Napoleon's Mamelukes weapons.

celtan · 10th September 2010, 05:42 PM

Another interesting matter would be the source of their weapons?

Were they made by the French, or in Egypt, when Napoleon bought his 2000 Mameluke mercenaries?

IIRC, the Mamlukes were sort like a caste, and as such they probably wore blades of their own property.

OTOH, the Vieille Garde had Music bands dressed and attired in the Turkish/Mamluke way. Weapons for the latter were of Mamluke style, but French in actual provenance.

The mameluke style sword was adopted by many European armies, both for their musicians and for field use. The quality and features of these blades vary accordingly.

Click on the thumbs for a larger image:

10th September 2010, 05:42 PM	#8
celtan Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: PR, USA Posts: 679	Another interesting matter would be the source of their weapons? Were they made by the French, or in Egypt, when Napoleon bought his 2000 Mameluke mercenaries? IIRC, the Mamlukes were sort like a caste, and as such they probably wore blades of their own property. OTOH, the Vieille Garde had Music bands dressed and attired in the Turkish/Mamluke way. Weapons for the latter were of Mamluke style, but French in actual provenance. The mameluke style sword was adopted by many European armies, both for their musicians and for field use. The quality and features of these blades vary accordingly. Click on the thumbs for a larger image: