The weapon of the people of Xinjiang in the late middle ages and the modern era (based on materials of the German explorers of the beginning of the 20th century)

Considered in the article are the objects of armament of the Late Middle Ages and the modern era found in the territory of Xinjiang by scientists of German expeditions in the beginning of the 20th century. The authors have traced the primary events that are related to the history of research of Eastern Turkestan by the German scientists since the second half of the 19th century. It is noted in the article that the German scientific expeditions to Eastern Turkestan were organized by the Berlin Museum of Ethnography and the Ethnographic Association. It is emphasized in the composition of one of the German explorers, famous archaeologist Albert von Le Coq, who was the head of the work of several Turpan expeditions, that, when the forces of the Manchu empire of Qing conquered Xinjiang, they withdrew the weapon from local population almost in full. That is why it is occurred very rarely of them. It is brought the descriptions of «Turkestan» complicated compound bows in the proceedings of the German scientists. On representations of the German explorers the similar bows were prevalent of the population of Central Asia in the periods of Ancient history and the Middle Ages. According to Albert von Le Coq, such type of bows had ceased to be used as small-arms by the beginning of the 20th century. The people of Eastern Turkestan continued to use slings as the throwing weapon. In close combat the warriors could attack adversaries with the spears on long wooden shafts with the iron tips and brushes from horsehair. The warriors were armed with sabers of Chinese production which had curved blades. In close combat, they attacked the adversaries with bludgeons and clubs. The results of research were analyzed in detail and published by Albert von Le Coq. At the present time, the objects of armament of close and long-range combat of people of Eastern Turkestan researched by the German scientists could be supplemented by the new materials from museum collections of different cities of this region, studied by one of the authors of the present article in 1990 in the course of work of the international expedition of UNESCO, project «Silk Road» on the territory of China.