A Mameluke sword is a cross-

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pomme ...

ed, curved, scimitar-like

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

historically derived from sabres used by

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

warriors of Ottoman Egypt after whom the sword is named. Egypt was, at least nominally, part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and the sword most commonly used in Egypt was the same as used elsewhere in the empire, the

kilij A kilij (from Turkish language, Turkish ''kılıç'', literally "sword") is a type of one-handed, single-edged and curved scimitar used by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuk Empire, Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and other Turkic khanat ...

. The curved sabre was originally of Central Asian Turkic in origin from where the style migrated to the Middle East, Europe, India and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. In

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

the sabre developed characteristics that eventually produced the Ottoman kilij. It was adopted in the 19th century by several

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

militaries A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, including the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Royal Sardinian Army The Royal Sardinian Army (also the Sardinian Army, the Royal Sardo-Piedmontese Army, the Savoyard Army, or the Piedmontese Army) was the army of the Duchy of Savoy and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was active from 1416 until it became t ...

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Although some genuine Ottoman sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe or America; their hilts were very similar in form to the Ottoman prototype, but their blades tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true

, while being wider and also less curved than the Persian

shamshir A shamshir () is a type of Persian/Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word ''shamshīr'', which is made of two words ''sham'' ("fang") and ''shir'' ("lion"). The curved " scimitar" sword family includes the ...

. In short, the hilt retained its original shape. but the blade tended to resemble the blade-form typical of contemporary Western military sabres. The Mameluke sword remains the

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

sidearm for some units to this day.

United States Marine Corps

Marine Corps history states that a sword of this type was presented to Marine

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

Presley O'Bannon Presley O'Bannon (c. 1776 – September 12, 1850) was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War (1801–1805). In recognition of his bravery, he was presented a sword for his part ...

by the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, Prince Hamet, on December 8, 1805, during the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...

, in Libya, as a gesture of respect and praise for the Marines' actions at the

Battle of Derna (1805) The Battle of Derna at Derna, Libya, Derna, Cyrenaica, was a military engagement in April–May 1805 of a mercenary army recruited and led by United States Marines under the command of United States Army, U.S. Army Lieutenant William Eaton (sold ...

. Upon his return to the United States, the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

presented him with a silver-hilted sword featuring an eaglehead hilt and a curved blade modeled after the original Mameluke sword given to him by Hamet. Its blade is inscribed with his name and a commemoration of the Battle of Tripoli Harbor. Perhaps due to the Marines' distinguished record during this campaign, including the capture of the Tripolitan city of Derna after a long and dangerous

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

march, Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson adopted the Mameluke sword in 1825 for wear by Marine officers. After initial distribution in 1826, Mameluke swords have been worn except for the years 1859–1875 (when Marine officers were required to wear the U.S. Model 1850 Army foot officers' sword), and a brief period when swords were suspended during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Since that time, Mameluke swords have been worn by Marine officers in a continuing tradition to the present day.

British Army

Mameluke swords were adopted by officers of

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

regiments in the first decade of the 19th century, some were used as 'walking out swords' (for ornamental wear on social occasions on foot) but others were employed on active campaign. They are prominent in images of officers of the Hussars painted by Robert Dighton in 1807. As officially regulated dress or levée swords they first appear in 1822 for lancer regiments. Later, other light cavalry and some

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...

regiments also adopted similar patterns. Though broadly similar in form, each regiment's swords had individual variations in the decoration of both blade and hilt. The current regulation sword for

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

, the 1831 Pattern, is a Mameluke-style sword, as were various Army Band swords. There are a number of factors which influenced the fashion for Mameluke swords in the British Army. *

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

raised a number of Mameluke units during his Egyptian campaigns in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, leading to the adoption of this style of sword by many French officers. In the post-Napoleonic period French military fashion was widely adopted in Britain. * The

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

carried a Mameluke sword from his days serving in India and throughout his career. After he defeated Napoleon his status was a national hero,

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...

, and then

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

; as such, his tastes had considerable weight. * The United States Marine Corps sword, discussed above, has been suggested as also being influential. The 1831 Pattern General Officers' Sword is very similar to the

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

Mameluke that pre-dated it.

Australian Army

The Mameluke is still used today by the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

, carried by the rank of Major General or above on ceremonial occasions.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * LTC (Ret.) Cureton, Charles H., USMC: "Early Marine Corps Swords," ''The Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors'', No. 93, 2006, pp. 121–132. * Crouch, Howard R.: ''Historic American Swords''. Fairfax, VA: SCS Publications, 1999, pp. 99–103. * Mowbray, E. Andrew.: ''The American Eagle Pommel Sword, the Early Years 1793-1830''. Lincoln, RI: Man at Arms Publications, 1988, pp. 218–219. * Peterson, Harold L.: ''The American Sword 1775-1945''. Philadelphia: Ray Riling Arms Books Co., 1970, pp. 192–193. * Robson, Brian: ''Swords of the British Army, The Regulation Patterns 1788 to 1914'', Revised Edition 1996, National Army Museum

External links

Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library
105 British military swords, dating from the 17th century to the early 20th century (including several mameluke swords) from the Cyril Mazansky Collection, on permanent display at the Annmary Brown Memorial. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mameluke Sword Sabres Middle Eastern swords Modern European swords British service swords Ceremonial weapons Weapons of the Ottoman Empire Swords of the United States United States Marine Corps equipment United States Marine Corps lore and symbols Mamluks Turkish inventions Napoleonic Wars weapons

United States Marine Corps

British Army

Australian Army

See also

References

External links