[ariel]

Nihl classified sabers according to the Polish school despite officially defining himself as belonging to the Indian one: by the handle:-) And I agree with him 100%.

Historically, all of them stem from South-Central Asian Nomadic tribal curve-bladed swords (sabers).
The earliest contact of any foreign military with them occured in the late 7rh century, when Khazars ( Turkic tribe occupying area berween Caspian Sea and Dniepr river/ Crimea, current proper Ukraine) fought with the Arab inviders trying to enter Europe through the Derbent Pass.

Subsequently, over the next couple of centuries victorious Arabs passed this pattern to the Persians, Khwarizmians, Selcuks, North -Africans Babur brought it to North India whence they spread all over the subcontinent. Mongols in the 13 century broughr it to Eastern Europe.
It became the most frequent blade pattern all over the World down to the current parade swords.

Every country, every ethnicity gave it its local name, that can be easily translated into a generic word “sword”. Arabs call it saif, Persians and Afghanis shamshir, Ottomans kilij, Uzbeks and Tajiks call it Klych, Indians call it Talwar, Poles - Szabla. The blades differ only mildly, some are wider, some are slender, they have different curvatures, some habe yelman, some have fullers etc. That’s all. In each country one could find blades with and without these features.

But the real ethnic difference is in their furniture, mostly in their handles. That is how we know that this one is Moroccan, that one -Indian, those are South Aravian, North Aravian, Persian etc.

The one we are discussing is a hybrid of several styles: it has generic Persian blade, but what pinpoints it to its origin is the Indian Baluch handle with its characteristic pommel and with the Omani silver knot on it.

That’s why I did not include Persian blade as a defining component: they were used all over the Islamic world and the entire Eastern Europe.