Początki użytkowania szabli na terenie wczesnośredniowiecznej Armenii

Abstract

For a long time, the military history of the Medieval Armenia was not an object of historical research, which in turn had a negative impact on the studies of the region’s social and political history. It is indisputable that in Armenia, as in most countries during the Middle Ages, the sword was a popular – albeit expensive – weapon. But when did sabres appear in Armenia, and were they popular? Images or archaeological fi nds of sabres from the territory of Armenia date only from the 12th/13th centuries, while in the Byzantine Empire and Abbasid Caliphate the sabre had been known already in the 9th–11th centuries, used mainly by nomads serving as mercenaries in both armies. Unfortunately, written sources are not really helpful, as Armenian chroniclers used diff erent terms (– sur, tur, suser – sur, tur, suser) in order to describe the word “sword” or something of the kind, diff erences between which are not completely understood. Moreover, there exists a methodological problem of distinguishing a backsword/pallash (single-edged sword) from a sabre. In order to make this research a more relevant, a comparative analysis with Byzantine, Georgians, Muslim and Nomads materials regarding the appearance, distribution and use of the sabre was employed. The conclusion states that in South Caucasus, the sabre appeared a bit later than in the Byzantine Empire and Abbasid Caliphate, having arrived thanks to North Caucasus, Byzantine, Muslim or Seljuk infl uences in the 10th–11th centuries, given that nomad mercenaries were not present in Bagratid Armenia.