Roman cavalry re-enactment

Α magnificent reenactment of a group of late Roman cavalrymen bearing combat and partly parade armour. Note the dragon standard of the draconarius, his elaborate greaves, the somewhat ‘familiar’ visor and helmet of the “lancer” on the left,

Lost in combat?

Republication from phys.org/

by University of Göttingen

These are the battlefield remains from the layer where objects were found at the site near the Tollense river in Weltzin. (Credit: Stefan Sauer)

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Recent archaeological investigations in the Tollense Valley led by the University of Göttingen, the State Agency for Cultural Heritage in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald have unearthed a collection of 31 unusual objects. Researchers believe this is the personal equipment of a Bronze Age warrior who died on the battlefield 3,300 years ago. This unique find was discovered by a diving team headed by Dr. Joachim Krüger, from the University of Greifswald, and seems to have been protected in the river from the looting, which inevitably followed fighting. The study was published in Antiquity.

Expanse of the Hanseatic League

A map of the expanse of the Hanseatic League, mostly known as Hansa (copyright: W. Heinemann / Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig). The Hanseatic League was a large commercial and also politico-military confederation of merchant guilds and commercial towns in North and Central Europe.

Spoils from the Sultan (part II): Arms and armour captured from the Turks in 1529-1683, in the Military History Museum of Vienna

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By Periklis Deligiannis
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CONTINUED FROM PART I

Ottoman horsetail-standards (credit: Erich Lessing archive)

Spoils from the Sultan (part I): Arms and armour captured from the Turks in 1529-1683, in the Military History Museum of Vienna

The chichak type helmet of the Ottoman Grand Visier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha who as a military commander confronted the army of the Habsburgs in 1566, between the two sieges of Vienna (credit: http://www.tforum.info).
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By Periklis Deligiannis
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The two sieges of Vienna by the Ottomans in 1529 and 1683 and the intermediate wars between the Ottoman Empire on the one side and the Habsburg dominions and the Poles on the other, had been remarkably decisive conflicts for the History of Europe. In both sieges of Vienna and the subsequent battles, the Ottomans were finally defeated leaving behind many dead, prisoners and valuable arms and armourand other military items, while the victorious European side paid a heavy toll in casualties as well. Today the most important spoils captured from the Turks are exhibited in the Military History Museum of Vienna. In these posts I present some images of Ottoman arms and armour in this exceptional museum.