Cool inscriptions on weapons. Engraving on weapons. b) Brands of domestic shotguns

I was shackled
Betray a fighter
In the first fight.

I was sent
By evil gold
To the extreme light.

R. Kipling Runes on the Wieland Sword Trans. M. Gasparova

Findings of runic inscriptions on weapons demonstrate to us probably the most powerful form of human influence on the world around him. Runes were undoubtedly the most effective magical tool, while weapons acted as the most authoritative and indisputable argument in the sphere of material life. Both, from the point of view of a person of the archaic era, most effectively transformed reality, changing it in the required direction. The combination of two such effective tools into a single complex, undoubtedly, should have significantly increased the effectiveness of the steps taken. In this context, it is interesting to examine the patterns that can be discerned when analyzing the fund of runic monuments associated with weapons.

It should be noted that the number of inscriptions on weapons known to date is relatively small and, in general, constitutes a relatively small percentage of the total number of runic monuments, and their completely disproportionate distribution by era is striking. So, if from the era of the elder runes and the transitional period that interests us, it has come down to us at least 26 inscriptions on weapons, then the period of younger runic writing (approximately from 700 to 1300 g.) has preserved only about two dozen objects of this kind. Let us recall that little more than the older runic inscriptions are known. 250 , while the number of epigraphic monuments of the Viking Age and the Middle Ages is estimated at almost 6000 units. As a result, we get very indicative figures: elder runes the inscriptions on the weapons are approximately 10 % of the total number of finds, while junior runic- only about 0,0035 % .

At the same time, such a difference cannot in any way be attributed to any differences in the state of the source fund - we have, as we know, a huge number of finds of weapons from the Viking Age, immeasurably exceeding the total number of similar artifacts of the times Great Migration or other eras. That is, the presented ratio was obtained based on an analysis of a completely correct database and reflects a certain pattern that actually existed and was reflected in the sources. Of course, the fund of inscriptions is increasing, and over time, as in any other area of ​​runic epigraphy, certain changes in the statistical order occur, but such a colossal gap in numbers will undoubtedly no longer be subject to significant adjustment.

The correlation of finds within this group is interesting. 23 runic inscriptions from 26 applied to offensive weapons. Among them 14 copies swords and them structural elements- pommels, sheath covers, etc., 8 tips copies And darts, 1 shaft arrows. At the same time, only 3 the finds are associated with items of defensive weapons - 2 umbons from shields and helmet.

In his research on the problem of runic inscriptions on weapons, TO.Duvel highlights four groups finds, differentiated by him according to chronological and geographical criteria. First group consists of finds originating from marshes of Southern Jutland and Northern Germany.Second block form inscriptions on spear and dart tips, related to the period III century,.n.uh. Third group includes Anglo-Saxon inscriptions on weapons items dating back to VI century.n.uh. Finally, in fourth group presents the most recent inscriptions attributed to 7th century. and found outside the Scandinavian Peninsula, in continental Europe. Such a classification is not ideal, but it allows us to draw attention to certain patterns present in this collection of finds. It is striking, for example, universal nature of piercing and throwing weapons- inscriptions on spears and javelins are present in all chronological sub-periods of the time period under consideration. At the same time, items of defensive weapons belong mainly to the earliest eras of runic writing and are not represented among the later finds. We also note that, with rare exceptions (except for the inscription from Evre Stabu), weapons finds are associated with continental Europe,British Isles or Denmark, but not with Scandinavian Peninsula. This emphasizes the rather mobile nature of the way of life that was characteristic of the Germans during the period of migrations and even in the era of the early barbarian kingdoms, although, of course, it also indicates a higher population density in the non-Scandinavian regions of the Germanic world, as well as the widespread spread of runic literacy here and the activity of using runes in military use.

So, the most local and at the same time the longest existing group is formed by inscriptions on weapons from marshes of the border between Germany and Denmark. The circumstances of their discovery do not always answer the question of how exactly this or that object got into the swamp. Attribute all these objects a priori to results of sacrifices It’s hardly possible, if only because we cannot completely exclude other possible circumstances as a result of which the object ended up in the depths of the swamp. For example, the owner could drop it and lose it while crossing a swamp, or drown with it, throw a spear at the enemy, who, in turn, could no longer get out to a dry place, etc. That is, we have no reason to see in every find a sacrifice to the gods, regardless of what the inscription itself represents.

Finds from the swamps date back to around 200 AD. up to the VI century inclusive. The most indicative in this group are the following inscriptions:

1. The pommel of the sword sheath is made of Thorsberg belongs to the earliest objects with runic signs - it bears two inscriptions: owlpupewar And niwajemariR. The first of the inscriptions is considered by experts as distorted w(u)lpupewaR- determination of weapon ownership (with the suffix -aR): "shining, magnificent warrior". Second part - "well known"(glorious);

2. Co second half of the 3rd century. belongs to the lining of the sword scabbard from Vimose V Denmark. The inscription consists of two parts: mariha iala And makija and reads as follows: "this sword belongs to me" or, alternatively, "this sword belongs to Maru (owner's name)";

3. Also in Vimose A silver scabbard with gilded trim was discovered. There is a name written on it in runes awns- probably, Awings;

4. From the swamp to Illerup there is a shield handle with the inscription swarda. It belongs to the earliest - about 200 g. - and is interpreted as one of the variants of the German word "sword" or adjective swarta - "black";

5. From the famous Nydam swamp, famous for the discovery of one of the well-preserved ships from the era of migrations, comes from an arrow shaft dating from the interval III-V i.v. with an inscription lua-possibly corrupted by a typical spell alu;

6. The inscription on a bronze fragment of the umbon from Illerupa - aisgRh. Here is a list of translations proposed by individual researchers: Bugge- "Sigi wields this shield";Olsen - "Be victorious, shield";Greenberger - "I am victorious" ;Noreen - "Eisger owns it";Holthausen - "Sigger Owns Me"; Krause - "Aisig. Hagel"(two words - "furious" And "damage");Gutenbrunner - "Remain unharmed from the storm of spears"(kenning); Antonsen - "Diverting hail"(spears or arrows); Eric Moltke spoke in favor of the meaninglessness (unreadability) of the inscription. Such a variable reading, which nevertheless preserves a stable semantic core, allows us to classify this inscription as one of two typical formalized classes of inscriptions;

7. From the swamp Kragehuhl Five spearhead fragments originate in Denmark, one of which bears the inscription: EkerilaR asugisalas muha haite gagaga ginuga he lija hagalawijubig. In this rather long text, the first few words are clearly and unambiguously read: I, Eril Asgisl... This is followed by more or less standardized initiations and magical formulas, including the famous gagaga.

In addition, among the swamp finds there is a very indicative category. On the umbo of the shield from Thorsberg there is a Roman inscription - AEL(IUS) AELIANUS. There are other Roman names found in Illerup, Nydam, Thorsberg and Vimosa.

Another group of runic inscriptions is represented by finds of the same type throwing and piercing spears. The earliest of them, attributed to second half of the 2nd century., at the same time considered the earliest runic inscription, is a leaf-shaped tip made of Evre Stabu in Norway, originating from a funerary complex consisting of two male and two female cremations. One of the most popular interpretations of the inscription raunijaR - "deprives the enemy of courage". From Damsdorf, V Central Brandenburg, occurs dated mid 3rd century. inscription on the tip of the spear: ranja ("in motion"?), which is attributed to those who were here at that time Burgundians. The only one of the arrowheads not found in a burial is the Kovel one, bearing the inscription tilarids - "striving for a goal".

Finds from Mos (Gotland) - sioag or gaois(translation is unclear, perhaps "roaring, sounding"), as well as a Polish find from the town Rozvadov - ...krlus(Maybe, "I, Herul"?).

WITH British Isles, mainly from burials, there are several finds. IN Kente five sword parts discovered VI century. and one spear tip 7th century. - including those discovered:

1. B Sarah-unreadable inscription on the pommel of the sword;

2. B Ash Gilton- also pommel: eic sigimer nemde - "Sigimer called me", on the other side - sigi mci ah("Sigi owns me");

3. Sheath lining made of Chessel Down-Friedhof on Isle of Wight: aeco so eri ("increasing suffering");

4. Two silver gilded pommels with “z” runes from Ash Gilton, sometimes seen as dedication Toru;

5. Faversham. On the pommel of the sword the rune of Tyr is inscribed twice. This case, from the point of view of the information available to us, should be considered a classic - this corresponds to one of the very few mentions in Edde about the true magical meaning and the use of runes;

6. Spearhead made of Holboro- peculiar binderuna: Tyr rune on a rectangular base resembling the Cyrillic letter P;

7. Finally, skramasaks from Thames. "Non-canonical" option Anglo-Saxon Futhark, probably supplemented with the owner's name: beagnop.

A certain inexpressiveness of the Anglo-Saxon inscriptions is explained by the fact that the Germanic linguistic and magical basis of runic writing in England quickly fell into decay.

Continental inscriptions 7th century. rare. From more than 50 , found, for example, in Germany, - only five made on weapons. Of these are relatively picky four. On a silver plate Leibenau, apparently, the owner's name is present - Rauzvi, other signs are controversial. Scramasax from Haifingen bears the inscription ikxrxkwiwixu. What is clear is that the pronoun comes first ik - "I".

Spearhead from Wurmlingen-inscription idorih. Reading options - “I make you powerful and respected”, proper name or dedication Toru (Top = Dor?). Perhaps the proper name is also in Saxon from Steindorf:husibald...

The Viking Age brought us only three(!) inscriptions on weapons, very few inscriptions from subsequent times ( XII-XIII centuries). Suffice it to say that out of approximately 3 thousands of axes discovered in Norway, only one contains a runic inscription. In addition to unreadable inscriptions ( afke, Uppland), there are fairly standardized two-part ones: rani: aapnuikur And butfus: faii. (“(G)rani wields this dart. Botfos cut out") (Svenskens, Gotland) or audmundr gerdi mik. asleikr a mik (“Audmund made me. Asleik owns me") (Korsoygården, Norway). For a period of about 1200 g. dated to the umbon with the inscription gunnar gerdi mik. helgi a mik("Gunnar made me, Helgi owns me"). IN Greenmount(Ireland) an inscription was found containing the owner’s nickname: tomnalselshofopasoerpeta("Dufnal the Sea Dog Head wields this sword"). Finally, towards the very end of the period (end XIII century.) refers to the inscription of a typically Christian character: "Ave Maria..."

In total, more than two dozen younger runic inscriptions on weapons are known, which, as stated above, constitutes an immeasurably smaller proportion of the total number than in the case of older runic inscriptions. The conclusions that follow directly from the above facts generally boil down to the following.

There is no doubt the high role assigned to runic inscriptions or individual signs applied to weapons. These symbols were given a meaning that went far beyond the usual information broadcast. At the same time, a clear difference between the two eras of runic writing is clearly noticeable. In the Viking Age, when runic epigraphy came close to the state of refined alphabetic writing, and any supernatural content of the runes began to be considered as absolutely secondary, the nature of the inscriptions finally changed. Along with emerging at the very end of the active existence of runes formula of a typical Christian prayer call, organically replacing the pagan appeal to the Ases, most inscriptions on weapons in the Viking Age gravitate towards an extremely stable formula: “The name made me. Someone owns me" with minor variations. Sometimes this inscription is reduced, leaving only the name of the owner.

In one case, it can be assumed that the owner and the person who carved the runes (of course, the manufacturer of the weapon) are different people. However, the resulting formula is remarkably stable. Moreover, it actually, in a somewhat abbreviated form, reproduces the core of the formula characteristic of the most widespread type of monuments of younger runic epigraphy - rune stones. It is also very typical for them to indicate at least two characters - the author of the image and the customer, or the customer and the person commemorated by installing the stone. The reduction of the formula and its extreme laconicism were dictated by the nature of the object - the bearer of the inscription, which did not leave such space as the surface of the stone. Nevertheless, the formation of a very formalized and extremely stable speech block indicates the final fixation in the minds of not only the tradition of inscribing runic inscriptions, but also the stereotypical formulations within the framework of which runic writing was primarily thought and implemented.

Considering the very significant changes that occurred with Futhark during second half of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium. AD, we come to the conclusion that the stereotypes of thinking reflected in epigraphy turned out to be much more stable than the traditional runic alphabet.

Moreover, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the inscriptions are purely utilitarian, because they combine the properties of the manufacturer’s mark and the owner’s mark. This serves as a reflection of the main and fundamental trend, which is a projection of the general runic trend and concluded in the steady desacralization of runic writing, decreasing role of magic,ritual And dedicatory inscriptions and the increasing role of inscriptions of profane, everyday content. Having emerged in the era of the elder runes, as part of the transition period in continental Europe and on the islands, this trend leads to the complete triumph of profane inscriptions in the younger runic period.

As for the older runic inscriptions on weapons, they demonstrate much less formalization. Actually, the typology of inscriptions is not very diverse. There are five main categories:

1. The proper name of the weapon, most often a single-word or compound epithet, that is, heyti or kenning;
2. Indication of the name of the owner of the weapon;
3. Indication of the person who carved the runes - eril;
4. Magic spell or its abbreviation;
5. Direct dedication of weapons to an ace in hopes of helping.

The extreme difficulty of reading and, even more so, interpreting some of the inscriptions should keep us from drawing categorical conclusions. However, we note that, as a rule, these types do not intersect, that is, the object usually carries a fairly short inscription that lies within one of the specified semantic fields. The extreme significance of the magical component of runic symbols is obvious. Given the instability of spelling, common to older runic monuments, there is a surprisingly stubborn and persistent desire to mark weapons using extremely expressive epithets, which clearly emphasize the aggressive and active or, less often, defensive nature of the weapon. "Striving for the Goal","Furious", "Penetrating"- it's hard to imagine more suitable names for spears or swords. It's a fair statement L.A.Novotny, indicating that the inscriptions on weapons are, first of all, language of warriors and tribal nobility, intended for a barbarically sublime poetic conveyance of the feeling of struggle, blood, wounds, weapons, corpses, hunting, etc. This in itself is a brilliant and vivid reflection of the turbulent world of the crushers of the Empire, recreates the feverish and warlike atmosphere of an era when every warrior was in a state of permanent struggle for his existence and for victory, an era known to us by the epic and the bloody hue of gold jewelry.

Undoubtedly personal connection between the weapon and its owner. One does not exist without the other, and vice versa. These inscriptions capture the hope for help in a decisive throw and a successful blow, the hope that a shield placed in time will withstand and not let you down. The throwing spear, angon, was very important element equipment and at the same time sometimes acted as the main character of the fight. The first all-crushing throw could lead to unconditional victory even before hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, special attention was paid to him. At the same time, an unsuccessful throw jeopardized the further outcome of the fight. It is precisely because of this that the inscriptions on the tips of spears are sometimes so laconic and bright, acting as a kind of symbol of the era.

The warrior loved his weapon, trusted it, called it by a bright and sonorous name, expecting help in battle, probably, first of all, from the weapon itself, and secondarily from the deity responsible for military success. Undoubtedly certain, more or less clearly expressed, personification of a weapon, endowing it with certain features of an animate being, organically fitting into the stereotypes of pagan thinking and continuing the relict-totemistic tradition of the zoomorph in the decoration of helmets. In this context, a direct continuation of this tradition of animation is knightly custom give proper names to swords, spears and other weapons. It, like many other features of classical European chivalry, is rooted precisely in the German tradition of the pagan period. "Revived" a sword or spear continued its journey to another world - with its owner, as funeral equipment, or independently, like most finds from swamps of northern Europe. And in fact, when analyzing the inscriptions on the weapon, one immediately gets the feeling that the spear, having received its own name, really acquired along with it its own unique destiny, which was no less glorious and, perhaps, from the point of view of an archaeologist, much longer, than the fate of its owner himself. Thus, the Kovel spear has already distanced itself so much in our minds from its owner that the vicissitudes of its fate - not only the modern one, but also the early medieval one - are truly perceived as the adventures of the spear itself and only secondarily as the adventures of an unknown Gothic warrior.

When analyzing the texts of runic inscriptions on weapons, there is a temptation to interpret some of the characteristic epithets as Heyti Asov, in particular the Odin. It is known that written sources give us an extremely diverse palette of Odin's heyti, numbering many dozens of names, and there were probably others. This possibility cannot be rejected. In addition, it is Odin who owns one of the few Eddic “registered” weapons - a spear Gungnir. However, none of the texts known to us mentions runes inscribed on the spear, but this, of course, does not mean anything.

The whole story of Odin’s acquisition of the secret knowledge of runes is closely tied to this type of weapon - it was with a spear that the wisest of the Aesir pierced himself, sacrificing himself to himself. Stable axis Odin - spear - runes, which is reminiscent of the abundance of typical inscriptions on the tips of pikes and darts, forces us to take a more careful look at this particular type of weapon - the main and oldest one.

At the same time, there is direct written evidence of the presence of runic symbols and inscriptions on swords. Canonical option - "Speeches of Sigrdriva", which find a direct analogy in the inscriptions on the pommel from Faversham and, possibly, the spear from Holborough:

Runes of victory,
if you strive for her, -
cut them out
on the sword hilt
and mark twice
in the name of Tyr!
(Speeches of Sigrdriva: 6)

Stanza from "Beowulf" brilliantly illustrates one of the options for applying runes to weapons. Hrothgar, examining the gilded twisted hilt of the sword, sees on the scennum an image of the battle of the deity with the giants and an inscription indicating by whom and for whom the sword was made:

...and shone on gold
clear runes,
who proclaimed
for whom and by whom
this snake-decorated one
the sword was forged
in those centuries immemorial
along with the cuttings,
twisted handle...
(Beowulf: 1694)

Which part of the handle was meant by the term scennum, is unknown, but this inscription typologically corresponds precisely to the transitional form of the older runic inscriptions of the Anglo-Saxon region, preserving the archaic appearance, but already demonstrating a standardized late non-magical (profane) formula with a mention of the maker/owner. The narrator does not mention specific names when describing the inscription - perhaps it was self-evident for him that in an inscription of this kind it was the owner of the weapon and the master who should be mentioned: the established tradition was assumed “by default.” This type of inscription is fully consistent with the discovery of pommels from Ash Gilton and perhaps from Sarah. Ash-Gilton find chronologically, typologically and “conceptually” is closest to the sword from “Beowulf” and, undoubtedly, is only the tip of the iceberg, inaccessible to our perception and assessment due to the fragmentation of the source fund of the “Dark Ages” era.

