Norms

Helmets of Russian princes. Where did the inscriptions about Allah come from on the helmets of Russian princes

One should not think that rare and very expensive helmets were found and are found only abroad. And even more so, it is stupid to consider in their findings some kind of belittling of our Russian culture. Well, there was no Roman culture on our lands, the Romans did not come here. Therefore, there are no Roman helmets in our archaeological finds, even the most tasteless ones. They reached England, and they reached France. But beyond the Rhine, again, they were not, so a clear boundary of the finds is fixed - the Rhine River - and here the Romans, and here - the "wild Germans". But after the baptism of Russia, its spiritual development went in the same direction of European civilization, the same swords from Europe appeared, but, of course, their own local products, which were no worse than Western and Scandinavian ones. And just the helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of these products. This is an ancient Russian helmet, which is dated to the second half of the 12th or the first half of the 13th century. It is located in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.

Russian soldiers had good costumes in the movie "Alexander Nevsky"!

According to the typology of the Russian scientist A.N. Kirpichnikov belongs to type IV. He also noted that the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of the first finds, from which "the study began not only, but in general of Russian antiquities."

A copy of the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. (State Historical Museum, original in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow)

Well, they found it quite by accident, and quite a long time ago. It so happened that a peasant woman A. Larionova from the village of Lykova, located near the city of Yuryev-Podolsky, in the autumn of 1808, “being in a bush for plucking nuts, saw something luminous near a walnut bush in a tussock.” It was a helmet that lay on top of chain mail, and both she and the helmet itself were badly rusted. The peasant woman took her find to the village headman, and he saw a holy image on the helmet and handed it over to the bishop. He, in turn, sent it to Alexander I himself, and he handed it over to the president of the Academy of Arts A.N. Olenin.

A.N. Olenin. He was the first to study the helmet, which is now officially called the "helmet from Lykovo" ...

He began to study the helmet and suggested that the helmet, along with chain mail, belonged to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and were hidden by him during his flight from the battle of Lipica in 1216. He found the name Theodore on the helmet, and this was the name of Prince Yaroslav, given to him at baptism. And Olenin suggested that the prince removed both the chain mail and the helmet so that they would not interfere with his flight. Indeed, from the Laurentian Chronicle, we know that Prince Yaroslav, when he was defeated, fled to Pereyaslavl, where he arrived only on the fifth horse, and drove four horses along the way. His brother Yuri was also in a hurry to escape from the scene of the battle so that he arrived in Vladimir only on the fourth horse, and the chronicle emphasized that he was "in the first shirt, lining and threw out you." That is, in one underwear, poor fellow, he galloped, in such a fear.

Unfortunately, the crown of the helmet has been preserved in a very poor condition - in the form of only two large fragments, which makes it impossible to determine its exact shape and design. It is generally accepted that it had a shape close to ellipsoidal.

Drawing from a pre-revolutionary book about Russian antiquities...

Outside, the surface of the helmet was covered with a silver sheet and gilded silver lining, with chased images of the image of the Almighty, as well as Saints George, Basil and Theodore. The forehead plate bore the image of the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: “Look at the Archangel Michael, help your servant Theodore.” The edge of the helmet is decorated with a gilded border covered with an ornament.

In general, one can speak of the high artistic skill of the manufacturers of this helmet, their technical skill and good taste. In its design, pre-revolutionary Russian historians saw Norman motifs, but the Soviet ones preferred to compare them with the white stone carvings of the temples of Vladimir-Suzdal. Historian B.A. Kolchin believed that the crown of the helmet was solid forged and made of iron or low-carbon steel using stamping, after which a knockout followed, and this distinguishes it from other similar products of this time. For some reason, the half-mask of the helmet covers part of the inscription made around the perimeter of the icon, which allows us to assert that at first it was not there, but was added later.

According to A.N. Kirpichnikov, this helmet was remade at least three times and that it had owners before Prince Yaroslav. And at first he could not have any decorations. Then silver linings were riveted to it. And only after that, his pommel and half mask were added to it.

Historian K.A. Zhukov notes that the helmet did not have lower cutouts for the eyes. But, in his opinion, the helmet was not subjected to alteration, but was immediately made with a half mask. The author of the article “The Helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich” N.V. Chebotarev points to the place where his forehead icon joins the half-mask, and draws attention to the fact that for some reason it covers part of the inscription framing the icon, which, in general, should not be.

His drawing, made in pre-revolutionary times.

After all, if the helmet were made by one master and, so to speak, at a time, then there is no doubt that then the inscription on the icon would correspond to the place of its placement. But it could also be that the half-mask was temporarily removed from the helmet in order to fix the icon on it, as if it were not measured in size, and then “by virtue of tradition” to hope “at random”, they decided that ... “it will do.”

For some reason, Alexander has two helmets in the film. Moreover, he wears them during the action SIMULTANEOUSLY. The difference is that the second one has a half mask with a sharp nose! So to speak, he has a "more combative look."

In any case, the shape of this helmet with a forehead icon and a half-mask is reflected in art. It was such a helmet (and in two versions!) that was put on the head of his hero by director Sergei Eisenstein in the feature film Alexander Nevsky. Sets of postcards with the image of Prince Alexander in this helmet were printed in thousands of copies, so it is not surprising that for a long time everyone thought that the “movie helmet” was made according to the model of a real one, although in fact it was not at all like that.

Turkish helmet of the early 17th century. from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Pay attention to how much it looks like old Russian helmets. It is clear that this is not due to the fact that the “Rus-Horde-Ataman Empire” (namely “Atamanskaya”, because “atamans”, that is, “military leaders”, that is, princes / kagans are chieftains!). It's just that the form is rational, that's all. Even the Assyrians had such helmets, and that they are also Slavs? And then a visor was added to such helmets, an “arrow-nose”, which could be raised up and down, “headphones”, a back pad and it turned out ... a “Ericho hat” or as this helmet was called in the West - “eastern burgignot” (burgonet).

Western European Burgonet oriental style. Late XVI in. Made in Augsburg. Weight 1976 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

The second helmet, again attributed to Alexander Nevsky, is also an exhibit of the Kremlin Armory, and not just an exhibit, but one of the most famous and famous!

