by Giuseppe Rava
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THE GEORGIAN CAMPAIGN, 1020
Plate H4: Abasgian armoured cavalryman
This messenger from the Georgian prince’s army is taken from the Mravaldzali and Parakheti icons of the late 10th and early 11th centuries,
and is essentially identical to his Byzantine counterparts. Yovhannes Draskhanakertc describes the host of Western Georgia (the Abkhazian or ‘Abasgian’ kingdom)
in the 10th century as ‘A numerous army, with steeds prancing in the air, the warriors wearing iron armour, formidable helmets,
cuirasses with nail-studded iron plates [i.e. riveted lamellae] and sturdy shields, adornments, spears and swords’.
Source: pp.58-59, Byzantine Imperial Guardsmen 925-1025: The Tághmata and Imperial Guard by Timothy Dawson
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