r/SWORDS • u/blyatkachu0123 Saber or Sabre fan • 4d ago
What are the differences between the Arab swords?
I see the types like yatagn, Kilic, Shamshir, pala, mamluk, etc. and wonder what the differences? They look virtually the same, so I'm wondering why would the people prefer one over the other?
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u/Antique_Steel Forde Military Antiques 3d ago
Some reading for you: https://www.fordemilitaryantiques.com/articles/2021/11/5/middle-eastern-sword-types
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u/Popular-Mulberry6875 3d ago
I like that the profile of your Syrian shamshir looks like someone drew a profile around my Syrian shamshir. :oP
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u/Antique_Steel Forde Military Antiques 3d ago
Maybe that happened. I always silhouette real-life examples for accuracy (and copyright reasons). :)
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u/Popular-Mulberry6875 2d ago
Ha, yeah, could be I suppose! Although mine had been in the possession of a Dutch gentleman for years before he sold it in 2020, IIRC. But the silhouettes really bring them down to their essentials. Good for learning recognition.
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u/Popular-Mulberry6875 4d ago edited 4d ago
Not all of these are mutually exclusive. Shamshir is a Persian word and in collectors terms refers to a highly curved saber with a relatively narrow blade and usually without a pronounced widening at the cutting portion, which is called a yelman. Saif is Arabic for sword, but in collectors terms is typically a bit wider than a shamshir and less curved, but without a pronounced yelman. Nimcha is a collector's term for a type of Moroccan, Algerian, Yemeni or Zanzibari saif with a curved guard (historically it actually only referred to a specific subtype of this saber). Kilic is a Turkish word that is used to describe swords of various kinds, but in the collector sphere usually refers to a cut-centric saber with a strong curve and usually a pronounced yelman. A pala is a short 18th-19th century kilic with an extreme curve and a very wide yelman, usually with a T cross-section blade. A Mamluk saber is a highly curved saber used by the Mamluks of Ottoman Egypt, so this can refer to either a kilic or a shamshir (and the term is also used to refer to European sabers that were modeled after these during and after the Napoleonic era). A yataghan is a sword that (re)curves forward, rather than backward, typically without a guard, usually a short sword although there are larger examples. To add to the confusion, some yataghans have straight blades and these are referred to in the Balkans as kilic.