Evolution of Islamic/Persian/Turkish/Eastern European Armor?

[Slytacular]

I am mostly concerned about the differences between 13th century Islamic armor to 15th century. I'm wondering if anybody has better knowledge of the differences of the helmets as time progressed? 13th century Islamic Empire armor seem to be of egg-shaped spangen/conical helmets and chainmail. The 14th century introduces the turban helmet. 15th century introduces plate and chain mail weaved together.

The key features I am looking for is-

When did helmets start to have decorative grooves and is there a difference between the styles in time?

When were baseball cap like visors introduced to the Islamic Empire (is that a Turkish-Mongolian-Chinese feature)?

When did separate piece nose-guards appear in time (the kind that you usually see extend upwards and has a decorative point) as compared to the nose-guards that are riveted or made whole piece to helmets?

Are there differences of military turban styles ranging from the 13th to 15th century?

The kinds of shields used? Were round shields present through out all of the Islamic Empire's period of time, or were kite shields and tear-dropped shields adopted during a time?

Was there any evolution to the kinds of padding or gambesons/aketons used in Islamic/Eastern Christian armor?

When and where were nape guards introduced to Islamic armor?

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

The period between 1200 and 1400 is extremely complicated in the Muslim world because the "Muslim world" is a heterogeneous patchwork of states and peoples many orders of magnitude larger and more diverse than western europe.

There's also the annoying fact that the period sees waves and waves of people pouring into the middle east, Iran and parts of india, bringing new ideas and styles every generation, and that not much archaelogical research has been done on the period compared to europe.

When did helmets start to have decorative grooves and is there a difference between the styles in time?

The 1300s in northern syria, egypt and anatolia. I assume it's based on Mongolian helmets which are based on Chinese helmets:

https://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-436362ee8a526ee30e9b2748dc38d5ff?convert_to_webp=true

Are there differences of military turban styles ranging from the 13th to 15th century?

There's no such thing as a "military turban", just cloth wrapped around helmets for a number of reasons. Such use of fabric had been around in the middle east and north africa for millennia; even the crusaders adopted it.

The kinds of shields used? Were round shields present through out all of the Islamic Empire's period of time, or were kite shields and tear-dropped shields adopted during a time?

Round shields for cavalry, tear shields for infantry, but this is an extreme generalisation and there's a huge amount of variation.

Rest of the questions I'm not too sure about. Be sure not to think in terms of "the Islamic empire" which is as useless and vague a term as "the Christian empire" in regards to all of western Eurasia.

 

[matmohair1]

a simple form of helmet with a "baseball cap", existed in the middle east and Eurasia since about the 11th century

Spoiler

mongol helmets in the thirteenth century often had more defined features and proved popular

Spoiler

it probably inspired the Chichak helmet which spread from Egypt and Turkey to as far as Russia
and remained in use from the 14th to 18th centuries. this design introduced both the sliding nasal and nape guards.

Spoiler

late 19th century helmets had less features and examples from east Africa and west Asia,
show a bowl shaped helmet with a long sliding nasal and some plumes. they had no nape guards.

Spoiler

the tear drop shield was inspired by late roman, cavalry and infantry traditions since earlier times.
a version with a falt bottom was reserved only for infantry

Spoiler

oval shields were used by infantry, especially skirmishers, while round shields were common
among all troop types. in Europe, after the 13th century the kite shield replaced the teardrop
design. round shields remained popular for even longer

Spoiler

Was there any evolution to the kinds of padding or gambesons/aketons used in Islamic/Eastern Christian armor?

Spoiler

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Lotta those links are dead, matmo.

Edit: following the urls gives me a "malicious content" alert from Virgin Media. You could try uploading them to greywool.

 

[matmohair1]

just fixed them now, is everything ok?

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

Yep, working. Thanks.

 

[Slytacular]

Thanks Jacob, and matmohair!

I think its because the fact that so many diverse groups of people come from all over Eurasia and Africa that settle in the Middle East that its hard for me to exactly specify what piece of arms or armor originates from that I vaguely term the items "from the Islamic Empire." I meant that I wonder what sort of armor was produced and popularized in the Middle East? I wasn't too sure if there was a group that wore a turban differently either which was why I asked if there was a military turban (I was thinking of the different styles from Mauryan Ancient India, lol). I did take a class that discusses the rise of Islam in the Middle East, but I learned more about architecture and art than I did learn about arms, armor, and clothing. Its already difficult for me to find information regarding medieval armor from the middle east using only English in the Google search engine to which I am thankful to you guys for helping me out! More questions by the way:

- I thought the Chichak helmet was a 16th-17th century Ottoman helmet? Where is a 14th century example?

- Where were the majority of the weapons and armor manufacturers located in the Middle East?

 

[Druzhina]

I am mostly concerned about the differences between 13th century Islamic armor to 15th century. I'm wondering if anybody has better knowledge of the differences of the helmets as time progressed? 13th century Islamic Empire armor seem to be of egg-shaped spangen/conical helmets and chainmail. The 14th century introduces the turban helmet. 15th century introduces plate and chain mail weaved together.

The key features I am looking for is-

When did helmets start to have decorative grooves and is there a difference between the styles in time?

Bayḍah Helmets by David Nicolle (His 3 volume thesis can be downloaded - lots of info.)

When were baseball cap like visors introduced to the Islamic Empire (is that a Turkish-Mongolian-Chinese feature)?

When did separate piece nose-guards appear in time (the kind that you usually see extend upwards and has a decorative point) as compared to the nose-guards that are riveted or made whole piece to helmets?

Are there differences of military turban styles ranging from the 13th to 15th century?

Here is  short paper on Mamluk headwear:
Sultans with Horns: The Political Significance of Headgear in the Mamluk Empire, by Albrecht Fuess from Mamlūk Studies Review Vol. 12, No. 2, 2008

and the images referenced in it:
Figure 1. Syrian Christians in Breydenbach's 'Peregrinationes in Terram Sanctam'

Figure 2. Miniature in the manuscript of Rashīd al-Dīn’s “Jāmiٔ al-Tawārīkh” in Edinburgh University Library representing Maḥmūd of Ghaznah donning a khilٔah sent by the caliph al-Qāhir in A.D. 1000.

Figure 3. Ruler wearing a qabā turkī with ṭirāz bands. On his head is a sharbūsh. His attendants also wear Turkish costumes. Most wear the cap known as kallawtah. From the frontispiece of the “Kitāb al-Aghānī” North Iraq, ca. 1218-19.  (The ruler is generally identified with Badr al-Dīn Lulu, Atabeg of Mosul, who died in 657/1259.

Figures 4 and 5. Inner medallions of the Baptistère de Saint Louis representing Sultan Baybars. (The Baptistère is in the possession of the Louvre in Paris.)

Figure 6. Mamluk wearing the kallawtah hunting a wild animal (furūsīyah manuscript, British Library MS Or. Add. 18866).

Figure 7. Sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad on his throne, from: Arnold von Harff, Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff von Cöln durch Italien, Syrien, Aegypten, Arabien, Aethiopien, Nubien, Palästina, die Türkei, Frankreich und Spanien, wie er sie in den Jahren 1496 bis 1499 vollendet, beschrieben und durch Zeichnungen erläutert hat.

Figure 8. Reception of the Ambassadors. Louvre, Paris.

Figure 9. Qānṣawh al-Ghawrī with the nāٔūrah.

Figure 10. Ṭūmān Bāy.

Figure 11. Mameluke red zamṭ. in the manuscript of 'The pilgrimage of the Knight Arnold von Harff from Cologne through Italy, Syria, Egypt, Arabia, Ethiopia, Nubia, Palestine, Turkey, France and Spain, as he has completed in the years 1496 to 1499, described and illustrated by drawings'.

Figure 13. Ottomans besieging the Mamluks in Damascus. “Selīm-nāma,” ca. 1521-24, Istanbul Topkapi Sarayi Museum MS H. 15978, fol. 235r.
(The difference in the style of headgear between Ottomans and Mamluks can clearly be noticed.)

The standard headwear for later Mamluk soldiers was the red Zamṭ. It is shown in a Furusiyya manuscript, A Mamluk Training with a Lance, David Collection Museum, Denmark, c. 1500 and in the later Kitab al-makhzun li arbab al-funun by al-tarabulusi, a manual of military practice and horsemanship, 1578-1579 (well after the zamṭ was banned by the Ottomans).

I have also found Saladin portrayed as a Mamluk Sultan in the naurah turban, by Cristofano dell’Altissimo. Does anyone know of the original this was copied from?

MIRROR SITE
Sultans with Horns: The Political Significance of Headgear in the Mamluk Empire, by Albrecht Fuess

Druzhina
Illustrations of Egyptian/Syrian Costume & Soldiers

The kinds of shields used? Were round shields present through out all of the Islamic Empire's period of time, or were kite shields and tear-dropped shields adopted during a time?

Was there any evolution to the kinds of padding or gambesons/aketons used in Islamic/Eastern Christian armor?

When and where were nape guards introduced to Islamic armor?

 

[matmohair1]

evolution of styles...

Spoiler

pre/post 14th century comparisons

Spoiler

Alot of changes took place during the 14th century
and many ideas were burrowed from Asian and European styles.

Spoiler

- I thought the Chichak helmet was a 16th-17th century Ottoman helmet? Where is a 14th century example?

Spoiler

I wasn't too sure if there was a group that wore a turban differently either which was why I asked if there was a military turban (I was thinking of the different styles from Mauryan Ancient India, lol).

costume comparisons

9th to 13th (assorted)

Spoiler

13th to 16th (mamluk)

Spoiler

later turban styles
above: Mamluk Egypt , Safavid Persia, Mughal India
below: Ottoman turbans - 16th to 19th centuries

Spoiler

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

- Where were the majority of the weapons and armor manufacturers located in the Middle East?

There seem to have been a lot of swordmaking activity in syria, but beyond that most equipment was made in the same area it was used in, as was the case in most of the world until modernity.

