Scimitar

A scimitar (/ˈsɪmɪtər/ or /ˈsɪmɪtɑːr/) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade of about 75 to 90 cm (30 to 36 inches) associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, scimitar does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different Eastern curved swords inspired by types introduced to the Middle East by Central Asian ghilmans (enslaved soldiers). These swords include the Persian shamshir, the Arab saif, the Indian talwar, the North African nimcha, the Turkish kilij, and the Afghan pulwar. All such swords are originally derived from earlier curved swords developed in Turkic Central Asia (Turkestan).

The English term scimitar is attested from the mid-16th century and derives partly from the Middle French cimeterre (15th century) and partly the Italian scimitarra. The ultimate source of these terms is possibly corruptions of the Persian shamshir; however, this is still debated. Scimitar became used to describe all curved blades, in contrast to the straight and double-edged European swords of the time.

The term سَيْف saif in Arabic can refer to any Middle Eastern (or North African, South Asian) sword, straight or curved. Saif cognates with the ancient Greek xiphos, which may have been borrowed from a Semitic language, as both saif and xiphos go back to an old (Bronze Age) wanderwort of the Eastern Mediterranean of unknown ultimate origin. Richard F. Burton derives both words from the Egyptian sfet. In Ethiopia, the generic word for sword, "seif", (Amharic: ሰይፍ) in Ethio-Semitic languages is mainly used to refer to a straight bladed, double edged sword but can also be applied to the shotel.

The earliest evidence of scimitars is from the 9th century among soldiers in Khurasan. They were used in horse warfare because of their relatively light weight when compared to larger swords and their curved design, good for slashing opponents while riding on a horse. Nomadic horsemen learned from experience that a curved edge is better for cutting strikes because the arc of the blade matches that of the sweep of the rider's arm as they slash the target while galloping. Turks, Mongols, Rajputs and Sikhs used scimitars in warfare, among many other peoples.

The scimitar was widespread throughout the Middle East from at least the Ottoman period until the age of smokeless powder firearms relegated swords to dress and ceremonial function. The Egyptian khopesh, brought to Egypt by the Hyksos, resembled scimitars. The khopesh is sometimes considered a scimitar. Early swords in Islamic lands were typically straight and double-edged, following the tradition of the weapons used by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Though the famous double-edged sword, Zulfiqar wielded by Ali was of a curved design, the curved design was probably introduced into central Islamic lands by Turkic warriors from central Asia who were employed as royal body-guards in the 9th century and an Abbasid era blade has been discovered from Khurasan. These Turkic warriors sported an early type of sabre which had been used in central Asia since the 7th century, but failed to gain wider appeal initially in Islamic lands. There is a single surviving Seljuk saber from approximately the year 1200, which may indicate that under that empire curved blades saw some popularity. Following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century the curved swords favored by the Turkic cavalry, formed lasting impacts across much of the Middle East. The adoption of these swords was incremental, starting not long after Mongol conquest, and lasting well into the 15th century. During Islamization of the Turks, the kilij became more and more popular in the Islamic armies. When the Seljuk Empire invaded Persia and became the first Turkic Muslim political power in Western Asia, kilij became the dominant sword form. The Iranian shamshir was created during the Turkic Seljuk Empire period of Iran.

The sword (or saif) is an important symbol in Arab cultures, and is used as a metaphor in many phrases in the Arabic language. The word occurs also in various symbolic and status titles in Arabic (and adopted in other languages) used in Islamic states, notably:

Saif and Saif al Din "Sword of the religion" are also common masculine (and male) Islamic names.

In Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg argue that the scimitar has been appropriated by Western culture and Hollywood to symbolize Arab Muslims in a negative light. Even though Muslims used straight-edge swords for the first two centuries of the Crusades, European Christians may have more closely tied the Christian cross-like shape of the swords to their cause. The authors commented that American cartoonists use the scimitar to symbolize "Muslim barbarity", despite the irony in scimitars being worn with some American military uniforms.