The events of the 17th century in the Baltic region were already different from the events of the 16th century and earlier. It became quite quiet. Over the entire 17th century, the water level in the Baltic dropped by no more than 10 meters, and most likely by 7-8 meters. Some meters were due to the growth of ice masses at the poles and a general decrease in the level of the world's oceans, and some were due to the further rise of the Scandinavian shield. It is still rising, albeit very slowly. At the same time, the southern part of the Baltic, including in the Copenhagen area, sank, which led to the effect of a tilted plate. Ladoga and Baltic tilted and the Neva changed the direction of flow. Now the flow did not go to Ladoga and further along the Svir to Onega and the White Sea, but to the Atlantic. By the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Neva took shape as a river in its modern form. At the same time, there was a period when the Baltic retreated, but Ladoga remained full of water, and at some point there was a breakthrough in the area of ​​​​the modern Ivanovo rapids. For several decades this place had something similar to modern ones rapids in Losevo on Vuoksa. Shallow and with a hellish current - 8-10 meters per second. With flows of water, the gap gradually expanded, the strength of the flow decreased, but until the end of the 19th century this section of the Neva was impassable for ships. The first attempts to clear the riverbed were in 1756 and 1820, but to little avail. It became possible only for small boats to go downstream. This section of the Neva became navigable, and even then only for a certain type of vessel, only in 1885 after large-scale dredging work. A current state, in which even cruise ships and barges are able to navigate the Neva, was done in the USSR in the 1930s and, especially, in 1973-78. Moreover, even now the current speed in some areas reaches 4-4.5 meters per second, and the depth is only 4-4.5 meters.

After the breakthrough of the Ivanovo rapids, the old bed of the Tosna could no longer cope with the flow of water from Ladoga, the river bed widened, and in the zone of sand brought by the flood of the conditional 13th century in the Neva Bay, several branches were pierced, which formed a series of islands. Nowadays these are the well-known St. Petersburg islands of Vasilyevsky, Petrogradsky, Zayachiy, Kamenny, Krestovsky, etc. The so-called Neva delta was formed. Some researchers now perceive traces of this flow of water in the Neva Bay as the old channels of Tosna on maps of the 18th and early 19th centuries. That is, the old Tosny delta. However, this is a mistake. The old channel of the Tosna had no delta and stretched straight to Kronstadt. Approximately where the Sea Canal is now dug. It was completely covered with sand in the supposed 13th century flood. Although, perhaps Kronstadt was an island forming the old Tosny delta. One can only guess here. When the breakthrough occurred in the area of ​​the Ivanovo rapids, and therefore the Neva delta in its modern form was determined, you can find out from old maps, in particular those that I showed. This is the second half of the 17th century, most likely the 80s, maybe the 70s. Thus, today the Neva River in our usual understanding is about 330 - 350 years old. And the current water level in the Neva was established by 1701-1703.

Speaking of the name of the Neva River. And Nevo Lake. In the linguistics section in the second part, I did not clarify this point, because in the course of the story it was premature. The next set of facts would also be ahead of the narrative. And now, when all the factual material has been presented, it will be time. It is generally accepted that Nevo and Neva come from the word “new”. No, this is a fallacy. In Finnish it only means sea bay. This is a Finnish name. And in the fiction of the 19th century this was still well remembered and written about. Here is a photo from a geographical dictionary of 1805.

And where the Neva is mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicles, it was the sea bay that was meant. And not specifically the Neva River in its modern form, as historians now assure us. This is about the life of Alexander Nevsky and so on. Where did the Izhora River flow there, into which sea bay, when he destroyed the Swedes’ construction camp in the morning.

Go ahead. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, a major catastrophic event occurred in the Caspian-Black Sea region. Perhaps somewhere else too. There is a high probability that there was a good shake in the Mediterranean too. A number of researchers also write about catastrophic events in modern Siberia at this time. However, I have not studied the Mediterranean in depth, nor have I studied Siberia, but this is definitely the case with the Black and Caspian Seas. Kasparal was divided into two water areas. Actually the Caspian and Aral seas. There were significant tectonic movements there. Somewhere mountains grew, somewhere gaps formed. The Caspian Sea flowed into one of these gaps; this is its southern part today. The Volga and Don separated, the Kuban changed its course and mouth, and the Bosporus was breached. As for the Bosphorus, there are traces of its three locations, I already mentioned this above. That is, this was the third, and so far the last breakthrough of the Bosphorus. The Black Sea level dropped by about 100 meters in the eastern part, and by 20-30 meters in the western part. Let me remind you that before this, the sea level rose to 150 meters in the eastern part, as I wrote about above. That is, now ancient cities are located at depths of up to 50 meters in the eastern part and at shallower depths as they move to the west. The gradual decline in the Black Sea level continued until the 70-80s of the 19th century. Previously, I believed that it ended by the beginning of the 19th century, but a number of paintings presented in the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka indicate that the water receded for another half a century longer. I am inclined to consider this event one of the aftershocks of the global catastrophic impact of the conventional 13th century (late 12th - early 14th). Just like the Baltic terroformations. However, I do not exclude the possibility that this may be an independent event with its own cause-and-effect relationships. It was this event that served as the weakening of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of a series of Russian-Turkish wars.

Finally, about the climate. All disasters, or rather the disaster itself and its aftershocks, certainly could not but affect the climate. And the climate changed. In some places the changes were significant; some territories simply became uninhabitable. In fact, this is all the Arctic. Central Siberia and Northwestern America were severely affected. In the tropical zone, due to changes in the wind rose and humidity characteristics of the atmosphere, dry seasons began to develop progressively, which led to the formation of a desert zone. In those places where the tsunami waves reached, coupled with a lack of rain, so-called salt marshes developed. Where there was a lot of rain, the salt was washed out over time and transformed through chemical reactions, primarily in combination with organic matter. In general, the climate changed from an even, warm and humid one to separate climatic zones. The equatorial zone has preserved as fully as possible the features that were originally there. Except that the temperature has risen a little. Polar zones became very cold. The tropical zone received dry, super-hot seasons. The zone of temperate latitudes received the most differentiated values ​​of winter and summer, especially in the continental part. These changes progressed as the area of ​​the polar caps increased and the amount of moisture and dirt (dust) in the atmosphere decreased. In relation to the Baltic region, climate changes have been consistent in the direction of cooling. Already from the 17th century, the climate became unsuitable for large reptiles, and the formation of ice and snow cover in winter became a regular occurrence. By the end of the 18th century, the climate became unsuitable for catfish, and they survived only locally as a relic. If we rely on the analysis of the rings of the oldest oak trees, which I wrote about in Part 1, then we can assume that the phase of the coldest climate in this region began in the mid-19th century; oak trees I have not yet found out the dates of cutting down the oaks, and dendrology is not available to me as a private enthusiast. Here it is more likely to rely on fiction and reports of meteorological observations; they already existed. Although they also need to be treated with caution. Especially for fiction. Artists' paintings are likely to be a more reliable source of information. Artists, as it turned out, are generally the most honest carriers of information. Based on the paintings that I studied in the Hermitage, in Holland in the 17th century people skated. This means freezing of water bodies in Holland was the norm. What can't you say now? At the same time, in Russia, not a single artist before the 19th century painted the familiar snow in the form of snowdrifts. These are the paradoxes. It is also necessary to note that from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century, pineapples were grown en masse in Russia and were even exported to Europe. In greenhouses, but still. . And already in open ground. There is information that monks even grew watermelons on Valaam. It is impossible not to say that stove heating it was not provided for in buildings and churches before the 19th century. For example, to this day, in the Catherine Palace in Pushkin and in the Hermitage (Winter Palace), the stoves displayed in the halls are of a fake nature. Some are on legs directly on top of varnished parquet flooring.

