| # | Polity | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | Edit | Desc |
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"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. |
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"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. |
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"As with the rest of the Near East, there is little evidence for warfare in Neolithic Mesopotamia."
[1]
[1]: (Hamblin 2006: 33) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4WM3RBTD. |
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"We have no evidence for warfare. In contrast with later periods, ’Ubaid seals show no depictions of weapons, prisoners, or combat scenes".
[1]
[1]: (Stein 1994: 39) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/V94SXJRJ. |
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Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
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Most sources only refer to bows and arrows
[1]
, and even they appear to have been used mostly for hunting, not warfare, judging from the fact that skeletons pierced with arrowpoints become common only later. Indeed, there is little evidence for warfare in the region up until "[l]ate in the first millennium AD".
[2]
[1]: (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) [2]: (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013, 96-97) Milner, George, George Chaplin, and Emily Zavodny. 2013. “Conflict and Societal Change in Late Prehistoric Eastern North America.” Evolutionary Anthropology 22: 96-102. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/PAF8KM8K/itemKey/QR77EGA6 |
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"During the second millennium daggers became longer, evolving into rapiers; long, slender blades with sharp points for thrusting at the opponent. These were difficult to wield efficiently; examples where the rivets between blade and hilt had given way show the strain imposed when warriors attacked with a sweeping action. By the later second millennium narrow rapiers had developed into wider swords with cutting edges, suitable for deal- ing slashing blows, and Carp’s-Tongue swords (a long blade with a long narrow point and slotted hilt) designed both to thrust and to cut. At the same time hilts also evolved, giving a better grip and replacing the weak riveted join between blade and hilt with a flange extending from the blade to which a hilt of other materials was fastened."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2006, 298) |
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|
Most sources only refer to bows and arrows
[1]
, and even they appear to have been used mostly for hunting, not warfare, judging from the fact that skeletons pierced with arrowpoints become common only later. Indeed, there is little evidence for warfare in the region up until "[l]ate in the first millennium AD".
[2]
[1]: (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) [2]: (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013, 96-97) Milner, George, George Chaplin, and Emily Zavodny. 2013. “Conflict and Societal Change in Late Prehistoric Eastern North America.” Evolutionary Anthropology 22: 96-102. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/PAF8KM8K/itemKey/QR77EGA6 |
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No information in the archaeological evidence for this time
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Sources only mention bows and arrows, muskets, war-clubs, knives, and hatchets
[1]
. It should be noted that sources that specifically describe the way the Illinois Confederation waged war are relatively rare.
[1]: Illinois State Museum, The Illinois, Technology: Weapons (2000), http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/te_houses.html |
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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There had been much research done on Iroquois warfare, and there is no mention of swords used.
|
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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’3300-3000 BC: nine short swords (very unusual at this early date), twelve spearheads, and a quadruple spiral plaque. (copper)’
[1]
"The traditional view is that sword use - as a secondary weapon - dates from about the seventeenth century BCE.
[2]
although earlier swords are also known in Susiana."
[1]: James D. Muhly, ‘Metals and Metallurgy’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, pp. 864-865 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Not mentioned in the literature. This is interpreted as evidence of absence because this is a culture of low complexity for warfare technology.
|
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"In Sumer the first swords appear about c 3000 BCE."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991: 63) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5BTHT9IH/q/Gabriel. |
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|
Most sources only refer to bows and arrows
[1]
, and even they appear to have been used mostly for hunting, not warfare, judging from the fact that skeletons pierced with arrowpoints become common only later. Indeed, there is little evidence for warfare in the region up until "[l]ate in the first millennium AD".
[2]
[1]: (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) [2]: (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013, 96-97) Milner, George, George Chaplin, and Emily Zavodny. 2013. “Conflict and Societal Change in Late Prehistoric Eastern North America.” Evolutionary Anthropology 22: 96-102. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/PAF8KM8K/itemKey/QR77EGA6 |
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No reference to evidence of swords yet encountered in sources.
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"Although the four analysed Harappan blades (interpreted as spears) do not have a great deal of tin (maximum 2.6 per cent), neither do the Levantine tanged and riveted spearheads: tin is not present in 15 of 20 such spears, and only one example has over 0.5 per cent." However, Cork himself notes that the scholarly consensus is that there is little direct evidence for warfare in the region at this time, and that Indus weaponry has been interpreted as having been used for hunting rather than fighting.
[1]
A copper spearhead has been uncovered at Nausharo.
[2]
[1]: (Cork 2005: 413, 416) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ECMD5V2D/q/cork. [2]: Agrawal, D. P. (2007) The Indus Civilization: An interdisciplinary perspective. Aryan Books International: New Delhi. PL. 6.20. |
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During the time period in question swords acquired a largely symbolic and non-functional status: ’The first reports of swords in Akan society are inevitably from the coast. Local swords may derive from Islamic weapons passed down the trans-Sanaran trade routes. Early visitors were quick to associate the swords they saw with Turkish or other Islamic weapons.’
[1]
’The growing complexity of the Asante government, its members’ need to communicate internally and externally, to show their differences in standing, and to reward allies or placate potential enemies are reflected in the way many slems, such as swords ( afena), were elaborated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What began as a functional weapon ended as an object whose significance was indicated by its size, shape and a variety of attachments, often in gold. The sword gained an increasing richness of meaning over the years until colonial rule removed many of its uses, ending its development but stimulating the growth of other forms of court art.’
[1]
[1]: McLeod, M. D. (Malcolm D.) 1981. “Asante”, 88 |
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|
Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period.
[1]
[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX. |
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No discussion in literature of this. In this case it is evidence of absence since this is in line with logical expectations for this late-complexity society.
|
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Metallurgy was introduced after the third century BCE
[1]
and according to Schenk there was a maritime trade route from Sri Lanka as far as Vietnam and Bali in the second century BCE
[2]
which could have been the source of all kinds of products. According to the Chinese Nan chou i wu chih (A Record of Strange Things in the Southern Regions) written about 222-228 CE a volcanic country called ’Ge-ying’ (thought to be western Java) traded with the Malay Peninsula and imported horses from India. They were used by warriors.
[3]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’sword’: "war, weapon, sword, lance, armour, shield, helmet, banner, battle, siege, fortress, soldier, officer, enemy, spy, etc."
[4]
[1]: (Bellwood 2004, 36) Bellwood, Peter. The origins and dispersals of agricultural communities in Southeast Asia. Glover, Ian. Bellwood, Peter. eds. 2004. Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History. RoutledgeCurzon. London. [2]: (Schenk 2014)Heidrun Schenk. Tissamaharama Pottery sequence and the Early Historic maritime Silk Route across the Indian Ocean. 2014. Zeitschrift für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen. Band 6. Reichert Verlag. Wiesbaden. [3]: (Miksic and Goh 2017, 215) John Norman Miksic. Geok Yian Goh. Routledge. 2017. Ancient Southeast Asia. London. p. 215 [4]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
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First reference to swords in the Erligang period.
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Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later
|
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
Code checked by Peter Peregrine. Previous notes: Archaeological evidence for warfare appears to "only" include "[d]efensive structures around villages, violent injuries on human remains, "trophy heads," the abandonment of regions, and the positioning of sites in ever more defensive positions"
[1]
, though a few weapon types can be cautiously inferred, such as bow and arrows and spears
[2]
, and, at a later date, firearms
[3]
.
[1]: G. Gibbon, Oneota, in P. Peregrine, M. Ember and Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Volume 6: North America (2001), p. 391 [2]: P.S. Martin, G.I. Quimby and D.Collier, Indians Before Columbus (1947), p. 316 [3]: Illinois State Museum, Late Prehistoric, Technology: Weapons (2000), http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/lp_weapons.html |
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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No metal.
[1]
[1]: (Liu and Chen 2012: 142: 146: 148) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DE5TU7HY. |
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|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
-
|
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|
-
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Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
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"Swords only appeared relatively late in the Near East (Postgate 1992: 249), not becoming common until the Iron Age. There is therefore no reason to suppose that the lack of swords in the Indus Civilisation reflects an absence of hand-to-hand combat."
[1]
[1]: Cork, E. (2005) Peaceful Harappans? Reviewing the evidence for the absence of warfare in the Indus Civilisation of north-west India and Pakistan (c. 2500-1900 BC). Antiquity (79): 411-423. p414 |
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|
Langebaek’s intent to understand the appropriation of Spanish weapons and tools, such as helmets, swords, arquebuses and steel axes, as a form of acculturation of Tairona caciques and warriors, is another mode of analysis which reduces the adoption of these goods to utilitarian terms. He supposes that these objects were automatically incorporated by the Taironas because of their inherent technological value, and that the Spaniards controlled the flow of goods. "El intento de Langebaek (1985:80- 84) por entender la apropiación de armas y herramientas españolas, notablemente los yelmos, espadas, arcabuces y hachas de acero, por parte de los guerreros y caciques taironas como una forma de aculturación, es otro modo de análisis que reduce la adopción de estos bienes a términos utilitarios. Se supone entonces que estos objetos fueron automáticamente incorporados por los taironas debido a su eficacia tecnológica inherente, y eran los españoles quienes controlaban el flujo de los bienes."
[1]
[1]: (Giraldo 2000, 50) |
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|
Some authors describe the bolat (above) as a sword. But given its short blade, we have decided to code for daggers instead.
|
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|
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
Summaries of the development of Egyptian weaponry usually begin with the Late Predynastic. However, swords appeared relatively late in Egypt (with Sherden mercenaries in the New Kingdom, Shaw 1991: 43-44), so it seems reasonable to infer absence at this stage.
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 43-44) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
Long straight sword introduced to Egypt late in the New Kingdom period by Sherden mercenaries and the ’Sea Peoples.’ (C. el Mahdy).
[1]
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)."
[2]
[1]: (Healy 1992) [2]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
Copper swords earlier than 17th century BCE have been found in Susiana.
[2]
However, Egypt was behind Sumer in development of armour so may also have developed weapons such as the sword later.
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Leverani 2014, 88) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. |
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
Copper swords earlier than 17th century BCE have been found in Susiana.
[2]
However, Egypt was behind Sumer in development of armour so may also have developed weapons such as the sword later.
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Leverani 2014, 88) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. |
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|
-
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Some authors describe the bolat as a sword: "Among them the older and more skillful ones were called batyr -- knight, khosun -- warrior, and bargan (byargyan’) -- good shot, and roamed through the taiga not far from the settlements, hunting and fishing. Many of them had coats of mail (kuyakh) made from plates of iron and bone sewn over a leather caftan. In most cases these wanderers were mounted, but there were some who went on foot. Their weapons consisted of a light, bent, birch bow (okh), 5. a quiver (kikhek) filled with arrows (aya), a knife, and a war spear (batyya). Near the home they often used a light hunger’s spear (batas), while many also used short swords (bolat) and small bone shields in the shape of a shovel, used for warding off arrows."
[1]
But given the short length of its blade, it was coded as a dagger (see above).
[1]: Sieroszewski, Wacław. 1993. “Yakut: An Experiment In Ethnographic Research.", 716 |
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|
"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
-
|
||||||
|
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
|
||||||
|
no mention of this technology in sources
|
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|
"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
Opinion of a military historian (a specialist opinion on this is needed): In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[2]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "Each girded with a sword belt, the strength of battle, they parade before her, holy Inana."
