Bronze swords appeared around the 17th century BC. e. in the Aegean and Black Seas. The design of such a weapon was nothing more than an improvement on its predecessor, the dagger. It was significantly lengthened, as a result of which a new type of weapon appeared. The history of bronze swords, high-quality photos of which are given below, their varieties, models of different armies will be described in this article.
Appearance story
As mentioned earlier, Bronze Age swords appeared in the 17th century BC. e., however, they completely succeeded in displacing daggers as the main type of weapon only in the 1st century BC. e. From the earliest times of the production of swords, their length could reach more than 100 cm. The technology for the production of swords of this length was supposedly developed in the territory of modern Greece.
In the manufacture of swords, several alloys were used, most often tin, copper and arsenic. The very first copies, which had a length of more than 100 cm, were made around the 1700s. e. Standard Bronze Age swords reached 60-80 cm in length, while at the same time weapons that were shorter were also produced, but they had different names. For example, he was called a dagger or a short sword.
Around about 1400 BC e. the prevalence of long swords was mainly characteristic of the Aegean Sea and part of the southeast of modern Europe. This type of armament began its wide distribution in the II century BC. e. in regions such as Central Asia, China, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, and Central Europe.
Before bronze was used as the main material for the manufacture of weapons, only obsidian stone or flint was used. However, weapons made of stone had a significant drawback - fragility. When copper began to be used in the manufacture of weapons, and later bronze, this made it possible to create not only knives and daggers, as before, but also swords.
Find Area
The process of the appearance of bronze swords as a separate type of weapon was gradual, from a knife to a dagger, and then to the sword itself. Swords have a slightly different shape for a number of factors. So, for example, it matters both the army of a state itself and the time when they were used. The range of finds of bronze swords is quite wide: from China to Scandinavia.
In China, the production of swords from this metal begins around 1200 BC. e., during the reign of the Shang Dynasty. The technological culmination of the production of such weapons dates back to the end of the III century BC. e., during the war with the Qin Dynasty. During this period, rare technologies were used, for example, metal casting, in which there was a high content of tin. This made the edge softer and therefore easy to sharpen. Or with its low content, which gave the metal increased hardness. The use of rhomboid patterns that did not have an aesthetic orientation, but a technological one, making the blade reinforced along its entire length.
China's bronze swords are unique thanks to technologies that periodically used high tin metal (about 21%). The blade of such a blade was superhard, but it broke with a large bend. In other countries, the manufacture of swords used a low tin content (about 10%), which made the blade soft, and when bent, it bent rather than broken.
However, iron swords supplanted their bronze predecessors, this happened during the reign of the Han Dynasty. China, however, became the last territory where weapons were made of bronze.
Scythian weapons
Scythian bronze swords are known from the VIII century BC. e., they had a short length - from 35 to 45 cm. The shape of the sword is called "akinak", and there are three versions about its origin. The first says that the shape of this sword was borrowed by the Scythians from the ancient Iranians (Persians, Medes). Those who adhere to the second version argue that the prototype of the Scythian sword was the weapon of the Kabardino-Pyatigorsk type, which was widespread in the VIII century BC. e. in the territory of the modern North Caucasus.
Scythian swords were short and were primarily intended for close combat. The blade had a sharpening on both sides and a shape resembling a very elongated triangle. The cross section of the blade itself could be rhombic or lenticular, in other words, the blacksmith himself chose the shape of the stiffener.
The blade and hilt were forged from one piece, and then the top and the crosshair were riveted to it. The earliest specimens had a butterfly-shaped crosshair, and later specimens dating back to the 4th century were already triangular in shape.
Scythians kept bronze swords in a wooden scabbard, which had sandwiches (the lower part of the scabbard), which were protective and decorative in nature. At present, a large number of Scythian swords, found during archaeological excavations in various mounds, have been preserved. Most of the specimens were preserved quite well, which indicates their high quality.
Roman weapon
Bronze swords of Roman legionnaires were very common at that time. The most famous is the smooth sword, or gladius, which later began to be made of iron. It is assumed that the ancient Romans borrowed it from the Pyrenees, and then improved it.
The tip of this sword has a sufficiently wide sharpened edge, which is well reflected in the cutting characteristics. With these weapons it was convenient to fight in a dense Roman formation. However, the gladius also had flaws, for example, they could be hacked, but there was no serious damage from them.
