The very name of the sword could literally be translated as "animal leg", and some specify - "thigh", others - "front leg", and still others - "knee". Most likely, this is how the weapon began to be designated because of the external similarity. Moreover, for the description different words in the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system, the same symbol could well be used.
Khopesh could literally be translated as "animal foot"
However, it is believed that the birthplace of this sword is not Egypt at all. It is customary to look for the roots of khopesh in Mesopotamia. So, historians cite as an example the image of the ruler of the Sumerian state of Lagash - Eanatum. On the bas-relief "Stele of Kites", dating from the 25th century BC, this ruler is depicted on a chariot at the head of soldiers. In his left hand he holds something reminiscent of the Egyptian sword we are used to. At the same time, in Egypt, the main use of khopesh falls on the period between the 16th and 11th centuries. BC - almost nine centuries later.
Eanatum in a chariot in his left hand holds a sword resembling a khopesh ("Stele of Kites", XXV century BC).
In general, the history of the origin of weapons is rather ambiguous. His unusual shape suggests that khopesh was a modification of the agricultural sickle. However, unlike combat sickles, the main striking side of the khopesh was necessarily on the outer curved side, not the inner concave side (but there were specimens sharpened on both sides). Considering this point, some researchers pay attention to the similarity of the khopesh and the ax. They could also cut and chop, and the unsharpened butt could be used as a hook to grab the enemy's neck or shield.
Particularly dexterous and skillful warriors, it is believed, could contrive and inflict stabbing blows with khopesh. Moreover, unlike an ax, this weapon could leave a deeper wound, like those that remain from sabers, if you carry out an attack with a so-called pullback: accordingly, the damage from such a blow was more significant. At the same time, the khopesh is classified more as a sword, and not as a saber, which is also controversial (but a similar picture can be observed in relation to the same katana, isn't it?).
Its length could be different: from 50 - 70 cm, and sometimes 70 cm was only the handle without taking into account the curved blade. But the weight of such a sword was quite big - about two kilograms. Khopesh was mainly made of bronze, and since the price of metal was not cheap, it was in service with the so-called "elite" units and even the personal guard of the pharaohs. Indeed, the sword was equally well suited for both chariot warriors and foot soldiers. In addition to the military, the weapon had other functions. Judging by the bas-reliefs, the sword was used for execution, and the samples found with blunt blades not suitable for combat indicate a certain ritual purpose. In general, many Egyptian pharaohs were depicted with the Khopesh in their hands, as symbols of power and military success, which is why this sword is often called the "weapon of the pharaohs."
Arakh (weapon from the TV series "Game of Thrones")
Khopesh was mainly carried by putting the concave unsharpened part of the blade on the shoulder, or, as follows from some images on the bas-reliefs, it could be fastened to the belt. As a rule, there were no scabbards for this weapon. Interestingly, the peak of its use has already passed by XIV century BC NS. Most likely, this can be explained by the appearance of new, lighter and available species weapons that were more convenient to use, say, in the ranks. These, for example, include the dagger popular in the army of Alexander the Great - copis. At the same time, today khopesh is strongly associated with a universal weapon, suitable for a warrior of any type. So, in the famous modern TV series "Game of Thrones", the weapon of one of the nomadic peoples of the Dothraki - the "Arakh" - externally represents exactly the khopesh, even though in fact it is a battle sickle (unlike the Egyptian sword, its striking surface is the concave side blade).
The first weapon appeared at the dawn of civilization. The ancient hunter needed to defend himself from wild animals and get food for himself. After the emergence of states, wars began. The first large state became Ancient Egypt (from 3100 BC), whose history is about three thousand years old. The Egyptians fought many enemies, created a well-organized army, and learned how to make a variety of weapons.
The basis of the Egyptian army was the infantry. Large military units 5 thousand people were divided into detachments of spearmen, archers, slingers, charioteers. Recruitment into the army was compulsory (10 out of 100 youths), in addition, volunteers were also accepted. Strict discipline reigned in the army. The Egyptians used different formations and walking in the leg.