[3]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. [2]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [3]: A šir-namursaĝa to Ninsiana for Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan A): c.2.5.3.1. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. |
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|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
David Carballo (pers. comm.) wrote that these obsidian blades were knives rather than swords or daggers.
[2]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. [2]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication with Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. Email. April 2020. |
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|
According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. |
||||||
|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
David Carballo (pers. comm.) wrote that these obsidian blades were knives rather than swords or daggers.
[2]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. [2]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication with Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. Email. April 2020. |
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|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
Inferred from the fact that sources such as Hassig do not mention this weapon in lists and descriptions of weapons known to have been used in Teotihuacan.
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 47-48) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
There was no significant change in arms compared to the Classic period—thrusting spears and atlatls continued to dominate.
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 82) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
Not included in the following: "Thrusting spears became the primary combat weapons [in the Late Formative situation] as they spread throughout Mesoamerica. Clubs persisted, but declined [...] maces also declined. [...] The distribution of slingstones throughout Mesoamerica indicates the continued use".
[1]
unknown from the archaeological record, and no direct evidence in Central Mexico before the early postclassic.
[2]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Hassig, Ross. (1992). "War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica." Berkeley: University of California Press, p.112. |
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|
"Little is known about warfare in Mesoamerica before the Middle Formative [...] warfare was relatively unorganized, conducted by small groups armed with unspecialized tool-weapons".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 12-13) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
||||||
|
Not included in the following: "Thrusting spears became the primary combact weapons [in the Late Formative situation] as they spread throughout Mesoamerica. Clubs persisted, but declined [...] maces also declined. [...] The distribution of slingstones throughout Mesoamerica indicates the continued use".
[1]
unknown from the archaeological record, and no direct evidence in Central Mexico before the early postclassic.
[2]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. [2]: Hassig, Ross. (1992). "War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica." Berkeley: University of California Press, p.112. |
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|
"Most of the basic Mesoamerican armaments were in existence at this time [Classic period] - atlatls, darts, and spears, we well as clubs (bladed and unbladed), shields, cotton body armor, and unit standards [...] This military organization and technology was carried forward and elaborated on first by Toltecs and then by Aztecs".
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 5) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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|
"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) McIntosh, J. 2005. Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspective. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. |
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|
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
|
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|
adapted from steppe regions in sixth c bce
[1]
"Yang Hong (1980: 116) traces the bronze sword back to certain bronze daggers of the Western Zhou period... It was not until the Eastern Zhou period that the bronze sword became a common weapon."
[2]
In the Shang period, there were bronze swords
[3]
and a sword has been found as early as the Erligang Culture.
[4]
[1]: (Gernet 1982, 66) [2]: (Wagner 1993, 191) Wagner, Donald B. 1993. Iron and Steel in Ancient China. BRILL. [3]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf [4]: (Thorp 2013, 110) Thorp, Robert L. 2013. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press. |
||||||
|
present: jade ware found at Sanxingdui includes swords.
[1]
Bronze swords.
[1]
present: Sword found at Dayangzhou, Xin’gan, Erligang Culture, possibly Huan-bei period.
[2]
Coding present on basis the "present" reference is more recent and that the technology would not have been lost between the Erligang and the later Shang.
[1]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf [2]: (Thorp 2013, 110) Thorp, Robert L. 2013. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press. |
||||||
|
[1]
"The elite troops in the state of Wei had to ... strap a spear to their backs and a sword by their waists ... "
[2]
[1]: (Lewis 1999b, 621) [2]: (Ebrey and Walthall 2013, 23) Ebrey, Patricia. Walthall, Anne. 2013. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning. |
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|
Present.
[1]
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 CE) reference: "In both armies, the basic weapon was a long straight sword, worn usually on the left side and balanced on the right by a short dagger called a misericord, because it was often used to grant the ’mercy’ of death to the mortally wounded."
[2]
[1]: (Potter 2008, 43) [2]: (Wagner 2006, 27-29) John A Wagner. 2006. Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
"Yang Hong (1980: 116) traces the bronze sword back to certain bronze daggers of the Western Zhou period... It was not until the Eastern Zhou period that the bronze sword became a common weapon."
[1]
In the preceding Shang period, there were bronze swords
[2]
and a sword has been found as early as the Erligang Culture.
[3]
Even if not a commonly-used weapon, if it existed it may have had specialist use
[1]: (Wagner 1993, 191) Wagner, Donald B. 1993. Iron and Steel in Ancient China. BRILL. [2]: (Bavarian 2005) Bavarian, Behzad. July 2005. Unearthing Technology’s Influence on the Ancient Chinese Dynasties through Metallurgical Investigations, California State University. Northridge. http://library.csun.edu/docs/bavarian.pdf [3]: (Thorp 2013, 110) Thorp, Robert L. 2013. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press. |
||||||
|
the sources mention machetes, rifles and arrows but to the best of our knowledge no other weapons were used at the time.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[1]: Harner, Michael J. 1973. “Jívaro: People Of The Sacred Waterfalls.” [2]: Stirling, Matthew Williams. 1938. “Historical And Ethnographical Material On The Jivaro Indians.”, 78-79 [3]: Reiss, W. (Wilhelm). 1880. “Visit Among The Jivaro Indians.” [4]: Brüning, Hans H. 1928. “Travelling In The Aguaruna Region.” |
||||||
|
[1]
refers to Greek mercenaries, who were likely used similar to Saite period and contemporary Greeks.
[2]
[1]: Everson, T. 2004. Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and Armour from the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great, Sutton. [2]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 17) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
||||||
|
"At Gaza in 312 BC the Ptolemaic assault was delibered by a force of 3,000 cavalry armed with swords and the traditional Macedonian cavalry pike or xyston."
[1]
3rd century cavalrymen equipped with small-curved saber (machaira sperantike)
[2]
hoplites of the phalanx carried a curved sword (machaira)
[3]
[1]: (Lloyd 2000, 394) [2]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 128-131) [3]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 135-138) |
||||||
|
"At Gaza in 312 BC the Ptolemaic assault was delibered by a force of 3,000 cavalry armed with swords and the traditional Macedonian cavalry pike or xyston."
[1]
3rd century cavalrymen equipped with small-curved saber (machaira sperantike)
[2]
hoplites of the phalanx carried a curved sword (machaira)
[3]
[1]: (Lloyd 2000, 394) [2]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 128-131) [3]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 135-138) |
||||||
|
Mace was the dominant weapon of war between 4000-2500 BCE in Sumer and until the Hyksos invasions (1700 BCE) in Egypt after which time Egyptians began to use the helmet. From 1700 BCE the kopesh, sickle-sword, rather than the mace, became the symbolic weapon of the Egyptian Pharoah.
[1]
Sobekemsaf II’s (17th Dynasty) burial contained a sword
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 24) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [2]: (Bourriau 2003, 193) |
||||||
|
Present for Abbasid Caliphate:"In defence the abna were trained to maintain ranks behind their long pikes and broadswords however hard the enemy pressed, and then to fight hand-to-hand with short-swords and daggers. I attack, a short spear or javelin seems to have replaced the pike, and a mace might also have been added. Although abna were often armoured, they would also fight without cuirass or even shield."
[1]
[1]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
“The sword remained as a secondary weapon for hand-to-hand fighting.”
[1]
[1]: (López 2012, 87) López, Ignacio J.N. 2012. The Spanish Tercios 1536-1704. Osprey Publishing. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4EWFWHCQ |
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|
"Bronze was obviously used by the Earlier Bronze Age peoples, but its uses were surprisingly limited. Bronze was widely used for weapons, particularly swords, for axes, and for clothing pins, but otherwise the use of bronze was largely restricted to personal ornaments such as torcs, anklets, and the like. In many ways the Earlier Bronze Age saw no marked departure from earlier technology, despite the beginnings of bronze production."
[1]
At the end of the Middle Bronze Age and especially in the Late Bronze Age, Normandy saw an evolution in war practices, which could have been linked to population growth. Spear heads and swords appeared and multiplied. They do not seem to have been used for hunting, but most likely for single combat or pitched battles. "À partir de la fin du Bronze moyen et surtout au Bronze final se dessine en Normandie une évolution des pratiques guerrières, peut-être liée à un accroissement démographique. Les pointes de lance et les épées qui apparaissent et se multiplient ne semblent guère avoir été utilisées pour la chasse (cat. 12-16), mais très probablement pour des combats singuliers ou en batailles rangées."
[2]
"Bronze age swords found by Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, estimated to be 3,000 year old."
[3]
[1]: (Peregrine 2001, 413) [2]: (Ghesquière in Macigny et al 2005, 23) [3]: (https://twitter.com/europeshistory/status/630725341313548288) |
||||||
|
Cavalry officers? Lances, swords, crossbowmen, longbows, pikemen were of central importance on the battlefield for at least 200 years after the first guns until the Battle of Carignola (1503 CE) which was probably decided by guns and Marignano (1515 CE) when Swiss squares were beaten by cavalry shooting pistols and cannon artillery.
[1]
The first Bourbon era 1589-1660 CE is firmly after the transition to firearm dominance so at this time the old weapons must have played only a minor role in warfare or had been completely abandoned.
[1]: (Nolan 2006, 367) Cathal J Nolan. 2006. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Volume 1 A - K. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
Used by cavalry.
[1]
Short sword
[2]
used by infantry.
[1]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 13) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Butt 2002, 40) John J Butt. 2002. Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. |
||||||
|
Used by cavalry.
[1]
Short sword
[2]
used by infantry. Aristocrats "usually dismounted and fought on foot throughout the Merovingian, Carolingian, and post-Carolingian periods."
[3]
[1]: (Hooper and Bennett 1996, 13) Nicholas Hooper. Matthew Bennett. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages, 768-1487. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Butt 2002, 40) John J Butt. 2002. Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. [3]: (Fanning 1995, 346) |
||||||
|
Sword found in Loire Valley dates to 1000-820 BCE time period.
[1]
"Bronze age swords found by Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, estimated to be 3,000 year old."
[2]
[1]: (http://www.chronocarto.ens.fr/gcserver/atlas#) [2]: (https://twitter.com/europeshistory/status/630725341313548288) |
||||||
|
A new type of sword which had a Central European origin and appeared in Greece ca. 1230 BCE is the so-called Naue II sword.
[1]
It had a flanged hold and the blade has parallel edges for the greater part of its length -the length is 60-80 cm. - before tapering to a sharp point.
[1]: Georganas, I. "Weapons and warfare," in Cline, E. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 306. |
||||||
|
Finds close to Paris Basin region.
[1]
"long slashing swords representative of the aristocratic warrior" from 8th century onwards.
[2]
"Bronze age swords found by Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, estimated to be 3,000 year old."
[3]
Battle axe more common in the East Hallstatt area while in the Western Hallstatt region use of the dagger and sword was more common.
