Illustrations of Sassanid Persian Clibanarii

[Renatus]

As you say translation is not an exact science and we do not have all the cultural references to decode the nuances of what an antique writer is trying to express. You can state with confidence that Julian knew what he was saying but the same cannot be said for any modern person's understanding.

Now that I can agree with. The problem is that the ancient descriptions are less than explicit and we are attempting to explain them by invoking techniques which may have existed but for which there is no contemporary evidence. I agree that the prospect of putting on what is, in effect, a one-piece suit of armour in which all the elements are joined by mail is a daunting one but not, I don't think, impossible. It would not be easy, or even possible, to do so without assistance but there would be grooms and servants about to help. It is, nevertheless, easier to envisage the individual elements being put on separately.

In this instance, the issue turns upon what Julian means by sunarmozomenôn, 'fitting together'. Does he mean that the elements were connected to each other and, if so, whether they were attached permanently or temporarily, or that they adjoined but were not attached? It is quite possible to imagine a section of mail being attached permanently to, say, the cuirass on one side but fixed temporarily by straps or some other means to the arm or leg defences on the other, or simply overlapping them as may be the case on the Sasanian rock reliefs. This is speculation, of course, but an interpretation that the ancient descriptions do not warrant, in my opinion, is either that the armour was layered or that it was principally mail with occasional reinforcements of plate.