1.
Body armour
–
Body armor or Body armour, or personal armor/armour is protective clothing, designed to absorb and/or deflect slashing, bludgeoning and penetrating attacks by weapons. It was historically used to military personnel, whereas today, it is also used to protect various types of police, private citizens. Many factors have affected the development of personal armor throughout human history, significant factors in the development of armor include the economic and technological necessities of armor production. For instance full plate armor first appeared in Medieval Europe when water-powered trip hammers made the formation of plates faster and cheaper, with the development of capitalism and technological advancements armor became more available to the lower classes often at a cost of quality. Eastern armor has a history, spanning several thousand years. The oldest known Western armor is the Dendra panoply, dating from the Mycenaean Era around 1400 BC, mail, also referred to as chainmail, is made of interlocking iron rings, which may be riveted or welded shut. It is believed to have been invented by Celtic people in Europe about 500 BC, most cultures who used mail used the Celtic word Byrnne or a variant, suggesting the Celts as the originators. The Romans widely adopted mail as the lorica hamata, although they made use of lorica segmentata. While no non-metallic armor survives, a linen laminate known as linothorax is repeatedly mentioned in ancient Greek sources, in East Asian history laminated armor such as lamellar, and styles similar to the coat of plates, and brigandine were commonly used. Later cuirasses and plates were also used, in pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armor was made out of rhinoceros. Chinese influence in Japan would result in the Japanese adopting Chinese styles, gradually, small additional plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. By the late 13th century, the knees were capped, a variety of methods for improving the protection provided by mail were used as armorers seemingly experimented. Hardened leather and splinted construction were used for arm and leg pieces, the coat of plates was developed, an armor made of large plates sewn inside a textile or leather coat. Early plate in Italy, and elsewhere in the 13th to 15th centuries were made of iron, Iron armor could be carburized or case hardened to give a surface of harder steel. Mail continued to be used to protect those joints which could not be protected by plate, such as the armpit, crook of the elbow. Another advantage of plate was that a lance rest could be fitted to the breast plate, the small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet, the bascinet, as it was lengthened downward to protect the back of the neck and the sides of the head. Additionally, several new forms of fully enclosed helmets were introduced in the late 14th century to replace the great helm, such as the sallet and barbute and later the armet and close helm. By about 1400 the full harness of plate armor had been developed in armories of Lombardy Heavy cavalry dominated the battlefield for centuries in part because of their armor
Body armour
–
United States Marines in July 2010 assist a
Sri Lankan Navy sailor in trying on a
Modular Tactical Vest.
Body armour
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Paris Bordone Gentleman being aided by pages to put on his rerebrace
Body armour
–
Japanese warrior in armor.
Body armour
–
Greek
Mycenaean armor, c. 1400 BC
2.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
China
–
Yinxu, ruins of an ancient
palace dating from the
Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)
China
–
Flag
China
–
Some of the thousands of life-size
Terracotta Warriors of the
Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE
China
–
The
Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the
Chinese interior from incursions by
nomadic pastoralists of the northern
steppes.
3.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
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Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
4.
Mongolia
–
Mongolia /mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ is a landlocked unitary sovereign state in East Asia. Its area is equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia. It is sandwiched between China to the south and Russia to the north, while it does not share a border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia is separated from it by only 36.76 kilometers. At 1,564,116 square kilometers, Mongolia is the 18th largest and it is also the worlds second-largest landlocked country behind Kazakhstan and the largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea. The country contains very little land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the countrys population, approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, horse culture is still integral. The majority of its population are Buddhists, the non-religious population is the second largest group. Islam is the dominant religion among ethnic Kazakhs, the majority of the states citizens are of Mongol ethnicity, although Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other minorities also live in the country, especially in the west. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic, the area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty, after the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia, being led by the Manchu-founded Qing dynasty. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the male population were Buddhist monks. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty, shortly thereafter, the country came under the control of the Soviet Union, which had aided its independence from China. In 1924, the Mongolian Peoples Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state, after the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, homo erectus inhabited Mongolia from 850,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Mongolia approximately 40,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic, the Khoit Tsenkher Cave in Khovd Province shows lively pink, brown, and red ochre paintings of mammoths, lynx, bactrian camels, and ostriches, earning it the nickname the Lascaux of Mongolia. The venus figurines of Malta testify to the level of Upper Paleolithic art in northern Mongolia, the wheeled vehicles found in the burials of the Afanasevans have been dated to before 2200 BC
Mongolia
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Deer stones in Mongolia
Mongolia
–
Flag
Mongolia
–
Pasture land in
Arkhangai Province. Mongolia was the heartland of many nomadic empires.
Mongolia
–
Mongolian ordos (palaces) were likened to "cities on the move" (
Plano Carpini).
5.
Tibet
–
Tibet is a region on the Tibetan Plateau in Asia, spanning about 2.4 million km2 and nearly a quarter of Chinas territory. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an elevation of 4,900 metres. The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earths highest mountain, the Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century, but with the fall of the empire the region soon divided into a variety of territories. The current borders of Tibet were generally established in the 18th century, following the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing dynasty in 1912, Qing soldiers were disarmed and escorted out of Tibet Area. The region subsequently declared its independence in 1913 without recognition by the subsequent Chinese Republican government, later, Lhasa took control of the western part of Xikang, China. There are tensions regarding Tibets political status and dissident groups that are active in exile and it is also said that Tibetan activists in Tibet have been arrested or tortured. The economy of Tibet is dominated by agriculture, though tourism has become a growing industry in recent decades. The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism, in there is Bön, which is similar to Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is an influence on the art, music. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences, staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat, and butter tea. The Tibetan name for their land, Bod བོད་, means Tibet or Tibetan Plateau, although it meant the central region around Lhasa. The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of Bod, is transcribed Bhö in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription, Bö in the THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription and Poi in Tibetan pinyin. Tibetan people, language, and culture, regardless of where they are from, are referred to as Zang although the geographical term Xīzàng is often limited to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The term Xīzàng was coined during the Qing dynasty in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor through the addition of a prefix meaning west to Zang, the best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is Tubo. This name first appears in Chinese characters as 土番 in the 7th century, in the Middle Chinese spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter, 土番 was pronounced thux-phjon and 吐蕃 was pronounced thux-pjon. Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include Wusiguo, Wusizang, Tubote, the English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to the 18th century. Historical linguists generally agree that Tibet names in European languages are loanwords from Semitic Ṭībat orTūbātt, itself deriving from Turkic Töbäd, literally, according to Matthew Kapstein, From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan
Tibet
–
"Greater Tibet" as claimed by Tibetan exile groups
Tibet
–
Tibetan family in
Kham attending a horse festival
Tibet
–
King
Songtsän Gampo
Tibet
–
Tibet in 1734. Royaume de Thibet ("Kingdom of Tibet") in la Chine, la Tartarie Chinoise, et le Thibet ("China, Chinese
Tartary, and Tibet") on a 1734 map by
Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, based on earlier Jesuit maps.
6.
Boiled leather
–
Boiled leather, sometimes called cuir bouilli, was a historical construction material for armour. It consists of leather, boiled in water. According to some sources, boiled oil and wax were used as well, the boiling causes the leather to become harder but also more brittle. The leather remains flexible for a time after boiling, allowing it to be molded into larger plates. Cuir bouilli has also employed to bind books. Water hardened leather for armour Boiled leather in wax Cuir Bouilli/Hardened Leather FAQ
Boiled leather
–
Types
7.
Scale armour
–
Scale armour is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows. Scale armour was worn by warriors of different cultures as well as their horses. The material used to make the scales varied and included bronze, iron, rawhide, leather, cuir bouilli, seeds, horn, pangolin scales and, in ancient China, the variations are primarily the result of material availability. Scale armour is armour in which the scales are sewn or laced to a backing by one or more edges. The scales are usually assembled and strapped by lacing or rivets, the Romans also had a variant called lorica plumata in which the scales were attached to mail. Horses covered with scale armour are mentioned in the ancient Chinese book of poetry Shi Jing, scale armour is not of frequent occurrence on the grave monuments of the German frontier. On two tombstones of the Sertorii at Verona both figures are represented wearing a tunic of scale armour which covers the shoulders and comes down below the belt, the Carnuntum monument of Calidius shows also a scaled tunic of a centurion. Again, in the collection of marble portrait-busts from the great Gallo-Roman villa of Chiragan near Toulouse, the Scythians horse warriors appear to have used scale or possibly lamellar armour, evident both from contemporary illustrations and burial finds in the Kurgans. The armour was made from small plates of iron or bronze, unique to the Scythians, about 20% of the females found in graves were dressed for war, some including armour, which may have inspired the Greek tales of Amazons. Due to the nature of the armour, the Scythian variety was made as breast- and back-plates. Some finds indicate partial armour, where a shirt or similar garment have sewn-on scales in places, particularly around the neck. It was also used in Middle Eastern empires, such as Persia. In these areas, scales were commonly dished in order to benefit from the protection offered by a rounded scale. Japanese individual scales are called kozane, Japanese scale armour constructed from fish type scales were reportedly constructed in Japan as far back as the Fujiwara period. A primitive type of Japanese harness, the single laminae being of boiled leather, cut, scale armour offers better and more solid protection from piercing and blunt attacks than maille. It is also cheaper to produce, but it is not as flexible, forms other than brigandine and coat of plates were uncommon in medieval Europe, but scale and lamellar remained popular elsewhere. Modern forms of armour are sometimes worn for decorative or LARP purposes. A similar type of personal armour is Dragon Skin body armour
Scale armour
–
Dacian scale armour on
Trajan's column.
Scale armour
–
Fragment of
Lorica squamata. Each plate has six holes and the scales are linked in rows. Only the "lower most" holes are visible on most scales, while a few show the pair above and the ring fastener passing through them.
Scale armour
–
Coat covered with the gold decorated scales of the
pangolin.
India,
Rajasthan, early 19th century.
Scale armour
–
Riveted-laced scale armour. Note: the tops are laced to backing, the centres are loosely riveted. (East-Europe, Kievan Rus and Byzantium)
8.
Koryak people
–
Koryaks are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the south, the Koryaks are culturally similar to the Chukchis of extreme north-east Siberia. Both peoples refer to themselves by the endonym Luorawetlan, meaning the real people, the Koryak language and Alutor, are linguistically close to the Chukchi language. All of these languages are members of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family and they are more distantly related to the Itelmens on the Kamchatka Peninsula. All of these peoples and other, unrelated minorities in and around Kamchatka are known collectively as Kamchadals, neighbors of the Koryaks include the Evens to the west, the Alutor to the south, the Kerek to the east, and the Chukchi to the northeast. The Koryak are typically split into two groups, the coastal people Nemelan meaning village dwellers, due to their living in villages and their lifestyle is based on local fishing and marine mammal hunting. The inland Koryak, reindeer herders, are called Chaucu, meaning rich in reindeer and they are more nomadic, following the herds as they graze with the seasons. According to the 2010 census, there were 7,953 Koryaks in Russia, the name Koryak was from the exonym word Korak, meaning with the reindeer in a nearby group Chukotko-Kamchatkan language. The earliest references to the name Koryak were recorded in the writings of the Russian cossack Vladimir Atlasov, the variant name was adopted by Russia in official state documents, hence popularizing it ever since. The origin of the Koryak is unknown, anthropologists have speculated that a land bridge connected the Eurasian and North American continent during Late Pleistocene. It is possible that migratory peoples crossed the modern-day Koryak land en route to North America, scientists have suggested that people traveled back and forth between this area and Haida Gwaii before the ice age receded. They theorize that the ancestors of the Koryak had returned to Siberian Asia from North America during this time, cultural and some linguistic similarity exist between the Nivkh and the Koryak. The Koryak once occupied a larger area of the Russian Far East. Their overlapping borders extended to the Nivkh areas in Khabarovsk Krai until the Evens arrived, a smallpox epidemic in 1769-1770 and warfare with Russian Cossacks reduced the Koryak population from 10-11,000 in 1700 to 4,800 in 1800. Under the Soviet Union, a Koryak Autonomous Okrug was formed in 1931, based on the local referendum in 2005, this was merged with Kamchatka Krai effective July 1,2007. Families usually gathered into groups of six or seven, forming bands, the nominal chief had no predominating authority, and the groups relied on consensus to make decisions, resembling common small group egalitarianism. The lives of the people in the interior revolved around reindeer and they also used all the parts of its body to make sewing materials and clothing, tools and weapons. The meat was eaten roasted and the blood, marrow
Koryak people
–
Koryak ceremony of starting the New Fire
9.
