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Kopis (katydid)
The term kopis () in Ancient Greece could describe a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for ritual slaughter and animal sacrifice, or refer to a single edged cutting or "cut and thrust" sword with a similarly shaped blade. Etymology The term derives from the Greek word κοπίς (kopis), plural ''kopides'' from κόπτω – ''koptō'', "to cut, to strike". Alternatively a derivation from the Ancient Egyptian term ''khopesh'' for a cutting sword has been postulated. Characteristics The kopis sword was a one-handed weapon. Early examples had a blade length of up to 65 cm (25.6 inches), making it almost equal in size to the spatha. Later examples of the kopis from Macedonia tended to be shorter with a blade length of about 48 cm (18.9 inches). The kopis had a single-edged blade that pitched forward towards the point, the edge being concave on the part of the sword nearest the hilt, but swelling to convexity toward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kukri
The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout most of South Asia. The ''kukri'', ''khukri'', and ''kukkri'' spellings are of Indian English origin. The kukri is the national weapon of Nepal, traditionally serving the role of a basic utility knife for the Nepali language, Nepali-speaking Gurkhas, and consequently is a characteristic weapon of the Nepali Army. There are many myths surrounding the kukri since its earliest recorded use in the 7th century—most notably a traditional custom that the blade must draw blood before being sheathed, when its sole purpose is considered as a fighting weapon. In addition to its use in combat, the kukri is also used for a variety of other purposes. It is used by farmers and laborers for cutting crops and clearing brush, and by hunters for skinnin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falcata
The falcata is a type of sword typical of pre-Roman Iberia. The falcata was used to great effect for warfare in the ancient Iberian Peninsula, and is firmly associated with the southern Iberian tribes, among other ancient peoples of Hispania. It was highly prized by the ancient general Hannibal, who equipped Carthaginian troops with it during the Second Punic War. Name It is unknown which name the people of pre-Roman Hispania gave to the weapon. ''Falcata'' is neither a native name nor one used in classical sources, but a 19th century term coined by historian Fernando Fulgosio to describe the shape of its blade. The term derivates from Latin ''falcatus'', meaning literally "falcon-shaped".Luis Silva, ''Viriathus and the Lusitanian Resistance to Rome 155-139 BC'', 2013 Classical vocabulary did have a sword named ''ensis falcatus'', but it was apparently meant to be either a falx or a harpe. In any case, the name caught on very quickly and is now firmly entrenched in the scholar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khopesh
The ''khopesh'' ('; also vocalized khepesh) is an Egyptian sickle-shaped sword that developed from battle axes. The sword style originated in Western Asia during the Bronze Age and was introduced in the Second Intermediate Period.Lloyd, Alan B. ''A Companion to Ancient Egypt''. Spalinger, Anothony J. Ch 23. "Military Institutions and Warfare: Pharaonic". Newark, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.Van De Mieroop, Marc. ''A History of Ancient Egypt''. John Wiley & Sons, 2021. p. 126. The ''khopesh'' became more common in the New Kingdom, and is often depicted with kings in statues and murals. Etymology The word ''khopesh'' may have been derived from "leg", as in "leg of beef", because of their similarity in shape. The hieroglyph for ''ḫpš'' ('leg') is found as early as during the time of the Coffin Texts (the First Intermediate Period). Coffin Texts: However, on the 196 BC Rosetta Stone, it is referenced as the "sword" determinative in a hieroglyph block, with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiphos
The ''xiphos'' ( ; plural ''xiphe'', ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. The classic blade was generally about long, although the Spartans supposedly preferred to use blades as short as around the era of the Greco-Persian Wars. Etymology Stone's ''Glossary'' has ''xiphos'' being a name used by Homer for a sword. The entry in the book says that the sword had a double-edged blade widest at about two-thirds of its length from the point, and ending in a very long point. The word is attested in Mycenaean Greek Linear B form as , '. A relation to Arabic '' saifun'' ('a sword') and Egyptian ''sēfet'' has been suggested, although this does not explain the presence of a labiovelar in Mycenaean. One suggestion connects Ossetic ''äxsirf'' "sickle", which would point to a virtual Indo-European ''*kwsibhro-''. Construction Most ''xiphe'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makhaira
The makhaira is a type of Ancient Greek bladed weapon and tool, generally a large knife or sword, similar in appearance to the modern day machete, with a single cutting edge. Terminology The Greek word μάχαιρα (''mákhaira'', plural ''mákhairai''), also transliterated ''machaira'' or ''machaera,'' is related to (''mákhē'') "a battle", (''mákhesthai'') "to fight". It derives from the Proto-Indo-European *''magh-.'' Homer mentions the makhaira, but as a domestic knife of no great size. In period texts, μάχαιρα has a variety of meanings, and can refer to virtually any knife or sword, even a surgeon's scalpel, but in a martial context it frequently refers to a type of one-edged sword; a sword designed primarily to cut rather than thrust. The Koine of the New Testament uses the word ''makhaira'' to refer to a sword generically, not making any particular distinction between native blades and the gladius of the Roman soldier. This ambiguity appears to have cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yatagan
