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How long did Ethiopians actually

use straight bladed swords and
what did earlier versions look like?

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All related (32) Recommended

Little Fish
Nerdily interested in the Ancient Mediterranean ·
Author has 196 answers and 198.2K answer views ·
Oct 2

Related Why did ancient warriors use curved

blades on their swords?
Most ancient warriors didn’t, or at least rarely. The
Hittites, Mesopotamians, Assyrians, Persians,
Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Central Asians,
ancient Chinese, and ancient Indians, all used
predominantly straight blades.

Lots of piccies to follow!

c. 1000 B.C. Hittite sword.

Ancient Luristan (Iranian) swords c. 1000 B.C.

The Assyrian Sargon II, sword at his hip, 8th century

B.C.

Greek Xiphos, c. 4th century B.C.

Even the Arabs, before and in the early Islamic

period, used straight blades.

Arabic straight Saif (which just meant sword), 4th

century A.D.

The Ancient Egyptians, and sooometimes Assyrians,

made use of the khopesh, which is convolutedly
curved.

But the khopesh is an iconic Egyptian sword

precisely because it’s so unique for the time, and
it’s more a sword based on the original Egyptian
epsilon axe than anything else. So, like an axe, it’s a
chopper, not a slicer. Unlike the epsilon axe,
however it’s real clever feature in most examples
was a hook on the end, likely for pulling aside
enemy shields. Still, the Ancient Egyptians also
used straight blades for much of their long history.

There was the Greek kopis and Iberian falcata

and the Balkan falx

In fact, the majority of ancient curved swords

tended to curve downward, rather than the later
upward curving “sabre” type, a key indicator that
they were cleaver-like choppers, not slicers. They
usually weren’t a very common sword except for the
Egyptian Empire period, when Egyptians used the
khopesh a lot. The most widespread sword
remained the straight, double-edged kind.

Curved, sabre-like swords came from the Eastern

and Central Asians. This happened mainly as
Central Asians, like the Mongols, demonstrated the
value of a dedicated slicing sword to other armies.

14th century Mongolian, gently curved sword.

After being ravaged by Mongols, the Islamic armies

adopted it in the form of the Arabic scimitar

as happened with the Persian shamshir

the Indian tulwar

and the Chinese dao.

Though the Mongols may possibly have got the idea

from the Chinese in the first place.

The Turkish kilij is also inspired by central Asian

swords, because the Turks were Central Asians!

ALL of these swords had a Central Asian influence.

A curved blade is an ideal close combat weapon for

lancers and horse archers because it slices very
well as you ride past an opponent. Straight swords
tend to not be as effective when used like this,
downward curving swords certainly not, and
dedicated thrusting swords and rapiers, while
potentially very effective for cavalry, require a lot of
skill to use from horseback. The versatile straight
swords and the choppers are fine for infantry, but a
curved sword is best for cavalry.

The long, sabre-like curved swords became more

prominent concurrent with the European Middle
Ages, just not as much in Medieval Western Europe
as they did in the East. Asia had begun using a wide
range of specialised cavalry units. Heavy lancers,
javelinists, horse archers, mixed arms units. They all
liked sabres. Medieval Europe relied simply on
heavy shock cavalry, like knight charges, and
knights needed the versatility and adaptability of a
very pointed, straight sword. They would fight on
foot quite often, and the lance was usually broken
after a couple of heavy charges.

The cavalry friendly, curved slicer was never really

an Ancient Era sword.
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David M. Prus
I have an associates degree in history, as well as
intensive scholarship · Author has 19.5K answers
and 21.2M answer views · 3y

It seems to date back to the Axumite days, as

Christian and Muslim writers described double-
edged broadswords worn as sidearms to the spears
and bows of Ethiopian warriors.
Continue Reading
The oldest artifacts are Gorade, similar to the
Kaskara common across the Sudan and descended
1
from the common longsword used in Asia and
Europe at the end of the Roman Empire. The
Prophet Mohammad
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Christopher Proescher
Former Soldier, Paratrooper at U.S. Army · Author
has 13.4K answers and 30.1M answer views · 2y

RelatedAre obsidian swords superior to

swords with metallic blades?
No, not even a little and here’s why….

1. Obsidian, while extremely sharp when

properly flaked, (knapped) is also
crystalline and like all crystals it doesn’t
bend, it breaks. A sword needs flexibility to
absorb impact when being used.

2. If you look at the very few “swords” made

from obsidian, you’ll find that they are
made from small pieces of obsidian
bonded to a club, such as the Aztecs used.

Continue Reading

902 2 20

Jong Park
Lived in Japan (2011–2015) · Author has 204
answers and 2.7M answer views · Jul 20

Related Why do Japanese swords have curved

blades and not straight blades like European
ones do?
Actually Japan did have straight blades like
European swords, known as the tsurugi and the
chokuto.

Continue Reading

9 2
These were only in use during the earliest parts of
Japanese history. And they were completely
inspired by
Sponsored by the designs seen from Chinese swords.
DREAME

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Overtime, the first true Japanese sword, the tachi,
Humiliated, oppressed,
started to appeared All that
during changed
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length than the typical katana we are familiar with.

Readchose
As for why the Japanese More to rely on curved
blades over straight blades, one can only guess. But
I think it may have started from how the Japanese
1.9K

Paul Wheble
Former soldier and cognitive-behaviour therapist at
British Army, NHS (1975–2012) · Author has 461
answers and 490.3K answer views · 11mo

Related How long were swords used alongside

rifles?
In the British army, until 1942. The 1st Cavalry
division was sent to Palestine in 1940 for internal
security duties. All regiments were mounted and
troopers were equipped with the 1908 pattern
sword and the SMLE rifle. They were later converted
to armour and served in Syria, Iraq, Iran, North
Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Continue Reading

80 2

. Jason Almendra
I took "Greek & Latin Roots of English" in college ·
Author has 21.5K answers and 110.6M answer
views · Nov 12

RelatedWhy did Egyptians use curved

swords?

Continue Reading

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