With the beginning of the industrial era, the air on the planet again gradually began to accumulate dust and dirt, which led to a gradual decrease in heat transfer from the Earth's surface. And this process is dynamic with increasing progression. The first signs of global warming were announced 30-40 years ago, but now it is simply a statement of fact. In the future, we will have eternal November in winter, and eternal September in summer. This is for the St. Petersburg region. By the way, I wrote this on some resources several years ago, which surprised and even made readers laugh, especially on the St. Petersburg fishermen’s forum. I told them 5 years ago that in 20 years we will forget about winter fishing from the ice. Now it's not funny anymore. We forgot about ice fishing already this year, much faster than I expected.

As for returning the climate to the values ​​that were before the catastrophe of the conventional 13th century, this is impossible. Simply because the density of the atmosphere is different. As a result of that disaster, part of the atmosphere was thrown into space, its volume changed and chemical composition. In particular, oxygen has become significantly less. The moisture saturation also became different. Previously, there was a water-steam dome that, like a greenhouse film, created an even and warm climate on the planet. Before the catastrophe of the 13th century, the sun was very rare in the sky, especially as you approach the equator. And even when the sun appeared, it was in a haze. That is why they deified him, they rejoiced at him and worshiped him when they saw him.

Well, that's basically it. You know the rest. By the end of the 17th century, water levels in the Baltic and Ladoga reached modern levels. In 1703, Tsar Peter Alekseevich began to excavate the remains of the ancient city, which the Swedish king did not like. A long war followed. Everything else, namely the personality of Peter, the chronology of the construction of the city, is not the subject of today’s article. And so it’s time to thank you for reading and take your leave.

Nevsky's helmet and Scythian jewelers

Nikolai Cherkasov as Alexander Nevsky, 1938. The prop makers came up with a helmet for the actor that couldn't exist.

Today's youth seem old Soviet movies doesn't like it. And people of the older generation, one and all, saw the 1938 feature film "Alexander Nevskiy". The movie prince smashes the Teutonic knights, wearing his legendary helmet on his head. And this battle of 1240 itself is legendary for many reasons: April, wet snow, and Russian soldiers set off to the west, 200 miles from Novgorod, to the never reliably identified Raven Stone on Lake Peipsi, tired after the campaign, far from the rear , fight on slippery ice...

Did they shoe horses in those days? There are very big doubts about that. And without horseshoes you can’t ride horses through slippery people.

A. V. Davidenko wonders:

“Isn’t this story from the fifteenth century?”

And then he puts forward very solid arguments in favor of the fact that the helmet, which, according to historians, was sewn on by Alexander Nevsky, was made almost 400 years after the famous battle!

There are many legends about this helmet. For example, the newspaper “Alphabet” (No. 3’2000) reports that “on helmet of Alexander Nevsky, forged from polished steel, the face of St. Michael was depicted." But in the 13th century they could not yet make steel sheets. But the so-called “Cap of Jericho”, a steel helmet of the Moscow kings, made in 1621, is known. And it is very likely that the supposedly COPPER helmet attributed to Alexander Nevsky is only an “echo” of this Cap of Jericho, now kept in the Moscow Kremlin. Even the presence of a ratchet that moves the nose shield of the helmet indicates the late origin of the product: screw threads of metal and gear wheels were already being replicated.

Cap of Jericho. It belonged to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Kept in the collection of the Moscow Kremlin. Made by Nikita Davydov, a native of Murom, no earlier than 1621. Steel, gold, precious stones, pearls; forging, embossing, notching, carving, enamel.

And the specialist, head of the scientific and storage department of the Armory Chamber of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Moscow Kremlin" Alexey Levykin, testifies to the illegal “aging” of the helmet:

“...The helmet was made in 1621 by one of the best craftsmen in the entire history of the Armory Chamber - Nikita Davydov, who worked in the chamber for about 40 years and died in the mid-60s of the 17th century. He made this helmet specifically for Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich - as a ceremonial military headband. When we began to carefully read the ancient descriptions of this helmet, it turned out that it was crowned with a cross. In other words, before us is not just a ceremonial helmet, but the military crown of the Russian tsars...

...Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich could and did use his father’s helmet. They didn’t do anything special for him. By the way, this helmet is so beautiful and good that in the 19th century a legend was born that it used to belong to Alexander Nevsky. This helmet was included in the official coat of arms of Russia, which was created in the mid-19th century. If you look closely at the Order of Alexander Nevsky, then the Russian prince and saint is depicted wearing exactly this helmet.”

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

But we see this ceremonial battle crown of the Russian tsars of the 17th century on the head of Prince Alexander Nevsky and on the corresponding order of the USSR. But specialists in heraldry and orders are the same historians. The level of historical accuracy is amazing: a product from the 17th century can easily be transferred to the 13th century! And no one objects!

Moreover, this is far from the only case.

Once upon a time there lived Scythians in the south of what is now Russia. According to some sources, they were farmers and sowed grain for sale. According to others, the Scythians were nothing more than warlike nomadic herders. According to the third, the Scythians made a living by mining mercury, so famously that even in Europe the mercury used to amalgamate gold ores was called “Scythian water”, since it was the Scythians who supplied it to the world market. And these farmers - cattle breeders - warriors - industrialists - importers were cruel, riotous and bloodthirsty people... Asians, in short, “with slanted and greedy eyes.”

Descriptions of Scythian culture are striking in their abundance of details, in the complete absence general knowledge. And the most amazing thing is that there are no legends, fairy tales or epics either of the Scythians themselves or about them among the peoples around them. So where did the details come from? From the descriptions of Herodotus, nothing more!

Is there any material evidence of the life of the Scythians? Oh yeah! And what more! Bloodsuckers and, probably, cannibals, wild riders, hunters for scalps and skulls turned out to be the most skillful jewelers! Visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. There are many items dating back to the 4th century BC. The general name of the collections is “Scythian Gold”, although there are items made of silver. The main exhibits came from the Kul-Ob mound near Kerch (excavations in 1831), the Chertomlytsky mound near Nikopol (excavations in 1862–1863), and from other mounds in Ukraine and southern Russia.

"Scythian gold".

Archaeologists believe that the silver vase from Chertomlyk depicts Scythians of the 4th century BC. Here is a Scythian hobbling a tamed horse. On the horse's muzzle there is a bridle with metal rings, on the back there is a typical English racing saddle, with one girth and a breastplate, but without a bridle. The saddle is equipped with stirrups. It is characteristic that the fetters are not belt, but rope. The horse's mane is well trimmed.

The clothing of the Scythians is amazing.

One is standing, dressed in a beautifully cut jumpsuit; The codpiece and panties are stitched both functionally and beautifully. The second was bent near the horse, the hem of his coat was stitched with a double seam. It is noticeable that the shoes are sewn separately for the left and right feet, but this only became part of the practice of shoemakers in modern times.

Regarding this and other images, art critic M. Skrzhinskaya(“Scythia through the eyes of the Hellenes”) writes:

“The edges and hems of the jackets, wrapped around each other, were trimmed with fur or highlighted with a strip of stitching... A particularly elegant jacket had two sharp wedges on the front and side... A jacket with short sleeves was worn over an undershirt with long sleeves. Sometimes jackets had hoods.

In warm weather, only bloomers were worn. There were two types: narrower ones, possibly leather, tucked into boots, and wider ones made of soft woolen fabric worn untucked. Boots made of soft leather without a hard sole were tied with a strap either only at the ankle joint, or passed under the arch of the foot...

The women's costume consisted of a loose long dress with a closed collar and a belt at the waist. The dress was covered with a robe similar to a long robe. It was not buttoned or wrapped in front, and its long narrow sleeves were sometimes trimmed with fur. Scythian women wore two types of headdresses: a cap with a sharp top, and a trapezoidal hat with a veil thrown over it.”

It is difficult to say how true this description is. We can conclude that Scythian boots have heels. One can, following Skrzhinskaya, argue that the boots have straps, but perhaps these are seams. For example, according to I.V. Davidenko, a Scythian taming a horse alone has boots stitched at the instep; This is how shoes have been cut for the last 300 years. So much for “IV century BC.” e."!

