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Byzantine Relief of a Swordsman in round hat and trousers, 10th-11th century. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.




Source: pp.275-276, Darkevich, Svetskoe iskusstvo Vizantii: X-XIII veka, (Moscow 1975). [990MB]
Secular Art of Byzantium: X-XIII centuries.

Referenced as figure 80 in Arms and armour of the crusading era, 1050-1350 by Nicolle, David. 1988 edition
80. Carved plaque, Byzantine, 10-11 Cents. (Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, USSR)
A very interesting little carving of unspecified provenance which seems to illustrate a warrior with a turban. He is bare chested but wears trousers similar to the Islamic sarawil. The man carried his scabbard from a baldric. His sword is straight and probably double edged and his shield is a medium sized hand-held buckler. All this points to his being an Arab, probably a bedouin or North African, and such details are shown with remarkable accuracy.



Referenced as figure 217 in The military technology of classical Islam by D Nicolle
217. Relief plaque, 10th-11th centuries AD, Byzantine, Hermitage, Leningrad (Dar).

p.417, vol.2: Even during Byzantium's offensive phase in the 10th century, heavy and light infantry continued to play a vital role. The former provided a secure square from which the cavalry could deliver its charges, while light infantry continued to fight as skirmishers and play an offensive role in broken country.121 Once again they constantly appear in Byzantine art, light (Figs. 211, 217 and 220B) and heavy (Figs. 212 and 220A). Such troops were almost certainly included among those Byzantine prisoners and mercenaries recruited by the Ṭūlūnids of Egypt during the 9th century.122

121. Howard-Johnson, op. cit., pp. 282-286.
122. Bosworth, "Armies of the Prophet," p. 203; Hassan, op. cit., p. 168.



See also: Archers in a Fresco of the Pursuit of Elizabeth, 970-980 AD, Byzantine, Chapel of St. Eustace, Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey.
Other 10th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers
Byzantine Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers
Illustrations of Arab Costume & Soldiers