The Turco-Mongol sabre, alternatively known as the Eurasian sabre or nomadic sabre, was a type of
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 ...
used by a variety of nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes, including
Turkic and
Mongolic groups, primarily between the 8th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded sabres of this type was recovered from an
Avar grave in Romania dating to the mid-7th century.
Although minor variations occur in size and hilt, they are common enough in design across five centuries that individual blades are difficult to date when discovered without other context. These swords were likely however, already influenced by swords used by others, such as the various Chinese swords.
These swords measured between in blade length and bore a gentle curve, leading to a pointed tip useful for thrusting. They were designed for use on
horseback
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...
and neighboring peoples frequently encountered these blades at the hands of Turkic raiders.
A common feature of the hilts was a bend just below the pommel. This is partly due to construction of the pommel and tang and partly a feature intended to aid a mounted warrior swinging the weapon at an opponent.
The hilt bore short quillions that often swept slightly forward, but could also be straight. Just after this, the hand guard on the forte of the blade, called a () in Chinese, lay a feature typically of copper or iron.
This was made as a sleeve of metal to wrap around the blade, designed to aid the sword sealing into the scabbard. Some early tunkou of high status swords were gilded and decorated with patterns.
Later swords that descended from these blades bore non functional tunkou that were ornamental and at times just etched onto the blades.
Influence on later swords
Chinese swords
With the
Mongol
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
invasion of China in the early 13th century and the formation of the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
, the curved steppe saber became a greater influence on Chinese sword designs. Sabers had been used by
Turkic,
Tungusic, and other steppe peoples of
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
since at least the 8th century, and it was a favored weapon among the Mongol aristocracy. Its effectiveness for mounted warfare and popularity among soldiers across the entirety of the Mongol empire had lasting effects.

In China, Mongol influence lasted long after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty at the hands of the
Ming
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...
, continuing through both the Ming and the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
dynasties (the latter itself founded by an
Inner Asia
Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North Asia, North, Central Asia, Central, and East Asia. It includes parts of Western China, western and northeast China, as well as southern Siberia. The area overlaps with some d ...
n people, the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
), furthering the popularity of the dao and spawning a variety of new blades. Blades with greater curvature became popular, and these new styles are collectively referred to as (佩刀). During the mid-Ming these new sabers would completely replace the ''jian'' as a military-issue weapon.
Islamic swords
Early Arab swords were all straight and mostly double edged (similar to European arming swords' blades). Although Turko-Mongol sabres have been found among a Turkic slave of the
Samanid Empire
The Samanid Empire () was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, ruled by a dynasty of Iranian ''dehqan'' origin. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana, at its greatest extent encompassing northeastern Iran and Central Asia, from 819 ...
, straight swords continued to be more popular outside of certain groups (such as the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture.
The founder of th ...
) as that was the traditional style of sword the Muhammad wore.
After the Mongol invasion across the Muslim world in the 13th century, the curved designs became more popular in particular with the
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
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 ...
. The Ottomans continued to use curved swords, developing them further until they distinguished a distinct heavy-bladed version which would become 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 ...
in the first half of the 15th century. The Mongol-style sabres continued to remain in use in
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 nort ...
until the late 16th century, at which point they developed into the recognizable
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 ...
. The
Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
invasion of Afghanistan and India brought these sabres to the subcontinent, developing into the
pulwar
The pulwar or pulouar () is a single-handed curved sword originating in Afghanistan.
Origin
The pulwar originated alongside other scimitar-type weapons such as the Arab Arab sword, saif, the Persian shamshir, the Turkish kilij, and the Indian ta ...
and
talwar
The talwar (), also spelled talwaar and tulwar, is a type of curved sword or sabre from the Indian subcontinent.
Etymology and classification
The word ''talwar'' originated from the Sanskrit Language, Sanskrit word ''taravāri'' () which means ...
respectively in the 16th century. While these Islamic blades often retained tunkou showing their Turko-Mongol heritage, even by the 15th century the device had become a stylized decorative element.
The Ottoman
yataghan
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 imme ...
, while not bearing a traditional curved sabre blade, did still bear the tunkou indicating its Turko-Mongol heritage.
European swords
Eastern Europe had long had contact with nomadic steppe groups such as the
Avars,
Alans
The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...
and
Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
. While Western Europe was still focused primarily on straight bladed
longswords and
arming swords during the medieval period to combat the heavy armour that was being used in European warfare, the arrival of Turkic warfare, first with the Mongols and secondly with the
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
, influenced warfare and armaments in Eastern Europe.
*The
Byzantine Army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legac ...
employed a sword called the
paramerion, which is considered to be a type of sabre, from the 11th century if not earlier. The Byzantines had close contact with various Turkic steppe peoples—
Khazars
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...
,
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...
,
Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
etc.—from which the paramerion may have derived. Later Byzantine images, from the 14th century onward, show very curved swords with a ''yelman'', which are similar to early examples of the Turkish kilij.
[Dawson, Timothy (2007). ''Byzantine Infantryman, Eastern Roman Empire c. 900–1204''. Oxford: Osprey. . p. 25.]
*Rus had an earlier history of straight swords from the earlier Viking age, but starting in the 10th century, the sabre was adopted as well.
From the 10th through 13th centuries sabre use spread from southeastern Rus and made its way northward. Finds prior to the Mongol invasion show almost, but not quite, as many sabres as straight swords in use in Rus during these three centuries.
*In the Caucasus, the
Circassians
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
developed the Turko-Mongol sabre into a distinct version called the
shashka
The shashka or shasqua (Abkhaz language, Abkhaz: Аҳәа, Асахәа; , – ''long-knife''; Georgian language, Georgian: ჭოლაური, ch'olauri; Chechen language, Chechen: ''Гlорда, Гlурда''; ) is a kind of Caucasian sabr ...
by the 17th century.
*
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
too adopted this type of sword design in the
szabla
(; plural: ) is the Polish language, Polish word for sabre.
The sabre was in widespread use in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Early Modern period, especially by light cavalry in the 17th century. The sabre became widespread in ...
starting in the early 16th century. Indeed, these Hungarian and Polish examples of sword and cavalry would become so effective that the great powers of Europe would later take from this design in the development of the modern period cavalry
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 ...
which exists in uniform dress of many armies to this very day.
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, encounters with the encroaching Turks caused modifications of the which eventually brought about the
dusack
A dusack or dussack (also ''dusägge'' and variants, from Czech ''tesák'' "cleaver; hunting sword", lit. "fang") is a single-edged sword of the cutlass or sabre type, in use as a side arm in Germany and the Habsburg monarchy during the 16th t ...
in the mid 16th century.
See also
*
Turco–Mongol tradition
The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongolian nobility, Mongol elites of these khanat ...
References
Notes
{{Swords by region
Medieval edged and bladed weapons
Middle Eastern swords
Weapons of the Ottoman Empire
Weapons of the Mongol Empire
Sabres