In general, from Skrzhinskaya’s description it follows beyond doubt that the Scythians are medieval people dressed in medieval clothes. But the jeweler depicted what he saw. And now we understand that before us is not a time of cannibals and bloodsuckers, but a time of skilled tailors, shoemakers, artists who accurately depict the flora and fauna of the planet.

Well-dressed shepherds, or the stable boys of some prince or khan, posed for the jeweler. Moreover, although these crafts are called “Scythian gold”, since they were found in supposedly Scythian land, and supposedly Scythians are depicted on them, historians agreed that these things were made in the jewelry workshops of Greece.

Some of them are made from electron, a natural alloy of gold and silver. It is believed to be so named because of its light yellow color, reminiscent of amber, which the Greeks also called electron. Compared to pure gold, it is harder, stronger and less subject to wear, especially from friction.

Electronic vase from the Kul-Oba mound. Scythologist prof. D. S. Raevsky offered his interpretation of the plot on the famous vessel. The first ancestor of the Scythians, King Targitai, invited his sons Kolaksai, Lipoksai and Arpoksai to string his bow and gird himself with the royal armored belt... According to the results of the test, the youngest son became Tarigai's successor on the royal throne.

Targitai announces his condition.

Kolaksai draws his bow.

The result of Kolaksai’s attempt is a bruised jaw (according to Raevsky). According to Davidenko, this scene depicts “teeth grinding.”

The result of Lipoksay's attempt is a bruised leg.

An electronic vase from the Kul-Oba mound carefully depicts scenes of stringing and fraying. But they also learned to pull teeth not so long ago! I. V. Davidenko writes:

“...Dentists need tools. Ah, gullible archaeologists! Haven’t you heard that experienced doctors tore out Catherine II’s tooth, but also tore out part of her jaw? And there were steel tongs. Where are the Scythian tongs?

About the “ceremonial ax” from the Kelermes mound, where the cast metal product imitates the butt and handle, I. V. Davidenko writes that “such axes were made from STRIP iron starting from the 15th century, no earlier”. On a vessel from Chistye Kurgans, the embroidery on the Scythian overalls is clearly visible. Apparently they had good needles, awls and threads.

Particularly noteworthy are the Scythian gold grains - tiny golden balls, hollow, less than a millimeter in diameter. How this could have been done before our era is a great mystery of history.

"Scythian gold". Battle. The top of the ridge.

But on the famous golden comb we see a scene of a battle between mounted and dismounted Scythians and a man-at-arms. Here the horse has nothing on it except a bridle: no saddle, no stirrups. But the ornament on the leggings of the armored man is the same as on the pants of the overalls from the Chastye Kurgans. And the lying lions are just as beautiful and natural. In terms of craftsmanship - the 15th century, not earlier. I.V. Davidenko suggests that the jeweler was “told by experts” that the Scythians are savages and should ride sluggishly, without saddles or stirrups. But it could be different. After all, they really rode horses on horses, but they just avoided fighting like that. Perhaps the master depicted some actual case of an attack by a man-at-arms on warriors who were not ready for battle, who were called Scythians.

It is interesting to compare the “Scythian horses” from the Chertomlyk burial mound with bronze medieval artifacts from Florence. Among the latter there is a “Florentine horse”, almost identical to half of the gold “Scythian horse”, and the Scythian work is cleaner in execution, much more elegant than the bronze buckles and clasps of Florence. And Florence is the workshop of Europe.

All this allows us to conclude that all the Scythian products examined most likely date back to the late Middle Ages. But look how well he defends historical dogmas Franco Cardini! And I saw an English racing saddle with short stirrups about one girth, and I saw complex bits, and shoes, and clothes that were by no means ancient, but I learned by heart about the 4th BC “Scythian” century, and now, he draws a “conclusion”:

“As for the history of material culture, it should be clear that we owe the art of horse riding to the Scythians. The vessel, found in the Chertomlyk mound in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and now stored in the Leningrad Hermitage, dates back to the first or second decade of the 4th century. BC e. It depicts Scythians caring for horses. The master's work conveys the smallest details so carefully that it was attributed to Greek masters. Some even thought that it showed not only a saddle, but also the earliest depiction of a stirrup, although special type: a stirrup intended only for jumping on a horse.

Such an interpretation of the Chertomlyk find has long been rejected by experts. Now they have come to the conclusion that the first image of stirrups was found in India and dates back to the 2nd century. n. e. We just want to emphasize: the skill of the Scythians, cattle breeders and horse warriors is an irrefutable historical fact.”

Everything here is turned upside down. Since the date has ALREADY been given - IV century BC. e., which means that we have before us the very first image of a stirrup. But since there couldn’t be a stirrup, it means that it’s not really a stirrup, but just nonsense for mounting a horse. The jeweler's work is so good that it was even attributed to the Greeks, but here's the problem: the Greeks of traditional antiquity didn't even have such stirrups. Of course, there has not been and will not be an analysis of art styles, and Cardini’s “conclusion” is as simple as a moo: “the skill of the Scythians, cattle breeders and horse warriors is an irrefutable historical fact”. It remains to add that the holy faith of historians in the correctness of dating is also a historical fact.

It is generally accepted that it was the Scythians, and certainly ancient ones, who left gold-bearing mounds in the southern Russian steppes. It is impossible to read anywhere how they “left” them, but we can easily find out how these mounds were opened. This is a very instructive story told in the essay V. Kharuzina“At the Excavations” (“Spring” No. 11’1905). Here we talk about amateur excavations of a small mound near a mine in the Verkhnedneprovsky district of the Yekaterinoslav province. Skilled grabbers dug, local historians and spontaneous archaeologists inspected them. The Grabari note that the grave had already been opened and filled up.

“And so the grave was all cleared of the bulk earth and swept clean with a broom. In the clayey soil of its bottom lies the skeleton. The head facing southeast looks up; the arms are extended along the body, the legs are bent and raised, so that the knees rest against the right wall of the grave. Leg bones painted red, and the remains of dark red paint are visible at the bottom of the grave.”

What if the finds of the Chartomlytsky and Kul-Ob mounds are simply treasures of the Cossacks? They collected, saved, and on the eve of a military campaign they secretly buried it in an old mound, next to the old skeleton. It wasn’t the ancient Scythians who painted skeletal bones with red paint! After all, they buried a body, not a painted skeleton! And it turns out that even if the remains of the deceased are correctly dated to the 4th century BC. e., then gold has nothing to do with that century...

Someone used the old grave at a later time and marked it with paint. Cossack common fund, kosh needed to be stored somewhere. So the Koshevoy and his trusted elected comrades hid the Koshes in the old mound, fortunately there are many hundreds of them in the southern steppes. And the Cossacks rushed off to fight where they needed to and for whom they needed to. Perhaps they died, and no one could find the buried kosh, if the koshova and trusted comrades died - except, of course, robbers or archaeologists.

The robbers sold and melted the gold, and historians built theories. Ah, ah, IV century BC! "Historical fact"! But in reality, it’s just a superstitious attitude towards chronology. It’s not in vain that I.V. Davidenko asks:

“Why do archaeologists NOT STUDY THE COMPOSITION OF METAL RARITIES? After all, by the admixtures of chalcophile, rare and trace elements, one can determine the deposit from which the gold and silver of rarities were extracted! We study minerals and rocks using geochemical methods, not only visually, by eye. We find out the chemical composition, impurities, crystal structure of the material, calculate the formula, compare with analogue standards... New minerals are examined for the right to be called a SPECIES or VARIETY... That’s how it would be with archaeological rarities!”

