TURBAN HELMETS

Dated to the fifteenth Century

Made of steel, with script inlays,.

Turban helmets derive their name from the fact that they were designed to be worn over a turban. It’s easily distinguished by its conical shape. This early example lacks the details of later pieces. More expensive, ceremonial pieces were inscribed with messages from the Qu’ran.

Dated to the late fifteenth century.

Iranian, made of steel with silver damascened inlays.

The turban helmets made further east of Turkey often had more details. The nasal is a strip of metal attached to the helmet that protects the nose. Most are adjustable.Western turban helmets often include eye reliefs in the brim.

Dated to mid-sixteenth century.

Made of watered steel with gold damascened inlays.

The details of a turban helmet’s design can vary from era and origin; this one features a nasal, a strip of metal that goes between the eyes, and an aventail, plates of metal attached to the helmet designed to protect the neck. This design was lighter than the full-faced helmets found on Western European suits of armor, but did not offer the same level of protection.

ARMORS

Name: Bakherets.

Dated to the sixteenth century.

Made of steel plate mail and steel chain mail.

Originally from Persia, this type of plate mail spread to the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Reinforcement to the chain mail shirt comes in the way of small rounded rectangles in overlapping rows covering the front and back of the torso.  It is similar in style to the dyawshan. Since mobility was important to the cavalry-heavy armor of the Ottoman Turks, this lightly plated armor was preferred to full plate armor.

Name: Dyawshan.

Dated to the sixteenth century.

Made of steel plate mail with silver inlay and steel chain mail.

A plated mail of Persian design, differing from the Bakhterets in the size of the plate “scales.” Dyawshan uses about 100 larger plates covering the front and back of the torso, attached to a suit of chain mail. This design also traveled to Russia, where it was called “yushman.”

Name: “Pot-lid” Armor.

Dated to the sixteenth century.

Made of steel plate mail with steel chain mail.

A later design in Turkish armor retains the chain mail suit but uses larger plates of steel to cover the torso. The largest plate is 10-12 inch diameter disc in the front and back, known commonly as “pot-lids.” This disc often had decorative fluting and reliefs. The suit was further augmented with more steel plates (larger than those found on the dyawshan) covering the chest and upper back. This combination of plate and chain mail provided adequate protection while still offering good mobility and low weight compared to a full suit of plate armor.