Mirror armour
–
It literally translates to four mirrors which is a reflection of how these pieces looked, which resembles four metal discs or rectangular armour plates. Mirror armor was used in some cultures into the 20th century, mirror armour is a type of partial plate armour which was developed initially from round metal mirrors worn over other armour as enforcement. Metal mirrors in this armour were considered as protection from not only cold steel and arrows and it was believed that mirrors could reflect the evil eye, so they were polished and worn over other armour. Early mirror armour consisted of a mirror attached to the body with a few leather laces. Late mirror armour took the form of a cuirass, helmet, greaves. Early types of armour were known among the Celtiberians, by the Romans, in the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia. Later types of armour were known in the Middle East, Central Asia, India. The mirror cuirass with discs was popular in Turkey and Russia, while that without discs was popular in Persia, in India, there was a popular form of brigandine with a few mirror plates riveted to it. According to Bobrov, round metal mirrors worn by Mongolian warriors as armour reinforcement are shown in Persian miniatures of 13c and this is verified by archaeological finds in Central Asia and the Far East. This kind of armour prevailed in Central Asia during 15-17c, and could be worn over any armour including brigandines, lamellar armour, chainmail, in 16c in Persia, mirror plates became much larger and changed their shape to rectangular in order to improve body protection. This improved mirror armour gradually spread during 16-17c to Central Asia, further improvements were made during the 1640s when mirror plates evolved into mirror cuirass, which sometimes had additional mirror plates used as pauldrons for protection of the shoulder laces. Besides separate mirror plates laced as reinforcement to other armours there were small mirrors that were sewn or riveted to brigandine, Brigandines with such integral reinforcements were very popular at the end of 15c, but their use had practically been abandoned by the end of 17c. Mirror armours Brigandines reinforced by mirror plates Cf
Mirror armour
–
Classic Indian char-aina, also chahar-aina or chahar-ai-ne (the four mirrors),
Persian (چهاﺮآﻳنه), shown with kulah khud helmet and madu shield, Mumtaz Mahal Museum, Red Fort, Delhi India.
Mirror armour
–
Early 16th century Ottoman Empire mirror armour (krug), a distinctively Ottoman protection consisting of large steel plates connected by mail.
Mirror armour
–
Classic round mirror plate (early type of mirror armour), traditionally worn over
mail on the chest.
Mirror armour
–
Transitional mirror armour.
10.
Hauberk
–
A hauberk is a shirt of mail. The term is used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh. Haubergeon generally refers to a version of the hauberk. The word hauberk is derived from the Old Frankish word halsberg, which described a small piece of mail that protects the throat. The Roman author Varro attributes the invention of mail to the Celts, the earliest extant example was found in Ciumeşti in modern Romania and is dated to the 4th–5th centuries BC. Roman armies adopted similar technology after encountering it. Mail armour spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin with the expansion of the Romans and it was quickly adopted by virtually every iron-using culture in the world, with the exception of the Chinese. The Chinese used it rarely, despite being exposed to it from other cultures. The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates Norman soldiers wearing a version of the hauberk, with three-quarter length sleeves. Such armor was quite expensive—both in materials and time/skill required to manufacture it—so common foot soldiers rarely were so equipped. The hauberk stored in the Prague Cathedral, dating from the 12th century, is one of the earliest surviving examples from Central Europe and was owned by Saint Wenceslaus. In Europe, use of mail hauberks continued up through the 14th century, in parts of Central Asia, it continued to be used longer. In Japan, a form of hauberk called kusari katabira was commonly worn by the samurai class, goliath was also armed with a coat of mail, weighing five thousand shekels, as he confronted David. The hauberk is typically a type of armour which is constructed of interlocking loops of metal woven into a tunic or shirt. The sleeves sometimes only went to the elbow, but often were full arm length, with covering the hands with a supple glove leather face on the palm of the hand. It was usually thigh or knee length, with a split in the front and it sometimes incorporated a hood, or coif. Mail Plated mail Mail Coif The Arador Armour Library
Hauberk
–
Italian hauberk from the late 15th century
Hauberk
–
A soldier removing a hauberk, from the 13th-century
Morgan Bible
Hauberk
–
Polish hauberk.
Hauberk
–
Sudanese hauberk.
11.
Cuirass
–
A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the front of the torso. In a suit of armour, the cuirass was generally connected to a back piece, cuirass could also refer to the complete torso-protecting armour. As parts of the military equipment of classic antiquity, cuirasses and corsets of bronze, iron. Secondary protection for the breast was worn in earlier times by men-at-arms in addition to mail hauberks and it was not until the 14th century that the plate armour became an established part of medieval armour. The Roman emperor Galba donned a cuirass just before he went to his death. Suetonius records in 12 Caesars that, As was offering sacrifice on the morning before he was killed and he did however put on a linen cuirass, though he openly declared that it would afford little protection against so many swords. The cuirass was almost universally worn throughout its lifespan as a form of armour, the cuirass was always made long enough to rest on the hips. If it had been suspended by the shoulders, its weight would have exhausted its wearer. In the second half of the 15th century, the cuirass was occasionally superseded by the brigandine jacket, in essence, the brigandine jacket was constructed of metal plates sewn into a fabric jacket. About 1550, the breast-piece of the cuirass was characterized by a central ridge, called the tapul. Somewhat later, the tapul was moved lower on the breast, eventually, the profile of the plate began to resemble a pea pod and, as such, was referred to as the peascod cuirass. Corslets provided with both breast and back pieces were worn by foot-soldiers in the 17th century, while their comrades were equipped in heavier and stronger cuirasses. These defenses continued in use longer than any single piece of armour. Both the French and German heavy cavalry wore cuirasses in parade leading up to World War I, in the early part of that conflict, they painted their cuirasses black and wore canvas protection covers over the neo-Roman style helmets. Some years after Waterloo, certain historical cuirasses were taken from their repose in the Tower of London and adapted for service by the Life Guards, for parade purposes, the Prussian Gardes du Corps and other corps wore cuirasses of richly decorated leather. During the Heian period, Japanese armourers started to use leather as a material, by the end of the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as part of iconic samurai armor. Scales of iron and leather, bound together by silk lace, were used to construct samurai armours, the introduction of firearms to Japan in 1543 resulted in the development of a cuirass constructed of solid iron plates. The use of the samurai cuirass lasted until the 1860s when an army using conventional uniforms was established
Cuirass
–
Cuirass worn by a
Carabiniers-à-Cheval.
Cuirass
–
Indian steel cuirass, 17th to 18th century
Cuirass
–
An 1854 cuirass worn by the French
Cuirassiers
Cuirass
–
German helmet and frontal armoured plate for trench warfare, 1916
12.
Mongols
–
The Mongols are an East-Central Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia and Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. They also live as minorities in other regions of China, as well as in Russia, Mongolian people belonging to the Buryat and Kalmyk subgroups live predominantly in the Russian federal subjects of Buryatia and Kalmykia. The Mongols are bound together by a heritage and ethnic identity. Their indigenous dialects are known as the Mongolian language. The ancestors of the modern-day Mongols are referred to as Proto-Mongols, broadly defined, the term includes the Mongols proper, Buryats, Oirats, the Kalmyk people and the Southern Mongols. The latter comprises the Abaga Mongols, Abaganar, Aohans, Baarins, Gorlos Mongols, Jalaids, Jaruud, Khishigten, Khuuchid, Muumyangan, the designation Mongol briefly appeared in 8th century records of Tang China to describe a tribe of Shiwei. It resurfaced in the late 11th century during the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty, after the fall of the Liao in 1125, the Khamag Mongols became a leading tribe on the Mongolian Plateau. However, their wars with the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Tatar confederation had weakened them, in the thirteenth century, the word Mongol grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic-speaking tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan. In various times Mongolic peoples have been equated with the Scythians, the Magog, based on Chinese historical texts the ancestry of the Mongolic peoples can be traced back to the Donghu, a nomadic confederation occupying eastern Mongolia and Manchuria. The identity of the Xiongnu is still debated today, although some scholars maintain that they were proto-Mongols, they were more likely a multi-ethnic group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes. It has been suggested that the language of the Huns was related to the Hünnü, the Donghu are mentioned by Sima Qian as already existing in Inner Mongolia north of Yan in 699–632 BCE along with the Shanrong. Mentions in the Yi Zhou Shu and the Classic of Mountains, the Xianbei chieftain was appointed joint guardian of the ritual torch along with Xiong Yi. These early Xianbei came from the nearby Zhukaigou culture in the Ordos Desert, where maternal DNA corresponds to the Mongol Daur people, the Zhukaigou Xianbei had trade relations with the Shang. In the late 2nd century, the Han dynasty scholar Fu Qian wrote in his commentary Jixie that Shanrong, againm in Inner Mongolia another closely connected core Mongolic Xianbei region was the Upper Xiajiadian culture where the Donghu confederation was centered. After the Donghu were defeated by Xiongnu king Modu Chanyu, the Xianbei, tadun Khan of the Wuhuan was the ancestor of the proto-Mongolic Kumo Xi. The Wuhuan are of the direct Donghu royal line and the New Book of Tang says that in 209 BCE, the Xianbei, however, were of the lateral Donghu line and had a somewhat separate identity, although they shared the same language with the Wuhuan. In 49 CE the Xianbei ruler Bianhe raided and defeated the Xiongnu, killing 2000, the Xianbei reached their peak under Tanshihuai Khan who expanded the vast, but short lived, Xianbei state. Three prominent groups split from the Xianbei state as recorded by the Chinese histories, the Rouran, the Khitan people, besides these three Xianbei groups, there were others such as the Murong, Duan and Tuoba
Mongols
–
The
Xianbei state under Tanshihuai (141–181)
Mongols
–
Asia in 500, showing the
Rouran Khaganate and its neighbors, including the Northern Wei and the Tuyuhun Khanate, all of them were established by Proto-Mongols
Mongols
–
Mongols using
Chinese gunpowder bombs during the
Mongol Invasions of Japan, 1281
Mongols
–
The Battle of Oroi-Jalatu in 1755 between the Qing and Oirat armies. The fall of the
Dzungar Khanate.
13.
Turkic peoples
–
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in central, eastern, northern, and western Asia as well as parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family and they share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The first known mention of the term Turk applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the 6th century, a letter by Ishbara Qaghan to Emperor Wen of Sui in 585 described him as the Great Turk Khan. The Orhun inscriptions use the terms Turk and Turuk and this includes Chinese records Spring and Autumn Annals referring to a neighbouring people as Beidi. During the first century CE, Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. There are references to certain groups in antiquity whose names could be the form of Türk/Türük such as Togarma, Turukha/Turuška, Turukku. But the information gap is so substantial that we cannot firmly connect these ancient people to the modern Turks, turkologist András Róna-Tas posits that the term Turk could be rooted in the East Iranian Saka language or in Turkic. This etymological concept is related to Old Turkic word stems tür, türi-, törü. The earliest Turkic-speaking peoples identifiable in Chinese sources are the Dingling, Gekun, the Chinese Book of Zhou presents an etymology of the name Turk as derived from helmet, explaining that taken this name refers to the shape of the Altai Mountains. During the Middle Ages, various Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe were subsumed under the identity of the Scythians, between 400 CE and the 16th century, Byzantine sources use the name Σκύθαι in reference to twelve different Turkic peoples. However, the usage of the term is based on the linguistic classification in order to avoid any political sense. In short, the term Türki can be used for Türk or vice versa and it is generally agreed that the first Turkic people lived in a region extending from Central Asia to Siberia, with the majority of them living in China historically. Historically they were established after the 6th century BCE, the earliest separate Turkic peoples appeared on the peripheries of the late Xiongnu confederation about 200 BCE. Turkic people may be related to the Xiongnu, Dingling and Tiele people, according to the Book of Wei, the Tiele people were the remnants of the Chidi, the red Di people competing with the Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. Turkic tribes such as the Khazars and Pechenegs probably lived as nomads for many years before establishing the Turkic Khaganate or Göktürk Empire in the 6th century and these were herdsmen and nobles who were searching for new pastures and wealth. The first mention of Turks was in a Chinese text that mentioned trade between Turk tribes and the Sogdians along the Silk Road, the first recorded use of Turk as a political name appears as a 6th-century reference to the word pronounced in Modern Chinese as Tujue. The Ashina clan migrated from Li-jien to the Juan Juan seeking inclusion in their confederacy, the tribe were famed metalsmiths and were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet, from which they were said to have gotten their name 突厥. A century later their power had increased such that they conquered the Juan Juan, Turkic peoples originally used their own alphabets, like Orkhon and Yenisey runiforms, and later the Uyghur alphabet
Turkic peoples
–
Map from Kashgari's Diwan, showing the distribution of Turkic tribes.