The main throwing weapons of the infantry were bows and arrows. Even the pharaohs fired bows. The bows were simple, made of wood, and complex, reinforced with tendons, plates of bone and horn.
Darts and short spears were thrown by hand. In close combat, spears, axes, axes, daggers and crooked cleavers were used - khopeshi .
Khopesh - a curved curved cleaver for drawing
chopping and cutting blows. Bronze blade, handle
bronze, wood or bone
In ancient Egypt, all weapons were made only of bronze.
Ax - bronze warhead attached
to the wooden handle with plant fibers,
judging by the decorations belonged to a noble military leader
The weapons of the pharaohs and large military leaders were decorated with gold, precious stones and colored pastes.
The main defensive weapons were rectangular wooden shields. They were covered with leather or skins. The body was protected by soft armor made of white fabrics. It was convenient in hot climates. The armor consisted of strips of linen wrapped around the body. They also used quilted linen cuirasses and leather combat belts. The head was covered with caps made of several layers of fabric. The privates fought naked to the waist, the bottom of the body covered with a quilted cloth shield. A wig or a painted headdress was worn on the head. They fought barefoot, only rich people had leather sandals.
After numerous wars with tribes from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, the Egyptians acquired lamellar armor made of bronze plates. Such armor could be ordered only by rich warriors - charioteers.
War chariot - in it were the charioteer and the shooter.
Lamellar Archer - Owner of Chariot and Horses
As a kind of troops, chariots appeared after the conquest of Egypt by the Hyksos around 1700 BC. During the New Kingdom period after the expulsion of the Hyksos in the 1550s BC. the military art of Egypt reached its peak. Egyptian chariots were two-wheeled, lightweight, a wooden frame sheathed with leather, and a wicker floor.
The infantry began the battle by throwing arrows and javelins, then chariots with archers went into the attack, and then warriors with melee weapons entered the melee. The army of the Egyptians served as mercenaries and prisoners from Nubia, Syria, from the islands of the Mediterranean Sea.
Some of them came with their weapons, for example the shardins from the island of Sardinia introduced the Egyptians to straight long swords and round shields. V last centuries the existence of the Egyptian kingdom, iron weapons appeared in it. In 30 BC. Ancient Egypt was conquered by the Romans and became a Roman province.
VOISKO was organized in the form of military settlements located in the center of the country and in the most threatened directions; the main forces were in Lower Egypt, which was often attacked: there were fewer settlements in Upper Egypt, since the neighboring Nubian tribes could not be a serious enemy of the Egyptians due to their fragmentation. Moreover, the conquered Nubian tribes were obliged to give Egypt a certain number of soldiers to carry out the internal "police" service. During large campaigns, the pharaohs strengthened their army at the expense of the conquered neighboring tribes. These warriors cannot be considered mercenaries, since there is no evidence that they received any payment for participating in the campaign. One can only assume that they are entitled to a certain share in the spoils of war.
In the documents of the times of the Old Kingdom, the "house of arms" is mentioned - a kind of military department, which was in charge of the manufacture of weapons, the construction of ships, the supply of troops and the construction of defensive structures. There is no data on the number of Egyptian troops of the Old Kingdom period. With regard to the fleet, there is only one mention of a detachment of 40 ships sent for the cedars.
The warriors of the Old Kingdom were armed with a mace with a stone tip, a battle ax made of copper, a spear with a stone tip, and a battle dagger made of stone or copper. In more early period boomerang was widely used. The main weapon was a bow and a battle ax. As a protective weapon, the warriors had a wooden shield covered with fur.
The army consisted of detachments. Sources that have come down to us say that the soldiers were engaged in combat training, which was in charge of a special chief of military training. Already in the period of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians used the formation of ranks. All the soldiers in the ranks had the same weapon.
| Egyptian fortress in Semne. Reconstruction |
The fortresses of the Old Kingdom period were of various shapes(circle, oval or rectangle). The fortress walls sometimes had round towers in the form of a truncated cone with a platform at the top and a parapet. Thus, the fortress near Abydos was built in the shape of a rectangle; the length of its sides reached 125 and 68 m, the height of the walls - 7-11 m, the thickness in the upper part - 2 m. The fortress had one main and two additional entrances. The fortresses in Semne and Kumme were already complex defensive structures with ledges, walls and a tower.
