Shields of Ancient Armenia

The ancient shields of the autochthons of the Armenian Highlands are known mainly from the monuments of fine art ^[1] .

Semi-cylindrical shields

The most interesting are the images of warriors on the belt from Stepanavan , dating from the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. ^[3] , in the central part of which is shown the movement of the building of foot soldiers. In front of the building, the figure of the leader is depicted, holding in his left hand a large semi-cylindrical shield with an expanded lower part and a narrow rounded upper side. The leaders are accompanied by seven smaller warriors, each with his left hand holding the exact same shield, and in his highly raised right hand - a spear, as if about to pierce the enemy.

Images of such shields are also found on the fragmentary surviving belt from Noyemberyan dating back to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. In the upper row of this belt depicts a waterfowl and a horse, from the figure of which only the head and partially legs are preserved. Behind the horse, with its back to it, there is a warrior, from the image of which legs in chuvans with sagged socks and a hand with a half-cylinder shield are preserved. five arrows with triangular tips and plumage on the poles pierced the shield. An archer stands facing the warrior with a shield, from the figure of which only his legs in the same feelings and the part of his arm in which he holds a bow with an arrow are still preserved ^[4] .

Both scenes depict battle scenes, but unlike the Stepanavan, the Noyemberyan belt shows not a battle between tribal squads, but a battle between two dismounted horsemen. The shield of the warrior depicted on the belt from Noyemberyan is woven, not metal, since the arrows did not bounce, but pierced him.

In addition to graphic images on belts, similar semi-cylindrical shields can be seen on bronze figurines. One of these statuettes dating from the 9th-8th centuries BC e., found in the village of Paravakar, Tavush region of Armenia ^[5] . She is a figure of a tall warrior, well-built, with a wide chest and a clearly marked fall. His face is flat with a straight nose, his eyes and mouth are shown with notches. On the warrior’s head there is a helmet with a crest and horn-shaped protrusion, in his left hand he holds a semi-cylindrical shield carved from sheet bronze, and in his right hand is a long spear with a leaf-shaped tip.

The shield of the paravakar figurine is half as high as the figure of the warrior. If the average height of a resident of Ancient Armenia reached 170 cm (which is clearly described by the surviving skeletons from various burials), then the shield should have a height of approximately 85 cm. The shields of the soldiers depicted in the Stepanavan belt are three times and the leader’s shield is half their height , that is, the height of such shields should have been 60-85 cm, respectively. Warriors with the same shields in their hands are depicted bronze figurines from the Ayrum treasure and the Norashen fortress, dating from the VI-V centuries BC. e. The shields in the hands, based on the same ratio, are small in size - about 25-30 cm. Apparently, they have a decorative meaning and do not reflect the actual size. Thus, it can be assumed that the average height of semi-cylindrical shields in ancient Armenia was 60-80 cm. These shields, most likely, came from similar Assyrian shields, numerous images of which are well known from the monuments of Assyrian art of the end of II - beginning of the first millennium BC. e. (the height of the Assyrian shields ranges from 80 to 150 cm).

Round Shields

At the same time as semi-cylindrical shields, round shields appear in Armenia. Similar shields can be seen in the hands of two other figures of warriors from the Parawakar treasure of the 9th-8th centuries BC. e. These shields are also very small and have a decorative character. Small in size differs shield statuette of a warrior from Ayrum treasure.

To study the protective equipment of the soldiers of Ancient Armenia, the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. in addition to finds of these products themselves or their images on objects of art, Assyrian sources are of great importance. Thus, the annals of the Assyrian king Salmanasar III testify that from the very beginning of the reign he had to wage a stubborn struggle against the kingdom of Van, making several campaigns against him. So, in the description of the campaign 858 BC. e. (third year of reign) tells of the capture of the city of Arzashka and the fight against the Urartians led by King Aram. “I left Dayan, I approached Arzash city of Aram Urart. Urart Aramu was afraid of the bitterness of my strong weapon and strong battle and left his city. He climbed the Adduri mountains, and I, after him, I fought a strong battle in the mountains, I threw 3400 soldiers with my weapons, as I threw a cloud of rain over them, I dyed their blood (mountain), like the wool of his camp I captured his chariots , riders, horses, mules, hinnies, property and rich booty I brought from the mountains. Aram, saving his life, fled to an impregnable mountain. "

Further in the same inscription, Salmanasar III talks about the capture and destruction of Arzashka and other points of Urartu.

