European Elements in the Military Culture and Weapon Use in Iran

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Malozyomova E. I. (2020). Evropejskie cherty v oruzhejnoj kul’ture Irana [European Elements in the Military Culture and Weapon Use in Iran]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 9, pp. 35 — 63. Malozyomova E. I. Abstract: The article is devoted to the contacts between Iran and different European countries in the field of weapon use and warfare. The author traces the presence of European arms and military forces in the armies of Iran starting from the days of the Achaemenids and up until the 19th century. In the ancient times, Greek soldiers, equipped with their native weapons served in the army of Iran. Some of them were granted membership in the Iranian aristocracy. Later, with the beginning of the Muslim era, European military technologies were used in the armies of those who ruled in Iran. It specially included the firearms, which were developed poorly there. Primary sources fix firearms imported…

A saber with an Image of St. George from the Collection of the State Hermitage Museum

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Obraztsov Vs.N., Pyatnitsky Yu.A. (2020). Sablja s izobrazheniem Sv. Georgija iz sobranija Gosudarstvennogo Еrmitazha [A saber with an Image of St. George from the Collection of the State Hermitage Museum]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 9, pp. 64 — 81. Obraztsov Vs. N., Pyatnitsky Yu. A. Abstract: The article continues the authors’ study series of a group of long-edged weapons from the collection of the State Hermitage museum, which decorative schemes include Christian images. The article deals with a saber ornamented with an image of St. George. The saber entered the Imperial Hermitage museum in 1885-1886 as a part of the Arsenal of Tsarskoye Selo collection. The saber used to belong to the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovitch, who bought it in the city of Brailov (the nowaday Brail city in Romania) during the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829. The saber blade was made of high quality crucible steel and represents…

Weapons by Michele Lorenzoni in the Collection of the Gatchina Palace

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Rodionov E. A. (2020). Oruzhie Mikele Lorenconi v kollekcii Gatchinskogo dvorca [Weapons by Michele Lorenzoni in the Collection of the Gatchina Palace]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 9, pp. 12 — 34. Rodionov E. A. Abstract: The article deals with the weapons made by Michele Lorenzoni, the most famous Florentine gun master of the late 17th- beginning of the 18th centuries, which are curated in the Gatchina palace museum. These are a gorgeous repeating gun № ГДМ-65-IX and an ordinary flintlock gun № ГДМ-707-IX, which lock was made by Lorenzoni. The repeating flintlock gun № ГДМ-65-IX represents a very rare constructive variant of the Lorenzoni system that is usually called the ‘mixed’ system (sistema misto). The ‘Mixed’ system guns, by contrast with the ones of its simpler and quite widespread variants, were made by Michele Lorenzoni solely. This system presumes powder magazine and bullet magazine to be situated in…

Edged Weapons and Ritualized Theatrical Performances in Iran

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Malozyomova E. I. (2020). Holodnoe oruzhie i ritual’no-teatralizovannye predstavlenija v Irane [Edged Weapons and Ritualized Theatrical Performances in Iran]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 8, pp. 151 — 189. Malozyomova E. I. Abstract: The article is devoted to the analyzes of number of Iranian edged weapons, lacking any fighting efficiency but distinctively ornamented, from the collections of the Russian museum of ethnography and Peter the Great Museum of anthropology and ethnography (the Kunstkamera). Such weapons of diversified types (sabers, swords, daggers, battle-axes, defensive weapons) form a considerable part of museum collections, and evidently were produced by quantities in Iran, from where they appeared in the museums either directly, that is important, or via the antique shops in Europe and Russia in the second half of the 19th-the beginning of the 20th centuries. Based on the complex analyses of both the objects, and primary sources as well as research literature…

Specifity of Identification of the Materials, Used for Oriental Edged Weapons Handles Manufacturing, as well as Pieces of Applied Arts, Made of Rhinoceros Horn

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Miloserdov D. Y. (2020). Osobennosti opredelenija materiala rukojatej vostochnogo klinkovogo oruzhija, a takzhe hudozhestvennyh i dekorativno-prikladnyh izdelij, izgotovlennyh iz roga nosoroga [Specifity of Identification of the Materials, Used for Oriental Edged Weapons Handles Manufacturing, as well as Pieces of Applied Arts, Made of Rhinoceros Horn]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 8, pp. 135 — 150. Miloserdov D. Y. Abstract: The article actualizes the problem of correct identification and distinguishing of osteological materials, used for manufacturing of different pieces of applied arts, including the handles of edged weapons. The author states these materials to be often described as just “horn”, though horns of different mammals were used. The most complex the problem is with the describing of the objects made of the horn of the rhinoceros. It causes not only mistakes in museum descriptions, but also more serious aftereffects, concerning the definition of insurance value of the objects transported and…

