Orlat Battle Plaque\'s Importance

[Alanus]

Alanus,
interesting take and fine research!
How do you find then the portraiture, armor and equipment shown in the Khalchayan Халчаян sculptures etc? bwy Simonenko deals with Orlat a bit in his new book on Sarmatians
there is a Chinese artwork from 2-1 century BC from Hebei province showing similar bow to the Orlat plate images.
a proposito, what is you basis for dating the belt plaque to the 5th century BC - because Victor Mair (after Sun:1996) gives it a Xiongnu origin and dates it to 2nd century BC (Mair:2003).

Thanks for the 2-1st century BC pic. Like the Orlat plaque, it shows an asymmetrical bow tilted upper-leg forward. I'm not alone in the idea that asyommetrical bows with siyahs were not strictly a Hunnic invention. They were used by several eastern cultures and must date back to the 3rd century BC or earlier. Here is a late one found in the Tarim, if I don't get sued for showing it:
[attachment=486]swordbowdrawings001.JPG[/attachment]


In the original post I dated the plaque to the second century BC. Actually, we can be a little more precise than Mair. Two famous battles were fought, one right after the other. Fist, the Huns under the leadership of Modu drove the Yue-chi westward from the Gansu corridor and Tarim in 175 BC. This could be what is pictured on the Orlat plaque.

But I'm in favor of the depiction being the second battle, in 162 BC, when the Yue-chi reached the Ili Valley and were repulsed and beaten by the Wusun/Alans as aided by the Huns under Laoshang, son of Modu. This accounts for the perfect stylization of Western victors (the guy on the left lancing the invading leader) defeating invaders comimg from the East (the group on the right side of the plaque).

My major interest in the plaque is its relation to the sword style mentioned by Tacitus, long and two handed. Any later sword carried by the Alans or Sarmatians had a much shorter grip than illustrated.