« In the last article (Echo, April 8, 2006) we pointed out how two Russian “researchers” managed to turn Azerbaijani miniatures into Mongolian ones and even discovered Armenian warriors on them. In this article we wanted to look at another example of falsification associated with two helmets stored in Moscow, in the collection of the State Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. Perhaps we would not touch on this topic, especially since the main scientific (!) literature on them dates back to the 70-80s of the twentieth century, but in Lately These helmets have resurfaced again in Russian literature, and elements of falsification by past authors are now presented as indisputable truth.

One of the helmets, stored under inventory number 4411, is considered to be one of the unique examples of weapons of medieval craftsmen. Almost all books and brochures devoted to the collection of the Armory Chamber must note this helmet and give its image. 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.

Rice. 1. Helmet of Alexander Nevsky

Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was exhibited in the museum under the following title: “The helmet of Alexander Nevsky. Made of red copper, with an Arabic inscription. Asian work from the time of the Crusades. Now located in the Moscow Kremlin.” Naturally, it never occurred to anyone to ask how on the head of an Orthodox prince, who was later canonized and canonized, suddenly found himself wearing a helmet with Arabic (as was later established, with Koranic inscriptions)? Under the same name it was shown in the book “History of Mankind,” published at the end of the 19th century in Dresden. Studies of its manufacturing technology carried out after the Second World War showed that the helmet dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, and therefore no

cannot have anything to do with Alexander Nevsky or the era of the Crusades. However, Russian historians, albeit of the Soviet era, felt sorry to cross out such an example of weapons and jewelry craftsmanship from the lists of creations of the Russian people, and therefore in all works it began to be presented as “the damask helmet of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, the work of master Nikita Davydov, 1621 ".

It was described in most detail by F.Ya. Mishutin and L.V. Pisarskaya, subsequent authors (I. Bobrovnitskaya, N. Vyueva, etc.) only used their descriptions. Let's look at their works. Thus, F.Ya. Mishutin writes: “According to ancient inscriptions, the damask helmet of Tsar Mikhail Romanov is called the Jericho cap. General form 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 best in subtlety works of Eastern and Western jewelers and gunsmiths of that time, then, of course, superiority will remain with the high technique, sense of proportion and artistic design of the goldsmith Nikita Davydov" (quote from the work: Mishukov F.Ya. Gold notch and inlay on ancient weapons. State Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. Collection. scientific works based on materials from the State Armory Chamber. Moscow, 1954, pp. 115, 129).

As we can see, the researcher indicates that the helmet in ancient sources was designated as the Jericho cap. In the above-mentioned book, on page 561, the author gives a note: “It was not possible to establish quite precisely the origin of the name “Jericho cap.” We believe that in this case, Mr. F. Mishutin simply bent his heart, since the term Jericho, Jericho has long been firmly entrenched in Russian medieval literature as a symbol of the Middle East, Palestine (remember, for example, the “trumpet of Jericho”). In describing the helmet, the author uses a not entirely clear term: “softened form in Russian.” He probably really wanted the viewer who saw eastern form helmet, I would not have thought that the helmet was oriental, and therefore gave such an original addition. Next, the author talks about the “traditional Russian ornament” on the helmet. We specially enlarged the image of the ornament so that the reader, looking at it, would answer the question: is this ornament “traditionally Russian”? After all, until now such an ornament was indicated as an “oriental ornament with plant motifs.” Further, the author, describing how “traditionally Russian ornament” coexists with “skillful Arabic inscriptions,” does not do what even a student of history or oriental studies should have done: he does not tries to explain what the Arabic inscriptions say. After all, the Arabic language, fortunately, does not belong to the category of dead languages, and the preservation of the helmet makes it possible to read the inscription. And, nevertheless, F. Mishukov, the master of the Armory Chamber in the matter of describing 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, let's say that F. Mishukov could not say this, simply because there is no name of Nikita Davydov on the helmet, just as there is no name of any other Russian master. Now let us turn to the descriptions of L. Pisarskaya, who, while distinguished by her great ability to work (most books and brochures of a popular nature based on materials from the Armory Chamber were published under her name), unfortunately, is not distinguished by the meticulousness of a researcher. She writes. "" Special attention deserves a helmet made by goldsmith Nikita Davydov, a native of the ancient city of Murom. In terms of finesse 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 repeats verbatim the statements of F. Mishukov) (Pisarskaya L. Armory Chamber. Moscow, 1975, p. 30). As we see, both authors are considered authorities According to the weapons of the Armory Chamber, they are trying to convince everyone that the helmet was made by none other than “the goldsmith Nikita Davydov,” probably in order to completely eliminate the reader’s suspicion of the opposite, he even considered it necessary to note again: “The helmet.” made by Nikita Davydov, who studied with skilled armorers of the older generation, masters of the Armory Order." It seems that he was afraid that suddenly someone would decide that Nikita Davydov took lessons from eastern masters and therefore decided to protect himself from this side. Now let's try to turn to the facts As is known, 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, the fact that in the Roman era this kind of weapon was called barbarium opus is also undeniable). (the work of barbarians), further indicating that Asia is meant. This term was used in the Middle Ages, and only thanks to the Arabs who owned Southern Spain, examples of this technique began to spread in Europe. The name (Jericho), shape (spheroconic), components (visor, nosepiece in the form of an arrow, ears, backplate), ornament (oriental floral), execution technique - all this speaks of the oriental character of the helmet. As for the inscriptions on Arabic, That Nosovsky G.V. and Fomenko A.T. indicate that they are Koranic (!). This, undoubtedly, proves that the helmet was made in the East, 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 historians (Mishukov and company) decide that the helmet was made by Nikita Davydov, and who was he? The answer to this question can be found in the Russian historical documents themselves. Thus, in the “Receipt and Expenditure Book of the State Prikaz” in a document dated December 18, 1621, there is an entry: “The Sovereign’s salary from the Armory Prikaz was given to the self-made master Nikita Davydov half a larshina (followed by a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the sovereign granted it for the fact that that he adorned crowns, targets, and ears with gold.” It is noteworthy that the quoted document refers to exactly the helmet that is now being passed off as the work of Nikita Davydov. This document is known to both F. Mishukov (p. 116 of his article) and L. Pisarskaya (p. 30 of her book).

Let's analyze the document. In order for the reader to understand what we are talking about, we point out that the term “crown” denoted the top of the helmet, the term “target” - cartouches and individual ornaments outside a single design, and the term “ears” - plates for protecting 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, a master in ornamentation of firearms barrels, was given the task of placing gold patterns on the parts of the helmet, which he completed, for which he was awarded by the Tsar. In other words, he did not make (!) a helmet, but placed patterns on it, probably the same crowns and Orthodox crosses that Nishukov and Pisarskaya so zealously focused on. That's why his name isn't on the helmet. He probably also installed a drop-shaped pommel of the nasal plate with the image of an Orthodox saint (the pommel certainly does not fit into the general character of the entire ornament)».

Well, well done research! In other words, S. Akhmedov is inclined to believe that the helmet of Alexander Nevsky is a purely oriental product (and not Russian in oriental style), and that Nikita Davydov was engaged in restoration, and not production of the helmet. The researcher's main argument is the presence of an Arabic inscription.

However, there is a lack of epigraphic research on the Arabic inscription itself.

Rice. 2. My reading of the inscriptions on the helmet

My readings.

I decided to see how different Arabic inscriptions are from Russian ones. To do this, I enlarged these images. And what happened? Thus, the Arabic inscription “Help from God” can also be read in Russian, as MIMI YARA. The inscription “and victory is near” can be read in Russian as YAROV MIMI. Finally, the inscription “and proclaim it to the faithful” can be read as MIMA YARA SHELOM(instead of the letter E the letter YAT is used). Thus, it can be argued that Russian inscriptions were stylized under Arabic.

On one of the decorations the script can be read as text YAR TEMPLE MIM. The front of the helmet contains an image of a crown. On the top of the crown under the prominences you can read the words RODOV YARA TEMPLE YARA, MOSCOW. And on the bottom of the crown a slightly different text is read: MOSCOW, WORLD OF YAR TEMPLE, YAR MARA TEMPLE. It follows from it that this helmet was an accompaniment to the afterlife. And it was made in Moscow, in the temple of Yar Rod, and belonged to mime Yar. Whether Alexander Nevsky was Yar's mime is still unknown, but it is possible.