Officially, it is called the "Erichon cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich" - that is, the same Mikhail Romanov, who just became the founder ... of the royal house of the Romanovs. And why is it considered the helmet of the noble prince Alexander Yaroslavich? It’s just that in the 19th century there was a legend that the helmet of Tsar Mikhail was a remake of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. That's all!

Where this legend came from is not entirely clear. In any case, when the Great Coat of Arms was approved in 1857 Russian Empire, then his coat of arms was crowned with the image of the "helmet of Prince Alexander."

However, it is quite obvious that this helmet could not be made in Russia in the 13th century. However, it was finally possible to prove that it was made at the beginning of the 17th century only after the Great Patriotic War when historians had the appropriate technology in their hands. That is, everything that somehow connects this helmet with the name of Alexander Nevsky is just a legend and nothing more.

Well, about what this helmet is after all, the candidate of historical sciences S. Akhmedov outlined in detail in the article “Helmet by Nikita Davydov”. In his opinion, this helmet is made in the Eastern tradition, although along with the Arabic inscription it also has Orthodox symbols. By the way, very similar helmets are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and it is known for sure that they are ... from Turkey!

In "Antiquities" Russian state, published by the Highest command ”(1853), - from where the lithograph cited here is taken, - such a translation of the 13th Ayat 61 of Sura is given: “Help from God and a near victory and build [this] blessing to the faithful.” 61 The surah is called Sura As-Saff ("Rows"). Surah sent down in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayats. At the very beginning of the Surah, it is said that Allah is praised both in heaven and on earth. And whatever he wants, so that all those who believe in him rally and become like one hand. In it, Musa and Isa stigmatize the sons of Israel, declare them stubborn infidels and accuse them of wanting to extinguish the light of the faith of Allah. In the same sura, Allah promises to make his religion above all others, even if this is not to the liking of the pagan polytheists. At the very end of the Sura, believers are called to fight for faith in Allah, to defend his religion, so that they sacrifice both their property and even their lives. And as an example, the apostles are given, who were followers of Isa, the son of Maryam.
13 Ayat:
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
One of the translations of this verse is as follows:
“There will be something else that you love: help from Allah and a close victory. Tell the good news to the believers!”;
“And another thing that you love: help from Allah and a close victory. And rejoice the believers!”;
“And also for you, O believers, another favor that you love: help from Allah and a near victory, the blessing of which you will enjoy. Please, O Muhammad, the believers with this reward!
And the question is, how could the Russian master Nikita Davydov make such a helmet (in about 1621), and even being Orthodox, write on it in Arabic: “Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory”?

In the income and expenditure book of the Armory Order dated December 18, 1621, there is such an entry: “The Sovereign’s salary of the Armory Order to the self-made master Nikita Davydov is polar (the following is a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the sovereign granted him for the fact that he and the crowns, and targets, and naushi pointed with gold. That is, he trimmed with gold a certain helmet given to him for decoration, and for that he received payment in kind from the sovereign.

Drawings of the helmet from the book "Antiquities of the Russian State, published by the Highest Command" (1853). Then this is how information about the cultural values of the Russian Empire was presented! Front, back view.

Side view.

That is, it was not Nikita Davydov himself who made it, but only decorated it. And it was necessary to decorate it, because it was a clear gift to the king from the East. It is possible that a gift directly from the sovereign, which must be accepted. But how to wear it if you are an Orthodox tsar, and quotes from the Koran are written on the helmet. It is impossible to offend the eastern ruler by refusing his gift. But the subjects… they are like that… Grishka Otrepyev was recognized as an impostor because he didn’t sleep after dinner, didn’t like to go to the bathhouse, and it’s even embarrassing to say such a thing - “he loved roast veal.” And then there are the words from the book of the "nasty" on the head of the king ... The Orthodox people simply will not understand this, they will also raise a riot.

Notched jewelry.

That is why Nikita Danilov was invited to bring this helmet into a "usable form." So on the nose arrow of the helmet there was a miniature figurine of the Archangel Michael made of colored enamels. On the dome, the master, with the help of a notch, “stuffed” golden crowns, and at the very top, that is, on the pommel, he strengthened the golden cross. True, he was not preserved, but it is known that he was.

Inside view.

And this, by the way, is far from the first case when weapons from the East found new owners in Russia. From the East, the sabers of Mstislavsky (his helmet, by the way, is also eastern, Turkish!), Minin and Pozharsky, stored in the same Armory and containing oriental hallmarks and inscriptions in Arabic script, came to Russia from the East.

P.S. That's how interesting life is. I wrote this material by order of one of the regular readers of VO. But in the process of work, I encountered a number of “interesting moments” that formed the basis for continuing the topic, so…

To be continued…

Where did the Muslim script come from on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, why did an eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III, did Ivan the Terrible kill his son? The history of Russian monarchs is full of mysteries.

Who was Rurik?
Historians have not come to a consensus about who Rurik was. According to some sources, he could be the Danish Viking Rorik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.
There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik.
The 19th-century historian Stapan Gedeonov associated the prince's name with the word "Rerek" (or "Rarog"), which in the Slavic Obodrite tribe meant a falcon. During the excavations of the early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.

Did Svyatopolk kill Boris and Gleb?
One of the main "anti-heroes" of history Ancient Russia became Svyatopolk the Accursed. He is considered to be the murderer of the noble princes Boris and Gleb in 1015. Folk etymology connects the nickname Svyatopolk with the name of Cain, although this word goes back to the old Russian "kayati" - to repent.
Despite the accusation of murdering princes, the name of Svyatopolk was not removed from the family list of princely names until the middle of the 12th century.
Some historians, such as Nikolai Ilyin, believe that Svyatopolk could not have killed Boris and Gleb, since they recognized his right to the throne. In his opinion, the young princes fell victim to the hands of the warriors of Yaroslav the Wise, who claimed the throne of Kyiv. For this reason, the name Svyatopolk was not removed from the generic list of names.

