Current paper consists of two main parts. In the first part the author discusses arms and armor presented in the Kizil Caves depictions, suggesting a datation of the two well-known caves, namely so-called Maya Cave and Cave of the Painter. In the second part of this paper the author discusses a helmet found in Iran and currently held in the David Collection, Copenhagen. On the basis of a detailed comparative analysis, the author puts forward a thesis of correlation between the lamellar and spangen pear-shape helmets dating the objects to late 6th beginning of the 7th century CE. Specifically, it is suggested that the David Collection helmet is a later evolution of such forms that was known in the late-Sasanian period.
The present study brings to light a new Sasanian mace in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, acquired in 1971 from the Bomford Collection. The bronze mace head is in the shape of three ram heads, has an iron shaft, and a bronze pommel in the shape of a hand holding a ball. The mace incorporates several important decorative motifs – the ram heads which can be linked to the royal farr and to Central Asian visual language; the pearl necklace which is another symbol of the royal farr, and the triple dot motif which may have links to the star Tishtriya, to Apam Napat, or to Buddhist symbolism. In addition to these elements there is the hand motif, whose meaning is still unknown but might be linked to Asian symbolic hand gestures. The mace or scepter was an important element of royalty and of religion in Iran and Central Asia and the example in the Ashmolean museum is an important addition in the study of Iranian visual language and royal image in the specific context of Indo-Iranian mutual influence. In the present authors' opinion, the present mace is likely to date, based on relations with other objects, from the 5th - 7th Centuries and is likely to originate from Eastern-Iran or is rooted in Eastern-Iranian artistic tradition.
The richly illustrated 13th century Seljuk manuscript Varqa and Gulshah from Azerbaijan provides a number of lavish miniatures, some depicting armored warriors riding horses covered with richly decorated caparisons. The illustrations show that the long caparisons were multi-layered, an indication that they were designed to offer some protection for the mounts. Despite the scholars’ opposing opinions, the author maintains that caparisons were well established in Islamic armies as attested by literary sources and iconography. Moreover, the existence of rich terminology concerning different types of horse armor clearly evidences the relative popularity of horse protection. Although the bardings had been known in various cultures for the millennia before the Seljuks, the direct inspiration for the appearance of caparisons at that time must be associated with the Sasanian tradition. Furthermore, the article discusses protective properties of caparisons in which protection was provided by padding consisting of a number of textile layers. For instance, metallic armor such as maille or leather armor such as lamellar were stitched into the padded or fabric barding. The former is attested in the Islamic world but can be traced back to earlier Iranian traditions. The evidence for the latter type comes from Firuzabad reliefs. However, scattered metal plates attached to caparisons in random patterns do not seem to have had any protective function; they were merely a part of decoration. Post-Sasanian origin of Seljuk protective caparisons should be found well evidenced and most probable.
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