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Image on the walls of Inti's tomb in Deshasha |
During the assault on the fortresses, the Egyptians used assault ladders with wooden disc wheels, which facilitated their installation and movement along the fortress wall. A breach in the fortress walls was made with large crowbars. This is how the technique and methods of storming fortresses were born. The Egyptians were not born sailors, and long time their voyages were limited to the Nile and the canals adjacent to it, which represented the most convenient communication routes among the mountains and deserts surrounding the country. The absence of forests, with the exception of acacia - a hard and not very suitable for shipbuilding tree, forced for a long time to build (or, as they called, "knit") ships from long bundles of papyrus - reed, which grows in abundance in the country. Over time, the Egyptians had to use acacia in shipbuilding.
The ships of the Egyptians were rowing, but they had sails. Each ship had a permanent crew headed by a chief. The squadron of ships was headed by the chief of the fleet. The construction of ships was in charge of the so-called ship builder. Was created "two large fleets": one - in the Upper, the other - in Lower Egypt.
Naval ships raided the Mediterranean.
Organization of the Egyptian army in the era of the Middle Kingdom
The TERRITORY of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom was approximately 35 thousand square meters. km. Its population, according to ancient authors and modern estimates, was approximately 7 million people. Judging by the available data on the recruitment in one of the nomes (one soldier out of a hundred men), the Egyptian army could have consisted of several tens of thousands of soldiers. Several thousand soldiers usually took part in the campaign. Pharaoh had with him the "people of the retinue", who made up his personal guard, and the "companions of the ruler" - a group of noble warriors loyal to him, from which military leaders were appointed: "the chief of the army", "the chief of recruits", "the military commander of Central Egypt" and others commanding persons.
The armament of the Egyptian warriors of the Middle Kingdom period has improved somewhat compared to the previous period, since the processing of metal has become more perfect. Spears and arrows now had bronze tips. The strike weapon remained the same: a battle ax, a spear up to 2 m long, a mace and a dagger.
As throwing weapons used a spear for throwing, a boomerang, a sling for throwing stones, a bow. A reinforced bow appeared, which increased the range of the arrow and the accuracy of its hit.
The arrows had tips of various shapes and plumage; their length ranged from 55 to 100 cm. Arrows with a leaf-shaped tip, originally flint, and then copper and bronze, common for the ancient East, were less effective weapons than arrows with a faceted tip - bone or bronze, introduced by the Scythians in the second quarter of the 1st millennium. The fur-lined shield, half a man's height, continued to be the only protective piece of equipment.
During the Middle Kingdom, the organization of the army was improved. The divisions now had a certain number of 6, 40, 60, 100, 400, 600 soldiers. The detachments numbered 2, 3, 10 thousand soldiers. Units of uniformly armed warriors appeared - spearmen and archers, who had an order of formation for movement; moved in a column in four rows along the front and ten rows deep.
For their merits, the soldiers were promoted in the service, received land, livestock, slaves, or were awarded "gold praise" (like an order) and decorated military weapons.
From the west and east, access to Egypt was reliably protected by the Libyan and Arabian deserts.
For protection southern border three lines of fortresses were built in the area of the first and second rapids of the Nile. The fortresses became more perfect: they now had battlements that covered the defending warriors; protruding towers for shelling the approaches to the wall; a moat that made it difficult to approach the wall. The fortress gates were protected by towers. Small exits were arranged for sorties. Much attention was paid to supplying the garrison of the fortress with water, wells or hidden exits to the river were arranged.
Of the surviving remains of ancient Egyptian fortresses of that period, the most characteristic is the fortress in Mirgis, built in the shape of a rectangle.
