H CHINESE HAN DYNASTY TROOPERS

The reign of the Han dynasty in China dates from 221 BC to 220 AD, and its founder was Emperor Liu Bang, who later took the name of Han Gaozu. These nearly 400 years of Chinese history are separated by a brief episode of the Xin dynasty, which ruled around 9-23 AD. Therefore, the chronology of Han rule is divided into the Western Han Dynasty (ca. 206 BC - AD 9) and the Eastern Han Dynasty (ca. 25-220 AD). During the Han Dynasty, the Chinese army was divided into two parts: the conscript army and the units we would today call a professional army. In terms of quantity, the first type of army dominated. At that time, every man capable of carrying it after the age of 23 was called up. In the 1st century BC, the age was lowered to the age of 20. The recruit underwent 12-month training, and then also served in the line unit for 12 months. The professional army, collecting regular pay, was always stationed near the capital and it can be assumed that it was much better trained than the army composed of conscripts. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, efforts were made to reduce the role of the recruits to professional soldiers, which was largely successful, and was funded by increased taxes. The land army of the Han emperors consisted of infantry and cavalry. Due to the fact that they often had to fight the steppe peoples pressing on the state border roughly from the territories of today's Mongolia, the cavalry constituted a large percentage of the Han army - at its peak it probably constituted about 36% of the total army. On the other hand, the reign of the Han is the twilight of the role of the war chariot in the Chinese art of war. Its use was probably discontinued around 150-100 BC. Generally speaking, the Han infantry was relatively well armed. As defensive weapons, helmets often made of iron plates and lamellar armor, which were also made of iron plates, were used. Shields are also used. As an offensive weapon, the infantry used mainly swords and spears, less often - battle axes. Crossbows also played an important role. used both by infantry and presumably by cavalry.