[4]
[1]: (http://www.chronocarto.ens.fr/gcserver/atlas#) [2]: (Allen 2007, 22) [3]: (https://twitter.com/europeshistory/status/630725341313548288) [4]: (Koch ed. 2006, 1469) John T. Koch ed. Celtic Culture. A historical Encyclopedia. Volume I. A-Celti. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara. |
||||||
|
Finds close to Paris Basin region.
[1]
"long slashing swords representative of the aristocratic warrior" from 8th century onwards.
[2]
"Bronze age swords found by Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, estimated to be 3,000 year old."
[3]
Battle axe more common in the East Hallstatt area while in the Western Hallstatt region use of the dagger and sword was more common.
[4]
[1]: (http://www.chronocarto.ens.fr/gcserver/atlas#) [2]: (Allen 2007, 22) [3]: (https://twitter.com/europeshistory/status/630725341313548288) [4]: (Koch ed. 2006, 1469) John T. Koch ed. Celtic Culture. A historical Encyclopedia. Volume I. A-Celti. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara. |
||||||
|
Sword (long-straight for mounted use, steel, two-edged)
[1]
Short sword.
[2]
[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London. [2]: p.30-32 Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact By Kelly DeVries, Robert Douglas Smith |
||||||
|
Sword (long-straight for mounted use, steel, two-edged)
[1]
Short sword.
[2]
[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London. [2]: p.30-32 Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact By Kelly DeVries, Robert Douglas Smith |
||||||
|
Sword (long-straight for mounted use, steel, two-edged)
[1]
Short sword.
[2]
[1]: (Halsall 2003, 163-176) Halsall, Guy. 2003. Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. Routledge. London. [2]: p.30-32 Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact By Kelly DeVries, Robert Douglas Smith |
||||||
|
Long, straight, double-edged, sword.
[1]
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 CE) reference: "In both armies, the basic weapon was a long straight sword, worn usually on the left side and balanced on the right by a short dagger called a misericord, because it was often used to grant the ’mercy’ of death to the mortally wounded."
[2]
[1]: (Boulton 1995 67-68) Jonathan D Boulton. Armor And Weapons. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. [2]: (Wagner 2006, 27-29) John A Wagner. 2006. Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
General reference for this time period in Europe: mounted cavalry used lance and sword. The sword was the primary weapon of the man-at-arms.
[1]
The Papal State often used French mercenaries.
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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|
During the colonal period swords acquired a largely symbolic and non-functional status: ’The first reports of swords in Akan society are inevitably from the coast. Local swords may derive from Islamic weapons passed down the trans-Sanaran trade routes. Early visitors were quick to associate the swords they saw with Turkish or other Islamic weapons.’
[1]
’The growing complexity of the Asante government, its members’ need to communicate internally and externally, to show their differences in standing, and to reward allies or placate potential enemies are reflected in the way many slems, such as swords ( afena), were elaborated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What began as a functional weapon ended as an object whose significance was indicated by its size, shape and a variety of attachments, often in gold. The sword gained an increasing richness of meaning over the years until colonial rule removed many of its uses, ending its development but stimulating the growth of other forms of court art.’
[1]
We have therefore assumed that prior to the acquisition of firearms, swords would have been in use among Akan fighters.
[1]: McLeod, M. D. (Malcolm D.) 1981. “Asante”, 88 |
||||||
|
The swords are shorter than before and their blade is reinforced with a middle rib.
[1]
This new type of sword (Type B) was of medium length, equipped with a longer tang and slightly wider blade reinforced with a middle rib. The other type of sword (Type C) had two cruciform projections projecting from the hilt in order to provide protection for the hand. Experimental archaeology has show that these two types were designed for different fighting styles.
[2]
The handle of Type C sword allows a fencing style of fight while the handle of Type D sword allows more cutting actions. Both types were used from ca. 1450 to 1300 BCE.
[1]: Georganas,I. "Weapons and warfare," in Cline, E. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 306. [2]: Molloy, B. 2008. "Martial arts and materiality: a combat archaeology perspective on Aegean swords of the Fifteenth and Fourteenth centuries BC," World Archaeology 40, 116-34. |
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|
"For example, weapons such as daggers and swords show up in Minoan sanctuaries, graves and residences, Molloy reported in November in The Annual of the British School at Athens."EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://www.livescience.com/26275-peaceful-minoans-surprisingly-warlike.html
|
||||||
|
General reference for this time period in Europe: mounted cavalry used lance and sword. The sword was the primary weapon of the man-at-arms.
[1]
The Papal State often used French mercenaries.
[1]: (Rogers 2007, 32) Clifford J Rogers. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
||||||
|
Metallurgy was introduced after the third century BCE
[1]
and according to Schenk there was a maritime trade route from Sri Lanka as far as Vietnam and Bali in the second century BCE
[2]
which could have been the source of all kinds of products. According to the Chinese Nan chou i wu chih (A Record of Strange Things in the Southern Regions) written about 222-228 CE a volcanic country called ’Ge-ying’ (thought to be western Java) traded with the Malay Peninsula and imported horses from India. They were used by warriors.
[3]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’sword’: "war, weapon, sword, lance, armour, shield, helmet, banner, battle, siege, fortress, soldier, officer, enemy, spy, etc."
[4]
[1]: (Bellwood 2004, 36) Bellwood, Peter. The origins and dispersals of agricultural communities in Southeast Asia. Glover, Ian. Bellwood, Peter. eds. 2004. Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History. RoutledgeCurzon. London. [2]: (Schenk 2014)Heidrun Schenk. Tissamaharama Pottery sequence and the Early Historic maritime Silk Route across the Indian Ocean. 2014. Zeitschrift für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen. Band 6. Reichert Verlag. Wiesbaden. [3]: (Miksic and Goh 2017, 215) John Norman Miksic. Geok Yian Goh. Routledge. 2017. Ancient Southeast Asia. London. p. 215 [4]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
||||||
|
Dewawarman I may have founded Salakanagara in west West Java 130 CE. He followed Aji Saka who may have introduced ’Buddhism, letters, calendar, etc.’) into Central and East Java 78 CE.
[1]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese: "war, weapon, sword, lance, armour, shield, helmet, banner, battle, siege, fortress, soldier, officer, enemy, spy, etc."
[2]
The ruling class were Hindu Indians and their contemporaries in the Indian Chalukyan Kingdom had "swords, shields, spears, clubs, lances, bows and arrows etc."
[3]
[1]: (Iguchi 2015) Masatoshi Iguchi. 2015. Java Essay: The History and Culture of a Southern Country. Troubador Publishing Ltd. [2]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. [3]: (Sreenivasa Murthy and Ramakrishnan 1975, 93) H V Sreenivasa Murthy and R Ramakrishnan. 1975. A History of Karnataka. Vivek Prakashan. |
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|
"There was no significant change in the weaponry of the Indian army from ancient to classical times; in fact, according to Kosambi, there was a decline in the standard of arms. Indian soldiers were mostly very poorly equipped, noted Marco Polo."
[1]
Present during the preceding Hoysala period: "The Hoysala Army could be taken as a microcosm of the force structure of the Hindu polities in Deccan and South India. The infantry carried bamboo bows, swords, spears and shields."
[2]
[1]: (Eraly 2011, 169) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. [2]: (Roy 2015, 98) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London. |
||||||
|
Old Mataram was a ’highly Indianized culture’ until it was replaced by an East Javanese one "that increasingly promoted various elements of the island’s older indigenous traditions."
[1]
The switch-over did not occur until the end of the Kediri Kingdom: it was the Singhasari Kingdom that witnessed ’the decline of Hindu culture and civilisation in Java and the succession of Javanese culture.’
[2]
Temple reliefs from earlier periods contain murals showing clubs, swords, bows and arrows, spears, shields, armour, knives, halberds.
[3]
Indian military terms surviving in Javanese: "war, weapon, sword, lance, armour, shield, helmet, banner, battle, siege, fortress, soldier, officer, enemy, spy, etc."
[4]
[1]: (Unesco 2005, 233) Unesco. 2005. The Restoration of Borobudur. Unesco. [2]: (Rao 2005, 213) B V Rao. 2005. History of Asia. Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd. New Dawn Press, Inc. Elgin. [3]: (Draeger 1972, 23, 27) D F Draeger. 1972. Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia. Tuttle Publishing. [4]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
||||||
|
Coded present based on this
[1]
source. "Weapons, notably axes, clubs, swords, and daggers, seem to have been Indian, though the curved swords are of a later type than those on the Central Javanese reliefs. The reappearance of the spear in these reliefs, while the use of the bow is confined to human heroes, suggests an increasing pressure to resume use of local types of weapons."
[2]
[1]: (Draeger 1972, 49) [2]: (Powell 2002, 325) John Powell. 2002. Weapons & Warfare: Ancient and medieval weapons and warfare (to 1500). Salem Press. |
||||||
|
Borobudur and Prambanan temples contain murals showing the weaponry of early times - swords, bows and arrows, spears, shields, armour, clubs, knives, halberds. The Plaosan temple group 3 miles from Prambanan depicts stone carved gate guards armed with clubs and swords.
[1]
Old Mataram was a ’highly Indianized culture’ until it was replaced by an East Javanese one "that increasingly promoted various elements of the island’s older indigenous traditions."
[2]
[1]: (Draeger 1972, 23, 27) [2]: (Unesco 2005, 233) Unesco. 2005. The Restoration of Borobudur. Unesco. |
||||||
|
A Roman-style gladius has been found at Jericho and dated to the middle of the second century BCE.
[1]
Atkinson infers that this weapon was Hasmonean, demonstrating that the Hasmoneans had adopted Hellenistic weapons.
[2]
(The Romans adopted the gladius in the late 3rd century BCE from the Iberians, and the Seleucid and Ptolemaic armies are known to have adopted some Roman practices.)
[1]
[1]: Stiebel (2004). [2]: Atkinson (2016:45). |
||||||
|
"Very few long iron swords are known from Israel. The earliest is a sword of similar dimensions found in Family Tomb 1 at Achzib, Phase 1, which was dated to the 10th century b.c.e. (E. Mazar 2004: 117, 122; Fig. 29:8). It recalls our sword in its length, the fact that the handle and blade were made as one unit, and the rounded widening of the handle’s end. However, at Achzib the handle has two protrusions probably intended to hold wooden parts in place."
[1]
[1]: Mazar/Ahituv (2011) |
||||||
|
Sword represented on Indo-Scythian coins.
[1]
Military equipment depicted on the Bhilsa Topes statues include sword.
[1]
The Bhilsa topes are Buddhist monuments from central India thought to date to c100 BCE. Straight, medium-sized sword known from later period illustrations in hill caves in Orissa (eastern India 200 BCE - 474 CE).
[2]
Cave 16 at Ajanta c400 CE shows warriors with short sword.
[3]
[1]: (Egerton 2002, 12) Wilbraham Egerton. 2002 (1880). Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola. [2]: (Egerton 2002, 13-14) Wilbraham Egerton. 2002 (1880). Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola. [3]: (Egerton 2002, 14) Wilbraham Egerton. 2002 (1880). Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola. |
||||||
|
"There was no significant change in the weaponry of the Indian army from ancient to classical times; in fact, according to Kosambi, there was a decline in the standard of arms. Indian soldiers were mostly very poorly equipped, noted Marco Polo."