Where did the remains of Yaroslav the Wise disappear?
Yaroslav the Wise, son of Vladimir the Baptist, was buried on February 20, 1054 in Kyiv in the marble tomb of St. Clement. In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened and, with surprise, several mixed remains were found: a male, a female, and several bones of a child.
In 1939 they were sent to Leningrad, where scientists from the Institute of Anthropology established that one of the three skeletons belonged to Yaroslav the Wise.
However, it remained a mystery to whom the other remains belonged and how they got there. According to one version, the only wife of Yaroslav, the Scandinavian princess Ingegerde, rested in the tomb. But who was Yaroslav the child buried with him? With the advent of DNA technology, the question of opening the tomb arose again.
The relics of Yaroslav - the most ancient of the surviving remains of the Rurik family, had to "answer" several questions. The main one of which: the genus of Rurikovich - Scandinavians or all the same Slavs?
On September 10, 2009, looking at the pale anthropologist Sergei Szegeda, the employees of the St. Sophia Cathedral Museum realized that things were bad. The remains of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise disappeared, and in their place lay a completely different skeleton and the Pravda newspaper from 1964.
The riddle of the appearance of the newspaper was quickly solved. She was forgotten by Soviet specialists, the last ones who worked with bones.
But with the "self-proclaimed" relics, the situation was more complicated. It turned out that these were female remains, and from two skeletons dating from completely different times! Who these women are, how their remains ended up in the sarcophagus, and where Yaroslav himself disappeared, still remains a mystery.

Where did the Muslim script come from on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky?

On the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, in addition to diamonds and rubies, there is an Arabic script, the 3rd verse of the 61st sura of the Koran: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory."
In the course of countless checks and examinations, it was established that the “Erichon Hat” was forged in the East (where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century.
Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent “Christian tuning”. The helmet was mistakenly attributed to Nevsky, but because of this mistake it was on the coat of arms of the Russian Empire along with other royal "hats".
Interestingly, the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other well-born people of medieval Russia. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. But it is difficult to imagine that the regulated Ivan IV put a used helmet on his crowned head. Moreover, in use by the "basurman". The question of why the noble prince wore a helmet with Islamic inscriptions still remains open.

Why did an eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III?
The double-headed eagle in Russia first appeared on state seal Grand Duke Ivan III in 1497. Historians almost categorically claim that the eagle appeared in Russia with light hand Sophia Paleolog, niece of the last Byzantine emperor and wife of Ivan III.
But why the Grand Duke decided to use the eagle only two decades later, no one explains.
Interestingly, it was at the same time in Western Europe that the double-headed eagle became fashionable among alchemists. The authors of alchemical works put the eagle on their books as a sign of quality. The double-headed eagle meant that the author received the Philosopher's Stone, capable of turning metals into gold. The fact that Ivan III gathered around him foreign architects, engineers, doctors, who probably practiced then fashionable alchemy, indirectly proves that the tsar had an idea about the essence of the “feathered” symbol.

Did Ivan the Terrible kill his son?
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a very controversial fact. So, in 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Studies have made it possible to assert that Tsarevich John was poisoned. The content of poison in his remains is many times higher than the permissible norm. Interestingly, the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilyevich.
Scientists have concluded that the royal family had been the victim of poisoners for several decades.
Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. This version was followed, for example, by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Seeing the famous painting by Repin at the exhibition, he was outraged and wrote to Emperor Alexander III: “You can’t call the painting historical, since this moment is ... purely fantastic.”
The version of the murder was based on the stories of the papal legate Antonio Possevino, who can hardly be called a disinterested person.

Why did Ivan the Terrible move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda?

Grozny's move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda was an unprecedented event in Russian history. In fact, Alexandrovskaya Sloboda became the capital of Russia for almost 20 years. Here Ivan the Terrible began to establish the first after centuries of isolation international relationships, conclude important trade and political treaties, receive embassies of European powers.
Grozny moved there the first printing house in Russia, where Andronik Timofeev and Nikifor Tarasiev, the disciples of the first printer Ivan Fedorov, worked, who printed many books and even the first leaflets in it.
The best architects, icon painters, and musicians came to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda after the sovereign. A book-writing workshop worked at the court, and a prototype of the first conservatory was created.
The tsarist diplomats were ordered to explain to foreigners that the Russian tsar went to the “village” of his own free will “for his own coolness”, that his residence in the “village” is located near Moscow, therefore the tsar “rules his state both in Moscow and in Sloboda”.
Why did Grozny decide to move? Most likely, the monastic brotherhood in Sloboda was formed in the wake of the conflict between Ivan IV and Metropolitan Philip. The head of the church denounced the unrighteous life of the king. The presence in Sloboda of the monastic brotherhood showed with their own eyes to everyone that the sovereign was leading the life of a saint. Ivan the Terrible did not particularly flirt with his brotherhood. In 1570-1571, some brothers were stabbed to death or hanged on the gates of their own house, others were drowned or thrown into prison.

Where did Ivan the Terrible's library go?
According to legend, Ivan the Terrible, after his move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, brought the library with him. Another hypothesis says that John hid it in some kind of reliable Kremlin cache. But be that as it may, after the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the library disappeared.
There are many versions of the loss. First: priceless manuscripts burned down in one of the Moscow fires. The second: during the occupation of Moscow, the Poles took the "liberia" to the West and sold it in parts there.
According to the third version, the Poles really found the library, but in the conditions of hunger, they ate it there in the Kremlin.
The library was searched for a long time, but in vain. The search for "liberia" was carried out in the 20th century. However, academician Dmitry Likhachev said that the legendary library is hardly of great value.

Why did Ivan the Terrible abdicate?
In 1575, Ivan the Terrible abdicated and placed Simeon Bekbulatovich, a serving Tatar khan, on the throne. Contemporaries did not understand the meaning of the monarch's undertaking. A rumor spread that the sovereign was frightened by the prediction of magicians. The news of this was preserved by one of the later chroniclers: “But the netsyi say that for this they planted (Simeon), that the sorcerers told him that in that year there would be a change: the Moscow tsar would die.”
The autocrat received warnings of this kind from sorcerers and astrologers more than once.
Ivan began to call himself "serf Ivashka." But it is significant that the power of the "serf" for some reason continued to spread to the lands of the former Kazan Khanate, where Ivan retained the title of king.
Most likely, Ivan was afraid that, being under the rule of a real Chingizid, the citizens of Kazan would perhaps perk up, they would incite Simeon to revolt. Of course, Simeon was not a real king, the uncertainty of his position was aggravated by the fact that he occupied the royal throne, but received only the grand ducal title instead of the royal one.
In the third month of Simeon's reign, the Terrible told the English ambassador that he would be able to take the rank again when he pleased, and would do as God instructed him, because Simeon had not yet been approved by the wedding ceremony and had not been appointed by popular choice, but only by his consent.
Simeon's reign lasted 11 months, after which Ivan dismisses him, generously rewards Tver and Torzhok, where Simeon dies in 1616, having taken monasticism before his death. For almost a year Grozny carried out his strange experiment.

