Sasanian armament and tactics

Heliodorus, Aethiopica ix.15.1–6

(1) The character of their armament is the following. A selected man chosen for his bodily strength wears a helmet that is compact and made of one piece, and it is skillfully crafted to look exactly like a man's face. He is covered by this from the top of his head to the neck except for the eyes in order to see through it; he equips his right hand with a pike longer than a spear, the left is free for the reins. He has a sabre hung by his side under his arm, and he is armed with a corselet not only across his breast but also across the rest of his body. (2) The construction of the corselet is as follows: they forge plates of bronze and iron into a square shape that is a span long on all sides, and they fit one to the other at the edges on each side so that the one above always overlaps with the one below and the one alongside with the one next to run on continuously, and they furnish the conjunction with hooks under the flaps; thereby they create a kind of chiton clad in horny scales, which clings to the body without causing pain and covers it on all sides, tracing each limb and not hindering movement as it contracts and extends. (3) For there are sleeves, and it reaches from the neck to the knee, separated only at the thighs, as much as is necessary to mount a horse's back. Such a corselet it is, a protection against missiles and a defence against all wounds.