Finally, it is appropriate to make one more assumption. It seems that the maturation and constitution of formalized texts of runic inscriptions on weapons was to some extent associated with less and less individualization of the forms of the weapons themselves. The number of squads grew, the production resources of society increased, and the quality of weapons improved. A sword or spear, while remaining an enduring value and an object of sincere affection for a warrior, nevertheless lost to some extent individuality. Spearheads, axes and even swords of the Viking Age, and even more so of the subsequent period, not only became more widespread - the variety of their external forms definitely decreased. The somewhat less expressiveness of the forms of later weapons - while their effectiveness increased - is obvious. Previously, each piece of weaponry truly represented a unique work of weapon art - taken on its own, it apparently meant more to its owner than in later times, and was more valued. It was as if he had his own face, completely unique and individual. It is in this that we must look for the roots of the custom of giving weapons proper names. The weapon was extremely valuable, and putting the name of the owner on its surface, in any case, could, in the last instance, serve the purpose of denoting a proprietary relationship - it was already clear to everyone whose spear or sword it was.

The kings of the Viking Age undoubtedly supplied their warriors with more or less significant quantities of weapons, ordering them from blacksmiths. This was the first and very confident step towards the standardization of weapons, facilitating its production and increasing quality, but at the same time always steadily leading to depersonalization of things. Popular types of swords were in service for a long time, unifying to a very significant extent. More and more contingents of warriors gathered under one roof in the feast hall, on the same ship, in the same camp, etc. The situation in which soldiers could confuse their weapons became more and more frequent. It was during this period that the need for signs of ownership, purely utilitarian marks of the owner, came out of the shadows and became the dictates of the time.

Modern model Such an epigraphic monument is the owner’s surname written in ballpoint pen on the inside of the crown of a peakless cap or cap, which is not difficult to find on most hats in any of the military schools or garrisons. This is a rather “rough” model, however, standardization these days has been taken to its logical limit.

The first steps of pre-industrial standardization at the end of the 1st millennium AD. destroyed a significant share of the individuality of weapons, considerably “depersonalizing” them, which was reflected in a change in the stereotype of runic formulas and the degree of their prevalence. The proposed scheme, of course, does not exhaust the essence of the problem, but, as it seems, is the main direction of its solution.

(C) A.A. Stables Harbingers of the Vikings. Northern Europe in the 1st - 8th centuries

Inscriptions in arbasque, quotes from the Koran on the weapons and armor of tsars and Russian princes July 28th, 2016

Khokhlovata is trying to discredit Alexander Nevsky the inscription on his helmet from the museum is an inscription from the Koran in Arabic letters.

And the “Orthodox saint” Alexander Nevsky liked to wear such a hat on holidays. pic.twitter.com/WzDDTow2qj

— Columnist (@ANTK_84) July 27, 2016

Yes, there really is a quote from the Koran:

« Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and speedy victory"(61:13).
It should be understood that the word “Allah” is literally translated into Russian as “lord”, “god”, into English “lord”.
The use of an Arabic protective prayer - a talisman - is common among gunsmiths. As a rule, it was done by the craftsmen themselves, but it also happened by special order. So there is nothing unusual about this helmet. It all depends on the story of his origin and how he came to the prince.
This is where the differences lie:

The helmet, or Jericho cap, depicted in the above-mentioned drawings belonged, according to legend, to St. to the great faithfulPrince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky. Although in the attached extract from the 1687 inventory of the Tsar's Armory Treasury it is indicated: “Mikitina by Davydov,” but this Moscow armorer from the time of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich belongs to the decorations attached to the helmet of oriental work with precious stones and the enamel image of the Archangel Michael above the latch in front, called in descriptions with a slotted nose.

The forged helmet is made of red iron, with ear flaps and an aventail, consisting of seven shields, richly incised with gold. In the crown, in the notches of the grass, is a verse from the Koran: help from God, imminent victory, proclaim to the faithful. In the middle of the helmet on three sides are incised gold crowns with crosses.

Judging by the verses from the Koran and the shape of the crown, the helmet was forged in Asia for one of the Christian rulers. If we assume that the name Yericho comes from Yurgen, that is, Georgian, then, without any doubt, the helmet was made for one of the kings of Georgia. If the name Erichonsky is not erroneous, then one can think that the helmet was forged in Palestine during the Crusades: the shape of the crown fully corresponds to this era. (With)

And here I have questions. How do we know that only the nose belongs to Moscow gunsmiths? Judging by the context, this conclusion is drawn from Arabic inscriptions, while they explain the crowns with crosses as an order of a Christian ruler. How did the helmet get to Nevsky? He was a pretty cool warrior. Enough to order your own helmet. If this is his order, made in Asia, why didn’t he immediately order his nose? Moreover, the helmet looks absolutely harmonious, including the Archangel. Well, let’s say, God bless him, let’s say Alexander Nevsky ordered a helmet for himself in Asia.

There are no unauthorized inscriptions on objects of this level. The owner of the helmet was not against the inscriptions from the Koran.
The attempt to untie Jericho and tie Georgia is generally ridiculous. Yes, of course, the Russian tsars stole helmets from the Georgian tsars, and that’s all they did. We need to tell our people about national traditions, let them steal the tie, otherwise it’s boring.
In addition, the authors forgot to mention in the description that in Rus' there was a word Erikhonka, which meant a helmet of approximately this type. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%F0%E8%F 5%EE%ED%EA%E0
Oops, sorry, but Wiki says that the helmet attributed to Nevsky definitely (???) belonged to Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, and was made in Moscow by Nikita Davydov. Did Davydov write from Lyadov in Arabic?
Jericho is a city in Palestine that actually existed. It can be assumed that he had high skill in the production of military helmets.
It's in the Bible. But this is BC. . What’s interesting: As for the Trumpets of Jericho, it’s probably not a legend, but a remnant of wonderful ancient knowledge, known then, but which has not survived to this day. Ironically, Sellin's research showed that the walls of Jericho had indeed fallen! External - outward, internal - inward. (c) http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C8%E5%F0%E 8%F5%EE%ED
Then the city was restored, as Wiki writes, then destroyed during the war between the Crusaders and Arabs. Who doesn’t understand: the Livonians and other knights are the same Crusaders, and the battle on Lake Neva is a battle with the Crusaders.

However, it should be taken into account, that the inscriptions on weapons and ammunition of that time were often in Arabic. Either the Arab craftsmen were more famous - Damascus steel was still produced in the Islamic area. Either the protective prayer in Arabic was considered a stronger amulet. This question is controversial in two ways. Nevertheless, similar Arabic inscriptions are on a huge number of museum weapons and ammunition. In Russian museums we observe the dominance of so-called “eastern” weapons in Rus' with religious inscriptions written almost exclusively in Arabic. As a rule, these are verses from the Koran and appeals to Allah.
So, for example, on the “cap of Jericho” by Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the work of the master of the Armory Chamber Nikita Davydov in 1621, the Arabic Koranic inscription is placed in the stamps: “Give joy to the faithful with the promise of God’s help and speedy victory.” This inscription is adjacent to eight-pointed Orthodox crosses on the helmet itself and with the image of the Archangel Michael on the arrow of the helmet.

Another example. On the mirrors of the royal armor of the first Romanovs, stored in the Moscow Armory Chamber, only titles are written in Cyrillic in Russian Mikhail Fedorovich And Alexey Mikhailovich. The religious inscriptions on the mirrors are written entirely in Arabic.

Fragment helmet of Ivan the Terrible. Above the name of the king in Cyrillic there is an Arabic “pattern”. This is the inscription " Allah Muhammad", it is made seven times around the circumference of the helmet. From here

Arabic inscriptions, as a rule, contain religious formulas on Russian weapons. Perhaps, the only exception is the bilingual "Turkish" saber of the 16th century from the collection of the Moscow Armory Chamber, on which religious inscriptions are made in both Arabic and Russian.

