Shamshir
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- for other uses see Shamshir (disambiguation)
A Shamshir is a type of sabre with a curve that is considered radical for a sword: 5 to 15 degrees from tip to tip. The name is derived from Persian شمشیر shamshīr, which means "sword" (in general). Curved sword family which include the shamshir, scimitar, kilij and various others were developed from the ubiquitous parent sword, the Turko-Mongol saber.
Typical Iranian blades of the time used for warfare were straight (for example, see Acinaces). Curved blades in this period were used primarily for hunting, though examples of curved swords used in battle are present in Greek depictions of Achaemenid Persian soldiers. The curved scimitar blades were developed during and after the Turko-Mongol invasions. The sword now called "shamshir" was popularized in Persia by the early 16th century, and had "relatives" in Turkey (the kilij), Mughal India (the talwar), and the adjoining Arabian world (the saif).
The shamshir is a one-handed, curved sword featuring a slim blade that has almost no taper until the very tip. Instead of being worn upright, it is worn horizontally, with the hilt and tip pointing up. It was normally used for slashing unarmored opponents either on foot or mounted; while the tip could be used for thrusting, the drastic curvature of blade made accuracy difficult. Like Japanese blades, there is no pommel, and its two lengthy quillons form a simple crossguard. The tang of the blade is covered by slabs of bone, ivory, wood, or other material fastened by pins or rivets to form the grip.
The shamshir was similar in design to its contemporaries, the Indian Talwar and the Saif.
For history see Dao (sword)
[edit] Etymology
Although the name has been associated by popular etymology with the city of Shamshir (which in turn means "curved like the lion's claw"[citation needed]) the word has been used to mean "sword" since ancient times, as attested by Middle Persian shamshil (Pahlavi šmšyl), and the Ancient Greek σαμψήρα / sampsēra (glossed as "foreign sword").
"Shamshir" is usually taken to be the root of the word scimitar. Scimitar is now a more inclusive term.
