The problem of operational communications in the face of a military threat or natural disaster faced people many centuries before the advent of radio equipment. They solved it differently. The North American Indians lit fires, giving out information about the approach of the enemy with smoke, and a loud scream served as a signal for an attack. Other nations in the Old World acted approximately the same way. In one Japanese city, the mayor set fire to several houses in the century before last in order to warn residents of the impending tsunami wave that he saw from the mountain, while almost all people worked in the lowlands and did not know about the danger.
In Russia, the signal for mobilization, a general gathering and the beginning of the offensive was ringing. What is it, and where does this word come from?
Military signaling device
The Turkic word nauba means guard. In the East in ancient times, an indispensable attribute of these service people was a large copper dish, upon impact of which there was a loud ringing, an alarm. In the same place, and at the same time, a new word “naubat” appeared, designating this simple device for warning. Mutual enrichment of experience did not always take place in a peaceful environment, but Russian people willingly adopted someone else's useful experience, even the enemy. The Slavic troops used the same device, only slightly increased its size and installed it on a special stand or pendant carried on a special wagon. The operational command and control of the troops, namely, the signal for the attack, was served by hitting a plate. At that time, the word “naubat” appeared in the Russian language, followed by special military people, combatants. Codes like Morse code had not yet been invented, but each of the soldiers understood (if the alarm sounded) that this was a notice of the need to prepare for serious events.
The resignation of the military alarm
This military informative Turkish invention served in the Russian army for a long time, but in the 18th century he was dismissed. The great reformer Peter I also willingly borrowed all sorts of innovations, but he gave preferences to Westerners. Therefore, he decided, once looking at the alarm, that this device is too large and impractical. The Dutch or the British would not have taken a huge copper plate to the battle sites, which required four good horses to transport, the Europeans used drums, forges and other means that were compact at the time. The ringing in the new Russian army was excluded from the charters and statutes. But even Peter the Great did not succeed in removing him from everyday life.
Everyday alarm
In civilian life, various troubles also occurred. A rural house could catch fire from an unexpired candle or torch; sometimes evil people and robbers attacked the village. In these and other cases, it was customary to sound the alarm, that is, to make loud sounds in every possible way in order to attract the attention of the widest possible audience. Used for this the most voiced objects, to which at the time of the problem was access. Since in most houses of rural residents of Russia (and they made up the majority of the population) in the XVII-XVIII centuries large metal objects were not found very often, they turned to God, or rather, to his earthly representations - churches. The bell ringing was heard far, and by the frequent and alarming ringing during inopportune times, people understood that a disaster had happened. Everyone rushed to the rescue, and often managed to provide it in a timely manner.
How to sound the alarm today
Today, it is difficult to imagine that an alarm can be a loud ringing, although this also happens in emergency cases. However, in the figurative, figurative sense, the very expression "beat the alarm" is often used. What this means, despite many centuries past, is remembered by almost everyone. Someone is trying to commit a crime, and this must be notified to those against whom it is plotted. There is a threat to the environment, which the general public is not aware of. Politicians posing as “knights in white robes” are actually crooks and thieves. And there are still many situations where each decent person is simply obliged, showing his civic position, not to think about the arrows that will fly at him as soon as he hits the alarm.