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Originally Posted by Gonzalo G
Is there any valid reference abbout Attila (or the huns) using curved sabres, instead of straight swords? I woul appreciate the information.
Regards
Gonzalo
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Hi Gonzalo,
Now that I'm getting my library out of storage (yay!), I can give you something from the
Nomads of Eurasia (Basilov, 1989) which accompanied an exhibition of nomad artifacts at the LA Museum of Natural History. The book cites some Russian sources, and here's what it has to say about sabers:
"Sabers first appeared in the Eurasian steppes in the seventh and eighth centuries...The evolution of the saber was evidently due to the invention of the hard saddle and stirrups that assured the rider stability on the horse's back and greater freedom to fight with cold steel.
"Interestingly enough, the saber was slow to supplant the sword. To judge by archaeological finds, the nomads of the south Russian steppes were still using the sword in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Even in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, not every Kazakh had a saber."
On the Huns:
"Of the Huns' armament, Ssu-ma Chi'en wrote 'For long-range weapons they use bows and arrows, and swords and spears at close range.' ... No swords have yet been discovered in Hunnic burials, and our only idea of their appearance comes from wooden models." (note, no picture of a wooden model is included, so I have no idea what they might have looked like. Since the Chinese daos were, as I recall, straight around this time, I think a curved sword would have been commented on as an unusual weapon.)
Attila died in 453 CE, and if we believe the archeologists, he pre-dates the invention of the saber by at least 200 years. The Huns seem to disappear from the historic record shortly thereafter, although they left successor nations in Eastern Europe and western Asia (
Wikipedia link on Huns.
So it looks like straight swords for the Huns is historically accurate.
Hope this helps,
F