references to Iroquois armour describe wooden armour, and it is clear that by this period they had stopped wearing armour altogether, because ineffective against firearms. "[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


338 Chagatai Khanate present Confident Expert -
"One of the earliest illustrated Persian manuscripts to survive dates from the early fourteenth century. This is Rashidu’d Din’s History, of the World, produced at Tabriz between 1306 and 1312. The warriors wear long coats of lamellar armour barred in alternating colours, every other row bearing scroll patterns which could well be a convention to represent rows of lacquered hide lamellae with engraved ornament." [1] "Early-fourteenth-century miniatures depict warriors generally wearing lamellar armour, with aventails of mail attached to their simple helmets of low, rounded, conical form." [1] "Lamellar armour continued to be represented in miniatures into the second half of the fifteenth century, and this is well shown in a manuscript in the F. Cleveland Morgan collection at Montreal (Fig. 19E)." [1]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


339 Samanid Empire present Confident Expert -
"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] Samanid period bowls show mounted warriors wearing lamellar armor. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Khorasani 2014) Khorasani, Manouchehr Moshtagh. 2014. The Development of Persian Armour from the Sassanian to the Qajar Period. Harnischtreffen 26-28 September 2014.


340 Sogdiana - City-States Period present Confident Expert -
"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 Sassanids had lamellar armour. [1]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


341 Timurid Empire present Confident Expert -
"One of the earliest illustrated Persian manuscripts to survive dates from the early fourteenth century. This is Rashidu’d Din’s History, of the World, produced at Tabriz between 1306 and 1312. The warriors wear long coats of lamellar armour barred in alternating colours, every other row bearing scroll patterns which could well be a convention to represent rows of lacquered hide lamellae with engraved ornament." [1] "Early-fourteenth-century miniatures depict warriors generally wearing lamellar armour, with aventails of mail attached to their simple helmets of low, rounded, conical form." [1] "Lamellar armour continued to be represented in miniatures into the second half of the fifteenth century, and this is well shown in a manuscript in the F. Cleveland Morgan collection at Montreal (Fig. 19E)." [1] Cuirasses. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Marozzi 2004, 3) Marozzi, J. 2004. Tamerlane. HarperCollinsPublishers. London.


342 Yemen - Tahirid Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
The Ayyubids had "fully armoured" cavalry. [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.

[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 18) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.

[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.


343 Yemen - Era of Warlords present Inferred Expert -
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


344 Ghur Principality unknown Suspected Expert -
-
345 Yemen Ziyad Dynasty present Inferred Expert -
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


346 Greco-Bactrian Kingdom unknown Suspected Expert -
-
347 Kushan Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
-