Djungar helmet from the South Kazakhstan Regional Historical Museum

Purpose. The article describes the iron helmet (UCOM KP 187) stored in the collections of the South Kazakhstan Oblast History Museum (YUKOIKM, Shymkent, Kazakhstan). We describe its design and the system of decoration and identify its dating and attribution. Results. The helmet is a low piece forged «Shishak» of a spheroconical form with the height of 18cm and the diameter of 21cm. Its front surface features a two-part «box» shield riveted to it, which consists of a horizontal «shelf» and a vertical «shield». The surface of the «shield» is decorated with small «nests» for precious stones and ornaments in the technique of engraving. Along the lower edge of the crown there is an ornamented narrow hoop riveted. The pommel of the helmet has not survived. Some openings visible in the top part of the helmet indicate that the helmet had a hemispherical pommel or a conical base plate and a plume tube. Based on our analysis and the design of the system of decoration, we found out that the helmet combines some elements typical for the products of both Muslim and Mongolian masters. For example, the low spheroconical crown of the helmet is traditional for combat soldiers of Muslim countries in Western, Central and South Asia in the XV-XVIII centuries. The «box» visor in our case, in contrast, is typical of the helmets of the Mongol and Turkic nomads of Central Asia in the XVI-XVIII centuries. The decoration in the form of a group of small «nests» designed for pieces of coral and turquoise is most often on the arms manufactured by Muslim artisans in Maverannahr. Finally, the drawing on the visor of the helmet and the hoop is a stylized image of the Buddhist symbols «Vajra». The combination of West Asian technology, structural elements of the Central Asian type and Buddhist symbolism suggests that the helmet was made by some Central Asian masters for a noble Oirat (Jungar) Warrior in the second half of the XVII - the middle of the XVIII centuries. Throughout this period, the Mongol Oirats (Dzungars), who practiced Buddhism, controlled vast territories of modern South and South-East Kazakhstan, where the helmet belongs, and maintained close political and economic ties with the Muslim states of Central Asia. In the second half of the XVII - the first half of the XVIII century, samples of Kazakh, Uzbek and Tajik artisans production came to Jungaria as war booty and tribute, with numerous Muslim gunsmith working on the territory of the Oirats’ state. At the end of the first half of the XVIII century, armor, guns, swords and ammunition were massively imported to Jungaria from the Muslim cities of Maurya with work of Turkish and Tajik artisans controlled by special Oirat masters who arrived in the region. These findings suggest that although weapons for the army were manufactured by Central Asian artisans, they were decorated according to the tastes of the customers and prospective owners. It accounts for the combination of West Asian technological solutions, e.g. a piece-forged dome, a typical «box-like» visor of the Central Asian type and stylized Buddhist symbolism found in the helmet YUKOIM. Conclusion. Typological analysis allows us to date the helmet of YUKOIKM back to the XVII- XVIII centuries and relate it to the complex of weapons worn by the warriors of the Central Asian region. The helmet is most likely to have been made by Muslim craftsmen in Central Asia for a noble Oirat (Jungar) Warrior in the second half of the XVII - middle XVIII centuries.