Out of order, this weapon was very much inferior to the German and Celtic blades, which were of great length. Roman gladius reached a length of 45 to 50 cm. Subsequently, another sword was chosen for the Roman legionnaires, which was called "spata". A small amount of this type of sword made of bronze has survived to our time, but their iron counterparts are quite enough.
Spata had a length of 75 cm to 1 m, which made it not very convenient to use in close formation, but this was compensated for in a duel on a free territory. It is believed that this type of sword was borrowed from the Germans, and later somewhat modified.
The bronze swords of Roman legionnaires - both gladius and spatha - had their advantages, but were not universal. However, the latter was preferred due to the fact that it could be used not only in foot combat, but also sitting on a horse.
Swords of Ancient Greece
The bronze swords of the Greeks have a very long history. It originates in the 17th century BC. e. The Greeks had several types of swords at different times, the most common and often depicted on vases and in sculpture is xyphos. He appeared during the Aegean civilization around the XVII century BC. e. Xyphos was made of bronze, although later it was created from iron.
It was a double-edged straight sword, which reached about 60 cm in length, with a pronounced leaf-shaped tip, it had good chopping characteristics. Previously, xyphos was made with a blade up to 80 cm long, but for inexplicable reasons they decided to shorten it.
This sword, in addition to the Greeks, was also used by the Spartans, however their blades reached a length of 50 cm. Xyphos was armed with hoplites (heavy infantry) and Macedonian phalangites (light infantry). Later, these weapons became widespread among most of the barbarian tribes that inhabited the Apennine Peninsula.
The blade of this sword was forged immediately with the hilt, and later a guard with a cross-shaped shape was added. This weapon had a good cutting and piercing effect, but due to its length its chopping characteristics were limited.
European weapon
In Europe, bronze swords were fairly widespread from the 18th century BC. e. One of the most famous swords is considered to be a sword like "Naue II". It got its name thanks to the scientist Julius Naue, who was the first to describe in detail all the characteristics of this weapon. Naue II is also known as the "sword with a tongue-shaped hilt."
This type of weapon appeared in the 13th century BC. e. and was in service with the soldiers of Northern Italy. This sword was relevant until the beginning of the Iron Age, but it continued to be used for several centuries, until about the VI century BC. e.
Naue II in length reached from 60 to 85 cm and was found in the territories of present-day Sweden, Great Britain, Finland, Norway, Germany and France. For example, a specimen found during archaeological excavations near Breckby in Sweden in 1912 reached a length of about 65 cm and belonged to the period of the 18th-15th centuries BC. e.
The shape of the blade, which was typical for swords of those times, is a leaf-shaped formation. In the IX-VIII century BC. e. swords were spread, the shape of the blade of which was called the “carp tongue”.
This bronze sword had very good characteristics for this type of weapon. It had wide double-edged edges, and the blades had a parallel orientation with respect to each other and tapered towards the end of the blade. This sword had a thin tip, which allowed the warrior to inflict tangible damage to the enemy.
Due to its reliability and good characteristics, this sword has spread widely throughout most of Europe, which is confirmed by numerous finds.
Swords of Andronovites
Andronovtsy is the common name of the various peoples who lived in the XVII-IX centuries BC. e. in the territories of modern Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Western Siberia and the South Urals. Andronovtsy are also considered pre-Slavs. They were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and handicraft. One of the most common crafts was working with metal (mining, smelting).
The Scythians partially borrowed some types of weapons from them. The bronze swords of the Andronovites were distinguished by the high quality of the metal itself and the combat characteristics. In length, this weapon reached from 60 to 65 cm, and the blade itself had a diamond-shaped stiffener. The sharpening of such swords was double-edged, due to this was utilitarian considerations. Due to the softness of the metal, the weapon was dull in battle, and in order to continue the battle and inflict significant damage to the enemy, the sword was simply turned in the hand and the battle continued again with sharp weapons.
The sheaths of bronze swords of Andronovo were made of wood, covering their outer part with leather. From the inside, the sheath was sealed with animal fur, which contributed to the polishing of the blade. The sword had a guard that not only protected the warrior's hand, but also held it securely in its sheath.