On the heel of this saber is written in Arabic: “ In the name of God, good and merciful!», « O conqueror! O protector!" Along the butt of the same saber there is an inscription in Cyrillic, also of religious content: “ Judge, Lord, those who offend me. Overcome the struggling me. Take your weapon and shield and rise to help».
There are Arabic inscriptions on Orthodox religious jewelry. For example, a precious miter is the headdress of an Orthodox bishop, which is still kept in the museum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Her photograph is shown in L. M. Spirina’s album “Treasures of the Sergiev Posad State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve. Old Russian Applied Art" (GIPP "Nizhpoligraf", Nizhny Novgorod, year of publication not specified). On the front of the miter, directly above the Orthodox cross, is a precious stone with an Arabic inscription.
Most likely in those days The Lord was One for Christians and Muslims, and at least the rulers-princes did not divide Allah the God into yours and ours. It was customary to write exclusively “Allah” in Russian already under the Romanovs, in order to divide the faithful. At the same time, the word “Orthodox” was introduced (previously it meant pagans)

Legal relations arising from the circulation of award weapons in the territory Russian Federation Since 1993, they have been regulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Weapons”. According to the Federal Law "On Weapons", award weapons are civilian, combat short-barreled hand-held small arms and edged weapons received by citizens of the Russian Federation as an award on the basis of a decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation, award documents of heads of foreign states and heads of government of foreign states , as well as on the basis of orders from the heads of state paramilitary organizations. The types, types, models of combat short-barreled hand-held small arms and bladed weapons that can be awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as the procedure for awarding these weapons, are established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Sale, donation and inheritance of combat short-barreled hand-held award weapons are not allowed.
According to the Rules for awarding citizens of the Russian Federation with weapons, the award funds include:
civilian weapons with certificates of conformity;
military and edged weapons included in the list of types, types, models of combat short-barreled hand-held small arms and edged weapons approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, which can be awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation;
ammunition for award weapons that meets the established requirements.
The rules for applying commemorative inscriptions to award weapons, their decoration and decoration are established in the regulations on award funds of state paramilitary organizations.
On December 5, 2005, the list of models of award pistols and revolvers was approved:
revolvers Nagan, RSA "Cobalt", R-92 and OTs-11 "Nickel";
pistols TT, PM, PSM, PMM, P-96M, GSh-18, PYA, OTs-21 "Malysh", OTs-26 "Malysh", OTs-27 "Berdysh".
In August 2011, the Glock 17, Parabellum 08-P, Beretta-92 FS and CZ-75 BD pistols were added to the list of award weapons
Among the first, award weapons from the Minister of Defense P.S. Participants in the shooting of the White House in October 1993 received Grachev. Subsequent events give reason to talk about a change in the status of the award - by the mid-1990s, from a mark of distinction for military qualities, personalized weapons were increasingly turning into an exclusive gift for officials and the business elite.
The total number of owners of registered and award weapons in post-Soviet Russia tends to increase: if in 1999 there were 3,142 owners of award weapons in Russia, then in 2000 - 4,409, in 2005 - 9,788, at the beginning of 2009 - 11,401, and by the beginning of October 2012 - 12 thousand. The given figures do not fully reflect the dynamics of growth in the number of owners of award weapons in Russia, since in the period until 2013, according to incomplete data, at least 101 pistols were lost and lost by owners of award weapons, another 12 pistols were confiscated in connection with suicide and 9 - in connection with the arrest of the owners.
In August 2013, a bill was introduced for consideration that provides for expanding the list of award-winning edged weapons by including Cossack checkers and daggers in the list.

The production of hunting weapons in Russia in pre-revolutionary times was unsatisfactory and the provision of hunters with weapons was insufficient. This is explained primarily by the fact that the production of hunting weapons was mainly left to the private initiative of craftsmen, and on a national scale it was organized very weakly by the state itself.

All three weapons factories of pre-revolutionary Russia - Tula, Izhevsk and Sestroretsk - were engaged in the production of combat army weapons; hunting rifles were produced at these factories in very insufficient quantities. A very large number of weapons were produced by all kinds of handicraft workshops and factories and assembly shops. The latter worked on domestic and foreign semi-finished products.

According to information provided by S.A. Buturlin, in Russia on the eve of the First World War, from 120 to 150 thousand hunting rifles were produced annually. This, of course, did not meet all the needs for sporting and fishing weapons. That is why approximately the same number of guns were imported annually from abroad at that time.

The lack of a government approach to this important problem led to the most negative results. First of all, this affected the resolution of such issues as the standardization of weapons, uniformity of calibers, systems, etc. Each factory, each gunsmith or assembly workshop worked at its own peril and risk. They released onto the market only those samples that turned out to be primarily profitable in production, ensured the widest sales and high profits.

Of course, there was no talk of any planning. There was also no systematic scientific development of types of hunting weapons. True, such amateur specialists as the author of the book “Modern Shotgun Hunting Weapons” (pseudonym “Civil Engineer”) V.P. Ivashentsev and Professor S.A. Buturlin made attempts to comprehend the process of calculating and manufacturing hunting weapons. They developed very important theoretical principles, but since this work was not carried out systematically and, what is especially important, without a unified plan, the results of these studies, even very successful ones, did not bring much benefit. The issues of testing and branding weapons had exactly the same situation.

Brand - state emblem

With regard to control tests of weapons and their branding in tsarist Russia, the situation was as follows. Combat firearms produced by state-owned factories and manufactured to order from the treasury have always attracted the most serious attention. Its production has always been under careful control.

Earlier in time and in more detail, combat weapons (cold steel and firearms) intended for arming the army were branded in Russia. The production of these weapons was entrusted to state-owned enterprises, and only in rare cases were orders carried out by private firms in Russia and abroad. Naturally, the state was interested in the quality of these weapons and in different times established certain rules for its reception.

Much less attention was paid to the branding of hunting weapons, intended to satisfy the personal needs of hunters, and stamp samples were not subject to any standardization.

In the 16th-17th centuries, combat weapons were manufactured in certain places - in the Moscow Armory, in Tula, among state blacksmiths and in large monastic weapons workshops, such as the Trinity-Sergius and Solovetsky Armory. This production was controlled by special supervisors who were sent from Moscow. Each manufactured sample was usually marked with an image of the state coat of arms - a double-headed eagle - which served as a state mark (Fig. 176). Such marks, as a rule, are found on weapons manufactured at the Moscow Armory. Weapons that were manufactured in other places were also marked with a local mark (there are marks of the Solovetsky Armory Chamber, etc.).

But, in addition to weapons intended to supply troops, almost all of these centers also produced weapons of another type - the so-called hunting, or ceremonial. These were no longer mass-produced items, but individual ones. They were usually done the best masters and were intended for high-ranking officials or for sale. Most of these things had inscriptions with the name of the master (in the West they usually also had the so-called workshop mark and the personal mark of the master).

Before recent years XVII century in Russia there was no single approved system for marking weapons. Only under Peter I, in connection with the reorganization of the entire military system of the state, did the widespread development of the weapons industry begin. In the first quarter of the 18th century, a state-owned arms manufacture appeared in Russia - the Tula, Lipetsk, Olonetsky, Sestroretsky factories, etc.

The introduction of the manufacturing method of production made it possible to standardize the production of weapons. The introduction of a strict division of labor in factories with the specialization of individual workers in the production of weapon parts made it possible to simultaneously assign responsibility for the quality of these parts to the manufacturers themselves. It was for this purpose that personal marks were introduced.

“Already at the beginning of the 18th century. Barrel welders, locksmiths, instrument makers, stock makers, and machine operators are known. Later, even more fractional specialization results: in the last quarter of the 18th century. there were 31 specialties” (M. M. Denisova, M. E. Portkov. Tula artistic weapons of the 18th-19th centuries in the collection of the State Historical Museum. Goskultprosvetizdat, 1952).

Rice. 177. Stamp of the Tula arms factory of the early 18th century.

Rice. 178. Brand of the Olonetsky plant of the early 18th century.

At the same time, control marks on weapons also appear - the marks of the receiving masters. And on the firearms of Russian factories there are systematically inscriptions indicating that they were manufactured at this plant: “Tula”, “Olonez” (Olonets plant), “Susterbeck” (Sestroretsk), and a little later - “Izhevsk” and the year of manufacture (Fig. 177, 178, 179). In addition, at the Tula plant, in addition to the inscription and date, the letter P was placed on the barrels - the Latin initial of Peter I (Fig. 180).

The mark of the Sestroretsk plant from the beginning of the 18th century.

By the end of the 18th century, marks of master gunsmiths appeared more and more often on hunting rifles made in Tula. One can name such excellent gunsmiths as Ivan Pushkin (80s of the 18th century); Ivan Lyalin - creator of an excellent breech-loading double-barreled flintlock gun; Ivan Polin is a designer who created one of the first examples of multi-charged magazine weapons. The 19th century gives even more names of famous Tula masters of hunting weapons. Mention should be made of Krapiventsev, Peter, Nikolai and Ivan Goltyakov, Ivan Fomin, etc. (M. M. Denisova, M. E. Portnov. Tula artistic weapons of the 18th-19th centuries in the collection of the State Historical Museum. Goskultprosvetizdat, 1952).

Control mark of the Tula Arms Plant. R - Latin spelling of the initial of Peter I

As samples of stamps from the second quarter of the 18th century. You can cite, for example, a gun from 1743, on the barrel of which there is an inscription: “Tula 1743.” (Fig. 181), or a weapon with the inscription: “Tula 1745” (Fig. 182). These items are from unknown craftsmen, and it is very possible that they were manufactured by the Tula plant. Some samples also have author’s inscriptions, for example, Ivan Pushkin’s gun. On the keyplate of this gun it is written: “Aruzhenik”, and on the barrel - “Ivan Pushkin”. You can also cite as an example the mentioned gun of I. Lyalin, on the treasury of the barrels of which “Lialin” is written

Stamp of the Tula arms factory of the second quarter of the 18th century: “Tula 1743” (Left)

The mark of the Tula arms factory of the second quarter of the 18th century. "Tula 1745" (Right)

Brand-inscription of the Tula gunsmith Ivan Pushkin: “Aruzhenik”, “Ivan Pushkin”

Mark-inscription of the Tula gunsmith Ivan Lyalin (Left).