This fortress has an internal wall 10 m high with protruding towers located at a distance of 30 m from one another on the opposite face from the river, and a moat 8 m wide. An external wall was built 25 m from the internal wall, which covers the fortress from three sides; on the fourth side, a rock drops abruptly to the river. The outer wall is surrounded by a moat 36 m wide. In addition, forward-protruding walls were built on the rocky ledges, adjoining the corners of the fortress and allowing to flank the approaches from the river. Other walls protected main entrance to the fortress. The fortress in Mirgis was already a complex defensive structure, which was based on the requirement of flanking the approaches. This was a step forward in the development of fortification, one of the branches of the art of war.
The most vulnerability in the defense of the country was the north - the lower reaches at the confluence of the Nile into the Mediterranean Sea were open to the conquerors. When the Pharaonic rule in the country was strong, it was here that the Egyptians kept the bulk of their fleet and land army... But during the uprisings against royal power the defense of the northern borders was sharply weakened, and the Asians-nomads could freely penetrate into Egypt.
The pharaohs and their commanders tried to fight quickly in order to return the troops home in a few months. Often the Egyptian army returned home after a three- or four-month campaign, capturing only one or two small fortresses. Major battles happened rarely - the generals took care of the soldiers whom they called "the flock of God."
Organization of the Egyptian army in the era of the New Kingdom
The EGYPTIAN army during the New Kingdom was a military caste, which was divided by age or length of service into two groups, distinguished by the clothes they wore. The first group, according to Herodotus, numbered up to 160 thousand people, the second - up to 250 thousand. Presumably, these figures give the size of the entire military caste, including the elderly and children, and possibly women. So hike in best case only tens of thousands of warriors could perform.
Most of the warriors of the New Kingdom were armed with swords, and the bow played a significant role in the battle. The defensive armament was improved: the warrior, in addition to the shield, also had a helmet and a leather carapace with attached bronze plates. War chariots were an important part of the army. The chariot was a wooden platform (1x0.5 m) on two wheels, to which the drawbar was tightly attached. The front part and sides of the chariot were trimmed with leather, which protected the legs from arrows. combat crew, consisting of a driver and one fighter. Two horses were harnessed to the chariot.
The main force of the Egyptian army was the infantry, which, after the introduction of monotonous weapons, consisted of archers, slingers, spearmen, warriors with swords. The presence of equally armed infantry raised the question of the order of its formation.
If more early time the Egyptians fought with deep, closed formations in the form of columns, then later, as a result of the improvement of weapons and the acquisition combat experience, the depth of the formation is decreasing, and the front is lengthening - this was caused by the need to use more soldiers and weapons while acting simultaneously. The battle formation of the heavy infantry of the Egyptians consisted of one closed line of 10 or more ranks in depth. War chariots were a moving force order of battle Egyptians. A tightly closed formation of 10 or more ranks in depth (phalanx) was introduced for the first time not in Ancient Greece, and in the countries of the Ancient East.
The tactics of the Egyptians came down mainly to a frontal attack.
The battle before the appearance of war chariots was started by foot soldiers - archers and javelin throwers, then the opponents approached and decided its outcome with hand-to-hand combat. With the advent of chariots, the battle became more complicated - chariots, for example, at Ramses II, were built in one open line and were located in front, on the flanks and behind the infantry. The chariot attack was aimed at disrupting the enemy ranks with the first blow. The success of the battle depended on the combination of the actions of the war chariots and the infantry.
War chariots, moreover, were a powerful means of pursuing the enemy. During the campaign, the Egyptian army was divided into several detachments, which moved in columns. Intelligence was sent ahead. At stops, the Egyptians set up a fortified camp of shields. When storming cities, they used a structure called a "turtle" (a canopy of shields that covered the soldiers from above), a ram, a wine (a low canopy of grape vines covered with turf to protect soldiers during siege work) and an assault ladder.
A special body was in charge of supplying the troops. Products were dispensed from warehouses according to certain rates. There were special workshops for the manufacture and repair of weapons.
During the New Kingdom period, the Egyptians had a strong navy. The ships were equipped with sails and big amount cheerful.
According to some reports, bow the ship was adapted to deliver a ramming attack to an enemy ship.