Types of swords
In the Bronze Age there was a wide variety of types and types of swords. During their development, bronze swords went through three stages of development.
- The first is a bronze rapier of the XVII-XI centuries BC. e.
- The second is a leaf-shaped sword with high pricking and chopping characteristics of the XI-VIII century BC. e.
- The third is a sword of the Hallstadt type of the 8th-4th centuries BC. e.
The allocation of these stages is due to various specimens found during archaeological excavations in modern Europe, Greece and China, as well as their classification in cold steel catalogs.
Antique bronze swords of the rapier type first appear on the territory of Europe as a logical development of a dagger or knife. This type of sword arose as an elongated modification of the dagger, due to practical combat needs. This type of sword primarily provided significant damage to the enemy due to its prickly characteristics.
Such swords, most likely, were made individually for each warrior, this is evidenced by the fact that the handle was of different sizes and the quality of decoration of the weapon itself varied significantly. These swords are a narrow bronze strip that has a stiffener in the middle.
Bronze rapiers suggested the use of piercing, but they were also used as chopping weapons. This is evidenced by nicks on the blade of specimens found in Denmark, Ireland and Crete.
Swords of the XI-VIII centuries BC e.
Several centuries later, a bronze rapier was replaced by a leaf-shaped or phallic sword. If you look at the photos of bronze swords, their difference will become apparent. But they differed not only in form, but also in characteristics. So, for example, leaf-shaped swords made it possible to inflict not only stab-cut wounds, but also chopping, cutting strikes.
Archaeological research conducted in various parts of Europe and Asia suggests that such swords were widespread in the territory from present-day Greece to China.
With the advent of swords of this type, from the XI century BC. e., it can be observed that the quality of decoration of the scabbard and handle sharply decreases, however, the level and characteristic of the blade is noticeably higher than that of its predecessors. Nevertheless, due to the fact that this sword could both chop and chop, and therefore was strong and did not break after the strike, the quality of the blade was worse. This was due to the fact that a larger amount of tin was added to bronze.
After some time, the shank of the sword appears, which is located at the end of the handle. Its appearance allows you to apply strong chopping blows, while retaining the sword in your hand. And so begins the transition to the next type of weapon - the sword of Hallstadt.
Swords of the VIII-IV centuries BC e.
Swords were changed for objective reasons, for example, due to a change in the technique of battle. If earlier the fencing technique dominated, in which the main thing was to deliver an accurate piercing blow, then over time it gave way to chopping technique. In the latter, it was important to deliver a strong blow with one of the blades of the sword, and the more effort was applied, the more significant the damage.
By the 7th century BC e. chopping technique completely displaces stabbing due to its simplicity and reliability. This is confirmed by bronze swords of the Hallstadt type, which are intended exclusively for chopping blows.
This type of sword got its name due to the terrain located in Austria, where, as it is believed, they began to produce these weapons for the first time. One of the features of such a sword is the fact that these swords were made of both bronze and iron.
The Hallstadt swords resemble leaf-shaped swords in form, but they are already noticeably narrower. In length, such a sword reaches about 83 cm, has a strong stiffening rib, which allows it not to deform when applying chopping blows. This weapon allowed the battle as an infantryman and a rider, as well as attack the enemy with a chariot.
The hilt of the sword was crowned with a shank that allowed the warrior to easily hold the sword after striking. This weapon was universal at one time and was highly appreciated.
Ceremonial swords
In the Bronze Age, there was another type of sword that was not described above, since it cannot be attributed to any of the classifications. This is a sword with a single-blade sharpening, while all other swords had sharpening on both sides. It is an extremely rare type of weapon, and to date, only three specimens have been found, in one of the regions of Denmark. It is believed that this sword was not military, but ceremonial, but this is just a hypothesis.
conclusions
It can be concluded that the bronze swords of antiquity were made at a high level, given the underdevelopment of the technological process. In addition to its combat mission, many swords were a work of art, thanks to the efforts of the masters. Each of the types of swords for its time met all combat requirements, to one degree or another.
Naturally, the weapons were gradually improved, and their shortcomings were tried to be minimized. After centuries of evolution, ancient bronze swords became the best weapons of their era, until it was replaced by the Iron Age and a new page in the history of edged weapons began.