The palash is a weapon that cuts and stabs. Description and photo

In those old days, when cold arms dominated the battlefields, human thought in search of new ways to destroy their own kind was created by a sword - something between a sword and a sword. Its straight, sometimes double-edged blade has destroyed the enemy so effectively that for many centuries it was in the arsenals of most European and Asian states.

Artifacts from ancient tombs

The earliest examples of the sword were discovered in the graves of Proto-Bulgarians, a people of Turkic origin who inhabited the steppes of South-Eastern Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries. Despite such a remote era, it had all the same characteristic features that it retained up to our days.

It was a stabbing-piercing weapon with a straight double-edged sword reaching a meter long, a hilt designed to protect the arm, and a slightly curved handle. It is known that the Khazars, Avars, Alans and a number of other representatives of ancient peoples used the same or very similar swordsmen during this period.

Palasha in the hands of Asian warriors

Similar in design and appearance, blade weapons were widespread in East and Central Asia. In the XIII-XIV century, it was armed with the Tatar-Mongol hordes, making their bloody raids and holding in obedience a significant part of ancient Russia. Their swordsmen had a one-sided sharpening, which created a certain advantage for a soldier in equestrian combat due to the smaller weight of the weapon. In addition, they were easier to manufacture, and, accordingly, and cheaper.

Weapons of the Peoples of the Caucasus

They were widely used also in the Caucasus and in the countries of the Middle East. A common feature of the swordsmen, executed by the oriental armourers, was a weak arm protection. Ephesus did not yet have a complex construction that would be characteristic of Western European designs of a later period, and consisted, as a rule, only of a cross with an arc.

Among the swordsmen armed with the peoples of the Caucasus, the so-called Frangulis are known. They were distributed among the Khevsurs - an ethnic group that inhabited the basin of the river Khevsurskaya Aragvi and the upper Argun. Their hilts and scabbards were lined with brass or iron plates and richly decorated with patterns in the national style. Widgets were widely used in Georgia. Their feature was the hilt, similar in appearance to those that later could be seen in cavalry checkers.

Palashi works of Indian masters

The sword was also very popular in India. Here, its design had its own characteristics, the main one of which was the shape of the blade. At a length of the order of eighty centimeters and one-sided sharpening, it was forged with a certain extension to the end, which had an oval shape. In addition, his distinctive difference was the powerful and securely protected arm of the hilt, consisting of two bowls, joined together by a steel strip. This design was called kunda.

In a period dating back to the late Middle Ages, another type of sword, called a filigree, appeared in India. Its originality consisted of a blade that had a one-and-a-half sharpening, that is, from the rear side, ground to half, and a basket hilt that had a sharp spike, also served to defeat the enemy.

The first samples of Western European swordsmen

In Western Europe, this type of weapons appeared relatively late - in the XVI century, but was immediately appreciated and widely spread. In the forties, the Hungarian hussars, in addition to the traditional saber in those days, began to use the sword.

The weapon was attached to the saddle and was used mainly for piercing strokes, which was very convenient due to the long blade. At the same time, the design of the handle, somewhat curved and resembling a saber, made it possible to apply powerful cutting strokes.

At the end of the 16th century, the appearance in Western Europe of regular parts of heavy cavalry - cuirassiers - became a tangible impetus for the further spread of the sword. An indispensable element of their protective weapons was a metal breastplate - a cuirass that reliably defended against saber attacks, but was vulnerable to a heavy and long blade, which was equipped with a specially designed type of weapon, which went down in history as a Cusirish sword.

Novelty of the Scottish armourers

About the same period, Scotland contributed to the creation of cold steel. It was created, and subsequently became popular in the whole of Britain, the so-called Scottish broadsword. If his wide double-edged sword in general and was like those with swords equipped, then the guarda - part of the hilt, which protects the warrior's hand, was something new.