 

[matmohair1]

some mass produced items were manufactured locally,
or in  mineral rich provinces like in Baghdad or Persia, while
many items could imported from even as far as Venice  or China. 

 

[Slytacular]

Again, thanks Druzhina, Matmohair, and jacobhinds. This thread has started become quite the archive. I read this article last night that talks about the evolution of the Wawel style helmet. I was looking through the Georgian illustrated stuff on Druzhina's site and I found this article.

http://www.academia.edu/2080467/The_Helmet_from_the_Wawel_Royal_Castle_Museum_and_its_Place_in_the_Evolution_of_Oriental_Helmet

I'm starting to put the pieces together and its cleaning up my ignorance. Thanks, guys!

 

[matmohair1]

I read this article last night that talks about the evolution of the Wawel style helmet. I was looking through the Georgian illustarted stuff on Druzhina's site and I found this article.

http://www.academia.edu/2080467/The_Helmet_from_the_Wawel_Royal_Castle_Museum_and_its_Place_in_the_Evolution_of_Oriental_Helmet

14th century Caucasus

Spoiler

 

[Swissky]

Figure 2. Miniature in the manuscript of Rashīd al-Dīn’s “Jāmiٔ al-Tawārīkh” in Edinburgh University Library representing Maḥmūd of Ghaznah donning a khilٔah sent by the caliph al-Qāhir in A.D. 1000.

Islamic illustrations are always a treat but the proportions and scale is sometimes very odd in comparison to Christian European ones. One of my favourite illustrations nevertheless. 

costume comparisons

9th to 13th (assorted)

Spoiler

13th to 16th (mamluk)

Spoiler

Awesome stuff! 

 

[PinCussion]

Is there any sources of Islamic/Persian/Turkish use of full plate armor? Or perhaps that kind of armor was too uncomfortable to use because of the middle-eastern climate aka. extreme differences in day-night and summer-winter temperatures?

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

It was cost-inefficient because during the height of plate armour in europe (1400-1600), nobody in the middle east had the kind of large standing armies that would make munitions plate efficient. Chainmail was almost as protective and far cheaper, so large numbers of irregular soldiers (like ghazis in the early ottoman state) could be armed with chainmail. Remember that outside Europe, chainmail outlived plate by several centuries.

Even in Europe, full plate armour was inefficient for anyone who wasn't a commander or elite cavarlyman. It cost a lot, took ages to make, had to be fit to the wearer and required skilled blacksmiths. That's why a single breastplate or the odd piece of metal protecting vital areas was enough for most infantrymen.

Partial plate was very common throughout the mediaeval muslim world however. Transitional plate armour appeared in Egypt and Iran before it was common in Europe. Stuff like lamellar and scale armour was inherited from the sassanids and byzantines by the Umayyads and was developed in the 1100s into something resembling transitional plate.

Spoiler

 

[Slytacular]

In medieval Europe you were either required to have weapons and armor required by law or you were provided with arms and armor from the stockpiles from the authority and/or church. Full plate armor would cost you an equivalent to a modern luxury car. You won't have the money for it nor would the authority and/or church want to spend that kind of money on you, unless you held a high enough office to earn money to buy yourself a set. I'm not sure why plate armor did not become a popular thing over in the East because at some point the countries in Italy were trading with the Byzantines and there were some quality armor workshops in Italy.

 

[matmohair1]

Late medieval armies in the Middle east did manage to
deploy heavily armored cavalry, clad in brigandine
and wore iron gauntlets and foot armor, Although that
was mostly reserved to champions and the elites.

Spoiler

However, late and mail was more popular and remained in use for centuries later.
The closest thing to an all enclosed breastplate would be the box shaped Char-Aina,
which was popular in Persia, India and Central Asia from the 16th to 18th centuries
and could come in 4 or 5 pieces. by the 19th century only chain mail and simple helmets remained

Spoiler

meanwhile, European helmets and breastplates were more prevalent in Muslim Spain
and North Africa. However most tactics relied on deploying medium or lightly armored cavalry.
The Manople or Moorish boarding swords often combined a blade with a gauntlet!

Spoiler

 

[Kentucky 『 ＨＥＩＧＵＩ 』 James]

I'm not sure why plate armor did not become a popular thing over in the East

As i said, chainmail was the better option in many societies. In egypt and iraq and most of india where the most powerful muslims empires were based, the food surplus was high enough that a state could rely entirely on foreign mercenaries.

Normal farmers in most of the muslim world weren't expected to be armed because they sometimes had to contend with three harvests a year, and the state often didn't trust them because they were so diverse. This meant that munitions plate armour could never be produced efficiently by the state to arm a regular standing army (mercenaries bring their own armour).

These are the reasons why the Romans stopped using plate armour. Their army became comprised of so many mercenaries and auxiliaries that it became cost-inefficient to equip them all in the same way, and the economy of scale began to favour chainmail.

 

[Slytacular]

Of course. I was thinking of the decorative armor stands you see in fancy places. The stuff not meant for battle, but for show.