Was False Dmitry "false"

We have already come to terms with the fact that False Dmitry I is a fugitive monk Grishka Otrepyev. The idea that “it was easier to save than to fake Demetrius” was expressed by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov.
And indeed, it looks very surreal that at first Dmitry (with the prefix “false”) was recognized by his own mother, princes, boyars in front of all honest people, and after a while, everyone suddenly saw the light.
The pathological situation is added by the fact that the prince himself was completely convinced of his naturalness, as contemporaries wrote about.
Either this is schizophrenia, or he had reasons. Checking the "originality" of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich, at least today, is not possible.

Who killed Tsarevich Dmitry?
If Dmitry did die, what caused his death? At noon on May 25, 1591, the prince threw knives with other children who were part of his retinue. In the materials of the investigation into the death of the son of Ivan the Terrible, there is evidence of one youth who played with the prince: “... the prince played de poking with a knife with them in the backyard, and a disease came upon him - an epileptic ailment - and attacked the knife."
In fact, these testimonies became the main argument for the investigators to qualify the death of Dmitry Ioannovich as an accident.
However, the official version still does not suit historians. The death of the last sovereign from the Rurik dynasty opened the way to the kingdom of Boris Godunov, who was actually the ruler of the country while Fyodor Ivanovich was still alive. By that time, Godunov had gained a reputation among the people as the “murderer of the prince”, but this did not bother him much. Through cunning manipulations, he was nevertheless elected king

Peter I was replaced?
Many Russian boyars were in this belief after the return of Peter I from a 15-month tour of Europe. And the point here was not only in the new royal "outfit".
Particularly attentive persons found inconsistencies of a physiological nature: firstly, the king grew significantly, and, secondly, his facial features changed, and, thirdly, his leg size became much smaller.
Rumors spread throughout Muscovy about the substitution of the sovereign.
According to one version, Peter was "put into the wall", and instead of him they sent an impostor with a similar face to Russia. According to another - "the king in the Germans was laid in a barrel and put into the sea." Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that Peter, who returned from Europe, began a large-scale destruction of "old Russian antiquities."
There were also rumors that the tsar was replaced in infancy: “The sovereign is not of Russian breed, and not Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich’s son; taken in infancy from a German settlement, from a foreign exchange. The queen gave birth to a princess, and instead of the princess they took Evo, sovereign, and gave the princess instead of Evo.

To whom did Peter I bequeath power?

Peter I died without having time to appoint an heir. After him, the throne was taken by Catherine I, and then followed by a long political leapfrog, called the era of palace coups. In 1812, after the collapse of the Napoleonic invasion, it became known about a certain “Testament of Peter I”.
In 1836 it is published, however, on French. In the will, Peter allegedly called on his successors to wage constant wars with Europe, divide Poland, conquer India and neutralize Turkey. In general, to achieve complete and final hegemony in Eurasia.
The credibility of the document was given by some of the “covenants” already fulfilled, for example, the partition of Poland. But, at the end of the 19th century, the document was carefully studied and found to be fake.

Who was Paul I?
Emperor Paul I unwittingly continued the tradition of generating rumors around the Romanov dynasty. Immediately after the birth of the heir, rumors spread around the court, and then throughout Russia, that the real father of Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov.
This was indirectly confirmed by Catherine II, who in her memoirs recalled how Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not die out, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who would be his genetic father. There is also a folk legend about the birth of Paul I: according to her, Catherine gave birth to a dead child from Peter, and he was replaced by a certain "Chukhonian" boy.

When did Alexander I die?

There is a legend that Alexander the First left the royal throne, having faked his own death, and went to wander around Russia under the name of Fyodor Kuzmich. There are several indirect confirmations of this legend.
So, the witnesses concluded that on his deathbed, Alexander was categorically not like himself.
In addition, for unclear reasons, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, the wife of the Tsar, did not participate in the mourning ceremony.
The famous Russian lawyer Anatoly Koni conducted a thorough comparative study of the handwriting of the emperor and Fyodor Kuzmich and came to the conclusion that "the letters of the emperor and the notes of the wanderer were written by the same person."

In the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin under inventory number 4411 there is a military headdress decorated with gold ornaments and precious stones. Until the middle of the 19th century, it was demonstrated with an indication that it was the helmet of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. The image of the helmet even got on the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, despite the fact that among the adorning it Christian symbols Arabic script with a line from the Koran stands out.

But how did this inscription end up on the headdress of an Orthodox prince, and are such cases known to history?

On the basis of traditional history, it is logical to assume that a crusader will write a motto in Latin on the shield, a Muslim will write verses from the Koran, and a Russian warrior will use at least his native language. Instead, we observe the dominance of the so-called "Eastern" weapons in Russia with inscriptions of religious content, made almost exclusively in Arabic. As a rule, these are verses from the Koran and appeals to Allah.

And we are NOT talking about captured weapons.

Half of the "Jericho caps", which are an important part of the solemn military attire of the Russian Tsar, have religious Arabic inscriptions. It is striking that languages other than Arabic are not used.

There is even an example of a paradoxical, from the point of view of traditional history, neighborhood of seemingly completely alien religious symbols on the “caps of Jericho” Russian tsars.

1. Helmet of Alexander Nevsky

On the "Jericho cap" of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the work of the master of the Armory Nikita Davydov in 1621, an Arabic Koranic inscription is placed in the hallmarks:

نَصْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(meaning): " Almighty Allah will grant you victory over your enemies and a close conquest (Persia and Byzantium). And please, O Muhammad, the believers with this decision of Allah Almighty "(Sura As-Saff).

This inscription is adjacent to the eight-pointed Orthodox symbols.

According to legend, Nevsky's helmet was reforged in the 17th century specifically for Mikhail Fedorovich, the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty. The court master Nikita Danilov added precious stones to it. The updated helmet was named "Erichon cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich". There was no modernization here - helmets in Russia were called that, since Russian monarchs from the time of Ivan the Terrible liked to compare themselves with Joshua, the Old Testament king who took Jericho.