Thus, Russian reading showed that the words TEMPLE YAR, MOSCOW could in no way be written by the Arabs themselves, and the quoting of the Koran was in such a way that it could be read in Russian.

Reasonings of three authors.

Three authors of the book “Riddles” reasoned curiously ancient Rus'» : « For example, here is a historical source - princely helmets. Shishak of Prince M.I. Mstislavskogo has an inscription in Arabic. The Jericho boyar A. Pronchishchev’s hat and, moreover, the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, too. Verse 13, 61 of the Koran can be seen on the helmet of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. Many people think that this work was done to order by oriental craftsmen, or that the helmet was actually brought from Muslim countries. Alas! The master who made this helmet is known - MIKITA DAVYDOV" - We see that the three authors are not aware that Nikita Davydov has just resumed gilding. So, the three authors believed that they had revealed the truth using the method of epigraphy, by reading the Arabic part of the inscription, but did not suspect that there was not only an epigraphic Arabic, but also an epigraphic Russian version of the analysis. However, one of the authors of the book, Alexey Aleksandrovich Bychkov, whom I know personally, never believed in the effectiveness of Russian epigraphy, as a result of which he came to the wrong conclusions together with his colleagues.

Iranian helmet.

Generally speaking, it is considered the helmet of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. But historian S. Akhmedov thinks differently. Let us continue quoting the work of S. Akhmedov: “ We will return to the question of which eastern country this helmet came from and how exactly it ended up with the king, but for now Let's consider another example of falsification. In the article by the same F.Ya. Mishukov published a description and provided a photograph of the helmet stored in the Armory under inventory number 4410 (the above-mentioned article by F. Mishukov, p. 132, Fig. 10).

Rice. 3. Iranian made helmet and my reading of the inscriptions

He gives this helmet under the name "Damask damask helmet of Iranian work, 16th century." By the way, when describing this helmet and comparing it with the so-called helmet of Nikita Davydov, he writes that “the entire pattern is made with virtuoso, exquisite skill, as on the helmet made by Nikita Davydov,” that is, it seems that the 16th century master worked almost modeled on the work of Nikita Davydov, a 17th-century master. Let's consider the legality of using the term "Iranian work" in relation to this helmet. F. Mishukov himself writes that this helmet was in the collection of oriental weapons that belonged to the governor, Prince F.I. Mstislavsky, and in a single set with a shield of Azerbaijani work (article by F. Mishukov, pp. 132-133). This shield bears the inscription “the work of Mumin Muhammad Sha,” a famous gunsmith from Shamakhi. As you know, in the Middle Ages, defensive weapons were often made in a single set: shield (head protection), armor (torso protection), bracers (hand protection), greaves (leg protection). Such sets are known both in Rus' and Azerbaijan (for example, full set defensive weapons of Sultan Yakuba, ruler of the Azerbaijani state of Aggoyunlu and son of Uzun Hasan, are kept in the Askeri Museum in Istanbul). At the same time, the master wrote his name on only one of the units of the set. Both the shield of the Shamakhi master and the helmet we are considering were made in the 16th century, during the era of the existence of the Safavid State, with which Rus' had fairly close trade and diplomatic relations. Among the goods exported from Azerbaijan, as well as among the gifts from the Safavid shahs, the Russian tsars necessarily included samples of magnificent weapons. However, F. Mishukov indicated this helmet as Iranian. One could still come to terms with this fact: how many works of Azerbaijani masters are indicated as Iranian only on the basis that now Southern Azerbaijan is part of Iran? Something else is more unclear.

By 1998, the helmet was removed from the exhibition of the Armory Chamber. This happens when one exhibit that has already become boring to visitors is replaced by another. In this case, those who deal with this exhibit, but do not have access to the funds, can only use books and brochures, in which this exhibit depicts. Quite by accident, we compared the images of this helmet given in the book by G. Weiss and the photographs in the article by F. Mishukov. The book of the famous German researcher Heinrich Weiss “The History of the Culture of the Peoples of the World” was published at the end of the 19th century and was distinguished by the careful execution of all the drawings of certain exhibits (we used the Russian reprint of this book when working on this article). Here, on the crown of the helmet, inscriptions made in Arabic script are clearly visible. In the photograph by F. Mishukov, for some reason these inscriptions remained under the carefully drawn floral ornament. We have provided both images so that readers can compare the images themselves. We would not like to think that the armory in the 19th century resorted to such falsification.

Probably, the practice of “Russianization” of certain exhibits took place (as in the case of the “helmet of Nikita Davydov”) in the Armory Order in the Middle Ages immediately after the receipt of the weapon sample. In this case, the question arises, how did G. Weiss end up with a sketch of the previous shape of the helmet? The issue with this helmet is still awaiting detailed research. Returning to the question of which eastern country the helmet under N4411 (i.e. “Nikita Davydov’s helmet”) came from and how exactly it ended up in the hands of the Tsar, we can say with complete confidence that it was made in late XVI or the beginning of the 17th century (this is evidenced by his analogy with helmet N4410) on the territory of the Safavid State. Considering the fact that the vast majority of Safavid weapons supplied to Russia were manufactured in the cities of Northern or Southern Azerbaijan, it can be assumed that the helmet was made in one of the Azerbaijani cities. Less likely (although this version cannot be completely denied) is the manufacture of the helmet in Isfahan.

Considering the above helmets, one cannot help but touch upon such “researchers” as G.V. Nosovsky. and Fomenko A.T. Academicians from mathematics decided to be known among historians as good mathematicians, and among mathematicians as good historians. Unfortunately, they turned out to be unfamiliar with the basics of history and managed to turn everything upside down. We will not touch on all of their, to put it mildly, mistakes, but will consider only their version of how inscriptions in Arabic and fragments from the Koran ended up on the so-called Russian helmets. Thus, in the book “Introduction to the new chronology (what century is it today?)” they came to “original” conclusions (pp. 651-654). In their opinion, the large number of samples of Russian weapons with Arabic inscriptions cannot be explained by the fact that these samples arrived from the East. “Dear” academicians stated that in the “desert medieval Arabia" "there are no ore mines, rich deposits of iron and other metals, numerous domains, Arabian smelters," etc., etc. And since all this is not there, it means that the weapon did not arrive in Rus', but was manufactured in Rus' itself does not know that these unfortunate historians wrote on weapons not only from distant Arabia, but from the entire Muslim East - from the borders of China to the borders of Southern France. Moreover, they wrote not only in the Middle Ages, but also in later times. Just look at the samples of artillery shells of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War (in the collection of the Museum of History of Azerbaijan. Even those peoples who used their own language in everyday life and wrote in Persian, still wrote inscriptions on weapons in Arabic, especially if). these were fragments from the Koran. The authors probably did not have time to be interested in the concept of “Muslim culture” and what it includes.

Fomenko and Nosovsky, not believing that their ancestors used imported weapons, decided to somehow rehabilitate the “military-industrial complex” of medieval Rus'. They announced that inscriptions in Arabic, including the Koranic ones, were made by Russian masters, because in Rus' “in those days” they wrote in Arabic, and no less - right up to the 17th century. At the same time, they stipulate that this alphabet “is now considered Arabic.” In other words, in one of their next works they will declare that “the alphabet now considered Arabic” was invented by none other than the Russian people.

In conclusion, we would like to note the following. When the humorist Mikhail Zadornov makes historical insinuations and declares that the word “hero”, which comes from the Turkic “bahadir” (which, by the way, has long been recognized by Russophile scholars themselves) “in fact came from the Slavic phrase “to rob God,” and the Scythians declares antiquities to be the direct ancestors of the Russian people, this is perceived as a joke (although, it seems, he is speaking quite seriously), but when researchers who claim the prefix “serious” begin to falsify (not notice) historical facts, although they understand that the results of their blindness or falsification can and will be replicated, it becomes clear that this will not lead to anything other than national arrogance»

My readings and comments.