Turkic peoples
–
Turkic states shown in red
Turkic peoples
–
History of the Turkic peoples Pre-14th century
Turkic peoples
–
The top of Belukha in the
Altay Mountains in Mongolia is shown here. The mountain range is thought to be the birthplace of the Turkic people.
14.
Pannonian Avars
–
The Pannonian Avars /ˈævɑːrz/ also known as the Obri, the Abaroi and Varchonitai, and the Pseudo-Avars and Varchonites, were a group of Eurasian nomads of unknown origin during the early Middle Ages. The name Pannonian Avars, is used to them from the Avars of the Caucasus – who may or may not have been an unrelated people. They established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and considerable areas of Central and they were ruled by a khagan, who was assisted by an entourage of professional warriors. The language or languages spoken by the Avars are now unknown, denis Sinor states that most of the Avar words used in contemporaneous Latin or Greek texts, appear to have their origins in Siberian languages, especially Tungusic languages and Mongolian. There is also evidence, however, that ruling and subject clans spoke a variety of languages, proposals by scholars include Caucasian, Iranian, Tungusic, Hungarian and Turkic. A few scholars suggest that Proto-Slavic became the lingua franca of the Avar Khaganate, according to Gyula László, the late 9th century Pannonian Avars spoke a variety of Old Hungarian, thereby forming an Avar-Hungarian continuity with then newly arrived Hungarians. The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor,463, the Šaragurs, Onogurs and Ogurs were attacked by the Sabirs, who had been attacked by the Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing man-eating griffins coming from the ocean, whilst Priscus accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the Don-Kuban-Volga region after the demise of the Huns, no unequivocal conclusions can be reached. Denis Sinor has argued that whoever the Avars referred to by Priscus were, they differed from the Avars who appear a century later, during the time of Justinian. The next author of late antiquity to discuss the Avars, Menander Protector in the 6th century, each time, the Turks appear angered at the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars, whom the Turks saw as their subjects and slaves. Turxanthos, a Turk prince, calls the Avars Varchonites and escaped slaves of the Turks, many more, but somewhat confusing, details come from Theophylact Simocatta, who wrote c. 629, but detailed the two decades of the 6th century. For it is by a misnomer that the barbarians on the Ister have assumed the appellation of Avars, so, when the Avars had been defeated some of them made their escape to those who inhabit Taugast. Taugast is a city, which is a total of one thousand five hundred miles distant from those who are called Turks. These make their habitations in the east, by the course of the river Til, the earliest leaders of this nation were named Var and Chunni, from them some parts of those nations were also accorded their nomenclature, being called Var and Chunni. Then, while the emperor Justinian was in possession of the royal power and these named themselves Avars and glorified their leader with the appellation of Chagan. Let us declare, without departing in the least from the truth, for this reason they honoured the fugitives with splendid gifts and supposed that they received from them security in exchange. In point of fact even up to our present times the Pseudo-Avars are divided in their ancestry, some bearing the time-honoured name of Var while others are called Chunni
Pannonian Avars
–
Warrior with captive, from a golden ewer of the
Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós. There is no agreement as to whether he represents an Avar, a Bulgar or a Khazar warrior.
Pannonian Avars
–
Gold Avar bowl, found in modern
Albania.
Pannonian Avars
–
Avar territory in the 6th century.
Pannonian Avars
–
Avar findings from Ozora-Tótipuszta, Hungary
15.
Lombards
–
The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, the Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, by late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and they established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum, which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, however, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula, well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known by the name Langbarðaland in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is apparent in the regional name Lombardy. The fullest account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, pauls chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum tells the story of a tribe called the Winnili dwelling in southern Scandinavia. The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably overpopulation, the departing people were led by the brothers Ybor and Aio and their mother Gambara and arrived in the lands of Scoringa, perhaps the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa was ruled by the Vandals and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute. The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan, who answered that he would give the victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number and Gambara sought help from Frea, at sunrise, Frea turned her husbands bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, Who are these long-beards. and Frea replied, My lord, thou hast given them the name, from that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards. When Paul the Deacon wrote the Historia between 787 and 796 he was a Catholic monk and devoted Christian and he thought the pagan stories of his people silly and laughable. Paul explained that the name Langobard came from the length of their beards, a modern theory suggests that the name Langobard comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to Lombards, they changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin
Lombards
–
The Lombard possessions in Italy: The Lombard Kingdom (Neustria, Austria and Tuscia) and the Lombard Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento
Lombards
–
Wodan (Godan) and
Frigg (Frea) looking out of a window in the heavens...
Lombards
–
...and spot the Lombard women with their long hair tied as to appear as beards
Lombards
–
Lombard grave goods (6th-7th century) -
Milan,
Lombardy
16.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
17.
Heavy cavalry
–
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces. Although some form of cavalry had been in use in Mesopotamia since 3000 BC, by 600 BC armoured cavalry began seeing use, though it was not until the later ancient Greek era that true heavy cavalry emerged. Iranian tribes such as the Massagetae were believed to be the originator of the class of heavy cavalry known as cataphract, by the time of Alexanders invasion cataphract units with both men and beasts being fully encased in armour were already in use by the Persians. The Celts of western and central Europe are among the first peoples in the known to have made use of heavy cavalry. It is generally accepted that the Celts were the originators of chainmail, at the Battle of Carrhae, Gallic auxiliary cavalry met with the completely armoured Parthian cataphracts. Despite being outmatched the Gauls fought fiercely and well before being annihilated in a protracted melee, for close combat the main weapon was the spear, around 7 feet in length with a leaf-bladed head, and a heavy wooden shield with an iron spindle-type boss. The most prestigious weapon was the sword, a blade ranging anywhere from 2 ft to 3 ft in length, Celtic swords were typically of good quality, with some being of such quality that archeologists have classed them as being equal to modern, high-quality steel replicas. The heavy cavalry of the Celtiberi, widely employed by the Carthaginians, known to the Romans as Lanciarii, they are represented in several Iberian carvings of the period. They may have carried the soliferrum, the all-iron javelin unique to Iberia, in addition to a spear and shield, together with the Gallic nobles, it was likely these horsemen who at Cannae charged then broke superior numbers of Roman and Italian cavalry. The ancient Greeks called armoured cavalry Kataphraktos which translated means roughly covered, protected or armoured, the term was later borrowed by the Romans and until the Middle Ages in Europe, continued to be used to designate armoured cavalry. The exception was in Northern Greece, where large areas of grassland made cavalry much more practical. Eventually, encounters with Persian cavalry led the Greeks to create their own cavalry arm, while cavalry played an increasingly greater part in Greek warfare, its roles were generally restricted to scouting, skirmishing and pursuit. Its likely that Phillip of Macedon organized his famed Companions after the Theban model, in both role and equipment, the Companions was the first cavalry force that was known to represent archetypal heavy cavalry. The Companion cavalry, or Hetairoi, were the arm of the Macedonian army. In the aftermath of the Macedonian Empire, the Diadochi, successor states created by Alexander the Greats generals, continued the usage of heavy cavalry in their own forces. Up to the 5th century, Sarmatian cavalry units were stationed in Britain as part of the Roman army, the stirrup, which gives greater stability to a rider, has been described as one of the most significant inventions in the history of warfare, prior to gunpowder. As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third step in equipment, after the chariot. The basic tactics of mounted warfare were significantly altered by the stirrup, a rider supported by stirrups was less likely to fall off while fighting, and could deliver a blow with a weapon that more fully employed the weight and momentum of horse and rider
Heavy cavalry
–
Ottoman Mamluk heavy cavalry, c. 1550
Heavy cavalry
–
Early 16th-century French
gendarmes, with complete plate armour and heavy lances
Heavy cavalry
–
Alexander the Great on horseback
Heavy cavalry
–
The oldest known relief of a heavily armoured cavalryman, from the Sassanid empire, at Taq-i Bostan, near
Kermanshah, Iran (4th century)
18.
University of New England, Australia
–
The University of New England is a public university in Australia with approximately 22,500 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern central New South Wales, the University of New England was the first Australian university established outside a state capital city. Each year, the University offers students more than $5 million in scholarships, prizes, the University of New England was originally established in 1938 as the New England University College, a College of the University of Sydney. It became fully independent in 1954, the University of New England has undergone two major changes since 1989. The following year the Orange Agricultural College joined the network University, the network also included the UNE-Coffs Harbour Centre, which provided courses from within academic departments of the Armidale and Lismore campuses. The University of New England was re-formed once again, with legislation passed by both Houses of the New South Wales Parliament in November,1993 and this legislation had the effect of dismantling the network University. The University of New England from 1994 has only one campus, a new University was created with campuses in Lismore and Coffs Harbour, the Orange campus was amalgamated with the University of Sydney. This process of amalgamation was complete by the time of the new legislation in 1993, the University was notified of plagiarism issues in November 2006. The University initiated several procedures, systems, and policies to fortify its academic integrity, in research, among many areas, it is particularly active in agricultural science, economics, linguistics and archaeology. The university averages approximately 700 PhD candidates at a given time, the University of New England is on several sites in Armidale. The northern campus is five kilometres to the northwest of the city centre, in a rural, part of this campus includes the original property presented by T R Forster to the University of Sydney for the establishment of a University College. This property comprised the old homestead, Booloominbah, with other buildings and 74 hectares of land. Since the original gift, other generous benefactors have presented properties to the university, Booloominbah and the Vice-Chancellors residence Trevenna were designed by architect John Horbury Hunt. The university possesses rural properties close to the campus, providing facilities for teaching, in addition, there are the Tullimba rural research property at Kingstown and the Douglas McMaster Rural Research Station at Warialda. The University of New England has one of the most extensive residential college systems in Australia, around half of UNE’s on campus students live in one of the colleges. Since 1955 teaching off-campus students by distance education has been an important part of the Universitys activities, UNE is now Australias longest continuous provider of distance education and with more than 15,000 external students, is one of Australias major providers of awards to off-campus students. Each subject requires approximately 15 hours of study per week, with the load for distance students being two units per semester. Over 600 subjects offered by UNE are available by distance education and are predominantly online, the University has students all over the world studying by this mode
University of New England, Australia
–
Boolominbah Homestead at night
University of New England, Australia
–
University of New England
19.