In the 20th century, historians did not believe in the legend, doubting that the helmet once belonged to Alexander Nevsky. Having subjected the damask headdress to countless examinations and analyzes, scientists came to the conclusion that the “Erichon Hat” was forged in the East (hence the Arabic inscriptions) in the 17th century. Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent “Christian tuning”.

True, no one explains why the king did not order to remove the "basurman letter"? By negligence? Hardly. Out of ignorance? Hardly. There were always quite a few Tatars at the royal court who were familiar with Arabic calligraphy.

It turns out that the helmet of Alexander Nevsky is not the only one of its kind. There are more than one or two such exhibits decorated with Arabic script in the Kremlin Armory.

2. Helmet - "cap of Erichon" Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

On the headdress of Alexei Mikhailovich is written " ". The Arabic inscription on the helmet reads:

« Allah - there is no deity but Him, eternally living, eternally existing. Neither slumber nor sleep has power over Him... ».

3. Hat-erikhonka Alexei Mikhailovich Lvov

Boyar Alexei Mikhailovich Lvov held under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich the high position of roundabout (court rank and position in the Russian state in the 13th - early 18th centuries. From the middle of the 16th century - the second (after the boyar) duma rank of the Boyar Duma. Roundabouts headed orders, regiments). It is also covered with Arabic patterns and - interestingly - sayings from the Koran. One gets the impression that when ordering a helmet, very similar to the royal one, only less decorated, the boyar Alexei Lvov wanted to emphasize his status.

The court clerk who described the helmet (a civil servant, the head of a governing body (order) or a junior rank in the boyar duma of Russia in the 16th - early 18th centuries) could not bypass the foreign letters and made such a note in the inventory: “the crown and in the crown in the lead of the words Arabic”. However, if the clerk did not delve into them, this does not mean that its owner did not know the meaning of what was written on the helmet.

4. Yerichonka of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov

With Aleksey Mikhailovich's erihonka, everything is more complicated. It was made in Turkey in the 17th century, decorated with silver and gold, chasing and carving, and in general is a very worthy helmet for its owner. Another thing is the inscription in Arabic, which reads: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." The completely non-Orthodox inscription on the helmet of the Orthodox Tsar raises one, but a very serious question. What is she doing there? While it remains open, and you can offer your versions in the comments.

5. Erichonka boyar A. O. Pronchishchev

“The helmet was brought to Russia in 1633 by Afanasy Pronchishchev, who was at the head of the Russian embassy in Istanbul. The embassy was received with great honors, but on the way back the ship got into a storm, and the inhabitants of Kafa (Feodosia) almost killed the ambassadors. In spite of everything, Pronchishchev managed to save and deliver valuables to the sovereign, among which was the ceremonial helmet.

“The ceremonial helmet – the “Ericho cap” – is forged from damask steel. The nape is attached to the crown with three silver chains. The visor has a bow arrow with a slotted inscription. Almost the entire surface of the helmet is covered with a "lace" of a stylized ornament incised with gold and inscriptions - sayings from the Koran.

Interestingly, the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other well-born people of medieval Russia. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. But it is difficult to imagine that the regulated Ivan IV put a used helmet on his crowned head. Moreover, in the use of the "Basurman" ...

According to the materials of the sites " Russian seven " and " Ludota »

Prepared by: Makhach Gitinovasov

Secrets like to surround not only living beings, but also inanimate objects. The helmet of Alexander Nevsky, which is stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin, is from this number. This, of course, is not the Holy Grail, but there are no less mysteries in it.

Such a dress could crown the head of Rurikovich, the true Chosen One. All to one: red iron, a shape in the form of a dome of a temple, the image of Archangel Michael the Archangel on the bow arrow, designed to tremble the enemy’s hand with an uplifted sword, a gold notch, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls ... And suddenly - Arabic script! On the helmet of an Orthodox prince! What's this? 13th verse of the 61st sura of the Qur'an: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory."

Historians and collectors will find an explanation for everything. In the horizon of their own erudition, experience, dreams, obsessions... They love logic. The logic of teachers primary school explaining to schoolchildren the impossibility of the existence of ghosts.

According to legend, Nevsky's helmet was reforged in the 17th century especially for Mikhail Fedorovich, the first tsar from the Romanovs. The court master Nikita Danilov added precious stones to it. The updated helmet was named "Erichon cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich". There was no modernization here - helmets in Russia were called that, since Russian monarchs from the time of Ivan the Terrible liked to compare themselves with Joshua, the Old Testament king who took Jericho.

In the 20th century, historians did not believe in the legend, doubting that the helmet once belonged to Alexander Nevsky. Having subjected the damask headdress to countless examinations and analyzes, scientists came to the conclusion that the “Erichon Hat” was forged in the East (where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century. Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent “Christian tuning”.

With a high degree of probability, the royal owners of the “Ericho hats” knew the origin and translation of the “Arabic patterns”. But at the same time they showed tolerance for the presence on their own helmets. Perhaps the engraved suras from the Koran were given some magical properties- a kind of "graphic" Jericho trumpet, destroying the walls of fortresses not with sound, but with letters.

The 13th verse of the 61st sura of the Qur'an was minted on the helmet: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory."
One of the helmets kept under inventory number 4411 is regarded as one of the unique weapons of medieval craftsmen. In almost all books and brochures devoted to the collection of the Armory, this helmet is necessarily noted and its image is given. Even a person who is only superficially familiar with medieval weapons will immediately identify it as a helmet of clearly oriental work, moreover, from the region of Western or Central Asia, or the Middle East.