Master's mark on Goltyakov's gun (Right).

In the middle of the 19th century, Tula gunsmiths, working at home or in their workshops, often used rough semi-finished products received from the state factory to make guns. To certify the good quality of these parts, mainly barrels tested at the factory, gunsmiths received the right to put a state mark on their treasury - a double-headed eagle. This mark can be seen on Tula hunting weapons before 1917. An example of such an early example with a factory mark can be the guns of one of the best Tula craftsmen of the 50s of the 19th century. Peter Goltyakov, on the treasury of which there is a double-headed eagle, under it the letters “P. G.”, and on the trunks there are inscriptions: “Peter Goltyakov in Tula.”

The mark of the Tula gunsmith Pyotr Goltyakov

It is not yet possible to establish exactly how many gunsmiths and weapons workshops worked in Russia, since the corresponding archival material has not been examined. But we can say with confidence that most hunting rifles from the middle and almost until the end of the 19th century were manufactured in addition to state arms factories.

The mass production of hunting weapons by state factories, apparently, began after 1870-1871, when the rearmament of our army took place and instead of the outdated rifles of the Krnka and Berdan-1 systems, the Berdan-2 rifle was adopted for service. The unused Krnka rifles, which had a fairly large caliber - 15.24 mm, turned out to be an excellent material for the manufacture of hunting weapons. Factories and gunsmiths who bought them from the treasury lightened and filed the stock, drilled and sometimes shortened the barrel and produced a large number of single-barreled hunting rifles, which were in very wide demand.

Goltyakov's gun

Single-barreled hunting shotgun with a Krnka bolt system, central action

At the same time, there was a great demand for capsule ramrod guns, converted from soldiers' cap guns remaining in the warehouses of the military department. This alteration was carried out partly at state factories, but mainly by private enterprises.

At the same time, double-barreled ramrod and center-fire guns were manufactured by factories and produced in large quantities by various private entrepreneurs.

After the rearmament of the Russian army with a three-line rifle of the 1891 model of the system of staff captain Sergei Ivanovich Mosin, a story similar to the story with the Krnka rifle was repeated. This time, the rifles of the Berdan-2 system that remained in the warehouses were converted. True, converting this rifle into a hunting rifle was somewhat more complicated due to its relatively small caliber - 10.67 mm, or 4 lines.

Single-barreled hunting shotgun with Berdan system bolt, central firing (Left)

The mark of the Tula plant on hunting rifles of the Berdan-2 system (Right)

Rifle barrels were usually drilled for 32 and 28 calibers. When replacing barrels and some alteration of the bolt, barrels up to 12 gauge were installed on them. Shotguns converted from Berdanka were produced by the factories themselves, by artisan gunsmiths, and by private arms factories.

They were branded and assessed according to the manufacturer's brand. The highest quality, of course, were the guns produced by state-owned factories. On the barrels of these guns there were also corresponding inscriptions: “Tula Arms Factory (year of manufacture, number)”, “Tula Arms Factory of Emperor Peter the Great (year of manufacture, number)”, “Izhevsk Arms Factory”, “Sestroretsk Arms Factory”.

The mark of the Tula plant on hunting rifles of the Berdan-2 system (Left)

Brand of the Izhevsk plant (Right)

Sestroretsk arms factory stamp

At the breech of the barrel or on the receiver, these guns always had a state control stamp - a double-headed eagle. This mark meant that the factory tested the barrels to burst.

Bursting test stamp for Berdan-2 shotguns from the Tula plant

Guns produced by state-owned factories were very often not inferior in quality to guns manufactured by private arms factories, mainly in Tula and Izhevsk.

In Tula, the largest manufacturers were Averin and Liventsev; in Izhevsk - Evdokimov. The guns of these factories were usually marked with the state mark and the corresponding inscription of the manufacturer.

Guns were also produced by handicraftsmen. These guns were valued lower because their quality was very low. They had neither a factory mark nor the author's inscription of the masters.

In addition to conversion weapons, from about the 80s of the 19th century. The Tula plant began producing its own hunting rifles: double-barreled and single-barreled, hammered and hammerless - on a mass scale and in a fairly wide range. True, structurally they were quite monotonous. The differences between the models were in caliber, barrel drilling and finishing.

Mark of tensile testing of shotguns from the Tula plant

The marking of hunting weapons was carried out by the plant in the same manner as was previously adopted for refurbishment weapons.

The inscription was placed on the barrels: “Tula Arms Factory of Emperor Peter the Great,” and a double-headed eagle was minted near the treasury. The only change that was made was that from below, on the breech of the barrels, in front of the cushions, the serial number of the barrels was stamped, which served in at the same time and the number of the gun, and on the pillows there was a mark in the form of an oval wreath with a hammer in the center, which meant a test of strength.

At the same time, the production of hunting weapons by private entrepreneurs and owners of small workshops continued. It is currently almost impossible to establish the range of guns produced. This requires a lot of work to inspect and describe the weapons in hand. It is only possible to establish the names of the craftsmen who worked in various cities and usually put their name on the guns they made.

RUSSIAN MASTERS OF THE END OF THE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

1. St. Petersburg: Aleshkin, Gono, Lardere, Maslov, Matska, Ruzicka, Br. Lejeune
2. Moscow: Dokin
3. Tula: Averin M., Goltyakovs, Gryaznov, Liventsev I. I.
4. Izhevsk: Evdokimov I.F., Petrov
5. Revel: Passup
6. Riga: Bartelmeis, Niklas
7. Warsaw: Becker, Jochimek, Sosnowski, Stapf, Ziegler, Spect J.
8. Odessa: Jench
9. Saratov: Ohnesorge, Rush
10. Tiflis: Hegele, Kurtz, Br. Shpaginy
11. Rostov n/Don: Prusha

Currently, the production of hunting weapons is in completely different conditions than in pre-revolutionary Russia. Soviet enterprises engaged in the production of hunting weapons are equipped with first-class equipment and have all the conditions for the production of excellent weapons. To control the production of weapons, a whole system of measures has been created to monitor the progress of the manufacture, testing and release of guns.

According to approved technical specifications, which are not without some shortcomings, each produced gun, in all its parts and assemblies, and then in its entirety, is subject to control checks at individual stages of production. From the moment the assembly process begins, the factory issues a separate passport for each gun in a specially established form.

The passport provides complete technical and performance characteristics guns, broken down into separate items:

1. Name of the gun.
2. Caliber.
3. Trunks:

• steel,
• drilling,
• length of the barrel and chambers,
• bore diameter and chokes.

4. Gun length.
5. Stock: type and wood.

Further, the passport usually provides information about the tests to which the gun was subjected during the production process: shooting for strength and accuracy. Information about the design and combat qualities, as well as the rules for handling the gun, are also provided. In addition, the passport usually contains instructions for loading cartridges indicating the weights of gunpowder and shot.

At the very end of the passport there are plates called “The meaning of marks on a gun.” Here the marks on the gun are listed and somewhat deciphered.

It should be noted that the marks on guns from different factories and different models are not always the same. They differ in design, and in addition, each plant has its own branding system.

From the attached tables you can see what marks are placed on domestically produced guns.

STAMPS OF HUNTING SINGLE-BARREL RIFLES

STAMPS OF HUNTING DOUBLE-BARREL RIFLES

STAMPS OF GUNS WITH HORIZONTALLY COUPLE BARRELS AND WITH VERTICALLY POSITIONED BARRELS.

Column 3 of the tables contains the following marks: a) factory marks and b) marks of guns.

a) Brands of domestic factories

The marks of the IZH-5 and ZK shotguns (factory brand) are located on the top of the breech of the barrels.

The marks of the guns “ZK” and “ZK-B” (factory brand) are located on the barrel hook.

Gun marks: “IZH-B-47”, model “B” from 1925 to 1928, model “A”, model “B” from 1928, model “B” issue. only 1945 (factory brand) are located on the top of the breech of the barrels.

The marks of the guns “TS-1” and “TS-2” (mark of the Tula School of Weapons Craftsmanship) are located on the barrel platforms.

The marks of the “MTs-9” and “MTs-11” shotguns are located on the barrel platforms.

Mark of the gun “MTs-6” no. 1949 is located on the block below.

b) Brands of domestic shotguns

Brands of shotguns models “B”, “TS-1” - Tula Sadochny, model 1st, “TS-2” - Tula Sadochny, model 2nd, “MTs-8”, “MTs-9” and “MTs- 11" are placed on the pad pads from below.

