CRIMEAN TATAR INFANTRY 17TH CENTURY

The Tatars are essentially Turkish peoples who settled in eastern Europe and northern Asia. From the fourteenth century on, they largely embraced Sunni Islam as their religion. The military character of the Tatars was based primarily on the use of light cavalry, its speed and deception. Due to the fact that speed of action played the main role in the tactics of the Tatar troops, the infantry in the Tatar troops played a marginal role. In the 17th century, in the troops of the Crimean Khanate, it was often armed with spears, sabers, reflex bows and relatively primitive muskets. The protective armament played a minor role due to the high cost of its acquisition. If it was already used, it was most often a round shield, a helmet with a cup and lamellar armor. In fact, no full cuirass was used at all, as did the pikemen from Western Europe. It is worth adding that the Tatar infantry hardly participated in the loots' expeditions against Polish or Russian lands.