When a stranger knocks at my gate, He's angry or kind, I don't understand in any way.
And how much love does he have in his heart?
And is there a lot of pepper in his blood?
And God that his grandfather commanded him, I don’t understand if he honors today.
("Outsider" by Rudyard Kipling)
The bow and arrow continued to be the most common ranged weapon in the 16th century. A good Tatar archer could release about 10 arrows per minute, each of which, at a distance of 200 m, killed a horse on the spot or pierced a warrior's chain mail right through. Especially effective was the use of bows by large maneuverable masses of horsemen, who literally poured a rain of arrows on the enemy. They were also used in the siege and defense of cities.
Heavily armed horseman of the Timurid era (1370-1506). (Museum of Islamic Art, Port of Doha, Qatar)
Bulgarian warriors of the XIV centuries, when Bulgaria was under the rule of the Mongols: 1 - a representative of the Bulgar nobility, 2 - Ugric warrior, 3 - Golden Horde warrior according to the reconstruction of M. V. Gorelik.
The most common type of protective clothing in the 16th century was traction, - quilted bumazy robes up to the knees, into the lining of which chain mail nets or steel plaques were sewn, and chain mail (kebe), collected from tens of thousands of steel rings (for the 16th century, new types of weaving and ring shapes are characteristic, high stand-up collar, quilted with leather straps, big collar wrap and weight over 10 kg). One of the types of chain mail, known from the finds of archaeologists, was baydana (from Arab, badan) - armor, like chain mail, but assembled from wide flat washers.
Turkish yushmans (as well as "pansyri") "with a brass vest" were popular in Russia as well. Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.
The greatest changes were made in the 16th century and armor made of steel plates (yarak). The traditional armor of the Kazan people was a kuyak - a sleeveless jacket made of large steel plates riveted to a leather base, often with shoulder pads, a collar and a split hem. Along with the kuyak, yushman was used - armor made of chain mail and large plates woven into it on the chest and back, the kolontar - a combined armor without sleeves in the form of horizontally located large plates fastened by rings, and an ankle (from Persian, bekhter - a shell), consisting of narrow short steel strips arranged in vertical rows on the chest and back. All of these types of armor were often covered with silvered, graceful floral designs. Steel bracers were also used to protect the warrior's arms up to the elbow.
Indian helmet of the 16th century Weight 1278.6 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Kazan helmets were also of several types. Most of the warriors protected their heads with a quilted paper or leather hat reinforced with a mesh of steel rings or strips. Steel helmets were also used. The most popular were the misyurks (from Misra, that is, Egypt) - steel spherical caps with iron earpieces and chain mail that protected the warrior's face and throat, as well as erikhonki - high conical helmets with earpieces, a head-piece and a visor with an arrow-shaped nosepiece. The warrior's body was protected by a small (about 50 cm in diameter) convex round shield made of leather or reed with an iron plate in the center - a typical Turkish kalkan.
Armor (reconstruction) of a warrior of the Kazan Khanate of the 16th century. Museum of the Kazan Kremlin. It is clear that such armor was a rarity, as, in fact, the armor of Western European knights, and did not belong to ordinary soldiers. But they were.
Of course, only noble warrior knights could have a full set of protective equipment, especially metal armor. Judging by the news of the Russian chronicles, "shells and armor", "shells and helmets" were constantly noted as the most common weapon of the Tatar aristocracy. The set of a noble warrior, as a rule, included a saber, a mace or a battle ax, a pike, a bow with arrows in an expensive saadak, and a full set of protective equipment, including a steel helmet, one of the types of armor, a shield and bracers. The horses had luxurious equestrian dress made of high archak saddles, a precious bridle and saddlecloths. A Kazan warrior could use chaldar - an armor made of metal plates that protected the sides and chest of a war horse.
The costume of a noble Tatar nobleman. Museum of the History of Kazan.
The number of heavily armed Kazan cavalry was small and could hardly exceed 10-15 thousand people, but in reality, most likely, it was even less. But the fact that she played a decisive role in the hostilities is beyond any doubt. According to the description of the Tatar army, made by Josaphat Barbaro, his warriors were "… extremely brave and courageous, and so much so that some of them, with especially outstanding qualities, are called" gazi bagater ", which means" mad brave "… Among them there are many those who, in cases of military battles, do not value life, do not fear danger, beat their enemies so that even the timid are inspired and turn into brave. " The Russian chroniclers developed a respectful image of a brave Tatar, "very fierce and cruel in military affairs," who did not spare either his own or someone else's life in battle.
To control in battle and orient the troops, the Tatars were served with banners. The main flag of the khan (tug, elem) was also a symbol of the dignity of the state and usually had the form of a rectangle attached with the long side to the pole. The color of such banners was in the XV-XVI centuries blue, green or red (or a combination of these colors), with suras from the Koran embroidered on them.
