History
The talwar originated alongside other curved swords such as the Arab saif, the Persian shamshir, the Turkish kilij and the Afghan pulwar, all such swords being originally derived from earlier curved swords developed in Turkic Central Asia.
The use of talwar became more widespread under the Mughals, who were of Turko-Mongol origins. The Mughal Emperor Akbar is known to have built large foundries producing the best quality sword blades; Akbar himself is known to have preferred Damascus steel talwars, which were considered the sharpest and most effective blades ever used in battle in South Asia.
The blade profile of the British Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre is similar to some examples of the talwar and expert opinion has suggested that the talwar may have contributed to the design of the British sabre.
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