[1]
[1]: (Eraly 2011, 169) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. |
||||||
|
Found in burials
[1]
In Nimar District, Madhya Pradesh (in Central India region, but outside of the Deccan), excavators at Navdatoli ’found a copper fragmentary sword or dagger’ Carbon-14 dates of the site suggest a time between 1631-1169 BCE.
[2]
[1]: J. Sudyka, The "Megalithic" Iron Age Culture in South India: Some General Remarks (2011), Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 5: pp. 359-401 [2]: (Singh 1997, 86) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi. |
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|
A military historian states that the Maurayan heavy infantry is known to have used iron weapons including maces, dagger-axes, battle-axes and a slashing sword
[1]
- do Maurayan specialists agree?
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group. |
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|
‘The walls and ceiling are hung with the family’s possessions - baskets, tools, cooking and eating utensils - and two or three bamboo poles suspended from ropes serve as racks to hold the family’s spare clothes and blankets when these are not in use. Pots containing threshed rice and other staples line one wall to the front, and pots of brewing rice beer stand at the back. Several low stools may be arranged around the wall, pushed out of the way when not in use. At least one old headhunting mil’am (sword) is stuck into the back wall of every house, and one or more shields may lean against the wall below the sword.’
[1]
‘In the afternoon most of the villagers join in this feast, and the men then beat gongs and one by one some of them dance with a headhunting sword inside the nokma’s house.’
[2]
‘The principal weapons of the Garos are swords and spears, without one or other of which they are rarely seen. The sword is very quaintly designed, and would be found awkward to use by anybody but a Garo. It varies from 3 to 4 ft. in length; has a straight blade about 2 ins. broad, a blunt, arrow-shaped point, and from hilt to point is made of one piece of iron. The grip is very thin, and instead of being straight, is curved, and ends in a flat, sharp-edged, rounded head. This sharp hilt is supposed to enable the owner to stick his sword into the ground by his side when he halts, so as to have it always ready to his hand. At each end of the crossbar is attached a bunch of cow’s-tail hair, or what is more greatly prized, part of a yak’s tail. The sword is always carried naked, and is never placed in a sheath or fastened to the body. It is a most useful possession to the Garo on the march, for with it he can clear jungle which bars his way, split firewood and cut up his food, besides using it for the mainpurpose of defence. These swords are purchased from the Megams in the Khasi Hills district, and appear to be of Khasi origin. The ordinary weapon can be purchased for two or three rupees, but an heirloom is much prized, and cannot often be bought.’
[3]
[1]: Marak, Llewellyn R. 1995. “Arts, Architecture And Wood Carving”, 138 [2]: Burling, Robbins 1963. “Rengsanggri: Family And Kinship In A Garo Village”, 68 [3]: Playfair, Alan 1909. “Garos”, 31 |
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|
‘The walls and ceiling are hung with the family’s possessions - baskets, tools, cooking and eating utensils - and two or three bamboo poles suspended from ropes serve as racks to hold the family’s spare clothes and blankets when these are not in use. Pots containing threshed rice and other staples line one wall to the front, and pots of brewing rice beer stand at the back. Several low stools may be arranged around the wall, pushed out of the way when not in use. At least one old headhunting mil’am (sword) is stuck into the back wall of every house, and one or more shields may lean against the wall below the sword.’
[1]
‘In the afternoon most of the villagers join in this feast, and the men then beat gongs and one by one some of them dance with a headhunting sword inside the nokma’s house.’
[2]
‘The principal weapons of the Garos are swords and spears, without one or other of which they are rarely seen. The sword is very quaintly designed, and would be found awkward to use by anybody but a Garo. It varies from 3 to 4 ft. in length; has a straight blade about 2 ins. broad, a blunt, arrow-shaped point, and from hilt to point is made of one piece of iron. The grip is very thin, and instead of being straight, is curved, and ends in a flat, sharp-edged, rounded head. This sharp hilt is supposed to enable the owner to stick his sword into the ground by his side when he halts, so as to have it always ready to his hand. At each end of the crossbar is attached a bunch of cow’s-tail hair, or what is more greatly prized, part of a yak’s tail. The sword is always carried naked, and is never placed in a sheath or fastened to the body. It is a most useful possession to the Garo on the march, for with it he can clear jungle which bars his way, split firewood and cut up his food, besides using it for the main purpose of defence. These swords are purchased from the Megams in the Khasi Hills district, and appear to be of Khasi origin. The ordinary weapon can be purchased for two or three rupees, but an heirloom is much prized, and cannot often be bought.’
[3]
[1]: Marak, Llewellyn R. 1995. “Arts, Architecture And Wood Carving”, 138 [2]: Burling, Robbins 1963. “Rengsanggri: Family And Kinship In A Garo Village”, 68 [3]: Playfair, Alan 1909. “Garos”, 31 |
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|
"The period between the post-Gupta era and the Islamic invasions is generally regarded as a sort of ’quasi Dark Age’ in India ... military historian U. P. Thapliyal asserts that after AD 500, there were no innovations in the theory and practice of warfare."
[1]
Kaushik Roy disagrees with this evaluation I presume with respect to the idea of a lack of new innovation rather than there being a complete shift to new weaponry. Reference for northern India in the 7th century CE: According to Hiuen Tsang (quoted here) some of the Harsha infantry ’carry sabres and swords’.
[2]
Also the foot soldiers of the Pala Empire after 750 CE - the core of which was located in the southern reaches of the Ganges Basin to the east of this polity and at its height possessed territory all the way to Afghanistan - used spears, swords, and shields.
[3]
The Harsha and Pala empires are a post-Gupta era polities so if they used the sword and there was no major shift in weaponry until the Islamic invasion then the sword was probably still in use at this time. Under chapter 9 "The Rajput Administration": "Foot soldiers carried swords and shields. Armour was in use."
[4]
"Further details about military dress and equipment can be had from the Kathakosaprakarana, Yasastilaka champu and the Tilakamanjari."
[4]
[1]: (Roy 2013, 27) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. London. [2]: (Sen 1999, 257) Sailendra Nath Sen. 1999. Ancient Indian History and Civilization. Second Edition. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. New Delhi. [3]: (Lomazoff and Ralby 2013) Amanda Lomazoff. Aaron Ralby. 2013. The Atlas of Military History. Simon and Schuster. San Diego. [4]: (Bakshi, Gajrani and Singh eds 2005, 394) S R Bakshi. S Gajrani. Hari Singh. eds. 2005. Early Aryans to Swaraj. Volume 3: Indian Education and Rajputs. Sarup & Sons. New Delhi. |
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|
Reference for northern India in the 7th century CE: According to Hiuen Tsang (quoted here) some of the Harsha infantry ’carry sabres and swords’.
[1]
The foot soldiers of the Pala Empire after 750 CE - the core of which was located in the southern reaches of the Ganges Basin to the east of this polity and at its height possessed territory all the way to Afghanistan - used spears, swords, and shields.
[2]
[1]: (Sen 1999, 257) Sailendra Nath Sen. 1999. Ancient Indian History and Civilization. Second Edition. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. New Delhi. [2]: (Lomazoff and Ralby 2013) Amanda Lomazoff. Aaron Ralby. 2013. The Atlas of Military History. Simon and Schuster. San Diego. |
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|
"The Hoysala Army could be taken as a microcosm of the force structure of the Hindu polities in Deccan and South India. The infantry carried bamboo bows, swords, spears and shields."
[1]
Skanda, the ’war general of gods’, "is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding a sakti or spear."
[2]
[1]: (Roy 2015, 98) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London. [2]: (Chugh 2016) Lalit Chugh. 2016. Karnataka’s Rich Heritage. Art and Architecture. From Prehistoric Times to the Hoysala Period. Notion Press. Chennai. |
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|
"There was no significant change in the weaponry of the Indian army from ancient to classical times; in fact, according to Kosambi, there was a decline in the standard of arms. Indian soldiers were mostly very poorly equipped, noted Marco Polo."
[1]
[1]: (Eraly 2011, 169) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. |
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|
Swords: "The Malatimadhava makes mention of a troop of seasoned soldiers equipped with flashing swords and various other weapons not specified."
[1]
"In the Sisupalavadha, we find soldiers armed with swords and shields".
[1]
One and multi-edged swords (asi, karvala and khadga).
[2]
[1]: (Mishra 1977, 146) Shyam Manohar Mishra. 1977. Yaśovarman of Kanauj: A Study of Political History, Social, and Cultural Life of Northern India During the Reign of Yaśovarman. Abhinav Publications. [2]: (Mishra 1977, 150) Shyam Manohar Mishra. 1977. Yaśovarman of Kanauj: A Study of Political History, Social, and Cultural Life of Northern India During the Reign of Yaśovarman. Abhinav Publications. |
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|
Reference for northern India in the 7th century CE: According to Hiuen Tsang (quoted here) some of the Harsha infantry ’carry sabres and swords’.
[1]
The foot soldiers of the Pala Empire after 750 CE - the core of which was located in the southern reaches of the Ganges Basin to the east of this polity and at its height possessed territory all the way to Afghanistan - used spears, swords, and shields.
[2]
[1]: (Sen 1999, 257) Sailendra Nath Sen. 1999. Ancient Indian History and Civilization. Second Edition. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. New Delhi. [2]: (Lomazoff and Ralby 2013) Amanda Lomazoff. Aaron Ralby. 2013. The Atlas of Military History. Simon and Schuster. San Diego. |
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|
"Iron objects of various types - vessels, javelin heads, sword blades, arrowheads, spearheads, a horsehoe, and fishhook - have been found in cairn burial sites in Baluchistan... It is, however, difficult to data these burials. Some scholars data them between c.1100 and 500 BCE, but they may actually be much later".
[1]
The presence of swords has therefore been coded here, in the absence of evidence that the burials are from a different time period.
[1]: Singh, U. (2008) A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Dorling Kindersley: Delhi. p245 |
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|
Swords.
[1]
According to a military historian (this needs confirmation from a Mauryan specialist): heavy infantry used the nistrimsa, long two-handed slashing sword.
[2]
Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions swords (nistrimsa, mandalagra, asiyashti) (Book II, The Duties of Government Superintendents").
[1]: (Bradford and Bradford 2001, 128) Bradford, Alfred S. Bradford, Pamela, M. 2001. With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World. Greenwood Publishing Group. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group. |
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|
A military historian states the Maurayan heavy infantry is known to have used iron weapons including maces, dagger-axes, battle-axes and a slashing sword
[1]
- do Mauryan specialists agree? Satavahana infantry used short swords.
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 219) Gabriel, Richard A. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Greenwood Publishing Group. [2]: (Roy 2013, 20) Kaushik Roy. 2013 Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia. Routledge. London. |
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|
Inferred from use in Mauryan Empire. The Sunga Dynasty was in effect the continuation of the Mauryan Empire as it was established in a coup by the Mauryan general Pushyamitra Sunga (Roy 2015, 19).
[1]
According to one military historian (this data needs to be confirmed by a polity specialist) the Mauryan army used the sickle-sword and sword. Heavy infantry used the two-handed nistrimsa, slashing sword.