Column 2 of the table indicates the year of first production of the gun, and column 4 indicates the year of manufacture of this gun:

Models “IZH-5”, “ZK” and “ZK-B” - the year of manufacture is indicated on the breech of the barrel at the top, under the factory mark;

Model “B” (produced 1925-1928) - the year of manufacture was not indicated at all;

Models “B” (produced since 1928), “B” (produced in 1945), “A” (produced since 1946) - year of manufacture, indicated on the barrel cushion;

Hammerless type Anson - year of manufacture was not indicated;

Model “IZH-B-36” (manufactured 1936-1946) - the year and month of manufacture were indicated on the barrel cushion;

Models “IZH-B-47” (produced 1947-1949) and “IZH-49” (produced 1949) - the year of manufacture was indicated on the barrel cushion under the gun number;

Model “MTs-6” - the year of manufacture was indicated on the barrel block at the bottom;

Model “TS-1” (manufactured 1948-1950) - the year of manufacture was indicated on the barrel cushion and block, under the brand of the gunsmithing school;

Model “TS-2” (released in 1951) - the year of manufacture was indicated on the barrel cushion and block, under the brand of the gunsmithing school;

Models “MC-8” (manufactured since 1946), “MC-9” (manufactured in 1950-1951), “MC-11 (manufactured since 1951) - the year of manufacture was not indicated.

Column 5 indicates the number of the gun that was installed:

Model “IZH-5” - at the rear end of the hook, on the left side;

Models “ZK” and “ZK-B” - on the right side of the hook;

Model “B” - on both barrels from below, in front of the pads, and on the right plane of the block;

Models “B” and “A” - on the barrel cushion;

Hammerless Anson type - on both barrels from below in front of the pads and on the pad area;

Models “IZH-B-36”, “IZH-B-47”, “IZH-49” - on the barrel cushion, under the year of manufacture;

Model “MTs-6” - on the left on the lower barrel, on the right on the upper barrel, on the front end and left cheek of the block;

Models “TS-1” and “TS-2” - on the left plane of the block and on the right barrel cushion;

Model "MC 8" - on a cushion of barrels;

Models “MTs-9” and “MTs-11” - on the barrel cushion and on the block plane.

Column 6 indicates marks indicating the caliber of the gun, barrel diameter, length and, in some cases, chamber diameter:

Models “IZH 5” and “ZK” (see Fig. 196, lines 1, 2) - the caliber and length of the “K-16x70” chamber are indicated at the breech of the barrel, under the factory mark;

Model “ZK” (see Fig. 196, line 3) - the caliber is indicated on the breech of the barrel, under the factory mark and year of manufacture; chamber diameter and chamber length "18.6/70.1" and barrel diameter "17.5" are indicated on the right side of the hook;

Model “B” (produced 1925-1928) - the caliber is indicated on the barrel pads along with the model stamp “Mod-B-16”; the barrel diameter is indicated together with the choke diameter “16.9/16.2”;

Models “B” (produced since 1928), “B” (produced only in 1945) and “A” - the caliber is indicated along with the length of the chambers on the barrel cushion “16x70”;

Hammerless Anson type - the caliber is indicated on the bottom of the barrels, near the treasury;

Model “IZH-B-36” - the caliber is indicated on the barrel cushion “12”; the diameter and length of the chamber “70/20.7” and the diameters of the barrels and chokes “17.4/18.2” are also indicated there;

Model “IZH-B-47” - the caliber is indicated on the barrel cushion “12”; the diameter and length of the chamber “70.1/20.25” and the diameter of the barrel and choke “18.2/17.4” are also indicated there;

Model “IZH-49” - caliber, chamber length and chamber diameter are indicated in the form of a shot “12x70.1/20.65” on the barrel cushion; The corresponding bore and choke diameters “18.5/17.5” and “18.5/18.0” are immediately indicated on both airbags;

Model “MTs-6” - the caliber is indicated on the left side of the upper barrel breech; The chamber length “70” is also indicated here;

Models “TS-1” and “TS-2” - the caliber is indicated on the barrel pads; The chamber length “70” is also indicated here;

Model “MTs-8” - the caliber is indicated on the barrel pads “16k/2DS” and “16k/4DS”;

Models “MTs-9” and “MTs-11” - the caliber is indicated on the barrel pads “16k/5DS” and “16k/5DS”.

Column 7 indicates the marks indicating the presence of a choke or choke or simply a cylindrical drill in the barrels of the gun. For shotguns produced by the domestic industry, there are five sizes of muzzle constriction, or five numbers. Their dimensions are as follows: 1st muzzle constriction - 0.25 mm; 2nd - 0.5 mm; 3rd - 0.75 mm; 4th - 1.0 mm; 5th - 1.25 mm.

In addition, it should be noted that in older guns the muzzle constriction was set for each model and caliber separately:

Models “IZH-5” 16 caliber and “ZK” - had a cylindrical barrel with a pressure of 0.1 mm (this was not indicated on the gun);

Models “ZK” and “ZK-B” - had a cylindrical barrel;

Models “B” (produced 1925-1928), “B” (produced only in 1945) and “B” (produced in 1928) had a full choke, which was marked by a stamp on the left barrel cushion;

Model “A” had a full choke in the right barrel and a full choke in the left, which was marked with marks: on the platform of the left barrel - “choke”, on the platform of the right barrel - “P-choke”;

Hammerless type Anson - had both cylindrical barrels;

Model “IZH-B-36” - has a choke in the left barrel, which is indicated by a stamp on the cushion of the left barrel, the right barrel had a cylindrical drill, and there is a stamp on its cushion; in addition, on the right barrel cushion there is a stamp “17.4/18.2” meaning that the choke diameter is 17.4 mm and the cylinder diameter is 18.2 mm;

Model “IZH-B-47” - is manufactured with barrels that have drilling: the right one is a receiver or cylinder, the left one is a choke. An indication of such drilling is the following marks: on the left barrel pad “18.2/17.4” (18.2 is the diameter of the bore in mm, 17.4 is the diameter of the choke in mm); on the cushion of the right barrel “s/2” - payday. In the case of cylindrical drilling of the right barrel, a stamp is placed on the right pad;

Model “IZH-49” - is manufactured with barrels that have drilling: the right one is a barrel or cylinder, the left one is a choke. An indication of such drilling is the following marks: on the right barrel pad “18.5/17.5” (18.5 is the diameter of the bore in mm and 17.5 is the diameter of the barrel in mm), on the left barrel pad “18.5/17, 5" (18.5 - bore diameter and 17.5 - choke diameter);

Model “MTs-6” - has two barrels located one above the other, with a choke in each. The presence of chokes is indicated by a mark on the left side of the upper barrel breech, meaning: “12” - barrel caliber and “ch” - choke;

Models "TS-1" and "TS-2". These guns have both barrels with chokes, which is indicated by the mark - standing on the cushion of the left barrel;

Model "MC-8". This gun has both barrels with a choke, and their choke constrictions are different; they are designated as follows: “16k/2DS” and “16k/4DS”, which stands for: “16k” and “2DS” and “4DS” - the second and fourth choke constrictions;

Model "MC-9". The branding is the same as that of the MTs-8, only its barrels have a drill with a different choke. A mark indicating the caliber and choke “12k/5DS” is placed on both barrel cushions;

Model "MC-11". Has a marking similar to “MC-8” and “MC-9”.

Columns 8, 9 and 10 indicate the marks that are placed on guns that have passed strength tests, fired with an enhanced charge of black or nitro powder, as well as for accuracy and accuracy.

Before leaving the factory, the IZH-5 shotgun was tested with reinforced charges of smoky and smokeless powder, and was also sighted for accuracy and accuracy. A special note was made about this in the gun’s passport, and a stamp was placed on the left front part of the hook.

Shotguns of the ZK and ZK-B models are produced by two factories and undergo various tests before release.

Shotguns of the ZK and ZK-B models are fired with one reinforced charge of smokeless powder. Zeroing is carried out with a normal charge. Testing a gun with smokeless powder ensures that it can also be fired with black powder. The test results are noted in passports, and marks are placed on the guns - the gun was tested with an amplified shot and shot with smokeless powder. Both marks are placed on the left side of the hook.

“ZK” shotguns undergo the same tests, but have only one “UK” mark, which means that the shotgun has been tested with an enhanced charge, as well as for accuracy.

Model “B” shotguns of the first and second releases are tested by both factories for strength with two shots - a reinforced charge from each barrel. To test guns of all calibers, smokeless hunting powder is used, providing a maximum pressure of 900-1000 atm.

The IZH-B-36 model gun had only one mark indicating the tests carried out - the inscription “Nitro” on the pads of both barrels.

The IZH-B-47 model shotgun has two marks: the inscription “Nitro” on the pads of both barrels and a mark indicating testing with an enhanced charge.

The IZH-49 model shotgun has one stamp about testing with an enhanced charge, placed on the left barrel cushion.

The MTs-6 model gun does not have any control marks.

Shotguns of the “TS-1” and “TS-2” models have only one mark “BdP/3.5g”, which means that the gun was tested by firing with an enhanced charge of smokeless powder.

Shotguns of the MTs-8, MTs-9 and MTs-11 models do not have any test marks.

Column 11 contains stamps indicating the maximum operating pressure, i.e., that for firing gunpowder charges must be used that develop a pressure in the chamber of no more than 750 atm.

For the manufacture of gun barrels, the domestic industry uses special barrel steels 50-A, 30xN2 MFA, 3VKhSA.

It is necessary to draw the attention of hunters to the fact that some guns do not have marks indicating the maximum operating pressure, but they are included in their passports. Such guns include: single-barreled guns IZH-5, ZK, ZK-B; double-barreled shotguns model “B” (first release), Anson type shotgun produced in 1928, shotguns IZH-B-36, IZHB-47, IZH-49, TS-1, TS-2.