Until the middle of the 19th century, it was exhibited in the museum under the following name: "The helmet of Alexander Nevsky. Made of red copper, with an Arabic inscription. Asian work of the times crusades. Now it is in the Moscow Kremlin. " Naturally, it never occurred to anyone to ask how the head of an Orthodox prince, later canonized and canonized as a saint, suddenly turned out to be a helmet with Arabic (as it was later established, with Koranic inscriptions)? Under this It was shown by the same name in the book "History of Humanity", published in Dresden at the end of the 19th century. It was a pity for Soviet historians to cross out such an example of weapons and jewelry craftsmanship from the lists of the creations of the Russian people, and therefore in all works it began to be presented as "damask helmet of the king Mikhail Romanov, the work of master Nikita Davydov, 1621. "F.Ya. Mishutin and L.V. Pisarskaya described him in most detail, subsequent authors (I. Bobrovnitskaya, N. Vyueva and others) only used their descriptions. Let's turn to their So, F.Ya.Mishutin writes: “According to ancient inscriptions, the damask helmet of Tsar Mikhail Romanov is called the Ericho cap. The general shape of the helmet is traditionally oriental, but beautifully complicated and softened in a Russian way, in very smooth proportions. The traditional Russian ornament coexists with skillful Arabic inscriptions, crowns with eight-pointed Russian crosses on them: if we compare it with the finest works of Eastern and Western jewelers and gunsmiths of that time, then, of course, the superiority will remain with high technology, a sense of proportion and artistic the plan of the goldsmith Nikita Davydov" (quote from the work: Mishukov F.Ya. Gold notch and inlay on ancient weapons. The State Armory of the Moscow Kremlin. Sat. scientific works according to the materials of the State Armory Chamber. Moscow, 1954, pp. 115, 129). As you can see, the researcher points out that the helmet in ancient sources was designated as a cap of Ericho. In the above book, on page 561, the author gives a note: "It was not possible to establish quite exactly the origin of the name "Ericho's hat"". We believe that in this case, Mr. F. Mishutin simply grimaced, since the term Jericho, Jericho has long and firmly settled in Russian medieval literature as a symbol of the Middle East, Palestinian (recall, for example, the "Jericho trumpet"). In the description of the helmet, the author uses a term that is not entirely clear: "in Russian, a softened form." He probably really wanted the viewer, who saw the oriental shape of the helmet, not to think that the helmet is oriental, and therefore gave such an original addition. Further, the author speaks of a "traditional Russian ornament" on the helmet. We deliberately enlarged the image of the ornament so that the reader, looking at it, would answer the question himself: is this ornament "traditionally Russian"?

After all, until now such an ornament was indicated as " oriental ornament with floral motifs". Further, the author, describing how "traditionally Russian ornament" gets along with "skillful Arabic inscriptions", does not do what even a student of history or oriental studies should have done: he does not try to explain what the Arabic inscriptions say. Arabic, fortunately, does not belong to the category of dead languages, and the safety of the helmet allows you to read the inscription.Nevertheless, F. Mishukov, the master of the Armory in the description of ornaments and inlays on weapons, was so embarrassed. And, finally, the author , having finished the description with relief, gives the palm to "the goldsmith Nikita Davydov". However, he does not say why he decided that the helmet was made by this particular person. Looking ahead a little, we say that F. Mishukov could not say this, simply because that the name of Nikita Davydov is not on the helmet, just as there is no name of any other Russian master.
Now let's turn to the descriptions of L. Pisarskaya, who, distinguished by her great ability to work (most of the books and brochures of a popular nature based on the materials of the Armory, were published under her name), unfortunately, is not distinguished by the meticulousness of the researcher. She writes. "" Particularly noteworthy is the helmet of the work of the goldsmith Nikita Davydov, a native ancient city Murom. In terms of fine workmanship and artistic design, the helmet surpasses the best products of Eastern and Western jewelers of that time. It is covered with a golden pattern, in which the traditional Russian ornament is skillfully combined with Arabic inscriptions "(hereinafter she literally repeats the statements of F. Mishukov) (Pisarskaya L. Armory. Moscow, 1975, p. 30).
As you can see, both authors, who are considered the arms authorities of the Armory, are trying to convince everyone that the helmet was made by none other than "goldsmith Nikita Davydov." F.Ya Mishukov, probably in order to completely eliminate the reader's suspicion of the opposite, even considered it necessary to note once again: "The helmet was made by Nikita Davydov, who studied with skilled armorers of the older generation, masters of the Arms Order." It seems that he was afraid that suddenly someone would decide that Nikita Davydov took lessons from oriental masters and therefore decided to secure himself from this side as well. Now let's try to get to the facts. As you know, the technique of decorating weapons with gold and silver patterns comes from the East (by the way, F. Mishukov does not deny this on page 118 of his article). Moreover, it is undeniable that in the Roman era such weapons were called barbarium opus (the work of the barbarians), additionally indicating that Asia is meant. This term was also used in the Middle Ages, and only thanks to the Arabs who owned southern Spain, samples of this technique began to spread in Europe. The name (Ericho), shape (spheroconic), components (visor, nose in the form of an arrow, earpieces, butt pad), ornament (oriental floral), execution technique - all this speaks of the oriental character of the helmet. As for the inscriptions in Arabic, they are Koranic (!). This, no doubt, proves that the helmet is of Eastern work, because Nikita Davydov could not have made a helmet with inscriptions from the Koran for the Orthodox Tsar.
In this case, the question arises: why did the historians (Mishukov and company) decide that the helmet was made by Nikita Davydov, and who is he? The answer to this question can be found in the Russian historical documents themselves. So, in the "Receipt and Expenditure Book of the Treasury Prikaz" in a document dated December 18, 1621, there is an entry: "The sovereign's salary of the Armory Prikaz to a self-made master Nikita Davydov is a polar shin (the following is a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the sovereign granted him for that he and the crowns, and the targets, and the ears were pointed with gold. It is noteworthy that in the cited document it is about the helmet that is now being passed off as the work of Nikita Davydov. F. Mishukov (p. 116 of his article) and L. Pisarskaya (p. 30 of her book) are aware of this document.
Let's analyze the document. In order for the reader to understand what is at stake, we point out that the term "crown" denoted the top of the helmet, the term "target" - cartouches and individual ornaments outside of a single pattern, the term "naushi" - plates to protect the ears. The term "samopal" denoted one of the first types of firearms, the barrel of which was richly decorated. Thus, it becomes clear that Nikita Davydov, the master of ornamentation of firearms barrels, was given the task of putting gold patterns on the details of the helmet, which he did, for which he was rewarded by the tsar. In other words, he did not make (!) a helmet, but made patterns on it, probably the same crowns and Orthodox crosses that Nishukov and Pisarskaya so zealously focused on. That's why the helmet doesn't have his name on it. Probably, he also installed a teardrop-shaped pommel of the nose with the image of an Orthodox saint (the pommel does not fit into the general character of the entire ornament). http://www.evangelie.ru/forum/t74035.html
If you look closely at the Order of Alexander Nevsky, then the Russian prince and saint is depicted on it in this very helmet.
And here is a Turkish helmet for comparison.

