Sassanian helmet

[Gäiten]

Indeed, that is one of the most impressive Sassanian era headgears.
Sometimes they remember (much) later Japanese Samurai helmets.

[elendir]

Do you think the rock carving of Hormidz II (below) represents him wearing a ram horned crown-helmet?

[Gäiten]

In Montvert`s "Sassanian Armies" Hormizd II is displayed wearing winged helmet of that design.

[elendir]

Thanks Andreas,
do you have any link to images displaying this kind of helmet?
Daniel

[Arminius75]

Is very impressive, some sassanian hemets were adopted by roman late cavalry and were influence for some very inpressive Vendel and Välsgarde Helemtes on Sweden (Vendel age V to VIIIa.C.) different construction technic but æstetic very similar

[daryush]

Hope you don't mind if I chime in here (a year after the last post) but I've been thinking on these helmets recently.

David Nicolle has a depiction of a similar helmet in "Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era" (volume 2) (which I recently got a copy of, hence my renewed interest in these helmets!). They are described as cheek flaps folded upwards or a decorative crest.

I think it could definitely be either. On Sogdian helmets, it seems that the cheek plates are constructed of overlapping B-shaped lames, and you see horizontal lines. The vertical lines on the Kulagysh plate could represent the leather straps holding these B-shaped lames in position. Although - all credit to Patryk - I really can't see why the cheek plates would be raised.

Gokturk warriors wore two feathers on their helmets once they were skilled in shooting both backwards and forwards (not at the same time!). These projections could also be feathers. I reckon the Kulagush warriors are Turks, not Iranians, as the long lamellar coat comprising of B-shaped lamellae appears to only appear after the Turks arrive and B-shaped lamellae were found at Turkic sites in Kerch and Kuszenmanton.

I haven't had the chance to examine as much iconography as Patryk (Roxofarnes) has so his conclusions may be more valid.

[Robert Vermaat]

Hope you don't mind if I chime in here (a year after the last post)

Not at all. :wink:

On Sogdian helmets, it seems that the cheek plates are constructed of overlapping B-shaped lames, and you see horizontal lines. The vertical lines on the Kulagysh plate could represent the leather straps holding these B-shaped lames in position. Although - all credit to Patryk - I really can't see why the cheek plates would be raised.

So we would be looking at Turks rather than Sassanid Persians? Do we have an image of this helmet to post here?

[daryush]

Hope you don't mind if I chime in here (a year after the last post)

Not at all. :wink:

On Sogdian helmets, it seems that the cheek plates are constructed of overlapping B-shaped lames, and you see horizontal lines. The vertical lines on the Kulagysh plate could represent the leather straps holding these B-shaped lames in position. Although - all credit to Patryk - I really can't see why the cheek plates would be raised.

So we would be looking at Turks rather than Sassanid Persians? Do we have an image of this helmet to post here?

I think the Kulagush warriors (on the plate in question) are Turks, yes. Add to that the archer is using a thumb release as opposed to the Persian release - although this is seen in Transoxiana from the 4th - 5th Century and may have been used by the Parthians, so it is not really a distinguishing feature, just something I thought was an interesting detail.

The helmets are depicted fairly frequently at Panjakent. Here are a couple of pics. I have tried to find the ones that show the cheek plates of the helmets most clearly.

Here's also a photo of the Sogdian-Sassanian-Turkic helmet in the British Museum, and a drawing of the other helmet from Nicolles book on the Crusading era.

Hope this is interesting and helpful

[Targitios]

daryush wrote:

On Sogdian helmets, it seems that the cheek plates are constructed of overlapping B-shaped lames, and you see horizontal lines. The vertical lines on the Kulagysh plate could represent the leather straps holding these B-shaped lames in position. Although - all credit to Patryk - I really can't see why the cheek plates would be raised.
So we would be looking at Turks rather than Sassanid Persians? Do we have an image of this helmet to post here?

Like the avar/byzantine helmet of the armour-comlex of Obl. Star Zagora, Bulgaria, Rupkite 6. to 7. century. It's of the Niederstotzingen-type (slightly differing with the noseguard) with cheekguards of each 19 horizontal steel lames. Published in the catalouge "Byzanz- Pracht und Alltag" from 2010. The helmet is in the regional museum of Stara Zagora, Inv.-Nr. 3C3-723 and was found together with an lamellararmour in a burial.