Travels in India (Tavernier) 24.2.2

24.2.2

The soldiers have for their sole garment but three or four ells of cloths, with which they clothe the middle of the body before and behind. They wear the hair long, and make a great knot of it on the head as women do, having for sole head-dress a scrap of cloth with three corners, one of which rests on the middle of the head, and the other two they tie together on the nape of the neck. They do not have a sabre like the Persians, but they carry a broadsword like the Swiss, with which they both cut and thrust, and they suspend it from a belt. The barrels of their muskets are stronger than ours, and the iron is better and purer; this makes them not liable to burst. As for the cavalry, they have bow and arrow, shield and mace, with helmet and a coat of mail, which hangs behind from the helmet over the shoulders.