Mongolian armored boots, 15th to 16th c, leather and iron, Mongolia was divided into small khanates (territory ruled by a khan). Khans often went into battle and the need for protective armor was great, warriors going into battle on horseback were protected by metal plates, even in their boots, which were of thin flatly-beaten iron. Iron plates were put between the shaft and the vamp of a boot. The shaft is high, up to above the knee. National Museum of Mongolia.