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By the end of the 14th century, the Sultan was no longer able to resist the Mongol Timur attack, and India lost a large amount of territory in the north. Before the 16th century, metal armor was rarely used in India.
In the 16th century, the Mughal Empire was formed, initially occupying the Muslims of northern India, and by the beginning of the 18th century, occupying almost all of India. The Mugars, who spoke Turkic and Mongolian dialects, brought Persian and Mongolian armor. A blend of Indian aesthetics and hot climate modifications have resulted in a unique Indian armor.
In the seventeenth century, lock armor and helmets from the Indian province of Deccan.
Adjustable nose, ear and neck protection. This is what it looks like before the curtain is installed.
The Indian cavalry has always been the most important part of the Mughal army.
The Indian cavalry was divided into four classes. The first is the highest paid and most well-equipped cavalry, the elite Assadi cavalry or "noble warriors". They served the emperor directly, conveying important messages and defending the palace.
The jack-of-all-nail armor of the Assadi cavalry
The armor worn by indian court guards in the 18th century is called "thousand nails" in Hindi. Coming from Mongolian armor.
Thousand nails
A close-up of a thousand nails
The second type of cavalry was hired by the state, the tabinan-kasai-Pahiki elite cavalry. During aurangzeb's reign, the elite cavalry numbered about 4,000 men as a counterweight to the first type of cavalry, the Assadi cavalry.
Elite Indian cavalry
Indian armor usually has the following pieces: semicircular helmet with iron chains, breastplate with four plates, chaincoat, tubular arm guards.
The dorsal plate of the breastplate is higher than the anterior plate and usually has a semicircular or triangular top. The underarms are side plates with semicircular incisions. Soft padding on the inside to cushion the blow.
Indian chain coat
This Indian helmet caused great damage to actual combat. Although the tip of the spear at the top can deflect the vertical slash, the helmet's several feathered tubes will block the blade. The helmet is not deep enough to be worn firmly, and the helmet protection and nose protection are thin.
Indian (Mughal) cavalry in the early 17th century
There is no device to fix the lock mask on the helmet, and a hood should be worn under the helmet.
Feathers are inserted into the two tubes on the front of the helmet.
Indian lock armor, weighing 10.7 kg.
Indian ring plate helmet. The three plates are connected into a dome by ring braiding.
This segmented structure severely reduces rigidity.
This type of helmet was common in India in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Many of the parts that originally had practical functions were considered ornaments by Indians.
The hot climate created this hollow steel helmet.
It's a ring helmet that doesn't even have a normal dome. Just a steel plate connected with a ring.
Helmet mask curtains obscure the view
The bottom of the mask curtain covers the chest, and the top of the helmet has a small disc with a long tube with feathers.
India's rough armor is far from India's sophisticated weapons.
Even some are beautifully made.
Below is a rare type of full armor in the Indian province of Sindh at the end of the 18th century.
To enhance the protection of the mask curtains, cotton lining was added to the hot India
There are also soft helmets for ordinary soldiers.
In addition to the Persian style, there is also a distinctly Mongolian style. Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, had a family of Turkic Mongol descent – his father's mother was from Genghis Khan's Golden family.
These soft helmets can be used in combination with helmets.
To prevent temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in India, a sunshade curtain is also included.
The soft helmet has an exaggerated nose protection.
The length of the nose care exceeds that of the chin.
In addition to cavalry, the Mughal army also had war elephants. Indian war elephants ran and trampled on cavalry horses, and war elephants were difficult to kill. On their backs were musketeers and archers, and some armored elephants even carried a small cannon.
In addition to the lock armor, war elephants also have plate armor for elephants. The plate armor is sewn on leather, which is lined with soft cotton. The sides of the elephant back blanket are connected by leather cable ties.
The Indian war elephant, along with the heavy cavalry, was protected by metal plates and blankets made of barbed wire. The ivory has a steel ring with a metal tip, which is used to pierce the enemy's horses and cavalry.
Three or four war elephants can pull large weapons that can only be pulled by four to five hundred people. War elephants also serve as observation platforms of sufficient height for commanders.
Two large discs protect the sides of the elephant's neck, and two large rectangular side plates extend to the elephant's forelimbs.
17th century, elephant skin shield
Ivory sleeve with barbed steel rings
With more and more muskets in the battlefield, metal chain mail no longer provided reliable protection against elephants.
The armor series of materials has now been collected, please pay attention to the follow-up "Mongolian Armor", "German Armor", "Japanese Armor", "British Armor" and so on
Spanish armor – armor from battlefield sites and the Royal Armoury