An Attempt of Hermeneutic Approach to Solve a Problem, Concerning the Interpretation of Indian Historical Weapons as Signs-Objects of Traditional Culture

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Kurochkin A. Y. (2020). Opyt germenevticheskogo podhoda k resheniju gnoseologicheskoj problemy interpretacii predmetov istoricheskogo oruzhija Indii kak veshhej-simvolov tradicionnoj kul’tury [An Attempt of Hermeneutic Approach to Solve a Problem, Concerning the Interpretation of Indian Historical Weapons as Signs-Objects of Traditional Culture]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 8, pp. 93 — 134. Kurochkin A. Y. Abstract: The current research presents a bash, had at analyzes of historical weapons of India,  using the cohesive approach, which was proposed by scholars for studying objects, acting in the traditional cultures and having profound symbolic meaning alongside their utilitarian functions. Simultaneously, the very role of these objects and the range of their practical use are comprehended in terms of their ritual, ceremonial, cultic, and other ways of application, which were not the less practical in the traditional cultures. Today the most common approach used for Indian weapons studying is still the one, which was…

Weapon as a Party to a Relationship

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Sheremetev D. A. (2020). Oruzhie kak sub’ekt otnoshenij [Weapon as a Party to a Relationship]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 8, pp. 4 — 85. Sheremetev D. A. Abstract: The article represents a shot, taken at analyzes of weapon as a party to a relationship in the realm of traditional military cultures. The grounds for the question are the folkloristic data and ethnographic watch that testify the specific for the traditional cultures way of weapon perception, which goes far beyond the instrumental approach, typical for the modern cultures. In a traditional culture object, in general, and weapon, in particular, obtains semantic ties with mythological era of the Creation and hence, have its own cultural status. The special position of weapon in the cultural hierarchy presumes its complex internal structure, which permits it to exist adequately in the system of relationship with other objects and the universe. The current research…

Revisiting the Russian Weapons from Crucible Steel in the 17th Century (a case study of the former archive of the Armoury Chamber)

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Orlenko S., Novosyolov V., Kurmanovsky V. (2019). K voprosu o bulatnom oruzhii russkoj raboty XVII v. (po materialam byvshego arhiva Oruzhejnoj palaty) [Revisiting the Russian Weapons from Crucible Steel in the 17th Century (a case study of the former archive of the Armoury Chamber)]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 7, pp. 6 — 88. Orlenko S., Novosyolov V., Kurmanovsky V. Abstract: The problem of the present article is the history of the manufacturing and functioning of weapons made from crucible steel in Russia. It is a challenging question for the local weapon study. The main object of the investigation is the Moscow Armoury Chamber, which was the court workshop and stockpile for the Russian tsars in the 17th century.  The present research is based on the authentic sources concerning the activity of the Armoury Chamber in the 17thcentury. These are the inventories, cash receipts and payment books, documents of the…

Rules of the Iberian two-handed sword, compiled by Diego Gomez de Figueiredo in 1651

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Senichev V. (2019). Pravila Iberijskogo dvuruchnogo mecha, sostavlennye Diego Gomesom de Figejredo v 1651 godu [Rules of the Iberian two-handed sword, compiled by Diego Gomez de Figueiredo in 1651]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 7, pp. 89 — 107. Senichev V. Abstract: The article presents a brief review and translation of the treatise titled Memorial Da Prattica do Montante (MS 49.III.20.nº.21) which is devoted to an Iberian two-handed sword by the name of ‘montante’. The treatise is written by the Portuguese Mestre de Campo Diego Gomez de Figueredo for his student, the prince Dom Theodosio de Bragança, son of the king of Portugal Jean IV the Restorer. The treatise by de Figueredo, although being the most recent in terms of creation, is also one of the most comprehensive ones written about the Iberian two-handed sword. The manuscript describes thirty-two rules or regras for a large two-handed sword, designed to strengthen…

French-language Marks of Blade Smiths from Kazi-Kumukh (Dagestan) in the 19th Century

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Talantov S. (2019). Klejma oruzhejnikov iz Kazi-Kumuha (Dagestan) serediny XIX veka na francuzskom jazyke [French-language Marks of Blade Smiths from Kazi-Kumukh (Dagestan) in the 19th Century]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 7, pp. 108 — 115. S. Talantov Abstract: The problematics of the investigation of Dagestan weapons dating back to the first half- middle of the 19th century stems from the absence of the background information about the masters due to the continuing military campaigns in the Eastern and Southern Caucasus during the Caucasian war. The Lak village of Kazi-Kumukh is famous as the motherland of seasonal masters such as widely known Guzun Guzunov, Osman Omarov and others who worked in Vladikavkaz in the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. Kazi-Kumukh was the principal village of the Kazi-Kumukh khanate and one of the centers of the weapon manufacturing in Dagestan. The author managed to find and…