Ceremonial helmet from the mid-16th century. steel, gold, rubies and turquoise. Top Kapi Museum, Istanbul, Turkey.
Here is an Iranian helmet.

Iran, 16th century.
And now let's again helmets of Russian princes.

This is the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, no later than 1547. As you can see, it is all covered in Arabic script. Only for some reason, researchers are not eager to translate all the Arabic inscriptions on the so-called Russian weapons. At the same time, not only helmets are covered with Arabic script, but also many sabers stored in museums.
Russian weapons, which were destined to win many great victories and be sung by poets, at one time were entirely "Muslim". Arabic words were not just applied to it, but even entire verses from the Koran and Islamic prayers (dua). Why was this done, how to explain it today, and why the traditional version does not stand up to criticism? More on this below. In the collection of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, objects from the 16th-17th centuries, covered with Arabic inscriptions and characteristic oriental patterns, attract attention. In the large album “State Armory chamber” lists some of these items, and gives a brief explanation of their origin. The authors of the album offer their own “explanation” for the Arabic inscriptions on Russian weapons. They say that Russian craftsmen copied oriental weapons, which were considered the best in the world, and, imitating, also copied inscriptions in an unfamiliar language, without really going into their meaning. To understand how weapons with Arabic inscriptions typical of the collection of the Armory Chamber, let us turn to the inventory of the Moscow Kremlin Armory, compiled in 1862 by the assistant director of the Armory Lukian Yakovlev. This rarest document exists only in a calligraphic manuscript and is stored in the archives of the Moscow Kremlin Armory. As stated in the inventory, when compiling it, the eastern inscriptions were sorted out by mullah Kheyreddin Agyev, his brother mullah Zeyeddin and their father, akhun of the Moscow Mukhamedan society, imam Mohammed Rafik Ageev. Armory you, with whom we managed to get acquainted in 1998. In addition to the indicated inventory of Lukian Yakovlev, in the Archives of the Armory, we saw several more handwritten inventories of edged weapons of the Armory. However, unlike L. Yakovlev's inventory, they do not contain drawings and translations of Arabic inscriptions on weapons. For some reason, these drawings and translations are not in the printed version of L. Yakovlev's inventory, compiled and published by Filimonov in 1884. the inventory of the Armory Chamber by L. Yakovlev is, apparently, the only complete source of Arabic inscriptions on objects of the Moscow Armory Chamber. The inventory lists 46 sabers belonging to Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, Ivan Alekseevich Romanov, as well as Russian princes of the 16th-17th centuries. t. related either to the place of manufacture, or to the model according to which this or that saber was made. It is not always clear what exactly - the place of manufacture or the name of the sample - is meant. An analysis of the data clearly shows that the most significant part of the edged weapons of the Moscow Armory are sabers. This is not accidental. It is believed that in the 16th-17th centuries the saber was the most typical weapon of the Russian XVII centuries ”it is stated that the saber was a traditional melee weapon in the Russian army. All types of troops were armed with it (!).
“The saber became a melee weapon in the 16th century - both Russian and foreign testimonies speak of its complete dominance and widespread use. So, without exception, all 288 people are children of boyars and noble kolomniki, 100 people are ryashans (Kryashens? baptized Tatars?), including the "novices" who had just been enrolled in the service "in the saber", only a few servants were armed with spears.
“The main striking weapon of the cavalry was a saber. According to a foreign observer, most of the Russian horsemen dressed in iron chain mail were armed with “crooked short sabers”, broadswords were more rare.”
Despite such popularity of the saber as a weapon in the Moscow troops of the 16th-17th centuries, in the inventory of the Armory Chamber of 1862, sabers of the “Moscow model” are far from being found as often as one might expect. Even if we refer to them all the sabers, for which there is no indication of the type or place of manufacture. So, among the sabers belonging to the Russian princes and tsars of the 16th-17th centuries, up to Ivan Alekseevich Romanov, the share of sabers of the "Moscow model", according to the documents, is only 34.8%. This is almost two times less than the number of "foreign" sabers, whose share is 65.3%. The same picture can be traced in the collection of nameless sabers and saber stripes: 96.2% of "foreign" types versus 3.6% of blades made not according to the "foreign" model. It should be noted that a significant part of the sabers stored in the Armory are blades of the so-called "Eastern" pattern. So, among the sabers belonging to Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, Ivan Alekseevich Romanov, as well as the Russian princes of the 16th-17th centuries, the proportion of sabers of the allegedly "Eastern" pattern is 50% of the total. And among the saber bands - 39.7%, not counting 24% of Cherkasy and Tabriz sabers. From the point of view of the version of Russian history accepted today, it turns out that the collection of traditional Russian weapons of the Moscow Kremlin consists mainly of foreign types of sabers. Moreover, from sabers made according to samples, accepted in hostile states, sort of like Muscovite Russia. After all, as it is believed in traditional history, the Muslim East, and in particular the Ottoman Empire, was a permanent military field a political and religious enemy of Russia. Yes, and with the western neighbors - Poland, Lithuania and the Livonian Order - relations with Muscovite Russia, as we are assured, were far from friendly. It is hard to believe that in such a situation in Russia there was no developed production of weapons and its Russian, national design. Therefore the collection of sabers of the Armory within the framework of traditional history looks unnatural. It requires special explanations. On the basis of traditional history, it is logical to assume that the crusader will write the motto in Latin on the shield, the Muslim - verses from the Koran, and the Russian warrior will use at least his native language. Instead, we are witnessing the dominance of the so-called "eastern" weapons in Russia from inscriptions of religious content, made almost exclusively in Arabic. As a rule, these are verses from the Koran and appeals to God (du'a).
And we are not talking about captured weapons. Sabers with Arabic inscriptions in Russia were bought, offered as a tribute and made in the Armory by Russian craftsmen. In the work of P. P. Epifanov, it is noted that Russian sabers with a somewhat curved blade were “similar” to Turkish ones. “Despite the well-known differences in design - some had crosses with blades, others with balls, some had an “elman” (an extension in the lower part of the blade), while others did not, - in general, the sabers were of the same type.”
Apparently, in the 17th century, Russian and Turkish (Eastern) designs simply did not differ. On the other hand, they were opposed to sabers of Western designs - Polish, Lithuanian, German. A similar situation arises with mirror armor, and with the famous "Jericho caps" - the ceremonial helmets of the Russian tsars. Half of the "Jericho caps", which are an important part of the solemn military attire of the Russian tsar, have religious Arabic inscriptions. It is amazing that other languages, except for Arabic, are not used. There is an example of a paradoxical, from the point of view of traditional history, neighborhood of seemingly completely alien religious symbols on the “caps of Jericho” Russian tsars. These are crosses, angels and ... Arabic suras of the Koran.
Another example. On the mirrors of the royal armor of the first Romanovs, stored in the Moscow Armory, only the titles of Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich are written in Cyrillic in Russian. The religious inscriptions on the mirrors are made entirely in Arabic. us versions of Russian history, a picture. The inscriptions are usually present on the traditional Russian princely weapons - a saber, mirrored damask armor and a Jericho hat - which was part of the "big outfit" of Russian tsars. At the same time, Cyrillic inscriptions make up a clear minority and, as a rule, indicate belonging to the owner. Such, for example, are the inscription on the saber of Mstislavsky, the inscription on the horn of Grand Duke Boris Alekseevich, on the mace of Mikhail Fedorovich (“By God's grace, we are the great Gospodar Tsar, Grand Duke of All Russia Autocrat”), etc. At the same time, there are many Arabic inscriptions. Moreover, only Arabic inscriptions, as a rule, contain religious formulas on Russian weapons. Perhaps the only exception is the bilingual “Turkish” saber of the 16th century from the collection of the Moscow Armory, on which religious inscriptions are made in both Arabic and Russian. !”, “O winner! O intercessor!”. On the butt of the same saber there is an inscription in Cyrillic also of religious content: “Judge, Lord, offending me.
Such wide application Arabic on old Russian weapons, and mainly for religious formulas, suggests that Arabic until the 17th century could be one of the languages in Russia, and religion could be a bizarre mixture of pagan Orthodoxy and Islam.
Other evidence of the use of Arabic in the Russian Orthodox Church of the pre-Roman era has also been preserved. For example, a precious miter is the headdress of an Orthodox bishop, which is still kept in the museum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Her photograph is given in L. M. Spirina’s album “Treasures of the Sergiev Posad State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve. Old Russian applied art"(GIPP" Nizhpoligraf ", Nizhny Novgorod, the year of publication is not specified). On the front of the miter, directly above the Orthodox cross, there is a precious stone with an Arabic inscription. The abundance of Arabic religious inscriptions on items that are part of the Great Outfit of Russian Tsars, that is, their ceremonial military armor, and the almost complete absence of any inscriptions on other types of weapons (with the possible exception of the brand of the manufacturer on swords and German swords) also serves as indirect evidence in favor of the use of Arabic in Russia as the old language of traditional rites.
And the statements of modern commentators look completely absurd, as if Russian soldiers applied inscriptions and symbols of their enemies on their weapons “for beauty”. Moreover, as we see from the meeting of the Armory, in droves.
It should be noted that the name "shelom", and besides, Jericho, is not a Slavic name for armor. By the way, the shelom is very consonant with the Jewish greeting "shelom". There is something symbolic in this. In front of the owner of this helmet, ordinary people (as in all times) took off their hats, greeting the ruler.
Protective metal headdresses of the Slavic type were called "shishiki" and had a rounded shape. But in terms of physical characteristics, they were very much inferior to the Arab samples, because. edged weapons completely transferred the force of the blow to the cone and sometimes cut it. Arab helmets, having a conical shape, allowed cold weapons to slide off upon impact and thus reliably protected the head.
Apparently, for this reason, records have been preserved in the documents that a Jericho hat was also worn over the shishak.
In particular, this is described in the Moscow review books; even foreigners noted that "Russians sometimes put on double cones." An entry from the inspection book, which tells about the arrival of Ivan Kobylin-Moksheev to the royal service in 1553: on a horse, in armor, in a shishak, and in a helmet, and in handcuffs, and in knee pads, and his people in the regiment - one in pansyr and in a helmet, but three people; in crucibles in thick "
Here is the shishak of Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, again with Arabic script:

Jericho hat. Interesting Facts:

In Russian painting, Jericho is often found in the paintings of artists. For example, in the famous work by V.M. Vasnetsov “The Knight at the Crossroads”, the hero is depicted in a Jericho helmet.
On the basis of the Jericho in 1918, a form of Budyonovka was developed - a winter cloth hat for the armed forces of the Red Army.

Budyonny in Budyonovka.

And Dzhugashvili Joseph, the tyrant of all times and peoples, in a stylized Jericho hat. How amazingly images are transmitted through the ages.
And finally, a modern post. 09/10/2007
Exhibition "Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin" opened in the UAE capital
dubai, United Arab Emirates. The exhibition “Arsenal of Russian Tsars: Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin” has opened in one of the halls of the luxurious Emirates Palace hotel in the capital. It presents more than 100 exhibits from the funds of the oldest Russian museum, the Armory Chamber - ceremonial weapons, clothes, armor and other items from the arsenal of Russian tsars and emperors. Many of the exhibits are exhibited outside of Russia for the first time. On the Emirates side, the exhibition was organized by the Abu Dhabi Committee for Culture and Cultural Heritage. Vladimir Putin toured the exhibition prepared for the opening, accompanied by UAE Minister of Culture Abdurrahman Al-Uweis and Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums Elena Gagarina. A special pride of the exposition is the ceremonial royal helmet, the so-called "Jericho cap", created in Istanbul at the end of the 16th century and carrying a quote from the Holy Koran. Another notable exhibit of the exhibition was a saber and scabbard created by Emirati craftsmen, presented to Leonid Brezhnev by the first UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1982 through Sheikh Mubarak Al Nahyan. After completing his inspection of the exhibition, Abdurahman Al-Uweis said that it strengthens friendship and develops relations between the two countries. Vladimir Putin, in turn, suggested developing a program of cultural exchanges. As it became known from the report of the Emirates Today newspaper, next year the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation plans to hold an exhibition of Islamic art, collected from exhibits of Russian museums. Work is also underway on a project for an exhibition of contemporary Russian art. The exhibition officially opened today at 19.00. It will be open to everyone until November 18. Anastasia Zorina, especially for Russian Emirates