In columns 12 and 13 there are marks indicating that the guns passed through control during their manufacture. There are two types of marks here - the marks of acceptance inspectors, which are placed on individual parts and assemblies of the gun during its manufacture and assembly, and the marks of the quality control department (technical control department) of the plant, which indicate the good quality of the gun as a whole.

Column 14 contains marks that are sometimes found on the latest model guns. These marks indicate which cartridge case the bore of a given gun is drilled for. This is usually marked “BOOM”, indicating that only paper sleeves should be used.

Column 15 contains special marks that are relatively rare. For example, a “ZK” gun has a mark indicating the steel melt number. This stamp is placed on the bottom of the barrel, in front of the hook.

The “MTs-6” gun has marks on the lower left barrel, on the breech: “steel 50a” and “AI”, meaning the initials of Alexander Ivanov, who led the production of these guns. There are also marks of control masters here.

Also on the lower trunk, below, there is a stamp-inscription: “Masters: Sat. Utochkin I. N., gr. Kiryanov G. M.” This inscription means that Utochkin assembled the gun and Kiryanov engraved it.

On the guns “TS-1” and “TS-2” in the same places there are personal marks: the director of the plant “D.R.” and the head of “SHOM” “D. TO.".

1. ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS ON RUSSIAN WEAPONS.

1.1. WHY DID THE RUSSIAN MASTER NIKITA DAVIDOV PUT ARABIC SAYINGS ON THE ROYAL HELMET?

Today, medieval weapons covered with Arabic inscriptions are considered UNCONDITIONALLY EASTERN. That is, made in the East, in Turkey or Persia. Where Islam triumphed. It is believed, apparently, that since a master gunsmith placed a saying from the Koran on the damask blade he made, it means he is a Muslim. And not just a Muslim, but definitely a resident of the Muslim East, where there was a deep tradition of Arabic writing and Arabic culture. But the Russian incompetent and uneducated gunsmiths could not even think of writing anything in Arabic on the weapons they made. Indeed, according to the very spirit of the Scaligerian-Romanov version of Russian history, in the 16th century there was a long-standing and deep enmity between Orthodox Russia and Muslim Turkey and Persia. Cultural and religious traditions are supposedly fundamentally different and even hostile to each other.

But, according to our reconstruction, until the very end of the 16th century, Rus', Ottomania and Persia were part of a single Great = "Mongol" Empire. Therefore, in all these countries there must have been a significant commonality of cultural traditions. In particular, the same techniques for making and decorating weapons. Despite the religious split between Orthodoxy and Islam that emerged in the 15th century, the state and military traditions of the 16th-17th centuries were still very close.

Is there any evidence for this? There are, and they are very bright. Despite all the Romanov purges of Russian history. It turns out, for example, that until the very middle of the 17th century, that is, already in the era of the Romanovs, RUSSIAN MASTERS were still decorating weapons - even royal ones! - IN ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS. It was only in the second half of the 17th century that they were apparently told that they could no longer do this. After this, Russian weapons with Arabic inscriptions disappeared. Some could have been destroyed. However, the Russian TSAR weapons with Arabic inscriptions, covered with gold, diamonds and other jewelry, made by the best craftsmen of the Armory Chamber, were preserved. Due to its great material value. At the same time, they decided to transfer most of the “Russian-Arab” weapons to storerooms, see Appendix 5 in the book “Seven Wonders of the World”. And today, when all this has been forgotten, some of the “dangerous weapons” are put on display in museums and photographs have been published. Although, in order to notice ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS ON RUSSIAN WEAPONS today, one must be especially careful. After all, explanatory signs usually say nothing about such “incorrect” inscriptions. And the exhibits are often displayed in such a way that the Arabic inscriptions are poorly visible.

Let's use the fundamental publication "State Armory Chamber", which contains photographs and descriptions of precious items stored in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.

Here, for example, is the ceremonial damask helmet of the Moscow kings, called the “Jericho cap,” that is, the Jericho cap, p.162. See Figure 1.1. In the book "Biblical Rus'", chapter 5, we tell in detail where the biblical name of this Russian helmet came from. Let's now take a closer look at the helmet itself.

“The steel surface of the helmet is smoothly polished and covered with the finest gold notching. In addition, the helmet is decorated with precious stones - diamonds, rubies and emeralds,” p. 173. It is known that the Jericho hat was covered with gold notches and jewelry in 1621, that is, already under the Romanovs, by RUSSIAN MASTER Nikita Davydov from the city of Murom - CHIEF MASTER of the Moscow Armory Chamber, p.163.

On the surface of the helmet, the image of a royal crown with an eight-pointed Orthodox cross, applied with a gold notch, is clearly visible. On the nose arrow of the helmet there is an enamel image of the Archangel Michael. And around the tip of the helmet there is a BELT OF ARABESQUES. That is, ARAB sayings, enclosed in frames. On the arabesque, which is visible in the photograph, “Wa bashshir al-muminin” is written in canonical Arabic script, that is, “And bring joy to the believers,” translated by T.G. Chernienko. This is a frequently encountered expression from the Koran. Thus, with the same GOLDEN notch, NIKITA DAVYDOV APPLIED BOTH ORTHODOX SYMBOLS - A ROYAL CROWN WITH AN EIGHT-POINTED RUSSIAN CROSS - AND ARABIC EXPRESSIONS FROM THE QURAN ON THE JERICHO HAT! Moreover, there are no RUSSIAN inscriptions on this RUSSIAN helmet at all. RUSSIAN master Nikita Davydov wrote on it ONLY IN ARABIC.

It should be noted that the photograph of the Jericho cap in the luxurious album was made “very competently.” Most of the arabesque was accidentally hit by a glare of light, making it difficult to read. The next arabesque is already in the shadow and therefore not visible at all. So the ARABIC inscriptions on a RUSSIAN helmet are very difficult to notice. And in the explanatory text there is NOT A WORD ABOUT THEM. However, however, if attention is paid to them, then reading the inscriptions is not difficult. The inscription in one of the arabesques was read, see above, at our request, by an Arabic language specialist T.G. Chernienko. It is interesting that in the 19th century this helmet was considered the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, see below about this.

Another example from the Armory Chamber is the knife of Prince Andrei Staritsky, son of Ivan III,. Work of Russian masters of the early 16th century, pp. 150-151. In this case, the knife is signed. There is a RUSSIAN inscription on it: “Prince Ondrej Ivanovich, summer 7021”, that is, 1513.

But along the blade of the knife of Prince Andrei Staritsky there is also an ARABIC INSCRIPTION, made in the same canonical Arabic handwriting that decorated all “eastern” weapons. In this case, T.G. Chernienko was unable to read the Arabic inscription, since the inscription lacks dots and dashes on the letters. Without such explanatory symbols, each Arabic letter can mean several different sounds at once. Therefore, it is possible to read an Arabic text written in this way only if its content is approximately known. Otherwise, there are too many reading options that need to be sorted out.

However, judging by the arrangement of the letters and the use of their various forms (the shape of a letter in Arabic writing changes depending on its position at the beginning, middle or end of a word), a COMPLETELY MEANINGFUL TEXT is written here. And not just a beautiful pattern of Arabic letters, “imitating an oriental inscription,” as it is presented to us in the explanatory text of the publication, p. 151. The authors of the explanatory commentary clearly did not want the reader to think that RUSSIAN gunsmiths of the 16th century made a knife with an ARAB inscription for the son of the RUSSIAN Tsar Ivan III. This technique of historians to declare medieval inscriptions that are “inconvenient” for them to be “unreadable” is well known to us. It often hides a simple reluctance to read the inscription, which contradicts the Scaligerian-Romanov version of history. We talk about this in detail in the book "Empire".

By the way, until the inscription on Andrei Staritsky’s knife is read, one cannot be sure that it was written in Arabic. The fact is that the script considered today to be Arabic was also used for other languages. For example, for Turkish and Persian. Maybe for Russians in the era of the XIV-XVI centuries?

So, it turns out that weapons with Arabic inscriptions were forged not only, and maybe not so much, in Turkey. As we see, in Orthodox Rus' UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE 17TH CENTURY they also loved to decorate weapons with Arabic script. For example, the saber of Prince Mstislavsky, governor of Ivan the Terrible, is decorated with ARABIC sayings, p.207. One of the sayings says: “There will be strong protection in battle,” p. 207. By the way, on the saber there is also a RUSSIAN inscription identifying the owner, p.207.

What is striking in the album is a photograph of mirror armor made for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1670 by the RUSSIAN master Grigory Vyatkin, “one of the best gunsmiths of the second half of the century,” p.173. Cm. . The armor also includes a helmet. They clearly made up ONE royal outfit. Although the explanatory inscription does not say anything separately about the helmet. The inscriptions on it are amazing. THESE ARE ARABIC INSCRIPTIONS. AND THERE ARE MANY, AND THEY ALL ARE EXPLICIT QUOTES FROM THE QURAN. On the nose arrow of the helmet it is written: “There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” At the bottom of the helmet there is a whole verse from the Koran, the second sura, 256 (255). All these inscriptions were translated for us by T.G. Chernienko. They are written in canonical Arabic handwriting and are easy to read.