Training System of using shashka by the Don Cossacks

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Yarovoj A. (2018). Sistema obuchenija vladeniju shashkoj v kul’ture donskih kazakov [Training System of using shashka by the Don Cossacks]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 5-6, pp. 146 — 160. Yarovoj A. Abstract: The questions concerning the effectiveness of shashka, its origin and place in the Cossacks history are still among the disputable ones in contemporary Russian weaponology. The article is devoted to the analysis of training system of using shashkain the Cossack traditional culture at the edge of the 19thand 20thcenturies. The investigation was based on the actual pieces of the Don Cossacks edged weapons introduced to the scientific literature as well as on the field data and notes made by ethnographers working at Cossacks villages Starorechenskaja, Romanovskaja, Khomutovskaja, Kazanskaja, Jelizavetinskaja, Krivjanskaja, Starocherkasskaja,Razdorskaja,Verhne-Kundrjuchinskaja, Tsimljanskaja, Jegorlikskaja, Mechetinskaja, etc. Analyzing the vast historical and ethnographical data the author explains and describes institutional origins of the training system of long bladed weapons usage…

LE JEU DE LA HACHE – a Burgundian Treatise on Dueling

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Senichev V. (2018). Le jeu de la hache – burgundskij traktat o poedinkah [LE JEU DE LA HACHE – a Burgundian Treatise on Dueling]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 5-6, pp. 131 — 145. Senichev V. Abstract: The article presents a brief review and the author’s translation of a treatise on fencing «Le Jeu de la Hache» (MS Francias 1996)or “Games with poleax”. This anonymous manuscript in Middle French was presumably written in the 15thcentury by a Milan fencing master at the court of Burgundian duke Charles the Brave (1433 – 1477) and consists of 18 pages (240 x 160 mm) of handwritten text. The treatise is devoted to the only weapon, a poleax, and contains the description of the largest known number of skills and techniques of the weapon usage. The treatise is divided into 78 paragraphs grouped in three parts – an introductory one describing the ways of combat between right-handed warriors and the part showing…

Edward fon Lenz – a founder of Russian weaponology

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Samgin S. (2018). Jeduard Jeduardovich Lenc kak osnovatel’ rossijskogo oruzhievedenija [Edward fon Lenz – a founder of Russian weaponology]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 5-6, pp. 111 — 130. Samgin S. Abstract: The article deals with the creative legacy of Edward fon Lenz (1856-1919) who appeared to become a founder of Russian weaponology. Today for a variety of reasons his papers except the most important ones are almost unknown in Russia. The focus of his interests lying in the field of historical weapons studying was very wide ranging from the systematization and description of the Russian collections of weapons to the analysis of archaeological arms and armour, from the studying of the weapon manufacturing centers to the general popularization of the weaponology. He wrote both small articles and major works, the deep scientific papers and general-audience essays. The best period for his scientific life was the years between 1899 and 1918…

The Origins and Appurtenance of Richly Ornamented Weapons Transferred from the Ministry of Defense of the USSR to the Armoury Chamber in 1955

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Novosyolov V. (2018). Proishozhdenie i prinadlezhnost’ gruppy dragocennogo oruzhija, postupivshej v oruzhejnuju palatu iz Ministerstva Oborony SSSR v 1955 godu. [The Origins and Appurtenance of Richly Ornamented Weapons Transferred from the Ministry of Defense of the USSR to the Armoury Chamber in 1955]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 5-6, pp. 77 — 110. Novosyolov V. Abstract: The article is devoted to the group of richly decorated edged weapons transferred from the Ministry of Defense of the USSR by order of G.K. Zhukov, the Minister of Defense, to the Kremlin Armoury Chamber in 1955. The group consists of two daggers, a Caucasus cavalry word (shashka) and seven sabers. One of the daggers represents an Iranian dagger type usually called “khanjar”, the other is a Caucasus “kama”. Two sabers are of “Asian type” with golden mounts decorated with colored enamel, diamonds and other precious stones. Another saber represents again the “Asian type”…

The Battle Axes of Afghanistan

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Miloserdov D. (2018). Boevye topory Afganistana [The Battle Axes of Afghanistan]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 5-6, pp. 66 — 76. Miloserdov D. Abstract: Axe is a short-bladed weapon of slashing blow and simultaneously one of the oldest weapons for a close combat. Because of its great effectiveness stemming from the combination of arm-handle and relatively heavy and massive blade with short and hence well centered striking surface axe was very handy and consequently favored weapon to fight close-in from day one. In the eastern countries it was also quite popular and widespread. Good number of battle axes being used in India and Persia were known and described while axes which were current in near by Afghanistan haven’t deserved the scholarly attention yet. Two main types of battle axes which could be called the “afghan” one are distinguished today and several their variants appear to have been typical for the…