[2]
[1]: (Roy 2015: 19) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/35K9MMUW. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 212, 219) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies Of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
Weapons included the sword.
[1]
"There was no significant change in the weaponry of the Indian army from ancient to classical times; in fact, according to Kosambi, there was a decline in the standard of arms. Indian soldiers were mostly very poorly equipped, noted Marco Polo."
[2]
[1]: (Majumdar and Altekar 1986, 277) Anant Sadashiv Altekar. The Administrative Organisation. Ramesh Chandra Majumdar. Anant Sadashiv Altekar. 1986. Vakataka - Gupta Age Circa 200-550 A.D. Motilal Banarsidass. Delhi. [2]: (Eraly 2011, 169) Abraham Eraly. 2011. The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. |
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|
"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
Opinion of a military historian (a specialist opinion on this is needed): In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[2]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "Each girded with a sword belt, the strength of battle, they parade before her, holy Inana."
[3]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. [2]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [3]: A šir-namursaĝa to Ninsiana for Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan A): c.2.5.3.1. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. |
||||||
|
"It was not until iron came into widespread use in the early first millennium that swords in particular and iron weapons in general began to replace the more expensive bronze spears, arrowheads, axes, and daggers of earlier times."
[1]
[1]: (McIntosh 2005: 190) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KK2E3KMD. |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Found at Choga Zanbil.
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Potts, D.T. 1999. The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.227 |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[1]
Also present before this time: Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "Urutum stone, they shall sharpen you for the battle-mace; with bronze, the arrowheads of the gods, they shall smash you with the axe, stinging with fierce swords."
[2]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "Each girded with a sword belt, the strength of battle, they parade before her, holy Inana."
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: Ninurta’s exploits: a šir-sud (?) to Ninurta: c.1.6.2. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. [3]: A šir-namursaĝa to Ninsiana for Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan A): c.2.5.3.1. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. |
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|
Archaemenid cavalry used kopis swords.
[1]
According to one military historian (data needs to be checked by an expert for this polity) "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
According to one military historian (data needs to be checked by an expert for this polity) Persian light infantry carried the bow and sling, and Cyrus also made them carry spear and sword.
[3]
According to one military historian (data needs to be checked by an expert for this polity) heavy infantry carried long spear, short sword and battle axe.
[4]
[1]: (Farrokh 2007, 77) Farrokh, K. 2007. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Osprey Publishing. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: (Gabriel 2002, 162-163) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [4]: (Gabriel 2002, 163) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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|
"Islamic swords usually straight until 11th century when Turkish cavalry sabres started to be used."
[1]
Islamic armies of the period used a lot of horse archers, as well as cavalry with lance and sword.
[1]
[1]: (Jones ed. 2012, 92-93) Gareth Jones. ed. The Military History Book: The Ultimate Visual Guide to the Weapons that Shaped the World. Dorling Kindersley Limited. London. |
||||||
|
Copper swords have been found in the region.
[1]
According to a military historian (a polity specialist needs to check this data): In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[2]
Late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BCE text: "Each girded with a sword belt, the strength of battle, they parade before her, holy Inana."
[3]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 88) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. [2]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [3]: A šir-namursaĝa to Ninsiana for Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan A): c.2.5.3.1. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. |
||||||
|
Buyids had swords.
[1]
Broadswords and short-swords.
[2]
[1]: Busse, H. 1975. Iran under the Būyids. In Frye, R. N. (ed.) The Cambridge History of Iran. Volume 4. The period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuq’s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.251 [2]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Late Bronze/Early Iron Age: shortswords.
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Michael D. Danti, ‘The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in Northwestern Iran’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 359 |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Found at Choga Zanbil.
[3]
Sword found at at Haft Tepe.
[4]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Potts, D.T. 1999. The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.227 [4]: (Potts 2016, 189) Potts, D T. 2016. The Archaeology of Elam Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Found at Choga Zanbil.
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Potts, D.T. 1999. The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.227 |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Late Bronze/Early Iron Age: shortswords.
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Michael D. Danti, ‘The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in Northwestern Iran’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 359 |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
Depicted on the Apotropaic Plaque.
[3]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [3]: Carter, E. et al. 1992. The Neo-Elamite Period. In Harper, P. O., Aruz, J. and Tallon, F. (eds.) The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. p.201 |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
Rock carvings of Firuzabad, third century CE, show sword (at least the handle of one), quiver for arrows and lance.
[1]
Secondary weapons of the heavy cavalryman "included a long sword, axe, mace and dagger."
[2]
Secondary weapons for the horse-archers: "Axes, short swords, daggers and sometimes long swords were secondary weapons worn at the belt."
[3]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Penrose 2008, 224) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing. [3]: (Penrose 2008, 225) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Rock carvings of Firuzabad, third century CE, show sword (at least the handle of one), quiver for arrows and lance.
[1]
Secondary weapons of the heavy cavalryman "included a long sword, axe, mace and dagger."
[2]
Secondary weapons for the horse-archers: "Axes, short swords, daggers and sometimes long swords were secondary weapons worn at the belt."
[3]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Penrose 2008, 224) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing. [3]: (Penrose 2008, 225) Penrose, Jane. 2008. Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War. Osprey Publishing. |
||||||
|
Illustration shows a clibanarius (6th century) with a sword.
[1]
Sword.
[2]
at the muster parades of Khusrau I (second Sassanid period) cavalry units required to have "mail, breastplate, helmet, leg guards, arm guards, horse armour, lance, buckler, sword, mace, battle axe, quiver of thirty arrows, bow case with two bows, and two spare bow strings."
[3]
[1]: (Wilcox 1986, Plate E) Wilcox, P. 1986. Rome’s Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians. Osprey Publishing. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. [3]: (Chegini 1996, 58) Chegini, N. N. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
||||||
|
Copper swords have been found in the region.
[1]
According to a military historian (a polity specialist needs to check this data): In Sumer the first swords appeared about c3000 BCE but until c2000 BCE their use were restricted because the blade often became detached from the handle. The sickle-sword of c2500 BCE was cast whole but it was unable to break armour so the battle axe was preferred.
[2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 88) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. [2]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 63) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport. |
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Gjerset refers to swords: ’Often the priests themselves would join, sword in hand, in the bloody feuds, like Odd, Lufina and others, only to give the otherwise dark picture of social and political life a still more forbidding aspect.’
[1]
[Swords were present.]
[1]: (Gjerset 1924, 155) Gjerset, Knut. 1924. History of Iceland. New York: Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/8FGVBVMM/itemKey/GJDJ6MTB |
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|
According to Peroni, the Middle Bronze Age saw the introduction of swords and spearheads.
[1]
The opinion of a military historian: "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Bruno 2012: 36) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/THBS3YDV. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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|
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
What is the opinion of a Roman specialist for this region?
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Hastati and principes carried the gladius (sword).
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: (Fields 2007, 19) [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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|
ladius
[1]
"Imperial legionaries were primarily swordsmen who employed a heavy throwing spear (pilum) to disrupt their enemy before engaging in hand-to-hand combat."
[2]
From the mid-first century CE the stabbing Mainz-type sword type gained a shorter point and became "more versatile as a cutting weapon."
[3]
"By the later 2nd or early 3rd century AD, the short stabbing sword was largely replaced by the longer spatha, a cutting weapon previously used by the Roman cavalry (who no longer required longer swords to cut down their opponents) and probably adopted from Rome’s Celtic enemies."
[3]
[1]: (Erdkamp 2011, 192) [2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 41) [3]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 42) |
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General reference for medieval warfare: During the Late Middle Ages (c1000-1500 CE) reknowned production centres of military equipment in Italy included: "Aquileia (helmets), Benevento (spear-heads), Brescia and Milan (swords), Otranto (helmets), Pavia (helmets, spears, swords), and Sardinia (helmets, shields, coats of mail)".
[1]
Illustration shows "Venetian knight, early 13th C." with a sword and shield.
[2]
Illustration shows "Dalmatian soldier, mid-13th C." with a shield, sword and helmet.
[2]
Illustration shows "Italian armoured infantryman, c.1320" with dagger, sword, helmet, guantlets.
[3]
Illustration shows "Knight, Collato family, c.1340" with a helmet, guantlets, sword, dagger, limb protection including plate armour for the feet, lower legs and knees.
[3]
Illustration shows "Venetian infantryman, late 14th C." with a spear, sword, helmet, shield, guantlets, and plate armour for lower legs.
[4]
Illustration shows "Venetian man-at-arms, late 15th C." in full plate armour holding a spear and carrying a sword.
[5]
Illustration shows "Venetian light cavalryman, c.1500" wearing full plate armour, holding a sword and carrying a dagger.
[5]
Illustration shows a cavalryman "Stradiot c.1500" with a spear, bow and curved sword.
[6]
Illustration shows "Venetian knight, c.1600" with a sword, full plate armour and shield.
[7]
Illustration shows "Tommaso Morosini, c1647" with a pistol and sword.
[8]
Illustration shows "Venetian arquebusier, early 17th C." holding an arquebus, carrying a sword, wearing plate armour covering the torso and a helmet.
[8]
[1]: (Gaier 2010, 75) Claude Gaier. Arms Industry and Trade. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [2]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate A) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [3]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate B) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [4]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate C) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [5]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate E) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [6]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate F) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [7]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate G) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [8]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate H) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. |
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|
General reference for medieval warfare: During the Late Middle Ages (c1000-1500 CE) reknowned production centres of military equipment in Italy included: "Aquileia (helmets), Benevento (spear-heads), Brescia and Milan (swords), Otranto (helmets), Pavia (helmets, spears, swords), and Sardinia (helmets, shields, coats of mail)".
[1]
Illustration shows "Venetian infantryman, late 14th C." with a spear, sword, helmet, shield, guantlets, and plate armour for lower legs.
[2]
Illustration shows "Venetian man-at-arms, late 15th C." in full plate armour holding a spear and carrying a sword.
[3]
Illustration shows "Venetian light cavalryman, c.1500" wearing full plate armour, holding a sword and carrying a dagger.
[3]
Illustration shows a cavalryman "Stradiot c.1500" with a spear, bow and curved sword.
[4]
Illustration shows "Venetian knight, c.1600" with a sword, full plate armour and shield.
[5]
Illustration shows "Tommaso Morosini, c1647" with a pistol and sword.
[6]
Illustration shows "Venetian arquebusier, early 17th C." holding an arquebus, carrying a sword, wearing plate armour covering the torso and a helmet.
[6]
[1]: (Gaier 2010, 75) Claude Gaier. Arms Industry and Trade. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [2]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate C) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [3]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate E) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [4]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate F) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [5]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate G) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. [6]: (Nicolle 1989, Plate H) David Nicolle. 1989. The Venetian Empire 1200-1670. Osprey Publishing. Oxford. |
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|
‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century, coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[1]
’Muromachi-period swords decreased in length but were heavier, wider, and less curved. These changes were probably intended to improve the effectiveness of swords against the heavier armor developed in the late medieval era.’
[2]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. [2]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.158. |
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|
‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century, coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[1]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. |
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|
‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century [CE], coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[1]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. |
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|
‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century [CE], coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[1]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. |
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|
"The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened."