Sumer
–
Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers were able to grow an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus of which enabled them to settle in one place. Proto-writing in the dates back to c.3000 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr and date back to 3300 BC, modern historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently settled between c.5500 and 4000 BC by a West Asian people who spoke the Sumerian language, an agglutinative language isolate. These conjectured, prehistoric people are now called proto-Euphrateans or Ubaidians, some scholars contest the idea of a Proto-Euphratean language or one substrate language. Reliable historical records begin much later, there are none in Sumer of any kind that have dated before Enmebaragesi. Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians lived along the coast of Eastern Arabia, todays Persian Gulf region, Sumerian civilization took form in the Uruk period, continuing into the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic periods. During the 3rd millennium BC, a cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians, who spoke a language isolate, and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a Sprachbund, Sumer was conquered by the Semitic-speaking kings of the Akkadian Empire around 2270 BC, but Sumerian continued as a sacred language. Native Sumerian rule re-emerged for about a century in the Neo-Sumerian Empire or Third Dynasty of Ur approximately 2100-2000 BC, the term Sumerian is the common name given to the ancient non-Semitic-speaking inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Sumer, by the East Semitic-speaking Akkadians. The Sumerians referred to themselves as ùĝ saĝ gíg ga, phonetically /uŋ saŋ gi ga/, literally meaning the black-headed people, the Akkadian word Shumer may represent the geographical name in dialect, but the phonological development leading to the Akkadian term šumerû is uncertain. Hebrew Shinar, Egyptian Sngr, and Hittite Šanhar, all referring to southern Mesopotamia, in the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into many independent city-states, which were divided by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered on a dedicated to the particular patron god or goddess of the city. The Sumerian city-states rose to power during the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 23rd century BC. Following the Gutian period, there is a brief Sumerian Renaissance in the 21st century BC, the Amorite dynasty of Isin persisted until c.1700 BC, when Mesopotamia was united under Babylonian rule. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into the Akkadian population, 2500–2334 BC Akkadian Empire period, c. 2218–2047 BC Ur III period, c, 2047–1940 BC The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. It appears that this culture was derived from the Samarran culture from northern Mesopotamia and it is not known whether or not these were the actual Sumerians who are identified with the later Uruk culture
Sumer
–
Map of Sumer
Sumer
–
The
Samarra bowl, at the
Pergamonmuseum, Berlin. The
swastika in the center of the design is a reconstruction.
Sumer
–
Fragment of
Eannatum 's
Stele of the Vultures
20.
Ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
–
A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
21.
Assyrian people
–
Assyrian people, or Syriacs, are an ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East. Some of them self-identify as Chaldeans, or as Arameans and they speak modern Aramaic, whose subdivisions include Northeastern, Central, and Western Neo-Aramaic, as well as another language, dependent on the country of residence. The Assyrians are typically Syriac-speaking Christians who claim descent from Assyria, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, the areas that form the Assyrian homeland are parts of present-day northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria. The majority have migrated to regions of the world, including North America, the Levant, Australia, Europe, Russia. Assyrians are predominantly Christian, mostly adhering to the East and West Syrian liturgical rites of Christianity, whereas the churches of the West Syrian rite, the Syriac Orthodox Church and Syriac Catholic Church, mostly speak the Central and Western branches. According to a 2013 report by a Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council official, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to Neanderthals such as the remains of those which have been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria belonged to the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, the history of Assyria begins with the formation of the city of Assur perhaps as early as the 25th century BC. The Assyrian king list records kings dating from the 25th century BC onwards, the earliest being Tudiya, who was a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla. However, many of early kings would have been local rulers. In the traditions of the Assyrian Church of the East, they are descended from Abrahams grandson, however, there is no historical basis for the biblical assertion whatsoever, there is no mention in Assyrian records. The Assyrian people, after the fall of their empire, fell under foreign domination ever since, the Persian Empire was founded, which consumed the entire Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Empire in 539 BC. Assyrians became front line soldiers for the Persian Empire under Xerxes I, the Assyrian army accounted for three legions of the Roman army, defending the Parthian border. In the 1st century, it was the Assyrian army that enabled Vespasians coup, from the later 2nd century, the Roman Senate included several notable Assyrians, including Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus and Avidius Cassius. From the 1st century BC, Assyria was the theatre of the protracted Roman–Persian Wars and it would become a Roman province from 116 to 363 AD. Despite the influx of foreign elements, the presence of Assyrians is confirmed by the worship of the god Ashur, the Greeks, Parthians, and Romans had a rather low-level of integration with the local population in Mesopotamia, which allowed their cultures to survive. The Assyrians were Christianized in the first to third centuries in Roman Syria, the population of the Sasanian province of Asōristān was a mixed one, composed of Assyrians, Arameans in the far south and the western deserts, and Persians. The Greek element in the cities, still strong during the Parthian Empire, the majority of the population were Eastern Aramaic speakers. Along with the Arameans, Armenians, Greeks, and Nabataeans, the Council of Seleucia of ca.325 dealt with jurisdictional conflicts among the leading bishops
Assyrian people
–
The burning of bodies of Assyrian women
Assyrian people
Assyrian people
–
Assyrian refugees on a wagon moving to a newly constructed village on the
Khabur river in Syria.
Assyrian people
–
Celebration at a Syriac Orthodox monastery in
Mosul,
Ottoman Syria, early 20th century.
22.
Samurai
–
Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are referred to as bushi or buke. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean those who serve in close attendance to the nobility, the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, a reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, the samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japans population, following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD, which led to a retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform and this edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. As part of the Taihō Code of 702 AD, and the later Yōrō Code, the population was required to regularly for census. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Monmu introduced a law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military and these soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in-return were exempted from duties and taxes. This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modeled after the Chinese system and it was called Gundan-Sei by later historians and is believed to have been short-lived. The Taihō Code classified most of the Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks and those of 6th rank and below were referred to as samurai and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these samurai were civilian public servants, the word is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as samurai for many more centuries, Emperor Kanmu introduced the title of seii-taishōgun, or Shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery, these clan warriors became the Emperors preferred tool for putting down rebellions, though this is the first known use of the Shogun title, it was a temporary title, and was not imbued with political power until the 13th century. At this time, the Imperial Court officials considered them to be merely a military section under the control of the Imperial Court, ultimately, Emperor Kanmu disbanded his army. From this time, the Emperors power gradually declined, while the Emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates. To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated, or gathered, political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy. Some clans were formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the Imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands
Samurai
–
Samurai in
armor, 1860s.
Hand-coloured photograph by
Felice Beato.
Samurai
–
Samurai around the 1860s
Samurai
–
Saigō Takamori (seated, in Western uniform), surrounded by his officers, in samurai attire, during the 1877
Satsuma rebellion. News article in
Le Monde Illustré, 1877.
Samurai
–
Iron helmet and armor with gilt bronze decoration,
Kofun era, 5th century.
Tokyo National Museum.
23.
Russian Far East
–
The Russian Far East is the Russian part of the Far East, i. e. the extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. The Far Eastern Federal District, which covers this area, borders with the Siberian Federal District to the west. The Far Eastern Federal District has land borders with the Peoples Republic of China and North Korea to the south west and maritime borders with Japan, although traditionally considered part of Siberia, the Russian Far East is categorized separately from Siberia in Russian regional schemes. In Russia, the region is referred to as just Far East. What is known in English as the Far East is usually referred to as the Asia-Pacific Region, primorskaya Oblast was established as a separate administrative division of the Russian Empire in 1856, with its administrative center at Khabarovsk. Until 2000, the Russian Far East lacked officially defined boundaries, a single term Siberia and the Far East was often used to refer to Russias regions east of the Urals without drawing a clear distinction between Siberia and the Far East. Since 2000, the term Far East has been used in Russia to refer to the federal district. Defined by the boundaries of the district, the Far East has an area of 6.2 million square kilometers—over one-third of Russias total area. Russia in the early 1900s persistently sought a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean for the navy as well as to facilitate maritime trade, the recently established Pacific seaport of Vladivostok was operational only during the summer season, but Port Arthur in Manchuria was operational all year. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the failure of the 1903 negotiations between Japan and the Tsarss government, Japan chose war to protect its domination of Korea and adjacent territories. Russia, meanwhile, saw war as a means of distracting its populace from government repression, Japan issued a declaration of war on 8 February 1904. However, three hours before Japans declaration of war was received by the Russian Government, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the Russian Far East Fleet at Port Arthur, eight days later Russia declared war on Japan. Japan also received the southern half of the Island of Sakhalin from Russia, between 1937 and 1939, the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin deported over 200,000 Koreans to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, fearing that the Koreans might act as spies for Japan. Many Koreans died on the way in cattle due to starvation, illness. Many community leaders were purged and executed, Koryo-saram were not allowed to travel outside of Central Asia for the next 15 years, Koreans were also not allowed to use the Korean language and its use began to become lost with the involvement of Koryo-mar and the use of Russian. Development of numerous remote locations relied on GULAG labour camps during Stalins rule, after that, the large-scale use of forced labour waned and was superseded by volunteer employees attracted by relatively high wages. Indeed, Japan turned its interests to Soviet territories. Conflicts between the Japanese and the Soviets frequently happened on the border of Manchuria between 1938 and 1945, the first confrontation occurred in Primorsky Krai, the Battle of Lake Khasan was an attempted military incursion of Manchukuo into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union
Russian Far East
–
On the
Amur in Khabarovsk
Russian Far East
–
Far Eastern Federal District (highlighted)
Russian Far East
–
Annual procession with the Albazin icon,
Jewish Autonomous Region.
Russian Far East
–
Children of
Vladivostok celebrating the
International Children's Day
24.
Siberia
–
Siberia is an extensive geographical region, and by the broadest definition is also known as North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of Russia since the 17th century, the territory of Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins. It stretches southwards from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and to the borders of Mongolia. With an area of 13.1 million square kilometres, Siberia accounts for 77% of Russias land area and this is equivalent to an average population density of about 3 inhabitants per square kilometre, making Siberia one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth. If it were a country by itself, it would still be the largest country in area, the origin of the name is unknown. Some sources say that Siberia originates from the Siberian Tatar word for sleeping land, another account sees the name as the ancient tribal ethnonym of the Sirtya, a folk, which spoke a language that later evolved into the Ugric languages. This ethnic group was assimilated to the Siberian Tatar people. The modern usage of the name was recorded in the Russian language after the Empires conquest of the Siberian Khanate, a further variant claims that the region was named after the Xibe people. The Polish historian Chycliczkowski has proposed that the name derives from the word for north. He said that the neighbouring Chinese, Arabs and Mongolians would not have known Russian and he suggests that the name is a combination of two words, su and bir. The region is of significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch. Specimens of Goldfuss cave lion cubs, Yuka and another woolly mammoth from Oymyakon, a rhinoceros from the Kolyma River. The Siberian Traps were formed by one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earths geological history. They continued for a million years and are considered a cause of the Great Dying about 250 million years ago. At least three species of human lived in Southern Siberia around 40,000 years ago, H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, the last was determined in 2010, by DNA evidence, to be a new species. Siberia was inhabited by different groups of such as the Enets, the Nenets, the Huns, the Scythians. The Khan of Sibir in the vicinity of modern Tobolsk was known as a prominent figure who endorsed Kubrat as Khagan of Old Great Bulgaria in 630, the Mongols conquered a large part of this area early in the 13th century. With the breakup of the Golden Horde, the autonomous Khanate of Sibir was established in the late 15th century, turkic-speaking Yakut migrated north from the Lake Baikal region under pressure from the Mongol tribes during the 13th to 15th century
Siberia
–
Painting of
Chukchi by
Louis Choris, 1816
Siberia
–
Siberian Federal District Geographic Russian Siberia Siberia in its widest definition and historical use
Siberia
–
The tower of a 17th-century
ostrog fort in
Yakutsk
Siberia
–
Siberian
Cossack family in
Novosibirsk
25.
