October 10-14
Russia has given Iran a four-century-old Iranian shield that was lost on a battlefield to the Ottoman Turks. The shield is made of bronze with gold inlay, which indicates it must have belonged to a very senior officer of the army of Shah Abbas I. The Safavid Empire fought a war with the Ottoman Turks from 1603 to 1618, resulting in a resounding Safavid victory that turned over major areas of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and eastern Anatolia to Iranian rule. President Rohani’s office said the shield was turned over as a gift to Iran by Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two leaders met last week at the summit of the Caspian coastal states. The announcement didn’t make clear how or when Russia obtained the shield.