The historian's anger is understandable. There really is no point in confusing Iran and Azerbaijan (although the latter was part of the former during the period under review), and here I am completely on the side of S. Akhmedov. I can also agree that Mikhail Zadornov’s comic etymologies can irritate professional historians. I also admit that the “respected would-be historians” Fomenko and Nosovsky are not experts in the field of weapons and armor of Arabic-speaking countries.

But what about the presence of Russian inscriptions on this helmet as well? If Alexander Nevsky's helmet contains an exact address as the place of manufacture, this MOSCOW, then the helmet in question has a no less accurate manufacturing address, city SMOLENSK(written via YAT). This word is repeated twice, firstly, as the Russian reading of three Arabic inscriptions on the right side of the Arabic border, and, secondly, as the Arabic inscription of the right naush, read vertically. On the star, to the right of the central one, you can read the words between the stones: TEMPLE, MIM YAR. And to the right above the stone it is written in black paint: WORLD OF YAR.

On the central decoration of the nausha on the right side of the helmet the word is read MASK, as well as words TEMPLE OF YAR. The word MASK can be understood as meaning “funeral”, and in this case we again have an indication that this helmet was not just ritual, but also accompanied Mime Yar on his last journey. To do this, it had to have a luxurious finish. In short, we have approximately the same repertoire of inscriptions.

However, it would be nice to read the writing in the center of the helmet. We haven't looked at the central star yet. Since the inscriptions there have little contrast, I enhance this fragment. Then the already known words are read at the top MASK OF YAR, while at the bottom I read the word again MASK. Consequently, we have another helmet, made not in Iran or Azerbaijan, but in Smolensk.

Rice. 4. Helmet of Ivan the Terrible and my reading of the inscriptions

Helmet of Ivan the Terrible.

Note by Vitaly Vladimirovich dated August 5, 2010 on the website http://detiboga.ru/groups/topic/view/group_id/165/topic_id/538. Here is her text: “ Consul General of Iran Seyed Gholamrez Meyguni deciphered the Arabic inscription on the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, exhibited in the Astrakhan Museum of Military Glory. The diplomat claims that the inscription on the upper horizontal belt of the royal helmet is translated from a rare Arabic dialect as “Allah Muhammad.” These words may be a shortened version famous expression"Great is Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." "We consider the translation of the Iranian consul as a version that, of course, requires verification by linguists and orientalists. I wonder why Ivan the Terrible was so tolerant of Islam».

The same Varyag, in continuing to quote S. Akhmedov, cites a photograph of Ivan the Terrible’s helmet and his comment: “ One of the explanations why such an inscription could be on the helmet of the Orthodox Russian Tsar may be the assumption that the headdress was presented to Ivan’s father Grozny by the Turkish Sultan for his son.
Indeed, on the second horizontal belt of the helmet, the inscription is already made in the Slavic language - “Shelom of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, Grand Duke, son of Vasily Ivanovich, ruler of All Rus', autocrat,” Elena Arutyunova, senior researcher at the museum, explained to ITAR-TASS.

The world-class relic was brought to Russia from the Royal Armory of Stockholm especially for the 450th anniversary of the incorporation of Astrakhan into the Russian state by the strong hand of Ivan IV. Previously, the helmet was exhibited in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.

There are several versions about how the helmet of Ivan the Terrible ended up in the collection of the Royal Armory of Stockholm. Perhaps it was captured in Moscow during the Troubles of 1611-1612 and, along with other treasures, was sent to Warsaw, to King Sigismund.

Then, in 1655, when Polish troops were defeated during the war with Sweden, it could have been taken by the Swedes from Warsaw as their own trophy. In 1663, the helmet was first mentioned in the inventory book of the Royal Armory in Stockholm.».

There is also a note on the website http://old.mkrf.ru/news/capitals/arxiv/detail.php?id=68883 dated 03/26/2009

The helmet of Ivan the Terrible was brought to Moscow from Stockholm.

The text itself is small: “ The exhibition “The Helmet of Ivan the Terrible” opened at the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin Museums. It was delivered to Moscow from the Royal Armory of Sweden. According to museum staff, the helmet is a unique exhibit of the 16th century, the fate of which included dramatic and turning points in history.

The Royal Swedish Armory is the oldest museum of jewels, weapons and relics of Swedish military history. The helmet of Ivan the Terrible was first mentioned among his inventory in 1663. As they said at the opening, there is no exact data on how the helmet got to Sweden. It is known that during the Time of Troubles the royal treasury was plundered by the Poles. The helmet was taken to Poland, then, perhaps, during the Polish-Swedish war it was taken from Warsaw as a war trophy.

« SHELOM PRINCE VASILIEVICH GRAND PRINCE WITH(S)NA VASILI IVANOVICH LORD OF ALL Rus' AUTOCRAT", - written on one of the three tiers of the helmet crown. “The mystery is that the helmet does not give the full title of Ivan the Terrible,” experts explain. According to them, this is direct evidence that the helmet was made during the reign of Vasily III, the father of Ivan the Terrible. When Vasily III died, the future tsar was only three years. “The diameter of the helmet is small, 19 cm - this is for the head of a young man, but definitely not for a three-year-old child,” they explained at the opening, recalling that history tells us that the king ascended the throne “just as a teenager, at 13-14 years old.”

The scientific director of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin" Alexey Levykin said that the upper tier of the helmet contains a stylized ornament - an imitation of an Arabic inscription - confirmation that the helmet was made by a Russian master, "simply imitating hieroglyphs."

Employees of the Kremlin Museums claim that this relic is the only documented item that personally belonged to Ivan the Terrible. The uniqueness of the exhibit is also in the fact that very few monuments of the 15-16th century have been preserved in Russia due to the Time of Troubles and the war. “All the royal regalia were sent to Poland, the most beautiful ones were melted down,” says Victoria Pavlenko, head of the exhibition department of the Moscow Kremlin museums. “In the Armory there is a helmet of the son of Ivan the Terrible, and in the 20s of the 17th century this helmet was number one among the exhibits of the Armory - so few monuments survived at that time.”

The helmet will be on display in Moscow until May 10. Then he will be presented in the Astrakhan Kremlin (it was Ivan the Terrible who ensured the safety of navigation along the entire Volga up to the Caspian Sea, where Astrakhan was and remains a stronghold of trade), and then returned to Stockholm».

My reading of the inscriptions. It is clear that the inscription is in Old Church Slavonic font SHELOM PRINCE IVAN VASILI and, after the ornament, continuation: EVICH, LORD ALL Rus' AUTOCRAT cannot in any way be considered a sign of its oriental manufacture. But the inscription above, made in imitation of Arabic script, can be read as TEMPLE OF YAR. And I read another fragment of the Arabic inscription as MIM YAR. All these are signs of a Russian product.

However, what attracted me most was the ornamental insert dividing the word VASILIEVICH into two fragments. It turns out that this is a whole inscription, but not in the Old Slavonic font, but in the runes of the Family. I read it and it says: YARA PEACE TEMPLE. MOSCOW. TEMPLE OF YAR. MARA MASK. These are approximately the same words that we came across on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky.

Rice. 5. 16th century ceremonial helmet and my reading of the inscriptions

Helmet from the Topkapi Museum.

On the same website of Vitaly Vladimirovich dated August 5, 2010 at http://detiboga.ru/groups/topic/view/group_id/165/topic_id/538 there is a photograph of another helmet with the remark: “ Ceremonial helmet from the mid-16th century. steel, gold, rubies and turquoise. Top Kapi Museum, Istanbul" True, when I inquired about the helmets from this museum (palace), I found a photograph of a completely different kind with the caption: “ Jeweled and gold-inlaid steel helmet, midsixteenth century (?stanbul,Topkapi)", in other words, " Mid-sixteenth century steel helmet decorated with stones and gold (Istanbul, Topkapi), 1187" rice. 6.