Sarmatians
–
The Sarmatians were a large confederation of Iranian people during classical antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. They spoke Scythian, an Indo-European language from the Eastern Iranian family and their territory, which was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia. In the 1st century AD the Sarmatians began encroaching upon the Roman Empire in alliance with Germanic tribes, in the 3rd century AD their dominance of the Pontic Steppe was broken by the Germanic Goths. With the Hunnic invasions of the 4th century, many Sarmatians joined the Goths, a related people to the Sarmatians known as the Alans survived in the North Caucasus into the Early Middle Ages, ultimately giving rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group. The Sarmatians were eventually assimilated and absorbed by the Proto-Slavic population of Eastern Europe. Sarmatae probably originated as just one of several names of the Sarmatians. Strabo in the 1st century names as the tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi. The Greek name Sarmatai sometimes appears as Sauromatai, which is almost certainly no more than a variant of the same name, nevertheless, historians often regarded these as two separate peoples, while archaeologists habitually use the term Sauromatian to identify the earliest phase of Sarmatian culture. Any idea that the name derives from the lizard, linking to the Sarmatians use of reptile-like scale armour. Both Pliny the Elder and Jordanes recognised the Sar- and Sauro- elements as interchangeable variants, Greek authors of the 4th century mention Syrmatae as the name of a people living at the Don, perhaps reflecting the ethnonym as it was pronounced in the final phase of Sarmatian culture. Oleg Trubachyov derived the name from the Indo-Aryan *sar-mat, the Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian word *sar-, by this derivation was noted the unusual high status of women from the Greek point of view and went to the invention of Amazons. Other scholars, like Harold Walter Bailey, derived the word from Avestan sar- from tsar- in Old Iranian. It was also derived from the name of Avestan region in the west Sairima, recently R. M. Kozlova derived it from *Sъrm- < Proto-Slavic adjective *sъrmatъ, with the meaning that is rich with sormima i. e. shallows, referring to the rivers. The Sarmatians emerged in the 7th century BC in a region of the steppe to the east of the Don River, for centuries they lived in relatively peaceful co-existence with their western neighbors the Scythians. Then, in the 3rd century BC, they fought with the Scythians on the Pontic steppe to the north of the Black Sea, the Sarmatians were to dominate these territories over the next five centuries. Pliny the Elder wrote that they ranged from the Vistula River to the Danube, in 1947, Soviet archaeologist Boris Grakov defined a culture flourishing from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, apparent in late kurgan graves, sometimes reusing part of much older kurgans. It was a nomadic steppe culture ranging from the Black Sea eastward to beyond the Volga, in Hungary, a great Late Sarmatian pottery centre was reportedly unearthed between 2001 and 2006 near Budapest, in the Üllő5 archaeological site. Typical grey, granular Üllő5 ceramics form a group of Sarmatian pottery found everywhere in the north central part of the Great Hungarian Plain region
Sarmatians
–
Great steppe of Kazakhstan in early spring.
Sarmatians
–
Approximate extent of
East Iranian languages in the 1st century BC is shown in orange.
Sarmatians
–
A Sarmatian
diadem, found at the Khokhlach
kurgan near
Novocherkassk (1st century AD,
Hermitage Museum).
Sarmatians
–
Sarmatian cataphracts during
Dacian Wars as depicted on
Trajan's Column.
26.
Heian period
–
The Heian period is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism, the Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan. Many emperors actually had mothers from the Fujiwara family, the Heian period was preceded by the Nara period and began in 794 A. D. after the movement of the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō, by the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu. Kanmu first tried to move the capital to Nagaoka-kyō, but a series of disasters befell the city, prompting the emperor to relocate the capital a second time, a rebellion occurred in China in the last years of the 9th century, making the political situation unstable. The Japanese missions to Tang China was suspended and the influx of Chinese exports halted, therefore the Heian Period is considered a high point in Japanese culture that later generations have always admired. The period is noted for the rise of the samurai class. Nominally, sovereignty lay in the emperor but in power was wielded by the Fujiwara nobility. However, to protect their interests in the provinces, the Fujiwara and other noble families required guards, police, the warrior class made steady political gains throughout the Heian period. Still, a military takeover of the Japanese government was centuries away. The entry of the class into court influence was a result of the Hōgen Rebellion. At this time Taira no Kiyomori revived the Fujiwara practices by placing his grandson on the throne to rule Japan by regency and their clan, the Taira, would not be overthrown until after the Genpei War, which marked the start of the shogunate. The Kamakura period began in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperors, Nara was abandoned after only 70 years in part due to the ascendancy of Dōkyō and the encroaching secular power of the Buddhist institutions there. Kyōto had good access to the sea and could be reached by land routes from the eastern provinces. The early Heian period continued Nara culture, the Heian capital was patterned on the Chinese Tang capital at Changan, as was Nara, Kanmu endeavoured to improve the Tang-style administrative system which was in use. Known as the ritsuryō, this attempted to recreate the Tang imperium in Japan. Despite the decline of the Taika–Taihō reforms, imperial government was vigorous during the early Heian period, Kanmus avoidance of drastic reform decreased the intensity of political struggles, and he became recognized as one of Japans most forceful emperors
Heian period
–
Kyōto, "Capital of 1000 Years".
Heian period
–
Byōdō-in Phoenix Hall, built in the 11th century during the Heian period of Japan.
Heian period
–
A handscroll painting dated circa 1130, illustrating a scene from the "Bamboo River" chapter of the
Tale of Genji.
Heian period
–
Drawing of
Fujiwara no Michinaga, by
Kikuchi Yōsai.
27.
Chinese armour
–
China has a long history of armour and weapons development. China has many varieties of armour, but the most common were of the lamellar, coat of plates, brigandine, initially, armour was exclusively for nobles. Later, bronze and leather armour was introduced, and simple one-piece breastplates, coat of plates, most of these were highly elaborate and decorated, and were often very heavy. The majority of noblemen fought mounted on war chariots, so the weight of the armour was not a factor in its construction. After the fall of the Shang dynasty, the Zhou dynasty used many weapons, however, the Zhou incorporated some of their own different styles of armour. One type was the gé jiǎ, a coat of animal hide formed on a wooden dummy. The hide used was of buffalo and rhinoceros, because of the disappearance of the rhinoceros in the region, buffalo came to be most common material. Another type of armour used by the Zhou was the wei jia, red lacquer was often used to form a protective layer for most armour used by the Zhou. Chariots were used extensively during the Spring and Autumn period, the chariots were mainly used as a shock weapon and a platform for archers. Since the chariot was restricted to flat terrain, charioteers could be defeated when battling well-organized infantry, Shang chariots were often drawn by two horses, later, the Zhou introduced a four-horse chariot. The crew of the chariot was made up of noblemen, so all would have worn armour, Zhou chariots were protected by leather, and sometimes came with a canopy to protect the crew from the weather, but this was probably removed before going into battle. Chariot use declined during the Warring States period, probably because of the introduction of the crossbow, most of the states of the Warring States period maintained large armies, numbering anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000. With the technology and resources of the time, it was not possible to all soldiers with armour. Armour was most common for wealthier or higher ranked soldiers, during the Warring States era, most armour was made of leather or bronze, or a combination of both. The metal that was used most for military purposes was bronze, cast iron began to appear in the 5th century BC, but did not begin to replace bronze until the 2nd century BC. Most infantrymen wore lamellar or coat of plates cuirasses, the lamellar cuirass worn by these men was made of hundreds of small overlapping metal and/or leather plates laced together to make a flexible and light coat of armour. Coat of plates consisted of hundreds of small non-overlapping metal or leather plates stitched or riveted together, shoulder guards and helmets were often used, but leather caps seem to have been more common for ground infantry. During much of the Warring States period, most light cavalry units served as skirmishers - thus armour for cavalry was rare, armour for heavier cavalry tended to be lighter than that of the infantry
Chinese armour
–
Ceremonial military uniform of the
Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796),
Musée de l'Armée, Paris.
Chinese armour
–
Soldier statues of the
Terracotta Army,
Qin dynasty, 210 BC
Chinese armour
–
A tomb guard (wushi yong),
terracotta,
Tang dynasty, early 8th century
Chinese armour
–
Bronze armour of the Han dynasty
28.
Korean armour
–
Korean armor is armor that was traditionally used in ancient times by Koreans, those fighting in and on behalf of Korea, or Koreans fighting overseas. Examples of armor from the Korean Peninsula date back to at least the Korean Three Kingdoms period, depending on the tactical situation, Korean armor also included horse-armor and other kinds of early anti-ballistic armor before the 20th century. Metallic armor was relatively widespread during the Three Kingdoms period due to constant warfare, by the Joseon Dynasty, common provincial troops were equipped with padded armor while central units could afford metallic armor. Fighting against much larger forces as China and Japan, Koreans favored mobility, the lamellae were often of hard materials such as bronze, iron, bone, or stiffened leather, plates were always of iron, steel or bronze. During later periods, Korean armor also included forms of brigandine, chain mail, due to the cost of iron and steel equipment that were often too high for peasant conscripts, helmets were not always full steel and stiffened leather caps were not uncommon. In terms of armament, Korean militaries employed heavy infantry equipped with swords or spears along with shields, pikemen, archers, crossbowmen, Korean naval warfare saw large deployments of heavy wooden shields as a means of protecting personnel on the top decks of Korean ships. Japanese paintings of Korean/Mongol warriors during the two Mongol invasions of Japan show Mongol forces made largely of Korean and Chinese conscripts with shields, the shields do not appear to have lasted as an influence, but examples of Joseon-era Korean armor often show adoptive influences from the Mongol period. After the rise of the Joseon Dynasty, Korean combat armor saw change once from mainly using chainmail, plated mail, the best preserved armors from the three kingdoms period originate almost exclusively from the Gaya confederacy. The armour from Gaya are the best examples of armor from ancient times rivaling those of Mediterranean basin from the same period. The first type is found in Gaya and Silla, while most examples for the two are found in Gaya but some have been found in northern Baekje. Similar styles have also found in Kyushu and Honsu, Japan. Goguryeo armor was a type of armour, made of small steel plates woven together with cord. Ancient tombs of the Jjoksaem District of Hwango-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang uncovered the first example in 2009, Goguryo murals found in North Korea also shed light on how Goguryo armour looked like. Armour from the Joseon dynasty can be be classified into two time periods, the early dynasty and the late dynasty. Metallic armour was seen within units stationed in the capital. In the late dynasty brigandine became the primary Korean metallic armour and often reached below the knees when worn, the rest did not change much as the dynasty did not experience any war after the Manchu invasions. Although this attempt was partially in line with the current method of producing anti-ballistic vests, it does not appear to have proved effective
Korean armour
–
Gaya armour and helmet (5th century)
Korean armour
–
Korean armour
Korean armour
–
Armour exposed at the
Danghangpo Battle memorial site.
29.
Japanese armour
–
Armour in Japan has a history that goes back as far as the 4th century. Japanese armour developed enormously over the centuries since its introduction to the battlefield, Japanese armour is thought to have evolved from the armour used in ancient China and Korea. Cuirasses and helmets were manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century, tankō, worn by foot soldiers and keikō, worn by horsemen were both pre-samurai types of early Japanese cuirass constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. During the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass evolved into the familiar style of armour worn by the samurai known as the dou or dō. Japanese armour makers started to use leather and lacquer was used to proof the armor parts. By the end of the Heian period the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as being distinctly samurai. Leather and or iron scales were used to construct samurai armours, with leather, in the 16th century Japan began trading with Europe during what would become known as the Nanban trade. Bullet resistant armours were developed called tameshi gusoku or allowing samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the use of firearms, during the Edo period light weight, portable and secret hidden armours became popular as there was still a need for personal protection. Edo period samurai were in charge of security and would wear various types of kusari gusoku and shin. Armour continued to be worn and used in Japan until the end of the era in the 1860s. Noble families had silk cords made in specific patterns and colors of silk thread, many of these cords were constructed of well over 100 strands of silk. Making these special silk cords could take months of steady work. These armor plates were attached to a cloth or leather backing. Japanese armour was designed to be as lightweight as possible as the samurai had many tasks including riding a horse, the armour was usually brightly lacquered to protect against the harsh Japanese climate. Chain armour was used to construct individual armour pieces and full suits of kusari were even used. Sode, large rectangular shoulder protection made from iron and or leather plates, kote, armoured glove like sleeves which extended to the shoulder or han kote which covered the forearms. Kote were made from cloth covered with plates of various size and shape. Kabuto, a made from iron or leather plates riveted together
Japanese armour
–
A samurai on horseback wearing (
ō-yoroi)
Japanese armour
–
Antique samurai
ō-yoroi armour from the Met museum.
Japanese armour
–
Nanban dou (dō) gusoku, a Japanese (samurai) suit of armour with a western-style cuirass (dou or dō) made of plate armour. Tokyo National Museum.
Japanese armour
30.
