BC Research: Legionaires Army Museum *Updated*
Dear Team BC and followers,
I was in Istanbul for a short period and decided to do something useful for our precious mod and history freaks.
As you can easily predicted Ottoman armory contains wide variety of weapon and armor collection due to facing multiple rivalries against throne. From north to south and east to west Ottoman armies challenged against many Kingdoms, Emirates, Empires and such.
All heritage of this long wars and conflicts are saving in couple of museums in our time and one or most important of among all is Harbiye Army Museum.
That's why i've choosed this museum and all it's beauties for you.
Dear fans and friends i represent you my small journey to history:
Sword made in the name of Sultan Yavuz Selim I
Detail shots of other swords
German Swords 14th century (sorry for poor light...)
Caucasian Sword
German Swords 16th century
and behold!..
Mighty devastating German Zweihander! What are we waiting for? Run for your lives!
That's me... Terrified, shocked and nervous because of this deathbringer
Lets move to the second part. Halberds, Pikes, Spears and battle axes!
Ottoman Battle Axes
Teber Axe
Variety of weapons
Closer shots
Looks familiar? Jannisarryyy heavy infantry
Partisans and Spoonettes
Nordic & Scandinavian Battle Axes
and one Scottish...
Turkish Javelins
I'd not be a victim of this javelin. :hmmm:
Blades, Short Swords, Yataghans, Qama and all "small" stuff
Made in Blacksea region of northern Anatolia
Qama
Hançer (Dagger)
Caucasian Caddara short blade
Selection of Yataghan's (favorite short blade among Ottoman Infantry for centuries)
African Tuareg Throwing Knifes
And some blunt weaponry...
Archery Range...
Composite bows and arrows plus some documentary.
For some practice...
Small diagrams about archery,
Now it's the time for armory. I've selected best shields, armor, helmets and related equipment for your taste. Enjoy...
Helmets
Divided into two varieties as eastern and western. "Easter" includes Ottoman, Mamluk and Persian. Western has French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish and etc...
Western
Selection
A Russian Helmet,
More German Helmets,
Eastern
Turkish Turban Helmets (Sorry for the light)
Helmet of Sultan Orhan. Second ruler of Ottoman Dynasty
Shield up weapons online
Selection of shields
Indian Shields were very interesting
Crocodile hide shield
Turtle Shell shield. What kind of nuts have thinked that?
Leather shield
continue...
and for now last section is armor parts and mannequins.
Mannequins
Ottoman Cavalry
Ottoman Infantry
Front
Side
Rear
Chainmail Cuirass
Closer shots
Greaves
Arm Guard
Breastplate
Armor for horse - Gold plated copper chaneron
Huge diarama shows the conquest of Constantinople...
First Ottoman soldier who carries the banner to the walls was a Janissary named Hasan of Ulubat. This part of diarama shows his great courage and heroic fall. After his inspiring example Janissary corps breached the wall and firstly entered to the city.
Sultanahmet Square
Obelisk of Theodosius (From Wiki)
"Another emperor to adorn the Hippodrome was Theodosius the Great, who in 390 brought an obelisk from Egypt and erected it inside the racing track. Carved from pink granite, it was originally erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought to Constantinople. Only the top section survives, and it stands today where Theodosius placed it, on a marble pedestal. The obelisk has survived nearly 3,500 years in astonishingly good condition."
Carvings
Serpent Column (From Wiki)
"The Serpentine Column has one of the longest literary histories of any object surviving from Greek and Roman antiquity, and its provenance is not in doubt. It is at least 2486 years old. It was the offering, or trophy, less its original gold tripod, which was dedicated to Apollo at Delphi, after the defeat of the Persian army at Plataea in August, 479 BC by those Greek City States, who were in alliance against the Persian invasion of mainland Greece, in the spring of 480 BC – the Persian War. Among the writers, who attest to the column in the ancient literature are Herodotus, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Diodorus Siculus, Pausanias, the traveller, Cornelius Nepos and Plutarch.The removal of the column by the Emperor Constantine to his new capital, Constantinople, is attested to by Edward Gibbon, citing the Byzantine historians, Zosimus, Eusebius, Socrates, and Sozoman in support."
Pausanias informs us that roughly a hundred years later, the Phoceans used the golden tripod to fund their military during the holy war involving the Oracle of Delphi. Constantine the Great moved the Serpent Column to Constantinople to decorate the spina (central line) of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where it still stands today.
The top of the column was adorned with a golden bowl supported by three serpent heads. The bowl was destroyed or stolen during the Fourth Crusade. Mehmed II, entering in triumph the city as its conqueror, shattered the gaping jaw of one of these snakes.[13] The serpent heads were destroyed as late as the end of the 17th century, as many Ottoman miniatures show they were intact in the early centuries following the Turkish conquest of the city.[14] Legend has it a drunken Polish nobleman hit them off. Parts of the heads were recovered and are on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. The part of the Delphi Tripod remaining on the site is known as the "Serpentine Column".
Walled Obelisk (From Wiki)
"In the 10th century the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus built another obelisk at the other end of the Hippodrome. It was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but they were sacked by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade. The stone core of this monument also survives, known as the Walled Obelisk."
and Hagia Sophia (From Wiki)
"Hagia Sophia (Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία; "Holy Wisdom", Turkish: Ayasofya) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.
The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site (the previous two had both been destroyed by riots). It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50 ft (15 m) silver iconostasis. It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focus point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly 1000 years.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features - such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside - were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the secular Republic of Turkey.
For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque.
Although it is sometimes referred to as Saint Sophia (Greek for wisdom), the Greek name in full is Church of the Holy Wisdom of God Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας - and it was dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God rather than a specific saint named Sophia."
Blue Mosque (From Wiki)
"The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a congregational mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul."
Fellas that's all for now but i've got more pictures to show. I must refine and categorize them.
Cheers.
Will continue...
Reply With Quote
sadly no byzzie but hey how do i know! maybe those axes are from the Varangians thmeselves!
that Zweihander is really fearful thing 
Shocked as well with its size !
Originally Posted by Strelac
