Mail and plate armour


Mail and plate armour is a type of mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, North Africa, Ottoman Empire, Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Central Asia, Greater Iran, India, Eastern Europe, and Nusantara.

Types

In Russia, there are three known varieties of mail and plate armour. These were adopted from Persian, initially as Persian exports, and have Persian names.
  • Behterets, from Persian behter: small horizontal plates arranged in vertical rows without gaps, joined by rings, and embedded in mail.
  • Yushman, from Persian jawshan: long horizontal plates embedded in mail and resembling laminar armour
  • Kalantar : square plates embedded in mail, very similar to the Japanese karuta tatami-do. The major difference is that kalantar are not sewn to a cloth backing as Karuta tatami-do are.
According to Bobrov the first mail and plate armor appeared as cuisses in the Middle East, and were imported by the Golden Horde. Persian miniatures of the first half of 15th century show different combinations of mail and plate armour with lamellar armor and brigandines sometimes worn with a single round mirror plate as breast re-enforcement. The first representation of mail and plate armour as body protection is shown in Persian miniatures, which show mail and plate armour composed of relatively large plates, worn with laminar pauldrons and skirt, re-enforced by a large round mirror plate. The first representation of classic mail and plate armour can be seen in Baghdad's miniature which dates from 1465. From the end of the 15th century mail and plate armour began to fully replace lamellar armours. The main difference between eastern European and Oriental mail and plate armor is that eastern European versions usually do not have sleeves, while Oriental versions have sleeves. In a heavy version these sleeves have embedded plates, and a light version has sleeves entirely made from mail.
In Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuna Jābir ibn Hayyān describes mail and plate armour for use in armours, helmets, and shields.
Indian mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links and it was often integrated with plate protection.The use of mail and plate armour in india declined in the 18th century. Mail and plate armour was documented in the Battle of Plassey by the Nawabs of Bengal. Mail and plate armor, called baju lamina, was also used by some of the people of Southeast Asia, namely the Bugis, Torajans and Malay. An early reference of this armor type was mentioned by the son of Alfonso de Albuquerque in the 16th century.
In Japan, mail and plate armour is called "karuta", small square or rectangular rawhide or metal plates with the gaps between them filled with mail.
The first known use of iron plate mail in Korea was used by the Gaya Confederacy between 42 and 562 AD. A large number of iron and steel artifacts, including iron armor, iron horse armor such as helmets and bits, and smaller iron ingots, have been found in the Daeseong-dong tombs in Gimhae. Gimhae literally means "Sea of Iron", as if the city's name symbolizes the abundance of iron in the area. Surviving examples are currently on display at the Gimhae National Museum in South Korea.
The later Korean version of this armour is known as gyeongbeongap. The most famous general who used this type of armor was General Chonji.