Mongolian armour
–
Mongolian armour has a long history. Mongol armour drew its influence from Chinese and Middle East styles, most Mongolian armour was of scale and lamellar variety. Most armour was made of hardened leather and iron, lanced together onto a fabric backing, mail armour was also sometimes used, but was rare, probably due to its weight and difficulty to repair. Mongol archers demanded the armour to be enough so that when riding. Sometimes arm protection was removed so that a rider could draw their bow, the helmet was made of mostly iron, but leather and other materials were also used. Lamellar armour was used by the countries that were affected by the invasion of the Mongols worldwide, including the conquest of China. These silk vests functioned much like the padded armour used by European and Byzantine soldiers of the era, such as the gambeson
Mongolian armour
–
Mongol horsemen
31.
Viking Age arms and armour
–
According to custom, all free Norse men were required to own weapons, as well as permitted to carry them at all times. Indeed, the Hávamál, purported to be sage advice given by Odin, states Dont leave your weapons lying about behind your back in a field, you never know when you may need all of sudden your spear. As war was the most prestigious activity in Viking Age Scandinavia, beautifully finished weapons were an important way for a warrior to display his wealth, a wealthy Viking would likely have a complete ensemble of a spear, a wooden shield, and a sword. The very richest might have a helmet, other armour is thought to have limited to the nobility. The average farmer was likely limited to a spear, shield, some would also bring their hunting bows to use in the opening stages of battle. The bow and arrow was used both for hunting and in battle and they were made from yew, ash or elm. The draw force of a 10th-century bow may have reached some 90 pounds force or more, a yew bow found at Viking Hedeby, which probably was a full-fledged war bow, had a draw force of well over 100 pounds. Replica bows using the dimensions have been measured to between 100 and 130 pounds draw weight. A unit of length used in the Viking age called a bow shot corresponded to what was measured as 227.5 m. Illustrations from the time show bows being pulled back to the chest, rather than to the corner of the mouth or under the chin, arrowheads were typically made from iron and produced in various shapes and dimensions, according to place of origin. Most arrowheads were fixed onto the shaft by a shouldered tang that was fitted into the end of a shaft of wood. Some heads were made of wood, bone or antler. Evidence for eagle feather flights has been found with the feathers being bound, the end of the shaft was flared with shallow self nocks, although some arrows possessed bronze cast nocks. The historical record indicates that Vikings may have used barbed arrows. The earliest find of these relics were found in Denmark, seemingly belonging to the class based on the graves in which they were found. The spear was the most common weapon of the Scandinavian peasant class, throwing spears were constantly used by the warrior class, despite popular belief, it was also the principal weapon of the Viking warrior, an apt fit to their formations and tactics. They consisted of heads with a blade and a hollow shaft. The spear heads could measure between twenty and sixty centimetres with a tendency towards longer heads in the later Viking age, spear heads with wings are called krókspjót in the sagas
Viking Age arms and armour
–
Battle scene from the
Bayeux Tapestry
Viking Age arms and armour
–
Replica spear and shield pre-Viking (c. 530-680) characterisation and dress by Weorod
historical reenactment group
Viking Age arms and armour
–
Broken-back
seax from
Sittingbourne in
Kent
Viking Age arms and armour
–
Viking swords displayed at the Wikingermuseum in
Hedeby.
32.
Vietnamese armour
–
A long history of Vietnamese armour what making that spanned more than two millennia. However, due to the lack of records and budget for archaeological studies, complete absence of native history records and lack of details in Chinese records of the same eras have made tracking the development of armour in Bronze Age and Iron Age Vietnam very difficult. Instead, physical evidence has been the source for studying of ancient Vietnamese armour. The most common type of armour found in Northern Vietnam is mirror armour and this type of armour could provide minimal protection against slashing and glancing blows. For limbs protection, there are bronze vambraces and greaves, sometimes shaped like multiple rings coiled around the wearers forearms, most vambraces and greaves have small tintinnabulums attached to them. This is a feature seen also in later eras armours, less common is lamellar armour, consists of small metal scales fastened together to provide protection and flexibility at the same time. Full set of armour has not yet been found but individual scales were discovered in sizable quantity. Each scale has only 2 holes for a piece of string to go through, suggesting that the method of construction may have been different from Chinese and it is not yet understood whether lamellar and mirror armours were used in conjunction or worn separately. Contrary to antiquity era, physical evidence of Middle Age and Pre-modern Vietnamese armours found by far is extremely rare, the knowledge of their existence is acquired almost solely through depictions in historical texts and arts. History of Song informs that in 981, the Song was victorious over Annam, armour were fabricated from various types of material. Better known materials are iron and leather, warlord Nguyễn Nộn wore a suit of iron which failed to protect him from a pike thrust in his back. The Compilation of Lê Dynastys customs noted that each magistrate of each county or market was require to collect 100 buffalo hides and 2 horns each hide to fashion armours, lamellar armour Mirror armour Military history of Vietnam
Vietnamese armour
–
Reconstruction of 18th century armour
Vietnamese armour
–
Bronze greave - 4th century BC
Vietnamese armour
–
Bronze lamellae - 3rd to 1st century BC
Vietnamese armour
–
Armour of
Nam Việt with reconstructed replica - 2nd century BC
33.
Laminar armour
–
Prominent examples of such armour are lorica segmentata and certain versions of samurai armour. Less known examples were present in Asia from Iran to Mongolia, laminar armor from animal skins has also been traditionally made and worn in the Arctic areas of what are now Siberia, Alaska and Canada. In the 16th century laminar and lamellar armour was superseded by plated mail in the Middle East and Central Asia and this was known as anima and was invented in Italy. Notable examples include the Earl of Pembrokes Armour and the worn by the Polish hussars. The technique was used to armor the neck, upper limbs, and hips as seen in the Almain rivet. At the beginning of the Sengoku period Japanese armour typically had two versions - expensive and inexpensive, the difference was that expensive versions were made from hundreds or even thousands of individual leather and or iron scales laced together into armor strips, this was a very time consuming process. Laminar armor proved to be inexpensive and easier to construct, although was often made to look like simulated lamellar plates and this is known as Kiritsuke iyozane. Kiritsuke iyozane is a form of laminar armor constructed from strips of leather and or iron which were perforated, laced. These strips of simulated lamellar plates were more rigid than real lamellar. After about a century of the civil war during the Sengoku period simulated lamellar plates. The laminar cuirass evolved to become the okegawa dō, constructed of strips of armour joined not by laces. According to Bobrov, until the end of the 15th century the most popular armour in certain regions including Central Asia and Iran was lamellar armour, brigandines, and laminar armour. However in Iran since the 15th century lamellar and laminar armour were typical only in the south, initially for centuries laminar armour was just a less expensive version of lamellar armor. Laminar was just made from strips of armour laced like strips of lamellar plates. And like in lamellar armour these laces could be cut during battle. Later at the beginning of the 15th century construction of laminar armour had significantly changed, instead of lacing being used, laminar armour began eventually become more popular than lamellar armour, and almost fully replaced lamellar armour by the end of 15th century. Pure lamellar armour became very rare, however different combinations of laminar and lamellar armour were very popular and this happened because even though laminar armour was much more reliable than lamellar, laminar armour was not flexible enough, while lamellar armours were very flexible. Laminar cuirasses could be worn with lamellar pauldrons and tassets, less common was the opposite combination of lamellar cuirass worn with laminar pauldrons and tassets
Laminar armour
–
Roman
lorica segmentata worn with
manica
Laminar armour
–
Kiritsuke iyozane dō (laminar cuirass), constructed with horizontal rows (bands) of armor plates laced together in a manner that simulates the scales (kozane) of lamellar armor.
Laminar armour
–
Okegawa dō constructed with horizontal rows (bands) of iron plates riveted together with no lacing being used at all, this type of armour was the beginning of
plate armour development in Japanese armour.
Laminar armour
–
Middle East and Central Asian laminar armour
34.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
35.
Armour
–
Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships and armoured fighting vehicles, a second use of the term armour describes armoured forces, armoured weapons, and their role in combat. After the evolution of armoured warfare, mechanised infantry and their weapons came to be referred to collectively as armour, the word armour began to appear in the Middle Ages as a derivative of Old French. It is dated from 1297 as a mail, defensive covering worn in combat, the word originates from the Old French armure, itself derived from the Latin armatura meaning arms and/or equipment, with the root armare meaning arms or gear. Armour has been used throughout recorded history and it has been made from a variety of materials, beginning with rudimentary leather protection and evolving through mail and metal plate into todays modern composites. For much of history the manufacture of metal personal armour has dominated the technology. Its production was influential in the revolution, and furthered commercial development of metallurgy. Armour was the single most influential factor in the development of firearms, significant factors in the development of armour include the economic and technological necessities of its production. For instance, plate armour first appeared in Medieval Europe when water-powered trip hammers made the formation of plates faster and cheaper, also, modern militaries usually do not equip their forces with the best armour available because it would be prohibitively expensive. The samurai warriors of feudal Japan utilised many types of armour for hundreds of years up to the 19th century, Japanese lamellar armour passed through Korea and reached Japan around the 5th century. These early Japanese lamellar armours took the form of a sleeveless jacket, armour did not always cover all of the body, sometimes no more than a helmet and leg plates were worn. The rest of the body was protected by means of a large shield. Examples of armies equipping their troops in this fashion were the Aztecs, in East Asia many types of armour were commonly used at different times by various cultures including, scale armour, lamellar armour, laminar armour, plated mail, mail, plate armour and brigandine. Around the dynastic Tang, Song, and early Ming Period, cuirasses and plates were also used, the Chinese, during that time used partial plates for important body parts instead of covering their whole body since too much plate armour hinders their martial arts movement. The other body parts were covered in cloth, leather, lamellar, in pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armour was made out of various animals, with more exotic ones such as the rhinoceros. Mail, sometimes called chainmail, made of interlocking iron rings is believed to have first appeared some time after 300 BC and its invention is credited to the Celts, the Romans were thought to have adopted their design. Gradually, small plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. Hardened leather and splinted construction were used for arm and leg pieces, the coat of plates was developed, an armour made of large plates sewn inside a textile or leather coat
Armour
–
US Army soldiers wearing
ballistic vests, accompanied by an armoured
M3 Bradley.
Armour
–
Portrait of a Gentleman in armour with two pages.
Paris Bordone.
Armour
–
The
Dendra panoply,
Mycenaean Greek armour, circa 1400 BC
Armour
–
Heavily armoured riders and their
barded war horses, 16th century
36.
Mail (armour)
–
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. A coat of armour is often referred to as a hauberk. The earliest example of surviving mail was found in a chieftains burial located in Ciumești and its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC. Mail may have inspired by the much earlier scale armour. Mail spread to North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, the origins of the word mail are not fully known. One theory is that it derives from the Latin word, macula. Another theory relates the word to the old French, maillier, in modern French, maille refers to a loop or stitch. The Arabic words burnus, برنوس, a burnoose, a cloak, also a chasuble and barnaza, برنز, to bronze. The first attestations of the mail are in Old French and Anglo-Norman, maille, maile, or male or other variants. The modern usage of terms for mail armour is highly contested in popular and, to a lesser degree, since then the word mail has been commonly, if incorrectly, applied to other types of armour, such as in plate-mail. The more correct term is plate armour, civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French, leggings are called chausses, a hood is a mail coif, a mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made from mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length, a layer of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant. A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the construction of a byrnie is unclear. Only on artistic and some sources because of the lack of archaeological examples. It was also long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue. The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age, the Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period
Mail (armour)
–
Riveted mail and plate coat zirah bagtar. Armour of this type was introduced into India under the Mughals.
Mail (armour)
–
Statue of a
Gallic warrior in mail.
Mail (armour)
–
Mail armour and equipment of Polish medium cavalryman, from the second half of the 17th century
Mail (armour)
–
Tibetan warrior in mail reinforced by additional
mirror plate
37.
