privateeyes heavy armory weapons of the third era

The plates themselves were two millimeters thick and had slightly raised spines to allow them to overlap and hang correctly. Scale armor was constructed of thin bronze plates sewn to a leather shirt or jerkin about one-quarter inch thick. Like the leather collar, metal scale armor was a favorite with charioteers because of the excellent protection it afforded against all weapons, except the penetrating axe. Once introduced to Egypt by the Hyksos invaders, metal scale armor became standard throughout the Near East. the Hyksos armies possessed scale armor obtained either from the Aryans or the Mesopotamians. the victory stele of Naram Sin appears to show metal scale armor, and although we cannot be certain, it is likely that metal scale armor had already been in use for a few hundred years. We do not know if the disks were fashioned of copper or bronze. The disks do not seem arranged in any particular order so as to protect the most vital areas of the body. e.), which shows Eannatum’s soldiers wearing leather cloaks on which are sewn a number of spined metal disks. The first recorded instance of body armor is found on the Stele of Vultures in ancient Sumer (circa 2500 b. By the time of Mycenaean Greece and Etruscan Rome, bronze greaves to protect the shins and forearms of the soldier were standard items of military equipment. The Assyrians used the same principle of sewing iron plates between leather layers to fashion boots that afforded good shin protection. This characteristic made it a favorite of charioteers. The leather collar could easily withstand a blow from a sword blade and was impervious to arrows. Between one and two inches thick, the collar was constructed of sewn leather layers, which sometimes had thin bronze or iron plates sewn between the layers to afford more resistance to penetration. The leather collar was probably another Mesopotamian invention. The major protective devices of the ancient soldier were the helmet, neck collar, thorax body armor, and shield.

In the Bronze Age the more significant military revolution was in defensive systems, which stimulated a search to overcome them. In modern times we are prone to see the advent of some new offensive weapon which provokes a defense against it. The inherent dynamic of weapon development operated then as now, but in reverse. The development of these protective systems had an enormous impact on warfare and tactics, and the development of new metal weapons during this period was stimulated mostly by the search for new ways to thwart and overcome the effectiveness of defensive armor.

The most militarily significant impact of metal technology on war in the Bronze Age was its contribution to personal defensive systems, the armor, helmets, shields, neck collars, greaves, and other defensive equipment worn by the soldier to protect himself.

Privateeyes heavy armory weapons of the third era