Ancient Indian Empires and Weapons

[Shaitan]

Another Shield with copper stubs Sanauli

 

[Chimaji Appa]

Didn’t the Gupta’s use cataphracts and horse archery?

 

[Suryavanshi]

Another Shield with copper stubs Sanauli

How old is this thing sir? And what is it made of.

 

[Suryavanshi]

Oldest Helmet found in India from Sabauli. Around 4000 years old.

Antenna Sword from Sabauli.

Shield

Makes u wonder just what kind of people lived in these ages.
Only Sumers had a record of helmet this early on. Helmets began to be widley employed after 500 bce when the Greeks and Persians adopted it.

Here is our own TOI saying Assyrians were the first to use helmet 900 bc.

Who invented the helmet and what is it made of? - Times of India

Sunday Times News: The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900 BC. They wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from blunt objects,

m.timesofindia.com

Tho the folks at TOI aren't hsitorians by any means.

 

[Shaitan]

How old is this thing sir? And what is it made of.

Wood, studded with copper.

Didn’t the Gupta’s use cataphracts and horse archery?

Most likely. They probably adopted Kushan, Saka models. I am for certain they used auxiliaries.

 

[Chimaji Appa]

Most likely. They probably adopted Kushan, Saka models. I am for certain they used auxiliaries.

Agreed. Given how easily they destroyed the Sakas (something even the Satavanhas were unable to do) they definetly had a formidable cavarly

 

[Shaitan]

Didn’t the Gupta’s use cataphracts and horse archery?

Militaristic artistic work is pretty rare, but we actually do have some horse archer models from Satavahana, Sungas to the Gutpas.

Satavahana model, clearly a dedicated horse archer in a war scene.

Sunga example

Gupta period, unlike the others this one has Central Asian characteristics like rider boots, quiver below the waist like C. Asians, etc.

 

[Chimaji Appa]

Militaristic artistic work is pretty rare, but we actually do have some horse archer models from Satavahana, Sungas to the Gutpas.

View attachment 46085

Satavahana model, clearly a dedicated horse archer in a war scene.

View attachment 46086

Sunga example

View attachment 46087

Gupta period, unlike the others this one has Central Asian characteristics like rider boots, quiver below the waist like C. Asians, etc.

Woah The Shungas used horse archery? I actually did not know that.

 

[Shaitan]

Woah The Shungas used horse archery? I actually did not know that.

Well, cant say if it was a cohesive unit of mounted archers like in the C. Asian style, but it's worth posting anyway, right? Looks like it's someone in the military, not in a hunt, etc.

One of the most interesting militaristic images from the Sungas, or really any Indian period is a simple terracotta of what looks like a crossbowmen. Even if it's a auxiliary unit, still interesting find for the date.

 

[Shaitan]

Khalinga warriors dueling, 2nd Century BC

Right is a female warrior

Sickle blade

Sword and buckler fencing in ancient India. Many example of a backward curved 'sabre' blades. This indigenous design seem to fall off after this period, later being reintroduced into India by the Islamic invasions. Famously becoming the talwar.

Chandraketugarh, Sunga Era, 2nd Century BC


Also interesting is the training and employment of female warriors, soldiers. It was mentioned that Chandragupta Maurya had personal female bodyguards.

 

[Shaitan]

Female guard with spear, Begram, 1st-2nd Century AD

Female guard with broadsword, Begram, 1st-2nd Century AD

Chariot, archer, mace and shield,Chandraketugarh, 2nd Century BC

 

[Shaitan]

Horsemen with straight broadsword

Horsemen with curved sword

War elephant

Chandraketugarh, Sunga Art, 2nd Century BC

 

[Shaitan]

2nd Century BC

Charioteer with scale armor, composite bow, with a bow and arrow with a crescent shaped tip. Very similar image found ins Kaushambi.

Charioteer with scale armor, armed with a re-curved bow, with a crescent headed arrowhead. Driver has some sort of long sleeve clothing, drawing four horses.

Kosambi, Eastern India. Dating is probably from 2nd Century BC to 1st Century AD at most.

 

[Shaitan]

Saka soldiers on Nagajunakonda reliefs, 2nd Century AD

 

[Shaitan]

Gandhara warriors under the Kushans, 2nd-3rd Century AD. They are wearing battle armor padded, scale, pteruges, etc.

 

[Shaitan]

Mathura, 2nd-3rd Century AD, Indian Women with a large Indian broadsword - ancestor of the Khanda

7th Century AD, The Hindu God Revanta and Companions Creator

11th Century AD

 

[Suryavanshi]

View attachment 51717

Mathura, 2nd-3rd Century AD, Indian Women with a large Indian broadsword - ancestor of the Khanda

All this depictions of Women with weapons makes me think that women played an active role in warrior culture

 

[Shaitan]

All this depictions of Women with weapons makes me think that women played an active role in warrior culture

It's just fact. This is mentioned by Greek ambassador to the Maurya court Megasthenes and is supported by several images of the same. The one above is more artistic play, but there are legit female guards, female archers, female charioteers, etc. I am not saying they were bunch of dedicated unit of females on the battle field, but highly trained state sponsored personal bodyguards without a doubt.

 

[timmy]

Unlike Celucid war-elephants there's no evidence, nor pictorial/sculptural depictions of armoured war elephants in India before 1000 AD

yes there is a figurine depicting armoured elephant probably from early centuries AD or before christianity.

 

[Bleh]

yes there is a figurine depicting armoured elephant probably from early centuries AD or before christianity.

Is that so?.. Ok then you should have no trouble presenting that example with its source, origin & time estimation.

For the sake of argument, I'm gonna ignore the thousands of unarmoured ones.