08-24-2021, 05:15 PM
(06-29-2021, 11:23 AM)Dan Howard Wrote: Segmentata was phased out when the state took over the armour fabricas and standardised armour production. Logistically, mail is far superior for a long list of reasons:
Segmentata only has two advantages:
it is lighter than other types of armour (except for a solid bronze cuirass)
it is cheaper and faster to make, which is probably why it was invented in the first place.
Mail might cost more than segmentata up front, but over its lifespan it is a lot cheaper than segmentata. Individual soldiers might prefer segmentata because it costs them less but state-owned arsenals would prefer mail because it costs them less. When the state took over the armour-making fabricas at the end of the third century, segmentata stopped being made.
I agree on the logistical part, but it is quite hard to demonstrate that segmentata is cheaper than mail, or hamata. Exactly for the logistic reasons you have listed. It requires more tools, each part is done for a specific purpose, includes a lot of accessories...
The mail can be easily scaled up, the component is the same for all the part of the body and even an unskilled legionary can replace a broken part. So, its assembly can be made by servants of the blacksmiths.
It was the ideal for the centralized armories, far from the risks of battles and more interested in fulfilling orders than in sending quality products.
But, I think you have forgotten by purpose the real advantage of the Segmentata: the greater protection level on covered parts.
It is not strange that Segmentata has been introduced following the battle of Carrhae, when Romans saw the low level offered from the Hamata against Parthian arrows.
