Natasha Bennett

The fabled treasures of China span thousands of years of history. From the exotic Silk Road to the mysterious Great Wall, China’s allure is as vast as the country itself. Here, Natasha Bennett introduces the fascinating world of Chinese arms and armour in the Royal Armouries’ collection. Offering a colourful insight into one of the world’s earliest civilisations, she chronicles the development of personal weapons and armour from the late Bronze Age to the early twentieth century. It is ideal for anyone interested in the military and material culture of this absorbing land.

India is a vast sub-continent with a complex history and a great array of languages, cultures and religions. This book serves as a short introduction to the exquisite weapons used in the region, focusing on the Royal Armouries’ collections from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Beautiful photography is interwoven with remarkable historical and cultural detail about archery, swords, shields, daggers, firearms, artillery and elephant armour.