Plate armour
–
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from iron or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. In Europe, plate armour reached its peak in the late 15th, the full suit of armour is thus a feature of the very end of the Middle Ages and of the Renaissance period. Its popular association with the knight is due to the specialised jousting armour which developed in the 16th century. Full suits of Gothic plate armour were worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian and Italian Wars, the use of plate armour declined in the 17th century, but it remained common both among the nobility and for the cuirassiers throughout the European wars of religion. After 1650, plate armour was reduced to the simple breastplate worn by cuirassiers. This was due to the development of the musket, which could penetrate armour at a considerable distance. For infantry, the breastplate gained renewed importance with the development of shrapnel in the late Napoleonic wars, the use of steel plates sewn into flak jackets dates to World War II, replaced by more modern materials such as fibre-reinforced plastic since the 1950s. Parthian and Sassanian heavy cavalry known as Clibanarii used cuirasses and small, overlapping plates in the manner of the manica for the protection of arms. Single plates of armour were again used from the late 13th century on, to protect joints and shins. Gradually the number of components of medieval armour increased, protecting further areas of the body. Armourers developed skills in articulating the lames or individual plates for parts of the body that needed to be flexible, the rest of an army wore inconsistent mixtures of pieces, with maille still playing an important part. By about 1420, complete suits of armour had been developed. A complete suit of armour made from well-tempered steel would weigh around 15–25 kg. The wearer remained highly agile and could jump, run and otherwise move freely as the weight of the armour was spread throughout the body. The armour was articulated and covered an entire body completely from neck to toe. In the 15th and 16th centuries, large bodies of men-at-arms numbering thousands or even more than ten men were fighting on foot wearing full plate next to archers. This was commonly seen in the Western European armies especially of France and England during the Hundred Years War, European leaders in armouring techniques were northern Italians, especially from Milan, and southern Germans, who had somewhat different styles. Ottoman Turkey also made use of plate armour but incorporated large amounts of mail into their armour
Plate armour
–
Full plate armour for man and horse commissioned by
Sigismund II Augustus (1550s).
Plate armour
–
Armour for
Gustav I of Sweden by
Kunz Lochner, c. 1540 (
Livrustkammaren).
Plate armour
–
Bronze
muscle cuirass, Italy, ca. 350–300 BC
Plate armour
–
Italian suit of armour with
sallet, c. 1450
38.
Brigandine
–
A brigandine is a form of body armour from the Middle Ages. It is a garment, generally canvas or leather, lined with small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric. Medieval brigandines were essentially a refinement of the coat of plates. The Asian-originated armour reached Europe after the Mongol invasion in 1240 that destroyed the Kievan Rus, the brigandine has been confused with the haubergeon, while the name is often confused with the brigantine, a swift small sea vessel. The form of the brigandine is essentially the same as the civilian doublet, however, depictions of brigandine armour with sleeves are known. The small armour plates were riveted between two layers of stout cloth, or just to an outer layer. Unlike armour for the torso made from large plates, the brigandine was flexible, many brigandines appear to have had larger, somewhat L-shaped plates over the central chest area. The rivets, or nails, attaching the plates to the fabric were often decorated, being gilt, or of latten, the rivets were also often grouped to produce a repeating decorative pattern. In more expensive brigandines the outer layer of cloth was usually of velvet, the contrast between a richly dyed velvet cloth and gilded rivet heads must have been impressive and, unsurprisingly, such armour was popular with high status individuals. Modern flak jackets and ballistic vests are based on the same principle and it was commonly worn over a gambeson and mail shirt and it was not long before this form of protection was commonly used by soldiers ranging in rank from archers to knights. It was most commonly used by Men-at-arms and these wore brigandine, along with plate arm and leg protection, as well as a helmet. Even with the gambeson and the shirt, a wearer was not as well protected as when wearing plate armour. However, the brigandine was probably favored by soldiers who preferred the greater degree of mobility this armour afforded, Brigandines were simple enough in design for a soldier to make and repair his own armour without needing the high skill of an armourer. A common myth is that brigandines were so-named because they were a choice of protection for bandits. Originally the term referred to a foot soldier. A brigandine was simply a type of armour worn by a foot soldier and it had nothing to do with its alleged ability to be concealed by bandits. In fact, brigandines were highly fashionable and were displayed by wealthy aristocrats both in European and in Asian courts. A similar type of armour was the jack of plates or coat of plates and this type of armour was used by common Medieval European soldiers and the rebel peasants known as Jacquerie
Brigandine
–
Brigandine from Handbuch der Waffenkunde (Handbook of Expertise), Wendelin Boeheim, 1890.
Brigandine
–
Saint Michael and the Dragon with sword & buckler, wearing brigandine with plate armour for hand and legs
Brigandine
–
Inside view of an Italian brigandine (c1470).
Brigandine
–
Jack of plates, English, c1580-90
39.
Karuta (Japanese armour)
–
Karuta was a type of armour worn by samurai warriors and their retainers during the feudal era of Japan. The word karuta comes from the Portuguese word meaning card, as the square or rectangular plates that compose the armour resemble traditional Japanese playing cards. Karuta armor is a form of lightweight, folding armor known as tatami, chest armor was commonly made from karuta. Various other parts of armor were made from karuta including thigh guards, shoulder guards, karuta armor was worn by all classes of samurai, even the foot soldiers. High quality armor was more elaborate and ornate, while the lower quality sets of armor were plain, small amounts of karuta armor plates could be added in certain locations to different styles of samurai armor where extra protection was needed. If the majority of the suit of armor was made from then it is considered karuta armor. Ian Bottomley, in his book Arms and Armor of the Samurai, The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan, shows a karuta breastplate, Japanese armour Tatami Kusari Kikko Plated mail Anthony Bryants online Japanese armour manual
Karuta (Japanese armour)
–
Antique
Edo period Japanese (samurai) karuta tatami gusoku, Met Museum
Karuta (Japanese armour)
–
Antique Japanese (samurai)karuta tatami zukin (hood).
Karuta (Japanese armour)
–
Antique Japanese (samurai) karuta katabira (jacket).
Karuta (Japanese armour)
–
Antique Japanese (samurai) karuta haidate.
40.
Kikko (Japanese armour)
–
Kikko are small iron or hardened leather, hexagon shaped armour plates used in the construction of Japanese armor worn by samurai and ashigaru of feudal Japan. Kikkō refers to the shell of the tortoise or turtle which is formed from small hexagon plates, individual kikko armour plates were attached to armour by sewing the kikko to a cloth lining through holes drilled in the center or edges of the kikko. Kikko could be sewn between two layers of cloth and hidden from sight, the kikko could be attached to each other by links of chainmail holes drilled in the edges of the kikko. Kikko armor was made for class of samurai or soldier. George Cameron Stone referred to kikko as brigandine when he said in Japan brigandines were often used and he further described this brigandine as small hexagons, the plates of steel or hard leather, and that occasionally they covered the whole body. Kikko were used in the construction of traditional Japanese armour, suneate, haidate and kote could also be partially or completely armoured with kikko. Lightweight portable folding armour would have a kikko tatami dō, and auxiliary armour items such as wakibiki, manchira, kabuto could have a neck guard made with kikko plates sewn to a cloth backing. Anthony Bryants online Japanese armour manual
Kikko (Japanese armour)
–
A close up view of a samurai
wakibiki showing the kikko plates and mail.
Kikko (Japanese armour)
–
Edo period kikko katabira (jacket).
Kikko (Japanese armour)
–
Edo period kikko vest.
Kikko (Japanese armour)
–
Tate-eri (shoulder pad), showing kikko plates lining the neck area.
41.
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
–
Kusari gusoku is the Japanese term for mail armour. Kusari is a type of armour used by the samurai class, when the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that the kusari makes up the majority of the armour defence. The Japanese had more varieties of mail all the rest of the world put together. Kusari was used in armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasions. Kusari gusoku was commonly used during the Edo period 1603 to 1868 as a stand-alone defense, according to George Cameron Stone, Entire suits of mail kusari gusoku were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothing. The end of the era in the 1860s, along with the 1876 ban on wearing swords in public, marked the end of any practical use for mail. Japan turned to an army and uniforms replaced armour. The links were lacquered black to prevent rusting, and were always stitched onto a backing of cloth or leather, the kusari was sometimes concealed entirely between layers of cloth. Riveted kusari was known and used in Japan, in the book Japanese Arms & Armor Introduction by H. Russell Robinson, there is a picture of Japanese riveted kusari on page 58. … karakuri-namban, with stout links each closed by a rivet and its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned and these are sharp edged because they are punched out of iron plate. Butted and or split links made up the majority of kusari links used by the Japanese. Links were either butted together meaning that the ends touched each other and were not riveted and these twisted links are similar to the modern split ring commonly used on key chains. Twisted links always connected to a center butted link, both butted and twisted links could be used on the same armour item with butted links covering certain areas and twisted links on another. Kusari was commonly used to connect the plates on the sangu, the haidate, suneate, and kote. Kusari was also used to connect the plates on many types of tatami armour. Kusari could also be used as the armour for the dou/dō, for the kusazuri of the dou/dō. Many types of Japanese auxiliary armours used kusari in their construction or as the mail armour defense, kusari katabira were a common armour item as well as kusari zukin
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
–
Edo period Japanese (samurai) chain armour or kusari gusoku
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
–
Rare 1800s photograph showing kusari katabira (chain armour jackets)and hachi gane (forehead protectors) with kusari shikoro (chain armour neck guards) being worn.
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
–
Riveted kusari sangu.
Kusari (Japanese mail armour)
–
Riveted kusari kote.
42.
Ring armour
–
Ring armour is an assumed type of personal armour constructed as series of metallic rings sewn to a fabric or leather foundation. No actual examples of type of armour are known from collections or archaeological excavations in Europe. It is sometimes called ringmail or ring mail, in the Victorian era the term mail was used fancifully for any form of metallic body armour. Modern historians reserve the term mail for armour formed of a mesh of metal rings. The Bayeux Tapestry has been misinterpreted as depicting several different types of armour and it is generally acknowledged today that virtually all the armour on the tapestry is standard mail armour and not ring mail, trellised mail or mascled mail or any other Victorian misinterpretation. Ring armour was believed to be a leather or textile item of clothing with a number of metal rings sewn or tied directly into the foundation garment. Unlike mail armour, the rings are not physically interlocked with each other and it has been claimed that the garment called eyelet doublet is not a form of ring armour, but an undergarment intended to be used under actual armour. The eyelets are intended as ventilation holes and it was known as a Schiessjoppe in Germany. Or else Iackes of maile quilted upon fustian, from the nature of their composition these eyelet doublets are rarely to be met with. They were made of twine or thread knitted all over in eyelets or button-holes, the appearance is much the same as modern tatting and macramé work. Ring armour seems to have used in Asia but was rare
Ring armour
–
Examples of early armour construction. The lower right section is an example of ring armour.
43.
Splint armour
–
Splint armour, also referred to as splinted armour, first appears in a Scythian grave from the 4th century BCE. Limb armor consisting of strips of metal are attached to a fabric backing, the splints are narrow metal strips arranged longitudinally, pierced for riveting or sewing to the foundation. Splint armour is most commonly found as greaves or vambraces and it appears in the Swedish Migration Era and again in the 14th century as part of transitional armour, where it was also used to form cuisses and rerebraces. While a few complete suits of armour have been made from splints of wood, leather, or bone. Depictions typically show it on the limbs of a person wearing mail, scale armour, knights in effigy are depicted with leg protection of a matrix of disks with a diameter equal to the splints. This style appears to depict sabatons and splints on greaves, or may represent padded armour underneath splints, coat of plates Mirror Armor Scale armour Plated mail Oakeshott, R. Ewart
Splint armour
–
German King
Günther von Schwarzburg with splinted bracers and greaves
Splint armour
–
An antique Japanese (
samurai) suit of armor, showing splinted vambraces
44.