An expensive, weighty, versatile blade that combines the form and function of a sword, sickle and ax. Such was the khopesh, which brought many victories to the Egyptians in the era of the New Kingdom. It was worn exclusively by military leaders and experienced warriors. And not sharpened specimens were an indispensable attribute of various rituals. Many clues related to khopesh were found in the Egyptian pyramids - both thematic images and well-preserved weapons.
Khopesh is one of the most popular weapons Ancient egypt... From ancient times to the 6th century, such designs were very widely used by the most developed civilizations. The unusual sickle shape made this sword a versatile weapon: it could cut, chop, and stab. The big advantage of the khopesh was that the wounds he inflicted were much deeper than the cuts made with the help of battle ax... Thanks to such great efficiency, this blade has become a kind of symbol of Egypt.
Weapon description
For the manufacture of the sword, bronze was traditionally used, which made the khopesh heavy and durable. But the analysis of some artifacts showed the presence of impurities of such rare metals like ferrosilicon and ferrosilicomanganese, which is evidence of large. The blade was curved to a sickle shape. Only its outer edge was subject to sharpening. Less common were double-edged options: on the outside, the edge located closer to the handle was sharpened, and on the inside, the end of the blade.
The length of the handle is mainly designed for two hands, but sometimes small one-handed khopeshi were made. The total length of a full-fledged sword is 50 - 70 cm. But there is a lot of evidence that in especially large specimens the handle alone reached the specified length.
The khopesh was carried without a scabbard in two versions: more often on the shoulder (with the concave, not sharpened side inward); less often - fastened to the belt.
About the origin of the sword
The term "khopesh" in translation from Egyptian means "the front leg of the animal." Among historians, debate continues about under what circumstances such an unusual weapon arose. According to some, the khopesh is a common agricultural sickle, optimized for battle. Others believe that initially it was an ax, and then its shape was somewhat improved, increasing the weight and cutting surface in order to be able to deliver not a point, but a securing blow. Still others adhere to the version that the progenitor of the Khopesh was the Assyrian sappara, the blade of which is located on a concave surface.
But there are also researchers looking for the roots of Egypt's weapons in Mesopotamia. They consider the "Stele of Kites" bas-relief dating back to the 25th century BC to prove their version. It depicts Eanatuma - the ruler of the Sumerian state of Lagash, who proudly sits in a chariot, and in his left hand holds a weapon that strongly resembles a khopesh. The leader is followed by an army covered with shields.
Khopesh is a weapon of real warriors!
The Egyptian sickle sword was the weapon of the very best, elite warriors. This can be explained both by the high cost of bronze and by the fact that only the most skilled soldiers could master the technique of khopesh. Due to the impressive length of the sword, it could be used both in foot battles and in chariot battles.
According to one of the assumptions, the rougher and heavier Egyptian swords were used as a shock weapon to inflict severe wounds in the head area, to pierce helmets and shields. Most likely, the chariot leaders were armed with massive khopesh, but no such plot was found in the images of the New Kingdom.
O high efficiency This sword is also evidenced by the fact that in the era of the Middle Kingdom, which fell on the XXI-XVI century BC, the Egyptians were defeated by the nomads Hyksos. At that time, the weapons of the losers were based on maces with stone tips, copper axes, as well as stone and copper daggers. The Egyptians were protected by shields covered with fur. During the battles, the fighters were placed in a certain order. They were able to drive away their offenders only after borrowing their battle tactics from chariots. And several centuries later, during the period of the New Kingdom, the Egyptian army was able not only to defend its own borders, but also to conquer new lands. At that time, the main type of weapon military elite was precisely the khopesh.
Among other things, this sword was used for executions, as evidenced by the plots of images relating to the era of Ramses III. The not sharpened khopesh was indispensable for various rituals and ceremonies. Its widespread use fell on the time of the greatest heyday of the New Kingdom, due to which given view weapons are considered one of the main symbols of the ancient Egyptian state. Around 1300 BC. khopesh began to be supplanted by other swords, many of which were its improved sickle-shaped counterparts. The ancient Romans also liked this weapon, and they adopted it from the Egyptians, giving the name "copis".
Artifacts
According to historians, the khopesh is the first weapon on earth that can be classified as a sword. This is also confirmed by archaeologists, because earlier varieties have not been found. At least for now.
