In this the thing covered is put for the covering. In the poem Antar, as quoted by Elliott, the steel or iron cuirasses of the Arab warriors are frequently noticed; as, “a warrior immersed in steel armour;” “15,000 men armed with cuirasses, and well accoutred for war;” they were “clothed in iron armor and brilliant cuirasses;” “out of the dust appeared horsemen clad in iron. ” In the Koran, among God’s gifts to the Arabs, their coats of mail for defence are specially mentioned; as, “God
hath given you coats of mail to defend you in your wars.” The Saracen policy was the wearing of defensive armor. The breastplate of iron, as symbolized by their iron breasts, was a descriptive feature answering literally to the Arab warriors of the sixth and seventh centuries.