“Eastern” - that is, apparently Russian, but equipped with Arabic inscriptions - sabers were worn by famous heroes of Russian history Minin and Pozharsky, p.151. Moreover, as we ourselves saw when visiting the Armory Chamber in June 1998, on Minin’s saber the inscription was NOT EVEN IN ARABIC LETTERS, BUT SOME STRANGE ICONS. The explanatory tablet declares this saber to be of “Egyptian origin.” In fact, both sabers are most likely of Russian origin. A visit to the Armory showed that there are quite a lot of such “Russian-Arab” weapons on display there. It is interesting to find out what is stored in the storage rooms? One gets the feeling that a very significant part of medieval Russian weapons is covered with “Arabic” or “unreadable” inscriptions. This idea is confirmed by unique materials given in Appendix 5 in the book “Seven Wonders of the World”.

Why is it that today Russian weapons with Arabic inscriptions are always attributed to non-Russian, usually Turkish or Persian, origin? And in those cases where Russian work is completely obvious, it is believed that inexperienced and ignorant Russian masters apprenticedly copied wonderful Eastern and Western European designs. They say, not understanding the meaning of the Arabic inscriptions, they mechanically transferred them, supposedly as just “beautiful pictures,” onto the luxurious weapons of the Russian tsars and generals. And they proudly and ostentatiously wore Arabic sayings they did not understand. Under the restrained skeptical smiles of enlightened Arabs and even more enlightened Western Europeans.

Most likely this is not true. In the era of the 16th and even 17th centuries, a large number of such Russian-Horde weapons with Arabic inscriptions were apparently made in Rus'-Horde. Which in the XV-XVI centuries formed a single whole with Osmania = Atamania. Then a significant part of Moscow, Tula, Ural and Russian weapons in general were slyly declared “Damascus”, “Eastern” or “Western”. As a result, they formed the belief that Russians in that era mainly carried foreign weapons. There were very, very few of our own, they say. And bad. Although it is obvious that any strong military power FIGHTED WITH ITS OWN WEAPONS. At the same time, they forgot that medieval Damascus is most likely T-Moscow, that is, the name of Moscow with the definite respectful article T.

In Rus' they made weapons with LATIN inscriptions. At least they used Latin letters. Such, for example, is a precious damask saber made in 1618 by the RUSSIAN master Ilya Prosvit, pp. 156-157. Along the entire blade there is an inscription in which LATIN letters are used. Unfortunately, we were not able to read it, since the photograph is not large enough to make out all the letters, and.

Usually we are told that all these “eastern” and “western” weapons were presented to the Russian tsars by eastern and western rulers. We see that this is not the case. At least in the cases that we described. As for the rest, then, of course, something could have been donated. Let us note, however, that on things that were obviously donated or brought from the east, according to the inventory of the Armory Chamber, as a rule, there are no inscriptions at all, see Appendix 5 in the book “Seven Wonders of the World”. Or the inscriptions are Slavic or Greek. Such, for example, is the precious saadak, brought in 1656 for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by merchants from Istanbul, p.216. Or the royal barmas made for Alexei Mikhailovich in Istanbul in the 50s of the 17th century, pp. 350-351. Or a precious bird given by Sultan Murad to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in 1630, p.215. In all these cases, there are either no inscriptions at all, or they are made in Greek.

Today, historians convince us that ARABIC inscriptions are present on old RUSSIAN weapons solely because these weapons were presented to the Russian tsars and Russian soldiers by foreigners who wrote in Arabic. As we now understand, the explanation is incorrect. Moreover, it turns out that the RUSSIAN TSARS THEMSELVES GAVE FOREIGNERS WEAPONS COVERED WITH ARABIC INSTRUCTIONS. Here is one such striking example. Alexander Tereshchenko in 1853 reported at a meeting of the Imperial Academy of Sciences about the results of excavations in Sarai, “with an outline of the traces of the Desht-Kipchak Kingdom.” And this is what he said.<<В особой комнате, называемой оружейною, помещаются довольно редкие и замечательные азиатские оружия, между ними ДАРСТВЕННЫЕ САБЛИ ОТ НАШИХ ЦАРСТВЕННЫХ ОСОБ. В числе вооружений, имеющих надписи татарские, персидские, арабские и куфические, сохранился клинок от шашки, которая была жалована одному из предков Джангера ЦАРЕМ МИХАИЛОМ ФЕОДОРОВИЧЕМ, со следующей ЗОЛОТОЮ НАДПИСЬЮ НА АРАБСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ: Бирахмети иляги тааля нахнул мелик эль азымъ ханъ ве эмиръ кебиръ Михаилъ Феодоровичъ мамалике кюль веляята Урусъ, т.е.: "Мы, Божиею Всемогущею милостию, Государь Верховный, Царь и владетель Великий Михаил Феодорович, обладатель всея державы русской">>, p.99-100. Please note that in Arabic the title of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov contains the word KHAN.

Thus, the Russian tsars, including even the first Romanovs, gave foreigners, or their subjects, rich weapons, on which they demanded to put ARABIC INSTRUCTIONS IN GOLD.

Everything said above about Arabic inscriptions on Russian weapons applies not only to the Kremlin Armory. Let's give another striking example. In the museum of Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, the modern city of Aleksandrov, in the Crucifixion Church-bell tower, the weapons of a RUSSIAN warrior are exhibited. We visited this museum in July 1998. On display are chain mail, shield, helmet, , . An explanatory museum plaque states that these are RUSSIAN weapons. In fact, the entire helmet is covered with images of strange animals, horsemen, birds, made in the Russian style, reminiscent of the well-known carvings on the walls of the white stone cathedrals of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. The nasal arrow of the helmet ends with an extension from above, turning into a four-pointed cross. The dome of a church topped with a cross is depicted. All this clearly indicates Russian origin helmet At the same time, around the entire helmet there is a very clear ARABIC INSTRUCTION in a wide stripe. The explanatory plaque is gloomily silent about this. And of course, it does not provide any translation of it. There is a shield hanging next to the helmet. And again, along the edge of the shield there is an ARABIC INSCRIPTION in a wide stripe. The rest of the surface is covered with patterns. Before us is a medieval Russian shield! We specifically presented here several photographs of this shield that we took in order to present as many fragments of the Arabic inscription on it as possible.

Moreover, here it is impossible to say that these are MUSLIM weapons, in the modern sense of the word. The fact is that in Muslim art, starting, apparently, from the 18th century, images of people and animals are strictly prohibited. And on this Russian helmet, covered with Arabic inscriptions, there are images of animals, people, and horsemen. Moreover, if you look closely at it, you can see a clear image of the AMAZON - a woman on a horse, waving a curved saber. See to the right of the helmet arrow, at the top.

Why don't the museum staff show medieval RUSSIAN helmets with PURE RUSSIAN inscriptions in the museum exhibition? Perhaps there are few such items among the bulk of the “Arab-Russian” ones? What if we are really shown TYPICAL RUSSIAN weapons, MOST OF which, as we see, are covered with “Arabic” or so-called “unreadable” inscriptions? If so, the situation becomes even more interesting.

By the way, in May 2013 we again visited the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda Museum and were surprised to find that Russian shields and helmets with Arabic inscriptions had been removed from the exhibition. The portrait of Ivan the Terrible with a forged inscription on it also disappeared. Perhaps all these interesting items were temporarily moved to the archive due to the planned replacement of the exhibition. But it is possible that after reading our books, some museum employees decided to remove dangerous exhibits “out of sight”, about which our readers ask uncomfortable questions to museum workers (we know of many such cases). Since there is nothing to answer, the easiest way is to move “dangerous” shields, helmets, swords, portraits, etc. in closed storages. Where no one will see them.

We also find inscriptions on Russian weapons, considered today Arabic, in the Moscow Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. In the exhibition halls of the Front Gate, where we visited on June 23, 2001, two old Russian military helmets are on display. ON BOTH - ARABIC AND ONLY ARABIC INSTRUCTIONS! There are no Russian helmets with Russian inscriptions on display here. Both museum plaques dryly and evasively explain to us that these helmets were allegedly copied by Russian craftsmen “from eastern models.” They say that in Rus' they loved oriental designs so much that they thoughtlessly copied, copied and copied...

Let's go further. Here, for example, is the shishak (helmet) of Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Mstislavsky, . Entirely covered with Arabic inscriptions (more precisely, considered Arabic today)! Moreover, there are no Russian inscriptions at all. Cm. . This helmet, by the way, was also called the Jericho Cap. Let us remember that the Bible describes the capture of Jericho by the troops of Joshua as an extremely important event. See our book "Biblical Rus'" for more details.

In Appendix 5 to the book "Seven Wonders of the World", we present the rarest material: an inventory of ancient Russian weapons stored in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. From this inventory it absolutely clearly follows that the inscriptions on Russian weapons, considered today Arabic, are a TYPICAL PHENOMENON. And not some rare exceptions. There are many such weapons! But historians are silent about this, and when asked, they begin to convince us that the weapons of Russian soldiers proudly displayed inscriptions they did not understand.