Chain Mail Armor

Timeline

1. c. -300–400Celtic Europe · Central EuropeThe Celts invented chain mail technique around the 3rd century BCE; the Romans called it lorica hamata, it was widely adopted by Roman legionary auxiliary cavalry during the Punic Wars, and it spread across the European continent and the Middle East with the empire's expansion.
2. c. 900–1300Western Europe · Western EuropeFrom the 9th to the 13th centuries, chain mail (hauberk) was the core protection of European knights, covering the torso, arms, and thighs, and combined with helmet and gloves to form a complete protective system. During the Crusades, chain mail was used extensively on Middle Eastern battlefields, and it exchanged and merged with Islamic armor technology.
3. 1451–1460Europe and the Middle East · Middle EastBetween 1451 and 1460, European knights commonly wore chain mail lined beneath full plate armor at the joints to cover protective gaps; in the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Eastern European armies, chain mail remained the main protection for infantry and light cavalry. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the end of the Byzantine chain mail tradition, and the Ottoman Empire inherited and continued the technique.