Near Eastern Sword ("scimitar")
All of the Islamic world during the 16th to 18th century, including the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Mughal India, were influenced by the saif or "scimitar" type of single-edged curved sword. Via the Mameluke sword this also gave rise to the European cavalry sabre. Conversely, the term for the western sword in Arabic was firangi (i.e. "Frankish").
Terms for the "scimitar" curved sword:
- Pulwar (Afghanistan)
- Shamshir (Persia)
- Talwar (North India)
- Kilij (Turkish)
- Mameluke sword (18th to 19th century Egyptian)
- Flyssa (19th century Algeria)
- Kaskara (19th century Sudan)
- Nimcha (18th century Morocco)
- Shotel (Ethiopian scimitar)
- Takoba (Tuareg sword)
Read more about this topic: Southeast Asian Swords
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