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Lamellar Armor

Type Object Region Eurasia Time 900–1000

Lamellar armor is made of small plates (leather, iron, or bronze) laced together with cord or leather thongs, circulating widely across Eurasia in th…

Timeline

  1. 900–930Central Plains and northern steppes · North ChinaIn the early tenth century, the Five Dynasties regimes of the Central Plains and northern peoples such as the Khitans were widely equipped with lamellar armor, using both iron and leather plates; plate forms and lacing methods followed Tang models and were influenced by steppe horse-archery culture.
  2. 930–970Anatolia and the Levant · AnatoliaByzantine imperial forces used iron lamellar armor called klivanion to protect the torso and limbs; the Abbasid caliphate and successor states also widely adopted similar lamellar armor, with technical exchange existing with Central Asian steppe traditions.
  3. 970–1000Eurasia · EurasiaBy the late tenth century, lamellar armor was standard heavy equipment among all major Eurasian military powers; the armies of Song, Liao, Byzantium, and the Fatimids fielded it in large numbers, laying the groundwork for the transition to mail and plate armor in the eleventh century.

Sources