[1]
[1]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404 |
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|
‘During this time of warrior-administrators and leisurely study of military arts, swordsmanship and sword drawing thrived as the most prized martial skill among the warrior classes, and the sword was heralded as embodying the “soul of the samurai.’
[1]
‘In practice medieval warriors regarded the sword as one weapon among many—useful primarily in close combat, which was to be avoided if at all possible. Although many warriors carried swords in battle, they functioned primarily as a supplement to the more effective bow and arrow. Swords were more likely to figure in conflicts apart from battles, such as assassinations or brawls, and in the Edo period, these weapons were carried as a privilege conferred by socioeconomic rank.’
[2]
‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century, coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[2]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.151. [2]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. |
||||||
|
"The establishment of Chinese provinces in the northern Korean Peninsula conveyed knowledge of bronze and iron closer to the Japanese islands, and with Yayoi bronze spears, halberds, swords, mirrors, and bells appeared. In each case, the imported items were transformed by local bronze casters into forms more suited to local tastes and requirements. Thus the weapons were enlarged and broadened."
[1]
[1]: Charles F W Higham. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts On File, Inc. New York. p.404 |
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|
"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards."
[1]
"Turkish weapons, 10th-12th centuries. An assortment of typical Turco-Mongol or Central Asian weapons fragments were found during archaeological excavations at the Citadel of Kuva. This area, close to the frontier with China, became the heartland of the Kara-Khanid Sultanate which rivalled the Seljuks for the domination of the north-eastern provinces of the Islamic world ... The weapons themselves, including parts of daggers, arrowheads and spearheads, would have been identical to those used by Seljuk warriors both here in Transoxania, in Iran and in Syria".
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Nicolle 2001, 51) Nicolle, David. 2001. The Crusades. Osprey Publishing. |
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|
"Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. |
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This refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan: O’Reilly et al. have documented a burial site in the Cambodian basin that dates from the Iron Age perio (i.e. slightly before the Funan period), given the evident that follows and the fact that swords were known in Angkor, we can assume there were swords as well in the Funan period. "A range of weapons were identified in many graves, including long iron swords and projectile points. The majority of individuals buried with weapons were male. The swords found in these graves were over 1m in length and nearly 100mm wide near the hilt, similar in form to the late medieval claymore swords of Scotland. Smaller short swords were also encountered in some burials. Caches of projectile points found in burials appear to be of two types: long, narrow points and broad, leaf-shaped points.
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, 452) |
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|
The following refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan: O’Reilly et al. have documented a burial site in the Cambodian basin that dates from the Iron Age period (i.e. slightly before the Funan period). Given the evidence that follows and the fact that swords were known in Angkor, we can assume there were swords as well in the Funan period. "A range of weapons were identified in many graves, including long iron swords and projectile points. The majority of individuals buried with weapons were male. The swords found in these graves were over 1m in length and nearly 100mm wide near the hilt, similar in form to the late medieval claymore swords of Scotland. Smaller short swords were also encountered in some burials. Caches of projectile points found in burials appear to be of two types: long, narrow points and broad, leaf-shaped points.
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, p. 452) |
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|
"The so-called ’Sword of Charlemagne’ is probably an example of an 8th-century Avar sabre, and a similar blade in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also believed to have been made among Turkic or Mongol steppe people some time between the 9th and 12th centuries AD."
[1]
[1]: (Karasulas 2004, 27-28) |
||||||
|
The following refers to a site that is in the NGA but not specifically part of Funan: O’Reilly et al. have documented a burial site in the Cambodian basin that dates from the Iron Age perio (i.e. slightly before the Funan period), given the evident that follows and the fact that swords were known in Angkor, we can assume there were swords as well in the Funan period. "A range of weapons were identified in many graves, including long iron swords and projectile points. The majority of individuals buried with weapons were male. The swords found in these graves were over 1m in length and nearly 100mm wide near the hilt, similar in form to the late medieval claymore swords of Scotland. Smaller short swords were also encountered in some burials. Caches of projectile points found in burials appear to be of two types: long, narrow points and broad, leaf-shaped points.
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011, p. 452) |
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|
"The excavation of Phum Snay also yielded evidence of military paraphernalia (swords, daggers, spearheads, projectile points, epaulettes) in the prehistoric graves" dating c. 500 BC - 200 AD.
[1]
[1]: (Domett et al. 2011: 452) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RJH39GGM. |
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|
Vedic sources connect charioteering with sword.
[1]
Not everyone agrees Vedic culture was descendant from, and thus can tell us about, Andronovo culture.
[2]
[1]: (Kuz’mina 2007, 136-137) Elena Efimovna Kuzʹmina. 2007. The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. J P Mallory ed. BRILL. Leiden. [2]: (Lamberg-Karlovsky 144-145) C C Lamberg-Karlovsky. 2005. Archaeology and language: the case of the Bronze Age Indo-Iranians. Edwin Francis Bryant. Laurie L Patton. eds. The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History. Routledge. Abingdon. |
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|
Swords were in use in Egypt, Israel, and Bronze-Age Canaan. Richard Francis Burton, writing in 1884, reports that a scholar of his day believed that certain swords buried with Briton chiefs were of Phoenician manufacture; and in any event he surmises that the early Phoenicians used Egyptian-style sickle swords before adopting the European straight style.
[1]
Iron swords have been found at archaeological sites believed to be Phoenician, such as Horbat Rosh Zayit, though their exact provenance is unclear.
[2]
[1]: Burton (1884:181-182). [2]: Gal/Alexandre (2000). |
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|
Swords.
[1]
Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: "Among shock weapons, those decisive instruments in war, were the sword, club, lance, dagger, and fighting bracelet."
[2]
Carried by military leaders.
[3]
[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison. [2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison. [3]: S.A. Djata, The Bamana kingdom by the Niger (1997), p. 17 |
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|
swords.
[1]
The weapons used by the empire’s army included iron-tipped spears, daggers, and swords. Wooden objects used for defense included battle clubs.
[2]
[1]: (Conrad 2010, 46)Conrad, D. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. Infobase Publishing. [2]: (24) Wolny, P. 2013. Discovering the Empire of Mali. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. |
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|
Swords.
[1]
Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: "Among shock weapons, those decisive instruments in war, were the sword, club, lance, dagger, and fighting bracelet."
[2]
[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison. [2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison. |
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|
"The so-called ’Sword of Charlemagne’ is probably an example of an 8th-century Avar sabre, and a similar blade in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also believed to have been made among Turkic or Mongol steppe people some time between the 9th and 12th centuries AD."
[1]
"Khitan tombs also commonly contain iron weaponry, notably swords, spears, and arrowheads of various types."
[2]
Cavalrymen often used the sabre to chop their enemy’s wooden lance.
[3]
[1]: (Karasulas 2004, 27-28) [2]: (Tackett 2017, 216) Nicolas Tackett. 2017. The Origins of the Chinese Nation: Song China and the Forging of an East Asian World Order. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [3]: (Huang and Hong 2018) Fuhua Huang. Fan Hong. 2018. A History of Chinese Martial Arts. Routledge. Abingdon. |
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|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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The last Yuan emperor Toghon Temur returned to Mongolia and established the capital of his new Mongol state ("which extended from Manchuria to Kyrgystan") at Karakorum. At that time the MilTech codes would be the same as for the preceding Yuan China. Over the next decades the state lost territory and there was civil war at the start of the 15th century although in 1409 CE they still managed to rout a very large invading Ming army. The Ming attacked again but the Mongols were not conquered. Under an Oirat noble called Esen (1440-1455 CE) they invaded China in 1449 CE with 20,000 cavalry and captured the Ming emperor. In 1451 CE Esen overthrew the Mongol Khan but he wasn’t a direct descendent of Genghis Khan and was killed during a 1455 CE rebellion. His rule was followed by minor Khans who ruled a Mongolia in which the Khalkhas were one of three ’left-flank’ tumens (in addition to Chahars and Uriangqais). The state also had ’right-flank’ tumens (Ordos, Tumeds, Yunshebus) and the Oirats of western Mongolia. "These 6 tumens were major administrative units, often called ulus tumens (princedoms), comprising the 40 lesser tumens of the military-administrative type inherited from the Yuan period, each of which was reputedly composed of 10,000 cavalry troops ..."
[1]
The narrative suggests at least for 1400 CE and 1500 CE the army was cavalry based and in continuity with the preceding Yuan. The Yuan Dyansty is coded present for swords. Presumably the Late Mongols when engaged in infantry combat used swords.
[1]: (Ishjamts 2003, 208-211) N Ishjamts. 2003. The Mongols. Chahryar Adle. Irfan Habib. Karl M Baipakov. eds. History Of Civilizations Of Central Asia. Volume V. Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. UNESCO Publishing. Paris. |
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|
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. |
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|
"Bronze, Daggers, or short swords, are generally distinguished by their integral casting of hilt and double-edged blade and relatively narrow and straight hand guard. The early types, dated to the middle and late Shang dynasty, display a characteristic curved hilt, often decorated with geometric designs and featuring a terminal in the shape of an animal’s head (horse, ram, eagle, or ibex). Other early daggers have perforated hilts or have straight hilts with grooves ending in a rattle."
[1]
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[2]
Ordos, Inner Mongolia: 6th-4th century BCE: ’Although bronze remained the dominant metal, the presence of iron tools and bimetallic weapons (especially swords with bronze hilts and iron blades) in sites where there was no previous trace of iron, suggest a later dating.’
[3]
[1]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 50 [2]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. [3]: Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, p. 58 |
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|
"In the description of Hsiung-nu armament and tactics, Ssu-ma Ch’ien does not indulge in long-winded comparisons with the Chinese. His narrative is remarkably objective, and “moral” considerations are kept to a minimum. He describes their weapons (“they use bows and arrows as their long-range weapons, and swords and spears as their short-range weapons”)64 and their habits when it comes to going to war."
[1]
[1]: (Di Cosmo 2002, 277) |
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|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
||||||
|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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|
Thomas Cressy: Peter Turchin decided that Machetes should be coded as swords, so I changed the code to ’inferred present’ due to being in use previously
|
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|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
David Carballo (pers. comm.) wrote that these obsidian blades were knives rather than swords or daggers.
[2]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. [2]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication with Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. Email. April 2020. |
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|
Obsidian-edged wooden swords and daggers are inferred present based the presence of obsidian blades in the valley.
[1]
David Carballo (pers. comm.) wrote that these obsidian blades were knives rather than swords or daggers.
[2]
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. [2]: (Carballo, David. Personal Communication with Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. Email. April 2020. |
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|
This source, for which we require expert confirmation, say the Kushites "fought with clubs, swords, pikes, and hatchets."
[1]
[1]: (http://www.afropedea.org/kush#TOC-Military) |
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|
Swords.
[1]
The Sulayhids used African mercenaries
[2]
and Sudanic warriors traditionally used the sword.
[3]
Code also can be inferred from Abbasid Caliphate
[4]
which occupied Yemen between 751-868 CE.
