A karabela was a type of Polish

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

() popular in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Polish fencer

Wojciech Zabłocki Wojciech Mikołaj Zabłocki (6 December 1930 – 5 December 2020) was a Polish architect and fencer, specialist in the saber modality. Sports career Zabłocki participated in four Olympic Games: 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 196 ...

defines a karabela as a decorated sabre with the handle stylized as the head of a bird and an open

crossguard A sword's crossguard or cross-guard is a bar between the blade and hilt, essentially perpendicular to them, intended to protect the wielder's hand and fingers from opponents' weapons as well as from his or her own blade. Each of the individual b ...

Etymology

The word "" does not have well-established

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

, and different versions are suggested. *

Zygmunt Gloger Zygmunt Gloger (3November 184516August 1910) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popular Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Socie ...

suggests derivation from the name of the

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i city of

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

, known for trade of this kind of sabres. * Around 1670, the karabela (from Turkish ''karabela'' "black bane") evolved, based on Ottoman Janissary kilij sabres; it became the most popular sword-form in the Polish army. During 17th and 18th centuries, curved sabers that evolved from Ottoman kilij were widespread throughout Europe. Another suggestion is that the name originated from the most popular Seljuk sword named Kara-bela. Other suggestion is that its name derives from the Turkish town of Karabel, in the vicinity of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, or the Karabel district in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

References

Bibliography

* Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz "1000 słów o broni białej i uzbrojeniu ochronnym" MON, Warszawa 1981, * PWN Leksykon: Wojsko, wojna, broń, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2001, * Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz: ''Dzieje szabli w Polsce'', Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 1999, Early Modern European swords European swords Single-edged swords Weapons of Poland Turkish words and phrases Sabres

Etymology

See also

References

Bibliography