Panel from the palace at Madina al-Zahra near Cordoba, Spain, 10th century

p.6, The Moors - The Islamic West - 7th-15th Centuries AD by David Nicolle:
Fragment of a painted stucco or ceramic wall panel found in the ruins of the palace at Madina al-Zahra near Cordoba which - like a more damaged picture of an infantry archer - dates from the 10th century. It is very important because it shows a cavalryman in a dir' full mail hauberk with long sleeves and an integral mighfar coif over his head and face. He probably has a round helmet, perhaps with a crest at the front and a broad nasal. Most significant of all, he carries a large kite-shaped shield two centuries before this was adopted by the Normans. (Site Museum, inv.MA/UM-95, Medina Azahara, Spain)