{short description of image}  
 

MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN ARMOR

 
  {short description of image}  
 

Medieval baidana and bakterets - ABaidana is shown on the left. The term comes from the Arab word, "badan" - a short, ringed armor. The baidana is a form of armor made of metal rings. It differs from the kol'chuga itself only in the size and form of the rings. The baidana's rings look like washers rather than wire and are large and flat-forged or stamped from sheet metal.
One type of Bakhterets is shown on the right. This was a type of pantsir orkol'chuga — mixed scale or plate (lame) armor— 16th century. Another style of bakhterets is shown on the left in this illustration. Such armor was called "bakhterets" or "bekhterets" (from the Mongol word "bekter" which denotes a type of armor). "Bakhterets" were assembled of narrow oblong horizontal and slightly curved iron plates, (lame) arranged in vertical rows. It could contain 1500 narrow lames in 12 to 21 rows.

 
     

Return to Xenophon. Return to Ruscity. Return to Rushistory. Return to Ukraine.