Emirs and murzas - regimental commanders - had large triangular or rectangular banners (kho-runga, elenge), and individual soldiers had small flags (zhalau) on the helmets and shafts of their spears. Often, in the form of a banner, military leaders used poles with ponytails (tug), the number of which indicated the rank of the commander.
Top (top) of one of these banners or tight. Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.
During the battle, Kazan light cavalry, just like the cavalry of other peoples of the East of this time, galloped past the enemy's ranks and formed a kind of round dance, continuously firing at enemy lines from bows. When the defenders began to retreat, heavily armed horsemen rushed towards them with spears at the ready, delivering the main blow.
The ancient Bulgars were also excellent archers, who even managed to defeat the Mongol troops of Jebe and Subedei, who were returning to their native steppes after the battle on Kalka. It is believed that their weapons were practically no different from the weapons of the warriors of Russia. The drawing depicting the Bulgar warriors of the 11th - 12th centuries was made by Garry and Sam Embleton for the author's book "Armies of the Volga Bulgars and Khanate of Kazan 9th - 16th Centuries" (Osprey Publishing, 2013) /
If the enemy attacked himself, the arrows quickly retreated, trying to wear out and upset his ranks, in order to then quickly expose him to the striking blow of the heavy cavalry - as we see, everything is in the best traditions of the cavalry of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.
The militia soldiers who participated in the campaigns, in exceptional cases, had universal and relatively inexpensive weapons: wide spears, wide-blade axes, bows and arrows, as well as leather and paper armor. Their role was quite significant only during the siege of fortifications, in a field battle they practically did not have any independent significance. The Kazan infantry was formed from the militias of the districts (darug) and the Cheremis allies (Mari and Chuvash).
Samples of weapons typical for warriors of the East from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. Top left gilded horse mask.
In the 16th century, firearms were also widely used in the Kazan Khanate. The opinion that they did not know how to use it in Kazan, and that Russian artillerymen chained to cannons fired from the walls of Kazan during its assault in 1552, goes back to Orthodox legends of that time. Modern finds allow us to say that gunpowder weapons have been known in Bulgar and Kazan since the 70s of the XIV century. Several gun barrels of the squeaky type also date back to the 16th century. Stone cannonballs from cannons are often found in Kazan, and in Russian and European sources information about cannons firing from the walls of the city has been preserved: shooting from bows. Apparently, Kazan used a varied set of firearms - from light hand and heavy easel guns to light mattress cannons that fired buckshot, heavy field and fortress guns. They were effectively used both in field combat and in the siege of cities, where they used heavy battering guns such as mortars, which conducted hinged fire. There is information about the existence in the citadel of Kazan of a special zeichhaus, which contained gunpowder and a gun park.
Kazan infantry of the 15th - 16th centuries: 1 - gunner from hand-held firearms, 2 - infantry archer, 3 - "armored infantryman", end of the 15th century.
The tactics of the defense of Kazan are indicative. Having no forces equal to the superior Russian troops, the citizens of Kazan let them under the walls of the city, where they tried to surround and deprive them of reinforcements. The most successful operations of this kind were the wars of 1467-1469, 1506-1524 and 1530, and the Kazan Khanate could no longer repel the campaign and siege of 1552.
After the defeat of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, the Moscow state came to the ancestral lands of the nomadic tribes of the east, and many of the leaders of large and small hordes began to pass under the rule of the Moscow Tsar or the Crimean Khan, and some of the Turkish Sultan, considering him a more reliable master.
As for weapons, the Nogai warriors neglected protective armor, but they had a wide variety of offensive weapons. Every warrior had a Saadak with a bow and arrow. Lances, combat knives, and flails were just as popular. The wealthier and more fortunate had sabers. It was the rich equestrian Nogai spearmen - the oglan vigilantes with their weapons and suits that served as an example for equipping the light spear-carrying cavalry - the ulans (whose name goes back to the Tatar word oglan - "son").
The main fighting force of the North Caucasian steppes consisted of the warriors of numerous Adyg tribes - Kabardians, Circassians, Ubykhs, Shapsugs, Bzhedugs and others. The military estate of these tribes - the bridles that made up the pshi (squads of princes) - were well-armed on the campaign. The main mass had chain mail, many - helmets and misyurks, bracers and sometimes small round shields of wood or hard leather with iron fittings. A bow and arrow and a saber were the traditional weapons of the Adyghe warriors.
Turkish bows from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Kalmyks under the leadership of Khan Ayuki invaded the Don steppes as a result of almost a century of movement to the West. The Nogai were swiftly defeated, partly expelled (having become a large part of the Kazakhs and Bashkirs). The Kalmyks, having settled from the Don to the Lik, created a khanate here, sub-vassal to the Moscow tsars, and served them faithfully for centuries. The victories of the Kalmyks were due not only to bravery, the degree of military organization and discipline - the Kalmyk soldiers had a wide and rich selection of weapons. Many warriors had shells - lamellar, kuyaki, chain mail, worn over quilted jackets.
