DBA Armies

When the Khazar attacks broke up Great Bulgaria circa 675, one group (the “silver” Bulgars) moved east and set up a new state in the middle Volga and Kama valleys, in the transition zone between forest and steppe. Their capital Bulghar became a major centre of the fur and slave trade and they became farmers and fishermen as well as semi-nomadic herdsman. They remained subordinate to the Khazars until the fall of the Khazar empire in 965, by which time they had embraced Islam. They fought against the Rus until their capital and state were destroyed by the Mongols in 1237. They shaved their heads but not their faces, wore boots, long ornate top coats and Arab turbans, but by the 12th century had acquired Russian-type cavalry armour. Their foot had a reputation for archery with flat wooden bows, but are also mentioned using spears and throwing axes. Reference: Armics of the Dark Ages 1. Heath.