Mongolian Armor Philosophy

The Mongols were ultra-mobile warriors and their armor was designed to enable them to keep moving at all times. This lamellar armor, or Mongolian khuyag, is made up of hundreds of individual iron or leather scales that are sewn onto a strong fabric backing, typically made of silk. The individual scales are free to move in any direction, similar to a fish’s scales, which allows for maximum flexibility of movement. This armor is best at protecting against slashing or piercing type of attacks.

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Importance to the Empire

Another crucial aspect of the Mongol’s armory was the very fact that their light cavalry were unable to engage in combat with heavy infantry. This was rectified by the use of the iron lamellar armor, worn by the elite vanguard troops. The use of the tough fibers of silk in the soldier’s undershirt provided another innovation. The fibers of the strong silk would wrap around the arrow head penetrating the wound. When the arrow was pulled from the wound the fibers of the silk would be drawn out of the wound as well, preventing the arrow’s sharp barbs from tearing at the flesh and causing excessive bleeding. As the Mongols were constantly on campaign the wounds of their soldiers would thus have been much cleaner than those of their enemies, resulting in a lower mortality rate.

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Effect on The Silk Road

A further important aspect of the armor was its export on the Silk Road to the West as well as to many parts of Asia. This meant that there was constantly a focus on new development, because the armor was always in the field. That is to say that the technology of Mongol armor was always tied to the Silk Road, the network of trade routes upon which the power of the Mongol Empire was based.

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Direct Comparison

European knights of the 13th century were clad in chainmail or very early plate armor, as opposed to other nations. Chainmail restricted movement somewhat, early plate armor even more, but for the Chinese Song Dynasty infantry it was far too heavy to be of any use. Fast moving Mongol cavalry, traveling long distances at high speed, required scale armor, but not too dense for close quarters combat. The emphasis for the Mongols was speed. Their armor needed to be strong enough but still retain the artibutes for fast scale warfare, that Genghis Khan used to suprise opponents.

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Bibliography

• Prasad, Aarathi. 2024. “How Silk Helped the Armies of Genghis Khan Conquer Asia.” Literary Hub. May 2024. https://lithub.com/how-silk-helped-the-armies-of-genghis-khan-conquer-asia/.
• Wikipedia Contributors. 2021. “Mongolian Armour.” Wikipedia. June 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_armour.
• Wikipedia Contributors. 2024a. “Military of the Mongol Empire.” Wikipedia. January 7, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_the_Mongol_Empire.
• Lamellar Shoulder Defenses, 14th-16th Century, The Met, New York City, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/788894
• Helmet (rmog), 15th-17th Century, The Met, New York City, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26628
• Cartwright, Mark. 2019. “Mongol Warfare.” World History Encyclopedia. Mark Cartwright. October 10, 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/Mongol_Warfare/.