The Art of Armor in Islam
By Lyric Ludwig / Arab America Contributing Writer
Protecting one’s self from harm in the midst of war is nothing new in world history. For thousands of years, various cultures have come up with forms of body armor, to protect against the damage one may encounter in battle. This is particularly true of cultures in the ancient Near East. For example, the ancient Egyptians and Hittites wore long suits of bronze scale armor and the states of western Asia and Mesopotamia had bronze helmets. However, of particular note in the Middle East is the relatively more recent development of armor in the age of the Islamic Empires. Body armor in Islamic culture became not only a method of defense against attack, but developed into an art form of it’s own, reflecting Islamic art on the field of battle.
One of the most prominent forms of armor during medieval times in the Middle East is chain mail, which was popular in Europe as well for thousands of years. Chain mail is a shirt of metal rings, often times consisting of tens of thousands of rings, cut from metal wires and riveted together for strength. Islamic empires took this concept and turned it into a form of art, mixing bronze or gold rings in a shirt of iron or steel rings, with the former two spelling prayers and calligraphy in Arabic. Much like European mail of the 13th century, these mail shirts were also well fitted to the individual soldier, adding to it’s professional and artistic appearance.
Another important Islamic development in medieval armor was “plated mail”. This armor consists of the regular chain mail shirt with steel plates woven and riveted into the armor. This results in a flexible suit of armor that can also protect the soldier from blunt force attacks, due to added rigid plates. Although the look of this armor itself would be striking, armorers would even etch symbols and arabic writing into the steel plates, or weave the plates into intricate shapes, while still protecting the soldier’s body. It is interesting to note that armor such as this would have seen action against European knights in full plate armor as well. Perhaps it is through these interactions that European countries such as Poland adopted this Islamic style of armor.
Yet another Islamic spin on classic style of armor is the karkal, known to Europe as the brigandine. This armor consists of a fabric exterior, with metal plates riveted to the inside, providing the protection. The outside often consisted of a leather or velvet jacket, which could be richly decorated to look like the common fashion of the period, as was the case in the 16th and 17th century examples. Although it was not as common among Arab countries as it was in Europe, the Mamluks wore brigandines that resembled common coats, the metal rivets also serving as decorative elements.
Helmets in the Islamic Empires of the middle ages were also richly decorative as well and came in many styles. A common one is called the “turban helmet”, which is a cone shaped helmet with ridges resembling a turban, with a steel nasal guard and mail armor covering the face. A cloth turban could also be worn on top of the helmet. The helmet itself could be richly decorated with a flower motif and Arabic calligraphy, as body armor often was. This would provide a striking image to any foe, as they wouldn’t see the face of the oncoming opponent. More open and light helmets existed. There were simple domed helmets with mail protection, or open faced helmets with cheek plates. All equally and masterfully decorated as well.
Contextually, a cavalryman of the Mamluks, for example, could be fully armored head to toe in a richly decorated suit of armor, the horse could be armored in the same fashion as well (with mail and plate horse armor being one extant example). Weapons such as lances, axes, swords and shields could potentially be decorated in the same fashion as one’s armor. Against enemies such as the Mongol hordes or European Crusaders, Islamic warriors would have indeed been a sight to behold. In modern scholarship, material culture such as armor may be an overlooked subject, but it is an interesting look at the intersection of fashion, religion and war.
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