My reading of the inscriptions.

The fact that a ritual helmet ended up in the Istanbul museum does not mean that it was made there, just as the finding of Ivan the Terrible’s helmet, made in Moscow, in Stockholm does not mean this. Therefore, I tried to read the Russian inscriptions on this helmet, if there were any there.

And they were there. So, already on the upper part of the knob of the pommel the letters SK from the word are read MASK. More letters can't fit there. A little lower on the bump you can read the words RODA TEMPLE.

I then read the lettering on the pattern around the helmet's centerpiece. Words are read first YARA TEMPLE, then RODA TEMPLE, finally, MARY TEMPLE, and at the very bottom - MARY MIMA. Thus, here too we are talking about a ritual, and not a combat helmet, intended for the tomb.

The most amazing inscription under the central ornament reads: YAROSLAVL. Thus, the geography of Russian cities where ritual helmets were made expanded. And on the visor you can read the words YARA WORLD.

The left earpiece, located to the viewer's right, also contains inscriptions. On the rim around the ornament you can read the word MARA, while in the center of the ornament the words are inscribed YARA TEMPLE. It is clear that neither the Arabs nor the Turks need such words.

Rice. 6. Helmet from Topkapi Palace and my reading of the inscriptions

My reading of the inscriptions on the second helmet from Topkapi.

Since no additional explanations to Fig. 6 is not available, I begin to examine the inscriptions on the photograph of the helmet. On the knob of the pommel I read the words MIM YAR. Just below on the top you can read the words YARA TEMPLE.

Further to the left of the nasal on the belt I read the words TEMPLE OF MARA. And on the belt above the visor the word is read MASK. There is text written on the part of the visor closest to the helmet MIM YARA, MOSCOW, and a little further from the helmet - the word is written again MOSCOW. Finally, on the edge of the visor farthest from the helmet the text is read WORLD OF YAR.

Thus, by all indications, this helmet was made in Russia.

Discussion.

So, we looked at five ritual (non-combat) steel helmets with gilding and inlays of precious stones. Almost all of them have the word MASK written on them, and in some places there is an explanation: MARA or TEMPLE OF MARA. This shows that the ritual helmet is precisely a death mask.

As you know, in ancient times or a little earlier, masks were a thin cast of a face, portrait or canonical. However, during the period of the Arab conquests, it is possible that priests (memes) in a number of Slavic countries, including Rus', became warriors. And as a sign of military dignity, their death masks began to be made in the form of helmets with Arabic (or pseudo-Arabic) inscriptions.

It is interesting that all the helmets considered were made on the territory of Rus': three in Moscow, one in Smolensk and one in Yaroslavl. Finding these city names immediately removes any suspicion that these helmets were created in the Middle East. Moreover, they were probably made before the 17th century, and the famous gunsmith Nikita Demidov, apparently, only restored them.

Since there were invasions of Moscow by various ethnic groups, including Crimean Tatars, it is quite possible that ritual helmets were stolen as a result of the raids, taken abroad and resold different countries. That is why we know mainly only the helmet of Alexander Nevsky.

At first glance, it is strange that the mime Yara was mentioned on all the helmets. And we know that Alexander Nevsky was the Grand Duke (first of Kyiv, then of Vladimir), Ivan Vasilyevich was the first Russian Tsar of the Rurikovich dynasty, and Mikhail Fedorovich was the first Russian Tsar of the Romanov dynasty. And from the ritual helmet it becomes clear that they were all considered, first of all, MIMES OF YAR, and only then sovereigns. In other words, although their descendants consider them Christians, Christianity on the territory of ALL Rus' was accepted only under Mikhail Fedorovich, in 1630-1635. And before that, it is possible that he was a priest in one of the churches in Moscow.

Rice. 7. Mikhail Fedorovich and my reading of the inscriptions

While working on miniatures from the Radziwill Chronicle, I looked for interest at the image of Mikhail Fedorovich, taken from the Titular Book. There I read a number of interesting words: WORLD OF YAR, MIM RUSI, RUSS YAR, RODA YAR MIM, MIM MAKAZHI TEMPLE YAR MIM TEMPLE MOSCOW. In other words, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was a Vedic priest (mime) of Mokosh of the Yar Moscow temple.

However, I was interested in whether Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich (the Terrible) was also a mime of some Vedic god? This guess can be verified.

Rice. 8. Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich (Grozny) and my reading of the inscriptions

First I read the inscription on the top of the domed crown. It is written there MIM YAR, which is what I wanted to read. And on the fur trim of the crown the words are read YAR TEMPLE, MOSCOW. In addition, on the fur cape, where the fur lining comes out, in one dream the word is read MASK, in a different - MIM YAR. So both kings, despite the Christian attributes of their clothing, were Vedic priests, and there were Vedic temples in Moscow. So, according to tradition, they were given posthumous helmets.

Rice. 9. Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky and my reading of inscriptions

It remains to read the inscriptions on the miniature of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky from the same “Tsar’s Titular Book” of 1672. On the cap of hair I read the words MIM YAR, which confirms my assumption. Once again I read the words MIM YAR a little lower, again on the hair of the head. And on the beard the word is read MOSCOW.

The words are visible on the fur trim of the shoulder on the right TEMPLE OF YAR, whereas below on it you can read the words MARY TEMPLE. And again we have practically the same set of words that characterize the Vedic priest.

So it seems that until 1630, Russian great princes and tsars were mimes of Yar, and their death masks were, on the one hand, miniatures of the “Tsar’s Titular”, on the other hand, military ritual helmets with Arabic or pseudo-Arabic (stylized as Arabic) inscriptions, which can be read in Russian at the same time.

As for the helmets made in Smolensk and Yaroslavl, I believe they belonged to the mimes of Yar in the corresponding cities. Perhaps they were the princes of the respective principalities.

Thus, the highest culture of making helmets, the ability to write inscriptions in Arabic so that they could be read in Russian, shows that the Vedists (“filthy” from the point of view of Christians) had not a lower, but a higher culture in comparison with Catholics who lived with them at the same time. And under the slogan of “fighting pagan superstitions,” Christians destroyed the previous higher Vedic material and spiritual culture.

Literature

1. Bychkov A.A., Nizovsky A.Yu., Chernosvitov P.Yu. Mysteries of ancient Rus'. - M., Veche, 2000. - 512 p.

Helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. It was his variation that was used by S. Eisenstein in the film “Battle on the Ice” and by the artist P. Korin in his famous painting.

Want an experiment?

Look outside and ask passers-by what Alexander Nevsky's helmet looks like.

Most will say: “Well, he’s so heroic, with a plaque on his forehead.”

And he will get into trouble.

Because actually, Alexander Nevsky’s helmet has not been found. Still.

But Sergei Eisenstein, the director of the old film “Battle of the Ice,” can be awarded an academician in propaganda in absentia. Because it was at his instigation that the helmet with the forehead icon became the calling card of Alexander Nevsky.

However, there is one more helmet.
In the 19th century, it was not only declared the armor of the noble prince, but also placed on the state emblem of the Russian Empire!

But - about each in order.

1. Helmet of Yaroslav: treasure in the hazel tree

That same “helmet with a plaque on the forehead” belonged to the father of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich - so says the official version.

The helmet was found in the fall of 1808 by the peasant woman Larionova. It happened in the Vladimir region, near the village of Lykovo. She was collecting nuts in the bushes and “saw something glowing in the hummock.”

This something turned out to be a gilded helmet. Coming closer, she saw a neatly folded chain mail underneath. Since the helmet had an image of the Archangel Michael, the woman took it to the rector of the local church. The find received publicity and reached the king. Alexander I sent it to the Minister of Appanages A.N. Olenin.