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 68) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder. [2]: (Stookey 1978, 66) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder. [3]: Jacquelin A Blair. Nicholas Roumas. Fernando Martell advised by Jeffrey L Forgeng. 2011. The Progression of Arms and Armor from Ancient Greece to the European Renaissance across Eurasia and Africa. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. [4]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing. |
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French mercenaries were often employed who would bring their own weapons. These included the battle axe, sword, dagger, spear or lance. Mace, club and flail would begin their rise to prominence at the end of this period.
[1]
[2]
[1]: Boulton in Kilber, W W. 1995. Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. [2]: Nicolle, D and McBride, A. 1991. French Medieval Armies 1000-1300. Osprey Publishing Ltd. London. |
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the sources mention machetes, rifles and arrows but to the best of our knowledge no other weapons were used at the time.
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"Sherden [mercenaries] fought with sword and spear."
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 44) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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According to one military historian "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Finds close to Paris Basin region.
[1]
"long slashing swords representative of the aristocratic warrior" from 8th century onwards.
[2]
Battle axe more common in the East Hallstatt area while in the Western Hallstatt region use of the dagger and sword was more common.
[3]
[1]: (http://www.chronocarto.ens.fr/gcserver/atlas#) [2]: (Allen 2007, 22) [3]: (Koch ed. 2006, 1469) John T. Koch ed. Celtic Culture. A historical Encyclopedia. Volume I. A-Celti. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara. |
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Sword.
[1]
Steel swords were used by tribal cavalry.
[2]
[1]: (Phyrr 2015, 180-181) Stuart W Phyrr. 2015. American Collectors and the Formation of the Metropolitan Museum’s Collection of Islamic Arms and Armor. David G Alexander. ed. Islamic Arms and Armor in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yale University Press. New Haven. [2]: (Ward 2014, 65) Steven R Ward. 2014. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. Washington DC. |
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Code for Lombard Kingdom.
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According to the Ibn Battuta (14th century) "in North India mounted soldiers usually carried two swords: one, called the stirrup-sword, was attached to the saddle, while the other was kept in his quiver."
[1]
[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin. |
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"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Present in previous and subsequent polities.
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"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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‘The curved-profile Japanese sword originated in approximately the eighth century [CE], coinciding with the earliest steel production in Japan and the emergence of the first professional military figures.’
[1]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.157. |
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"In the description of Hsiung-nu armament and tactics, Ssu-ma Ch’ien does not indulge in long-winded comparisons with the Chinese. His narrative is remarkably objective, and “moral” considerations are kept to a minimum. He describes their weapons (“they use bows and arrows as their long-range weapons, and swords and spears as their short-range weapons”)64 and their habits when it comes to going to war."
[1]
[1]: (Di Cosmo 2002, 277) |
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Listed by Hassig.
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 248) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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"Toltec arms included atlatls and darts, knives, and a curved club that I have labelled a short sword."
[1]
[1]: (Hassig 1992: 112) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/E9VHCKDG. |
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"in Juzjani’s Tabaqat-i Nasiri and obtained from an eye-witness ... light-armed cavalry (sawar-i baraha wa-jarida)... These are clearly shown a few lines later to have been mounted archers".
[1]
Could also be armed with swords? Ghaznavid and Ghurid armies: "scattered but substantial evidence ... cavalry wielded, in addition to bows and arrows, weapons such as battle-axes, maces, lances, spears, sabres, and long, curved swords (qalachurs), while whatever (non-Turkish) infantry there was carried bows, maces, short swords and spears".
[2]
[1]: (Jackson 2003, 17) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. [2]: (Wink 1997, 90) Andre Wink. 1997. Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Volume II: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest 11th-13th Centuries. BRILL. Leiden. |
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"He holds the typical Greek short sword of stretched rhombic shape(xiphos) in his right hand and protects himself with a large oval shield".
[1]
[1]: (Nikorov and Savchuck 1992: 50) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MRU4Z6TT/q/Savchuk. |
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According to Litvinsky,
[1]
their main weapon was the sword.
[1]: (Litvinsky 1996, 142) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7MTFU42T. |
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Long swords.
[1]
Most common weapon was a large, double-edged iron sword of 1.2m.
[2]
Saka warriors who destroyed the Greco-Bactrian city of Ai Khanoum in 145 BCE (and may have used similar military technology to the Kushan nomads) used bows, lances and long swords.
[3]
Khalchyan sculpture depicts swords.
[4]
[1]: The armies of Bactria 70 BC-450 AD p. 57 [2]: (Mukhamedjanov 1994, 269) Mukhamedjanov, A R. Economy and Social System in Central Asia in the Kushan Age. in Harmatta J, Puri B N and Etemadi G F eds. 1994. History of civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. UNESCO. [3]: (McLaughlin 2016, 76) Raoul McLaughlin. 2016. The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China. Pen and Sword History. Barnsley. [4]: (McLaughlin 2016, 77) Raoul McLaughlin. 2016. The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China. Pen and Sword History. Barnsley. |
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Military historian suggests "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
- can an historian of ancient Egyptian history confirm this? Sickle-shaped sword
[2]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. [2]: (Spalinger 2013, 477) |
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Yara carried sword.
[1]
Timar-holding cavalrymen also carried short sword.
[2]
Janissaries, founded in second half of the 14th century, were less numerous.
[3]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, Plate B) [2]: (Imber 2002, 267) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke. [3]: (Imber 2002, 257) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke. |
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Found at a fortress, "one relief shoes a rider, seated on a richly adorned horse, with a lance in his right hand and a short sword at his left side".
[1]
The sword may have earlier been a weapon of those Andronovo who used the chariot but at this time chariot warfare may have been replaced by mounted horsemen. However, the sword can also be used as an infantry weapon so it is unlikely the technology was abandoned. "In the 12th century BC chariot warfare tactics lost their importance in Andronovo society; mounted horsemen armed with bows and arrows replaced chariot drivers."
[2]
Tazabagyab culture is considered to have had its origin in Andronovo culture.
[3]
Andronovo culture (2000-900 BCE, Alakul phase 2100-1400 BCE, Fedorovo phase 1400-1200 BCE, Alekseyevka phase 1200-1000 BCE). Tazabagyab culture (15th - 11th), Suyarganskaya culture (11th - 9th), Amirabad culture (9th - 8th). The sword was later a typical weapon of steppe zone nomadic culture after 700 BCE: "Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[4]
[1]: (Vainberg 1994: 77) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RKRBCMG7. [2]: (Kuz’mina 2007, 138) Elena Efimovna Kuzʹmina. 2007. The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. J P Mallory ed. BRILL. Leiden. [3]: (Mallory 1997, 20-21) J P Mallory. Andronovo culture. J P Mallory. D Q Adams. eds. 1997. Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. Chicago. [4]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. |
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We have assumed that daggers and swords were present alongside rifles.
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"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. |
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’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1, 000 home guards, 7, 000 t’un males, 1, 800 old and young males, and 5, 000 Miao soldiers. There were 120 t’un and Miao camps, 731 stone houses, 151 t’un guard houses, 137 guard stations, 99 patrol posts, 11 gun emplacements, 38 gates, and 11 gate houses. The above stone houses, guard houses, guard stations, patrol posts, gun emplacements, gates, and gate houses totaled 1, 178. There were altogether 131 t’un and Miao granaries; the set rent was 79, 218 shih, 3 tou, 9 sheng. There were in all 16, 388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1, 643 swords, and 5, 002 spears, totaling 41, 136 weapons.’
[1]
[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177 |
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Ling et al claim the use of swords even in the Chinese period: ’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1,000 home guards, 7,000 t’un males, 1,800 old and young males, and 5,000 Miao soldiers. ... There were in all 16,388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1,643 swords, and 5,002 spears, totaling 41,136 weapons.’
[1]
[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177 |
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Sword called spathion.
[1]
"in the eighth or ninth century the single-edged cavalry sabre ... was adopted from the steppe, probably through the Khazars and Magyars".
[2]
Infantry: "Weapons included various types of spear, mace, and axe (single-bladed, double-bladed, blade-and-spike, etc.), along with the traditional sword, although not all heavy infantrymen carried the latter."
[3]
[1]: (O’Rourke 2010, 10) O’Rourke, M. 2010. The Land Forces of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 10th Century. Canberra. [2]: (Haldon 2008, 473) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [3]: (Haldon 2008, 476) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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Inferred, based on the presence of swords in the contemporary Pontic kingdom
[1]
, and the battles which Cappadocia fought in. "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: McGing, B. C. (1986) The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus. Leiden: Brill. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Examples of swords used by the Hittites: Tell Atchana, Ugarit, Tell es-Sa’idiye, Sarkoy, Warrior God from the King’s Gate in Bogazkoy (with a helmet, sword and axe)
[1]
. According to a military historian (data requires check by polity expert): "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 128 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Examples of swords used by the Hittites: Tell Atchana, Ugarit, Tell es-Sa’idiye, Sarkoy, Warrior God from the King’s Gate in Bogazkoy (with a helmet, sword and axe)
[1]
. According to one military historian (a polity expert is needed to check its application here): "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 128 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[1]
[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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“Thracian cavalry, however, are always shown on metalwork, tomb paintings, and reliefs with long, straight swords (probably the xiphos) from around the 3rd century onwards.”
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: Webber, C. (2003) Odrysian Cavalry, Army, Equipment and Tactics. Bar International Series 1139, pp. 529-554. p550 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Swords had long been in use and have been uncovered in Anatolia during this time.
[1]
‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region.
[2]
According to a military history (data requires check by polity expert): "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[3]
[1]: Altan Çilingiroğlu, ‘Ayanis: An Iron age Site in the East’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 1060 [2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480 [3]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Naval Janissary carried a curved sword.
[1]
Sipahi cavalry carried two swords.
[2]
Timar-holding cavalrymen also carried short sword.
[3]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, Plate E) [2]: (Nicolle 1983, Plate F + 37) [3]: (Imber 2002, 267) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke. |
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Known from Phrygian drawings.
[1]
. ‘Knives, daggers, swords, arrowheads, spearheads, armor scales, and helmets discovered in these fortresses were produced on a mass scale and speak to an impressive military apparatus, unprecedented for this region.
[2]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[3]
[1]: Roller, L., 1999, “Early Phrygian Drawings from Gordion and the Elements of Phrygian Artistic Style”, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 49, pg:145 [2]: Lori Khatchadourian, ‘The Iron Age in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 480 [3]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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long double-edged sword (spatha).
[1]
"The Tetrarchs" statue shows swords from this period. Sword long bladed spatha, by third century CE,
[2]
[1]: (Abels http://usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh381/late_roman_barbarian_militaries.htm) [2]: (Pollard and Berry 2012, 222) |
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|
Swords had long been in use and have been uncovered in Anatolia during this time.
[1]
"All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: Altan Çilingiroğlu, ‘Ayanis: An Iron age Site in the East’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 1060 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Hazara infantry used against the Mughals in the mid-seventeenth century.
[1]
- what weapons did they use? At Panipat 1761 CE the Afghans and Mahrattas "fought on both sides with spears, swords, battle-axes, and even daggers".