In 1878, on the hill of Balavat , southeast of Nineveh , in the ruins of the ancient city of Imgur-bel , oblong bronze sheets were found (1.75 cm long, 0.27 cm wide), completely covered with relief images explained by wedge-shaped inscriptions. These bronze sheets were upholstered in a large wooden gate or temple of Salmanasar III, and the images were scenes from the campaigns of the first nine years of his reign. One of these upholstery depicting episodes of the campaign of the third year of the reign of Salmanasar III has an image of the burning fortress of Arzashka set on fire by the Assyrians, on the right - the attack of the Assyrian chariots and the hand-to-hand fight of the Assyrians and Urartans to the left of the fortress depicts a continuation of the battle scene and the retreat of the Urartians to the Adduri mountains.

Urartian warriors, archers and spearmen are depicted wearing long knee-length shirts with short sleeves, pulled together with a wide leather or metal belt. Spearmen have small round shields with a conical protrusion in the center. Small helmets with a crest are put on the heads of the Urartians ^[6] . The shields in the hands of the Aramu warriors have small sides and a protruding middle part. Warriors hold their hand on the handle fixed from the inside. The diameter of the shield, judging by its ratio with the figures of the warriors, was 30-35 cm. The Early Urartian shields, apparently, are slightly larger than the round shields of Paravakar and Ayrum , but significantly smaller than the later Urartian shields. Round shields are especially widespread in the heyday of Urartu. We learn about these shields, as well as other protective equipment, from the excavations of Toprak-Kale , Kayalidera and especially Karmir-Blur , as well as from Assyrian sources. In this regard, the annals of Sargon II , which tell of a campaign against Urartu in 714 BC, are of exceptional value . e. and the capture of Musashir , where the colossal booty stored in the religious center of Urartu was captured. According to the description of the campaign, the Assyrian army, with a large caravan, came out of Kalchu in the summer, crossed over the Upper and Lower Za. After passing through hard-to-reach wooded mountains, I headed to the country of Mana, where, replenishing provisions, I defeated the allies of Ruse, the ruler of the country Zikiritu Metatti. Here Sargon changed the path of his army, as he learned that Rusa, along with his allies and leaders of the hill tribes, came to his rear, building troops in the gorge of the Wausi River. The Assyrian king suddenly in the middle of the night attacked the Urartian camp and defeated the enemy utterly. The army of Sargon II passed through the whole central Urartu with fire and sword, destroying everything in its path. On the way back, Sargon suddenly decided to attack the country of Musashir. Having made a difficult transition, the Assyrian army suddenly appeared in front of the city and “like locusts” covered the whole terrain. The city was taken. Seals were knocked down from the palace storerooms, overflowing with treasures, and all contents became the prey of Sargon. Only gold was captured 1040 kg, and silver about 5060 kg. The text provides a complete list of captured jewels (more than 333500 items). Among them are mentioned “six golden shields that were hung in his peace on the left and right and glittered dazzlingly, the heads of grinning dogs stood out from the middle of them, they weighed 5 talents 12 minutes (about 6.5 kg) ... 12 heavy silver shields, whose the umbons are made in the form of the heads of monsters, lions and wild bulls ... 25,212 heavy (light) copper (bronze) shields. ” For the study of ancient shields, objects of art are of exceptional importance, which make it possible to restore not only the classification of these products, but also restore the appearance of soldiers and their equipment. If from the early period of Urartu we have only images of several Aram warriors armed with small shields, then for the period starting from the VIII century BC. e. We already have a large number of images of Urartian shields. These shields are depicted on the hands of riders adorning the helmets of Argishti I and Sarduri II from Karmir Bloor. Similar images are also found on quivers from the same Karmir-Blur, bronze belts from the Erebuni burial ground in Nor Ares, the Adan Museum, on bronze belts found in the central regions of Urartu and stored in the Munich Museum, in France in the Museum Les Ask, Basel and etc.

• Helmets of Ancient Armenia