jazerant

{{Short description|Medieval light armor}}

file:Kusari katabira 9.JPG

Jazerant ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|æ|z|ər|ən|t}}), or hauberk jazerant, is a form of medieval light coat of armour consisting of mail between layers of fabric or leather. It was largely used in Turkey, the Middle East, and Persia from the 11th and 12th century,{{cite web|last=The Free Dictionary|title=Jazerant|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Jazerant|publisher=The Free Dictionary|accessdate=15 January 2013}} at the end of the 13th and throughout the 14th century.{{cite book|last=Oplotheca|title=Catalogue of a most splendid and instructive collection of ancient armour|year=1816|publisher=Printed by Smith and Davy|pages=[https://archive.org/details/catalogueamosts00londgoog/page/n44 30]–31|url=https://archive.org/details/catalogueamosts00londgoog|quote=Jazerant.}} In the following centuries, its use was replaced by that of the jaque, or "jacket", which was a kind of gambeson. Also known as kazaghand,{{cite book|last=Andre-Driussi|first=Michael Andre-Driussi|title=Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition|year=2008|publisher=Sirius Fiction|isbn=978-0964279513|pages=192|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9neV_vyIX14C&dq=Jazerant+kazaghand&pg=PA192}} gazarant or gesserant,{{cite journal|last=The Burlington Magazine|title=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 6|journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs|year=1904|location=New York|publisher=Savile Publishing Company|pages=463|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z64zAQAAIAAJ&q=jacque+jazerant |issn=0951-0788}} its name has been variously interpreted but most likely derived from the Arabic jazā’irī,{{cite book|last=Giuseppe Barett|first=Neuman Henry|title=Neuman & Baretti's Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages|year=1831|publisher=Longman & Rees|location=London|pages=516|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CkoaSs_2kukC&dq=Jacerina&pg=PA516}} which means "Algerine":{{cite book|last=The Burlington Magazine|title=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 6|year=1904|location=New York|publisher=Savile Publishing Company|pages=463|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z64zAQAAIAAJ&q=%22This+last+explanation,+favoured+by+most+continental+writers%22}} the Arabs of north Africa were renowned for their mail coats. The samurai of Japan used a type of jazerant during the Edo period: kusari katabira (mail jackets) were constructed with mail sewn between layers of cloth.