As mentioned above, the wall paintings inside the pyramids are evidence of the use of khopesh by the ancient Egyptians. The images depict the kings of Egypt holding such swords in their hands. And during the excavations carried out in the tomb of Tutankhamun, archaeologists have also found samples of this weapon.
About historical events we often judge by the unique archaeological finds found. Thanks to ancient artifacts, we have an idea of how the states of antiquity developed, how developed their culture, economy and what the political structure looked like. Not last place the list of artifacts is occupied by military items and weapons. Today, archaeologists and historians, based on the finds, can judge what kind of weapons people possessed in the ancient era, and what success this or that civilization was able to achieve in the military field.
The richest collection of artifacts, which today is presented in many museums in the world, belongs to the era of Ancient Egypt. It was this state that was the most powerful and largest in antiquity. Due to its economic and socio-political structure Egyptian Kingdom dominated for two millennia. The Egyptians were not only skilled farmers and builders. Egypt owes much of its rise to military successes.
The Egyptians managed to create one of strongest armies antiquity, in which a special place was occupied by elite units. The pharaoh's army was equipped with various weapons, but the most famous was the khopesh - the sword of the Egyptian special forces. This edged weapon is considered the most famous surviving to this day. In museums, this is the most frequent exhibit in the exposition of ancient Egypt. Dozens of films have been created about the legendary land of the pharaohs, where warriors fight with curved, sickle-shaped swords.
The history of the appearance of the khopesh weapon
The Egyptian soldier, skillfully wielding a spear and a sword, represented a formidable enemy on the battlefield in ancient times. Infantrymen, armed with sharp curved swords, inflicted a stunning blow on the enemy in close combat, therefore it is customary to consider khopesh as the main weapon of infantry in Ancient Egypt.
The legendary weapon came to Egypt somewhere in the middle of the II millennium BC, during the era of the Middle Kingdom. The Egyptians faced formidable swords during the battle with the Hyksos, who invaded the land of the pharaohs from the territory of what is now Palestine. These nomadic tribes, unlike the Egyptians, were armed with curved and sharp swords. While the Egyptian infantry fought with maces and bronze axes, the nomads in close combat delivered stabbing blows with their crooked knives. After the defeat, the Egyptians adopted the tactics of the battle of their victors. The main weapons on the battlefield were chariots and warriors armed with sickle swords. After the curved and sharp sword became the main weapon of the Egyptian army, the pharaohs not only conquered their territories, but also managed to conquer neighboring countries.
Curved, sickle-shaped swords in the old days were almost the main weapon of ancient armies. This is largely due to the social composition of combat units, where most the armies were peasants. However, according to historians-Egyptologists, metal weapons were a luxury item. Not every ordinary soldier could have a bronze sword. Most likely, such swords belonged to elite combat units, palace guards, or the pharaoh's guards. There are other versions of the origin of the blade shape. A more plausible version is the transformation of a battle ax into a type of weapon capable of delivering crosscutting blows, and not just chopping and pinpoint ones. The theory that the ancestor of Khopesh is considered the sappara, the weapon of the ancient Assyrians, cannot be discounted. Unlike the Egyptian sword, the Assyrian sappara has a sharp edge on the inside of the bend, which favors an agricultural function.
According to latest version, the khopesh had a sickle shape, taken from a peasant sickle. Such swords are often found during excavations of ancient settlements of other civilizations. Probably, it is not only the belonging of this weapon to the civilization of the states of farmers that affects, but also the high fighting qualities that swords of this form possessed. Swords of this shape are equally convenient for chopping and cutting. Compared to a battle ax and ordinary swords straight in shape, the sickle blade inflicts deeper wounds and cuts.
The name of the sword, which became a symbol of Ancient Egypt, translated from Egyptian literally means "the leg of an animal." Later, in other armies of ancient states, you can find similar weapons in the armament of warriors. Swords and daggers in the army of Alexander the Great had a curved shape and were called copis. Curved and curved swords were also the weapon of choice in the Persian army of King Xerxes.