Gold Flex
–
Gold Flex is a non-woven fabric manufactured by Honeywell from Kevlar and often used in ballistic vests and body armor. Gold Flex is lighter than woven Kevlar, Twaron and other Ballistic material, according to the manufacturer Gold Flex offers superior bulletproof protection. Gold Flex is a laminated material consisted of cross-laid non-wovenfibersin a resin matrix, because the fibers are laid straight and not in a woven fabric configuration superior bullet penetration resistance is claimed by the manufacturer. When an object strikes this material a web of its clusters absorb the impact by a good percentage, per the manufacturer since this is a straight fibre-based creation, all fibres on the GoldFlex works together on the vest or material to stop the impact. GoldFlex gives great resistance to abrasion and resists organic solvents making itself nonconductive, low flammable, and its degradation point starts from 500 °C and it has no melting point. It is sensitive to salts, acids, and ultraviolet radiation, when it comes to the static build-up in the body it is prone to it as well. Protection is also based on the pressure of the impact, some of these fabrics are only designed with hand-guns in mind basically making anything with a bigger calibre a threat potential. One cannot wear a GoldFlex and expect a large round to be stopped from penetrating it. Also GoldFlex is not the material that is responsible for minimizing penetration. Along with GoldFlex there are other layers on top of this fabric to ensure that the object does not penetrate through the material, when a bullet strikes the body armor, it hits ballistic fiber which is strong enough to not let it through. This fibre absorbs and disperses the impact that has made by the bullet to the body armor. This process continues and every layer of material is effected until the bullet has reached to a full stop. All layers combined together form an area of the impact to disperse. This helps reducing the risk of blunt force trauma also known as injuries to internal organs, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel of equivalent weight. It was invented by a Polish-American chemist Stephanie Kwolek and introduced in the 1970s and it is used for body armor and racing tires but is more expensive than Gold Flex. Twaron is another alternative to Gold Flex but is not much in demand, occasionally several materials are used in one product. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011, archived from the original on 15 April 2013
Gold Flex
45.
Aramid
–
Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in bicycle tires, the name is a portmanteau of aromatic polyamide. They are fibers in which the molecules are highly oriented along the fiber axis. Aromatic polyamides were first introduced in commercial applications in the early 1960s, with a fiber produced by DuPont as HT-1. This fiber, which similarly to normal textile apparel fibers, is characterized by its excellent resistance to heat. It is used extensively in the production of protective apparel, air filtration, much work was done by Stephanie Kwolek in 1961 while working at DuPont, and that company was the first to introduce a para-aramid called Kevlar in 1973. A similar fiber called Twaron with roughly the same structure was introduced by Akzo in 1978. Due to earlier patents on the process, Akzo and DuPont engaged in a patent dispute in the 1980s. Twaron is currently owned by the Teijin company, para-aramids are used in many high-tech applications, such as aerospace and military applications, for bullet-proof body armor fabric. However, in 2009, it was shown that inhaled aramid fibrils are shortened and quickly cleared from the body, world capacity of para-aramid production was estimated at about 41,000 tonnes per year in 2002 and increases each year by 5–10%. In 2007 this means a total capacity of around 55,000 tonnes per year. Aramids are generally prepared by the reaction between a group and a carboxylic acid halide group. Simple AB homopolymers may look like n NH2−Ar−COCl → −n− + n HCl The most well-known aramids are AABB polymers, Nomex, Teijinconex and New Star contain predominantly the meta-linkage and are poly-metaphenylene isophthalamides. Kevlar and Twaron are both p-phenylene terephthalamides, the simplest form of the AABB para-polyaramide, PPTA is a product of p-phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl dichloride. Production of PPTA relies on a co-solvent with a component to occupy the hydrogen bonds of the amide groups. This process was invented by Leo Vollbracht, who worked at the Dutch chemical firm Akzo, apart from the carcinogenic Hexamethylphosphorous Triamide, still no practical alternative of dissolving the polymer is known. The use of the NMP/CaCl2 system led to a patent dispute between Akzo and DuPont. After production of the polymer, the fiber is produced by spinning the dissolved polymer to a solid fiber from a liquid chemical blend
Aramid
–
Structure of
Kevlar, a
para -aramid
46.
Kevlar
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Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, this material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. Typically it is spun into ropes or fabric sheets that can be used as such or as an ingredient in composite material components and it is also used to make modern drumheads that withstand high impact. When used as a material, it is suitable for mooring lines. A similar fiber called Twaron with roughly the same structure was developed by Akzo in the 1970s, commercial production started in 1986. Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide – branded Kevlar – was invented by Polish-American chemist Stephanie Kwolek while working for DuPont, in 1964, her group began searching for a new lightweight strong fiber to use for light but strong tires. The polymers she had been working with at the time, poly-p-phenylene-terephthalate and polybenzamide, formed liquid crystal while in solution, the solution was cloudy, opalescent upon being stirred, and of low viscosity and usually was thrown away. However, Kwolek persuaded the technician, Charles Smullen, who ran the spinneret, to test her solution and her supervisor and her laboratory director understood the significance of her accidental discovery and a new field of polymer chemistry quickly arose. By 1971, modern Kevlar was introduced, however, Kwolek was not very involved in developing the applications of Kevlar. Kevlar is synthesized in solution from the monomers 1, 4-phenylene-diamine, the result has liquid-crystalline behavior, and mechanical drawing orients the polymer chains in the fibers direction. Hexamethylphosphoramide was the solvent initially used for the polymerization, but for safety reasons, DuPont replaced it by a solution of N-methyl-pyrrolidone, as this process had been patented by Akzo in the production of Twaron, a patent war ensued. Kevlar production is expensive because of the difficulties arising from using concentrated sulfuric acid, needed to keep the water-insoluble polymer in solution during its synthesis and spinning. Several grades of Kevlar are available, Kevlar K-29 – in industrial applications, such as cables, asbestos replacement, brake linings, Kevlar K49 – high modulus used in cable and rope products. When Kevlar is spun, the fiber has a tensile strength of about 3,620 MPa. The polymer owes its high strength to the many inter-chain bonds and these inter-molecular hydrogen bonds form between the carbonyl groups and NH centers. Additional strength is derived from aromatic stacking interactions between adjacent strands, the presence of salts and certain other impurities, especially calcium, could interfere with the strand interactions and care is taken to avoid inclusion in its production. Kevlars structure consists of relatively rigid molecules tend to form mostly planar sheet-like structures rather like silk protein. Kevlar maintains its strength and resilience down to temperatures, in fact
Kevlar
Kevlar
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Kevlar
Kevlar
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Pieces of a Kevlar helmet used to help absorb the blast of a grenade
Kevlar
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Kevlar is a very popular material for racing canoes.
47.
Twaron
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It is a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibre developed in the early 1970s by the Dutch company AKZO, division ENKA, later Akzo Industrial Fibers. The research name of the fibre was originally Fiber X. This is a chronology of the development of Twaron, In 1960s a research program starts for Fiber X, in 1972 the ENKA Research laboratory develops a para-aramid called Arenka. In 1973 Akzo decides to use sulfuric acid as a solvent for spinning, in 1976 a pilot plant is built. In 1984 the product is renamed Twaron, in 1986 commercial production is started at five locations and nine plants. In 1987 Twaron is introduced as a commercial product, in 1989 the aramid business of Akzo becomes an independent Business Unit called Twaron BV. Since 2000 Twaron BV is owned by the Teijin Group, now called Teijin Twaron BV and based in Arnhem, the main production facilities for Twaron are in Emmen and Delfzijl. In 2007 Teijin Twaron expands for the time in six years. Twaron is a p-phenylene terephthalamide, the simplest form of the AABB para polyaramide, ppPTA is a product of p-phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl dichloride. To dissolve the aromatic polymer Twaron used a co-solvent of N-methyl pyrrolidone, the invention of this specific process was done in 1974 at AKZO Research Laboratory in Arnhem by a team consisting of Leo Vollbracht, Teun Veerman and Wim Engelhard. The patent of the newly discovered process route led to a patent war between AKZO and DuPont as Dupont initially used the carcinogenic HMPT, despite heavy research DuPont now also applies the AKZO patent for their Kevlar process and use the less hazardous NMP. After the production of the Twaron polymer in Delfzijl, the polymer is brought to Emmen, polymer solvent for spinning PPTA is generally 100% anhydrous sulfuric acid. The polymer is dissolved by mixing sulfuric acid in powder form with the polymer in powder form. This process, which differs from the more difficult DuPont process, was invented by Henri Lammers and patented by AKZO. Twaron is a para-aramid and is used in automotive, construction, sport, aerospace, military and industry applications, e. g. bullet-proof body armor, fabric, abington, UK - The Textile Institute. Manmade fibers one hundred years, Polymers and polymer design, J Appl Polym Sci, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Veerman, US Patent 4308374 Official Twaron website General Aramid information
Twaron
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Rifle protection police shield. Stops 7.62 and 5.56 ball. Made from light ceramics and Twaron
48.
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene
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Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene is a subset of the thermoplastic polyethylene. Also known as polyethylene, or high-performance polyethylene, it has extremely long chains. The longer chain serves to transfer load more effectively to the backbone by strengthening intermolecular interactions. This results in a tough material, with the highest impact strength of any thermoplastic presently made. UHMWPE is odorless, tasteless, and nontoxic and it embodies all the characteristics of high-density polyethylene with the added traits of being resistant to concentrated acids and alkalis as well as numerous organic solvents. Its coefficient of friction is lower than that of nylon and acetal, and is comparable to that of polytetrafluoroethylene. Polymerization of UHMWPE was commercialised in the 1950s by Ruhrchemie AG, today UHMWPE powder materials, which may be directly molded into a products final shape, are produced by Ticona, Braskem, DSM and Mitsui. Processed UHMWPE is available either as fibers or in consolidated form. Because of its resistance to wear and impact, UHMWPE continues to find increasing industrial applications, including the automotive, since the 1960s, UHMWPE has also been the material of choice for total joint arthroplasty in orthopedic and spine implants. UHMWPE fibers, commercialized in the late 1970s by the Dutch chemical company DSM, are used in ballistic protection, defense applications. UHMWPE is a type of polyolefin and it is made up of extremely long chains of polyethylene, which all align in the same direction. It derives its strength largely from the length of each individual molecule, each chain is bonded to the others with so many van der Waals bonds that the whole of the inter-molecule strength is high. In this way, large tensile loads are not limited as much by the weakness of each van der Waals bond. When formed to fibers, the chains can attain a parallel orientation greater than 95%. In contrast, Kevlar derives its strength from strong bonding between relatively short molecules and its melting point is around 130 to 136 °C, and, according to DSM, it is not advisable to use UHMWPE fibers at temperatures exceeding 80 to 100 °C for long periods of time. It becomes brittle at temperatures below −150 °C, the simple structure of the molecule also gives rise to surface and chemical properties that are rare in high-performance polymers. For example, the groups in most polymers easily bond to water. Because olefins have no such groups, UHMWPE does not absorb water readily, nor wet easily, for the same reasons, skin does not interact with it strongly, making the UHMWPE fiber surface feel slippery
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene
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Structure of UHMWPE, with n greater than 100,000
49.
Ballistic nylon
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Ballistic nylon is a thick, tough, nylon fabric with several uses. Ballistic nylon was developed by the DuPont corporation as a material for flak jackets to be worn by World War II airmen, the term ballistic nylon originates in the fabrics intended function, protecting its wearers from flying debris and fragmentation caused by bullet and artillery-shell impacts. It was not effective against most pistol and rifle bullets, let alone heavy 20 mm and 30 mm autocannons, ballistic nylon has been replaced by Kevlar and other, more effective, bullet resistant fabrics for these cases. Modern applications of ballistic nylon include luggage, cave packs, tool belts, police duty belts, watch straps, motorcycle jackets, knife sheaths, the original specification for ballistic nylon was an 18 ounce nylon fabric made from 1050 denier high tenacity nylon yarn in a 2×2 basketweave. Today the term is used to refer to any nylon fabric that is made with a ballistic weave. It can be woven from nylon yarns of various such as 840 denier and 1680 denier. Denier refers to the weight, not the strength, of the fabric, laboratory tests have been run and the double weave 1050 denier fabric is the strongest and most durable fabric for its denier weight level. The 1680 denier is an alternative that has a similar strength but lighter weight than the 1050 as it resists abrasion. Ballistic nylon is hard to dye, so it is found in black or similar dark colors
Ballistic nylon
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Diving watch on a 4-ring Zulu style strap made of ballistic nylon fabric, derived from the UK MOD's "Nato" strap design.
Ballistic nylon
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