[2]
[1]: (Roy 2014, 111-112) Kaushik Roy. 2014. Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships. Bloomsbury Academic. London. [2]: (Egerton 2002, 28-29) Lord Egerton of Tatton. 2002 (1896). Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola. |
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|
"During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. several nomadic states of northern Iranian tribes came into being in Central Asia. In the west some Saka tribal confederations are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and Old Persian inscriptions, while in the east the Hsien-yün, and later the Yüeh-chih and the Hsiung-nu, tribal confederations are attested by the Chinese sources. ... Lively contacts and easy communications promoted the rise and spread of a fairly uniform nomadic culture in the steppe zone. The same types of horse-harness (bridle, bit, cheek-piece, saddle, trappings), arms (bow, bow-case, arrow and quiver, sword, battle-axe, mail) and garments (trousers, caftan, waist-girdle, boots, pointed cap) were used in the steppe zone from Central Europe to Korea."
[1]
[1]: (Harmatta 1994, 476-477) Harmatta, J. Conclusion. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. |
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"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards."
[1]
"The dearth of illustrative material for the greater part of six centuries is largely due to the wanton destruction caused by two savage invasions from the east and only such finds as the stucco figures from Kara-shar [Central Asian warrior, eighth to tenth century] tell us that in all this period there had been little change."
[1]
Samanid period bowl shows mounted warrior wielding straight sword.
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Khorasani 2014) Khorasani, Manouchehr Moshtagh. 2014. The Development of Persian Armour from the Sassanian to the Qajar Period. Harnischtreffen 26-28 September 2014. |
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|
"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards."
[1]
The Sassanids had swords.
[2]
[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York. [2]: (Mitterauer 2010, 106) Mitterauer, M. 2010. Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path. University of Chicago Press. |
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"The types of daggers and swords that appear in rock pictures of Gabal Maihar (no. 1), the site north of Wsdi Qu’ayf (no. 2), Sa’ib Suhaybar (no. 3), Gabal Ligasir (no. 4) and Gabal Haid (no. 5) are important for dating this group of Yemeni rock-art to the Bronze Age."
[1]
NB Jung’s chronology differs from the one used here, so that "his" Bronze Age actually overlaps to a significant extent with "our" Neolithic.
[1]: (Jung 1991: 68) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK. |
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|
"The types of daggers and swords that appear in rock pictures of Gabal Maihar (no. 1), the site north of Wsdi Qu’ayf (no. 2), Sa’ib Suhaybar (no. 3), Gabal Ligasir (no. 4) and Gabal Haid (no. 5) are important for dating this group of Yemeni rock-art to the Bronze Age."
[1]
NB Jung’s chronology differs from the one used here, so that "his" Bronze Age actually overlaps to a significant extent with "our" Neolithic.
[1]: (Jung 1991: 68) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JP9KX5BK. |
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|
"The others (these are presumably the Tihamah tribesmen) ... They also carry in their hand a dart and a short broad sword and wear a cloth vest of red or some other colour stuffed with cotton which protects them from the cold and also from their enemies. They make use of this when they go out to fight."
[1]
[1]: Porter, Venetia Ann (1992) The history and monuments of the Tahirid dynasty of the Yemen 858-923/1454-1517, Durham theses, Durham University, pp. 111-113, Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5867/ |
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Gjerset alludes to swords, but it is unclear whether he refers to real weapons or an idiomatic expression only: ’Often the priests themselves would join, sword in hand, in the bloody feuds, like Odd, Lufina and others, only to give the otherwise dark picture of social and political life a still more forbidding aspect.’
[1]
[Swords were present.]
[1]: (Gjerset 1924, 155) Gjerset, Knut. 1924. History of Iceland. New York: Macmillan. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/8FGVBVMM/itemKey/GJDJ6MTB |
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|
Although wooden machetes were found. "Several objects recovered from Beringa were weapons, suggesting that inhabitants may have been involved in violent conflicts, some of which could have caused skeletal trauma. A couple of wood machetes, wood sticks/clubs, slings for throwing stones (hondas), and isolated sling stones were recovered from both disturbed and intact contexts."
[1]
[1]: (Tung 2012, 48) |
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The Indo-Greeks were most likely to have been influenced and equipped in the tradition of the Macedonian style adopted by their Bactrian-Greek forbearers. They presumably wore the muscled breastplate made of metal scales and stripped with leather. Military adventurers and mercenaries from the Mediterranean took part in campaigns into India (attracted by India’s rumored wealth) and were present in military colonies; and they may provide more circumstantial evidence of the types of military equipment used by the Indo-Greeks. In addition, depictions on coins provide evidence of plate armour and the Boeotian helmet of the Alexandrian cavalrymen.
[1]
One issue that remains unclear is how many, if any, of the reforms taking place were in reaction to Roman military innovations trickling into the Indo-Greek Kingdoms. Therefore, the coding reflects Greek military technology from an earlier period.
[2]
Coded present for the Seleucids.
[1]: Docherty, Paddy. The Khyber Pass: a history of empire and invasion. Union Square Press, 2008. pp. 64-66 [2]: Lee, Mireille M. "Hellenistic Infantry Reform in the 160s BC, by Nicholas Sekunda.(Studies on the History of Ancient and Medieval Art of Warfare 5.) Oficyna Naukowa MS, Lodz 2001. |
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Bronze swords [is this a typo - swords?] found in archaeological contexts.
[1]
If "the first archaeologically recognizable, large post-Indus urban settlements are not earlier than the fifth century BC ... solidly visible states ... appear in a sudden profusion in the late first millennium B.C."
[2]
- who was king Stabrobates of India who used war elephants against a queen of Assyria (considered Shammuramat?) in the 9th century BCE?
[3]
One could infer king Stabrobates, if not based there himself, must have subdued and controlled the Kachi Plain region in order to invade Mesopotamia from ’India’. (Another source says Assyria invaded India and were driven out of Pakistan and India).
[4]
Diodorus Siculus says this too, queen Semiramis was based in Bactra (Bactria?).
[5]
If king Stabrobates’s polity controlled the Kachi Plain, then we code the according to the military technology he possessed. This would have included weapons of war. Note: one military historian estimates that the Assyrian army had a strategic range of 2000 km
[6]
which places the Indus region in reach of their forces.
[1]: Ceccarelli, pers. comm. to E. Cioni, Feb 2017 [2]: (Ahmed 2014, 64) Mukhtar Ahmed. 2014. Ancient Pakistan - An Archaeological History: Volume V: The End of the Harappan Civilization, and the Aftermath. Foursome Group. [3]: (Mayor 2014, 289) Adrienne Mayor. Animals in Warfare. Gordon Lindsay Campbell. ed. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life. Oxford University Press. Oxford. [4]: (Kistler 2007, 18) John M Kistler. 2007. War Elephants. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln. [5]: Diodorus Siculus. Delphi Complete Works of Diodorus Siculus. Delphi Classics. [6]: (Gabriel 2002, 9) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos."
[1]
[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin. |
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According to the Ibn Battuta (14th century) "in North India mounted soldiers usually carried two swords: one, called the stirrup-sword, was attached to the saddle, while the other was kept in his quiver."
[1]
[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin. |
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"Although the four analysed Harappan blades (interpreted as spears) do not have a great deal of tin (maximum 2.6 per cent), neither do the Levantine tanged and riveted spearheads: tin is not present in 15 of 20 such spears, and only one example has over 0.5 per cent." However, Cork himself notes that the scholarly consensus is that there is little direct evidence for warfare in the region at this time, and that Indus weaponry has been interpreted as having been used for hunting rather than fighting.
[1]
A copper spearhead has been uncovered at Nausharo.
[2]
[1]: (Cork 2005: 413, 416) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ECMD5V2D/q/cork. [2]: Agrawal, D. P. (2007) The Indus Civilization: An interdisciplinary perspective. Aryan Books International: New Delhi. PL. 6.20. |
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Swords.
[1]
"While the styles of weapons varied according to region and time period, the warriors of the Crusader era generally employed many of the same types of weapons used during the first Islamic centuries - coasts of mail, helmets, shields, swords, spears, lances, knives, iron maces, lassos, bows, arrows, and naft (or Greek fire)."
[2]
[1]: (Lev 1987, 341) [2]: (Lindsay 2005, 78) Lindsay, James E. 2005. Daily Life in The Medieval Islamic World. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis. |
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Broken sword in Tomb A1 in Alacahöyük.
[1]
The traditional view is that sword use - as a secondary weapon - dates from about the seventeenth century BCE.
[2]
although earlier swords are also known in Susiana.
[1]: Yalçin Ü. and H. G., "Reassessing Antropomorphic Metal Figurines of Alacahöyük, Anatolia", In: "Near Eastern Archeology" Vol. 76:1 (2013), p. 41. [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Examples of swords used by the Hittites: Tell Atchana, Ugarit, Tell es-Sa’idiye, Sarkoy, Warrior God from the King’s Gate in Bogazkoy (with a helmet, sword and axe)
[1]
. According to a military historian (requires check by polity expert): "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken."
[2]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 128 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-138 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Swords, along with axes (of various shapes) and daggers are the most popular weapons in Anatolia during MBA period, but only two swords have been so far unearthed.
[1]
The traditional view is that sword use - as a secondary weapon - dates from about the seventeenth century BCE.
[2]
although earlier swords are also known in Susiana.
[1]: Yıldırım T. 2010. Weapons of Kültepe. [in:] Kulakoğlu F., Kangal S. (eds.) Anatolia’s Prologue, Kültepe Kanesh Karum, Assyrians in Istambul. Istambul. pg. 117, 120 [2]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport. |
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Relative to this period, sources only mention the atlatl and spears.
[1]
However, weapons made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so the absence of weapons other than the atlatl and spears in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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Relative to this period, sources only mention the atlatl and spears.
[1]
However, weapons made from wood and cloth have been documented for the later periods, so the absence of weapons other than the atlatl and spears in the archaeological record may be due to preservation bias.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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Pearson suggests: ‘There is hard archaeological evidence that continental people visited Jomon communities. At the Itoku site in Kochi Prefecture in southern Shikoku, both human and animal bones with modifications caused by metal tools were found in a deposit dating to 3200-2800 B.P. (Maruyama et al. 2004). The modifications appear to have been made by metal swords or knives and are consistent with violent conflict (Matsui 2005).’
[1]
[1]: Pearson, Richard., ‘Debating Jomon Social Complexity’, Asian Perspectives: Journal of Archeology for Asia & the Pacific, Volume 46, Number 2 (Fall), 2007, pp. 360 |
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Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
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NB: The following refers to a different era and place. Copper swords associated with the Chalcolithic culture of the Karnataka region "with the time when ’Jorwe’ influences were reaching there from the north. This we suggested dated from 1400-1500 BC.’"
[1]
Copper and sometimes bronze weapons found in hoards at Kallur (Hyderabad in the Deccan) include swords (among non-Ayran populations).
[2]
[1]: (Allchin 1979, 114) F R Allchin. A South Indian Copper Sword and Its Significance. J E Van Lohuizen-De Leeuw. 1979. South Asian Archaeology 1975. From the third international conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe held in Paris. E J BRILL. Leiden. [2]: (Singh 1997, 91) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997 (1965). Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi. |
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Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
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