Minister of Developments A.N. Olenin. He was the first to study the helmet, which is now officially called the “helmet from Lykovo”

He, in turn, suggested that the armor was left behind by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich on April 22, 1216 during the Battle of Lipitsa.

He had at least three reasons to think so.

1. The helmet is expensive, and the level of finishing is quite princely.

2. In the places where he was found, the famous Battle of Lipitsa took place, which ended in the defeat of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. This means that there are several princes (one of whom is Yaroslav) who were there personally along with their armor.

3. The forehead plate of the helmet is decorated with the image of the Archangel Michael, who in the Christian tradition is called the “Archangel,” in other words, the commander.
Along the perimeter of the icon there is an inscription: “ Great Archangel Michael, help your servant Theodore" That is, " Great Archangel of the Lord Michael, help your servant Fedor" And we know that it was Yaroslav who received the Christian name Fedor at baptism.

Thus, putting the facts together, Olenin concluded: the helmet belonged to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the father of Alexander Nevsky.

But is it possible at such a moment to neatly fold - chain mail on the bottom, helmet on top? No time for that - the enemies are catching up. And it is more difficult to remove chain mail than a shell, which is fastened with straps on the sides. It’s more difficult on horseback than on foot, but first you still need to take off your helmet.
However, there is no other official version yet, we will wait for its appearance.

By the way, Eisenstein has an interesting “film blunder”.

I noticed it completely by accident. Imagine: I’m sitting in front of the TV, watching a movie. In the frame there is a prince galloping forward on a faithful horse. He has a helmet on his head (see frame on the left).

Suddenly the angle changes, and Alexander continues to gallop, but in a different helmet (see frame on the right).
Just like in computer game, where the hero has a whole arsenal from his armpit)))!

It seems strange that the princely helmets in the film props were very different. I don’t know what happened there, but everything, as they say, turned out according to Freud.))

If you look closely at the helmet of Prince Yaroslav, it becomes clear that the nasal guard, protecting the face from an enemy blow, is attached on top of the forehead icon. And covers its lower part.

Most likely, it was once removed to equip the helmet with the image of the Archangel Michael, and then returned back.

This “nose” gave rise to a drawing in the 19th century in which it was part of a half mask. It was believed that it rotted in the ground, and originally protected the cheekbones.

However, a helmet found in Kyiv (on the right) proved that such a nasal guard could also be separate, completely independent protective element. Moreover, as practice shows, it is more valuable in field conditions than a half mask.

So, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was the last, but most likely not the first owner of this helmet. We can only guess which princes wore this helmet before him. And what battles did he fight in?

2. Helmet of Michael: cross on the name of Allah

Second helmet which is attributed Alexander Nevsky, is also kept in the Armory Chamber, and is one of its most famous exhibits.

 

Its official name - “Jericho hat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.” The same Tsar Michael who became the founder of the Romanov dynasty.

Of course, you will ask: “What does this have to do with Alexander Nevsky, who lived not in the 17th, but in the 13th century?” And here's what it has to do with it.

In the 19th century, a legend appeared that the helmet of Tsar Mikhail was remade from the former helmet of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich.

It is not entirely clear where the legs of this legend come from. Perhaps it was a political move. Target? For example, remind everyone that the Romanov dynasty became the successor to Alexander Nevsky and the entire Rurik dynasty. So to speak, to publicly grow historical roots.

Whether this is true or not, in 1857 the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire was approved. And in a place of honor, exactly above the coat of arms, the “helmet of Prince Alexander” was placed.

Large coat of arms of the Russian Empire, model 1857

However, experts doubted that this helmet was made in 13th-century Rus'. And after the Great Patriotic War, with the help of high technologies of that time, it was possible to prove : The helmet actually dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. This means that everything that connects him with the name of Alexander Nevsky is a legend.

But there were several legends.
Candidate of Historical Sciences S. Akhmedov spoke about how they faced harsh reality in his article “Helmet by Nikita Davydov.” I will briefly retell the essence of his investigation.

The Jericho hat, he writes, in Russian medieval literature meant a headdress associated with the Middle East and Palestine. Remember the Trumpets of Jericho in the Bible?

The helmet itself is interesting because it is the purest example of the Eastern armor tradition, however, along with the Arabic inscription, it also contains Orthodox symbols.

In “Antiquities of the Russian State, Published by the Highest Command” (1853), from where the lithograph is given, the following translation of the 13th Ayat 61 of Sura is indicated: “Help from God and imminent victory and build [this] blessing o vernym ". But this is a “political translation” of the verses of the Koran.

61 Surah is called Surah As-Saff ("Rows"). The Surah was revealed in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayats. At the beginning of the Surah it is said that Allah is glorified by everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Allah wants the believers to unite their forces. In Sura, through the mouths of two noble messengers - Musa and Isa, the sons of Israel were declared stubborn infidels and branded for wanting to extinguish the Light of the religion of Allah. This Surah contains Allah's promise to make His religion superior to other religions. , even if it is hated by the polytheists. At the end of the Surah there is a call to believers to fight for faith in the path of Allah, sacrificing their property and life . It also calls on believers to defend the religion of Allah, as did the apostles - followers of Isa, the son of Mariyam.

13 A i t:

وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

There are several translations of this

Firstly, why on earth would an Orthodox person put an Arabic inscription on the helmet of another Orthodox person? Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and speedy victory”, and even in script, in the original language?

Secondly, on December 18, 1621, the following entry was made in the receipt and expenditure book: “The Emperor’s salary to the self-made master Nikita Davydov was half a larshina (followed by a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the Emperor granted it because he decorated crowns, targets, and ears with gold.”

It deciphers something like this: “Give it to a firearms master(i.e., a self-made master) Nikita Davydov did this and that for putting gold on the top of his helmet and its decorations(grower?) and ear protection».

Decoration of the helmet of Tsar Michael

It turns out that what we have in front of us is not a helmet made by Nikita Davydov, but a helmet additionally decorated by him. However, one should not think that the master was fulfilling the sovereign’s idle whim.

Most likely there was a political necessity in his work. What I will tell you next is just my version of events. Maybe I'm wrong.
Or perhaps that was exactly what happened...

This helmet is a gift or trophy that came to the king from the East. Most likely it was a gift, because there was no urgent need to decorate the already expensive helmet. But if it was a gift, that’s a different matter.

Imagine that you are Tsar Michael.
And some mighty ruler from the East gives you a helmet. Perhaps even your own. You are expected to wear it on your head in public.

But you can’t - because you are the king of an Orthodox country, and there are quotes from the Koran on your helmet.

What to do? East is a delicate matter. It is impossible to offend the donor by refusing a gift. Resentment is a reason for hostility and war. You can’t put it on either, the Orthodox people won’t understand, they’ll start a riot.

This is where Nikita Danilov came in handy. Through his efforts, a miniature image of the Archangel Michael appeared on the nose arrow of the helmet, made with colored enamels.

In addition, Davydov, using a gold notch, covered the dome with crowns, and made a gold cross mounted on the top of the helmet. This cross has not survived, but as far as is clear from the Painting of the Campaign Treasury of 1654, it was similar to the crosses on the golden royal crowns of the Romanovs.

This, by the way, is not the only case when objects from the East acquired new meaning in Rus'.
Despite all the legends about the gift from Byzantium, Monomakh's hat turned out to be a golden Central Asian skullcap from the 14th century. Once in Rus', it was trimmed with sable fur in the manner of local hats and crowned with an Orthodox cross.

…………………………………………………..

Well, let's hope that someday we will eventually become aware of the real helmet of Alexander Nevsky. Perhaps not even one. As Vladimir Semenovich sang “ You are searching, subsoil, depth, don’t discount it«.

Literature:

A. N. Kirpichnikov “Ancient Russian weapons”

A.N. Kirpichnikov “Early medieval gilded helmets”

S. Akhmedov “Helmet by Nikita Davydov, or How the Russians wrote in Arabic letters.”