The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan (from Turkish ''yatağan''), also called varsak, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th century. The yatagan was extensively used in Ottoman Turkey and in areas under immediate Ottoman influence, such as the Balkans, Caucasus, and North Africa. Description Although weapons with features similar to yatagan were in use from the ancient times, its relation to them and its place of origin remains unknown. R. Elgood suggests that the yatagan is not a weapon native to Central Asia or Persia and it was adopted by Ottomans through their conquests, probably in the Balkans. The yatagan consists of a single-edged blade with a marked forward curve and a hilt formed of two grip plaques attached through the tang, the end of the hilt being shaped like large ears. The gap between the grips is covered by a metal strap, which is often decorated. The yatagans (also called ''varsaks'', named after the Varsak Turkomans) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akinakes
The acinaces, also transliterated as akinakes (Greek ) or akinaka (unattested Old Persian ''*akīnakah'', Sogdian ''kynʼk'') is a type of dagger or xiphos (short sword) used mainly in the first millennium BCE in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, especially by the Medes, Scythians, Persians and Caspians, then by the Greeks. The acinaces, of Scythian origin, but made famous by the Persians, rapidly spread throughout the ancient world. The Romans believed that this weapon originated with the Medes. The acinaces is typically in length and double-edged,Blair, Claude and Tarassuk, Leonid, eds. (1982). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons''. p.17. Simon & Schuster. . and although there is no universal design, the guard may be lobed with the hilt resembling that of a bollock dagger, or the pommel may be split or of the "antenna" type. The scabbard – as much as anything else – defines the acinaces, and usually has a large decorative mount near the opening, allowing it t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With a Ethnicities in Iran, multi-ethnic population of over 92 million in an area of , Iran ranks 17th globally in both List of countries and dependencies by area, geographic size and List of countries and dependencies by population, population. It is the List of Asian countries by area, sixth-largest country entirely in Asia and one of the world's List of mountains in Iran, most mountainous countries. Officially an Islamic republic, Iran is divided into Regions of Iran, five regions with Provinces of Iran, 31 provinces. Tehran is the nation's Capital city, capital, List of cities in Iran by province, largest city and financial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in the roles of reconnaissance, Screening (tactical), screening, and skirmisher, skirmishing, or as heavy cavalry for decisive economy of force and shock attacks. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations depending on era and tactics, such as a cavalryman, Equestrianism, horseman, trooper (rank), trooper, cataphract, knight, Drabant Corps of Charles XII, drabant, hussar, uhlan, mamluk, cuirassier, lancer, dragoon, samurai or horse archer. The designation of ''cavalry'' was not usually given to any Military animal, military forces that used other animals or platforms for mounts, such as chariots, Camel cavalry, camels or War elephant, elephants. Infantry who m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been part of Cyrus the Younger's attempt to seize control of the Achaemenid Empire. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior". For at least two millennia, it has been debated whether or not Xenophon was first and foremost a general, historian, or philosopher. For the majority of time in the past two millennia, Xenophon was recognized as a philosopher. Quintilian in Institutio Oratoria, ''The Orator's Education'' discusses the most prominent historians, orators and philosophers as examples of eloquence and recognizes Xenophon's historical work, but ultimately places Xenophon next to Plato as a philosopher. Today, Xenophon is recognized as one of the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horses In Warfare
The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equidae, equine War wagon, pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved horse harness, harness and chariot designs made chariot warfare common throughout the Ancient Near East, and the earliest written training manual for war horses was a guide for training chariot horses written about 1350 BC. As formal cavalry tactics replaced the chariot, so did new training methods, and by 360 BC, the Greek cavalry officer Xenophon had written an extensive treatise on horsemanship. The effectiveness of horses in battle was also revolutionized by improvements in technology, such as the invention of the saddle, the stirrup, and the horse collar. Many different types and sizes of horses were used in war, depending on the form of warfare. The type used varied with whether the horse was being ridden or driven, and whether the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