Description of khopesh
For combat weapons in ancient times, bronze was used. It was the only metal available that could be practically mined. open way and for the remelting of which no special technological efforts were required. Despite this, metal weapons were considered the preserve of wealthy people. Only high military officials could afford to have bronze knives and swords. Bronze is a fairly heavy metal, therefore, bronze khopesh is a heavy and at the same time durable weapon.
During excavations in the middle reaches of the Nile, ancient graves belonging to members of the military Egyptian nobility were found. In the tombs, sickle-shaped swords were found in well-preserved condition. A more detailed hydrocarbon analysis revealed impurities in the bronze composition. Elements such as ferrosillium and ferrosilicomanganese are commonly used in metallurgy to give the metal special strength and stability. Such research results indicate that in Ancient Egypt, weaponry was at a high technological level.
The sickle-shaped sword was sharpened only from the outside. Less often, double-edged swords were found, sharpened not only from the outside, but also having a cutting edge with inside... Obviously, the method of using such a weapon in battle involved not only inflicting chopping blows, but also cutting off the head and limbs of the defeated enemy. The length of the blade hilt suggests that the khopesh was a two-handed sword. The length of the sword was on average 50-70 cm.Among the finds, there are artifacts that have long handle, and the blade itself reaches a length of about a meter.
The shape of the sword also implies the way of carrying the weapon. Many ancient frescoes depict ancient Egyptian warriors carrying a curved sword on their shoulders. In some cases, when the blade was small, it was worn at the hip, on the belt. The weapon was kept without a scabbard. The weight of the sword was approximately 2 kg. There are artifacts with a large weight, reaching 3-4 kg. However, this is most likely a ritual weapon that was used in various ceremonies.
For reference: as a result of research carried out by the staff of the London historical museum, we managed to find out the effectiveness combat use khopesh. The sword struck the pork carcass from different provisions... During the examination and study of the damage, it was found that the competent use of the sickle sword in battle did not leave the enemy any chance. The wounds were deep and long. The edges of the wound had an almost perfectly straight line, which made it difficult for subsequent tissue healing.
Combat use of khopesh
The khopesh did not receive widespread use. The main reason is the lack of expensive metal in such quantities to arm thousands of soldiers. The main combat strength ancient armies are infantry recruited from the poorest sections of the population. Infantrymen, as a rule, were armed with bows, slings, spears and battle axes. Equipment only elite units and the cavalry had bronze swords, axes and daggers.
Sword possession required special skills and abilities, so sickle swords were used only by trained detachments. The shape of the sword and its size made it possible to use it both on foot and on war chariots and in cavalry units. Massive and heavy khopesh, as a rule, was used to deliver a sliding-chopping blow to the head and neck area. With sufficient force of blow with a curved blade, it was possible to pierce a helmet and cut a wooden sword. Palace guards and chariot leaders had weapons large sizes capable of delivering crushing blows to the enemy.
In addition to its military use, khopesh was one of the most widespread instruments of execution in ancient Egypt. On the frescoes and reliefs in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses III, there are scenes depicting an execution. Prisoners or criminals were cut off with a sickle sword. It should be said that in ancient times it was customary for many peoples to cut off the head of defeated opponents and captives by the favorite method of collecting evidence in the final victory over the enemy. Khopesh, with its curved crescent shape, can be considered an ideal tool for this purpose.
The weapon, which became a symbol of Ancient Egypt, was held in high esteem among the nobility. The images often show royal processions, in which the pharaoh, priestesses and bodyguards took part. They are all armed with curved swords that rest on their shoulders. Judging by the number of weapons found in ancient burials, curved swords were used in funeral ceremonies. In ancient times, there was often a tradition to put weapons and household items in the grave.
In service with troops and for ritual purposes, khopesh was used until the 4th century BC. At a later time, similar weapons can be observed in service with other armies. Despite their effectiveness in combat, Egyptian swords are fashionably considered regional ethnic weapons... Mass distribution of crooked swords in ancient world have not received. Affected by the inconvenience of the shape of the blade and the special specificity of the use of such weapons in battle.
If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.
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