A stirrup is a saddle accessory that helps a rider to mount a horse and maintain balance while riding. Stirrups appeared in Siberia in the 4th–5th centuries and in Europe in the 6th century in connection with the mass migration of the Turkic population from Southern Siberia.

In the “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language” by Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl, one can read the following definition of the word “stirrup”,

The object presented in the museum’s collection dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, although its appearance is quite archaic: the support platform is curved, which was typical for the Turkic stirrups of the 10th century. Later, stirrups with a flat platform were made. The object is decorated with a rectangular plate of white bronze with a traditional Turkic pattern in the form of a bunch of stems-petals. There is a ring hidden under the plate for hanging the stirrup to the saddle. In appearance, the stirrup can be attributed to the material culture of the Siberian Tatars.

The invention of the stirrup radically changed the cavalryman’s armament. With the implementation of stirrups, horse mounting and horseback riding became more reliable, since the riders were able to rest their feet on the stirrups and maneuver the center of gravity. Also, they could no longer fall off the horse when they made a swing. Instead of javelins, short spears for the upper blow and curved swords, the cavalry began to use long spears with which they could strike in any direction, heavy axes and long swords, and later sabers. Afterwards, the stirrup started to be used not only in military affairs.

This item is one of the first exhibits of the Omsk Museum-reserve “Starina Sibirskaya” (“Antiquity Siberian”). It was donated by N. Akhmetov, a resident of the Bolsherechensky district, in 1964.