It was quite large and looked like a basket with a significant number of branches. Its inner surface was trimmed with leather or red velvet. In addition, the hilt was decorated with tassels of horsehair. The Scottish sword, as a rule, was used together with a small round shield. This combination allowed to conduct both defensive and offensive combat.

Walloon Swords

Researchers believe that the Western European sword is a weapon that resulted from the transformation of a previously existing heavy cavalry sword, which was called a saddle, as it usually was adhered to the saddle. In this connection, the broadswords were first called Wallon swords, after the name of the region of Belgium, where this type of weapon was produced. Their characteristic feature was several asymmetrical hilts, which reliably protected the warrior's hand thanks to a bowl provided with numerous handles, and a cross cross.

New times - new trends

In the XVII century in the armies of most European countries there was a process of unification of weapons. At first, single regiments and squadrons led to a single standard, and then whole cavalry types. Since that time, the sword, a weapon that used to be used by all the cavalry without exception, has become part of the arsenal of only dragoon and cuirassier units.

By the middle of the 18th century, the design of the blade had changed. In place of the double-edged sword came, sharpened only on one side and having a blunt otokh. Formerly preserved only its shape and size, under which it remained a fairly powerful and heavy weapon.

Weapons of boarding commands

For three centuries, from the 16th to the 19th century, the sword was used not only on land, but also on the sea. He was an integral part of the arming of boarding teams - those dashing thugs who, dragging the side of the enemy ship with steel hooks, rushed into the melee. The boarding sword differed from its land brother, above all, by the fact that his guard was made in the form of a shell.

There were other differences. His one-sided blade, which had a length of up to eighty centimeters and a width of the order of four centimeters, was devoid of doses - longitudinal channels designed to reduce weight and give additional strength. In this respect, the naval sword was akin to the infantryman, who had the same design feature of the blade.

Palash in the Russian army

In Russia, the sword appeared in the late 17th century. This was due to a large influx of foreign officers into military service, as a rule, bringing with them firearms and cold steel. The photo, which concludes the article, represents several hangmen of that period, made in Moscow, but made according to foreign models. As you can see, they are characterized by a beveled hilt, convenient for applying cutting shocks from the horse, as well as a cross, straight or having ends that are lowered to the blade.

In the first quarter of the 18th century, under Peter the Great, dragoon regiments were established everywhere in the Russian army as one of the most effective varieties of heavy cavalry. The main component of their weapons was the sword, the weapon most suited to this type of troops. Demand for him increased sharply, as, in addition to the dragoon units, it was armed with horse-grenadier and carabinier regiments.

Manufacture and import of wanderers

Since that time, it began to be produced by the factory method, introducing a certain unification, but, in addition, a significant number of sweepers was delivered from abroad. In Western Europe, the main center of their production was the German city of Solingen, where by that time a number of enterprises specializing in the production of cold steel were operating.

The sword-makers in Russia had a number of distinctive features. For example, products produced during the reign of Empress Catherine II, were decorated with engraving with the image of the crown and her monogram - "E II". Sheaths were made of leather or made of wood and covered with leather. This tradition persisted until 1810, when the command of Alexander I began to make them out of metal. The only exception was a boarding sword, whose scabbard still remained leather.

Palash as an independent type of blade weapon was most widespread in the first half of the XIX century. At this time, in the arsenal of the Russian and most European armies were several of its varieties. Among them, researchers stand out: Guards cuirassier sword, army cuirassier, dragoon and, finally, an infantry sword. Each of these species has its own characteristics. A common feature of them was the design of the blade, which has become single-edged since the beginning of the 19th century.

The weapon, which became a museum exhibit

Today, we can only see sword-cuts in the hands of soldiers who carry an honor guard at the banner of the Russian navy. Scientific and technological progress ousted them from modern arsenals. The same fate befell almost all cold weapons. The photos presented in this article are a kind of retrospective in a long-deceased world, where cavalry lava was attacked by the sinking dust, and the menacing blade blazed up in the sun.