Outwardly, the scimitar is very different from European swords and sabers. The double curvature of its sharpest blade, which cuts deeply, is the epitome of Oriental cunning, perhaps the most ignoble weapon on the battlefield. This "sword of Islam" has remained in history forever associated with the Turkish janissaries, who deserved a terrible memory among the peoples of Eastern Europe with their campaigns in the 15th-19th centuries.
Versatile weapon
In the XIV-XV centuries in the Ottoman Empire, infantry troops were formed to conquer those lands where the cavalry was powerless. Fortified European fortresses and cities began to be besieged by foot janissary regiments, which became the main force of the Turkish army.
The advent of firearms gradually led to the disappearance of heavy armor and shields, and the armament of the janissaries, which already consisted of muskets and sabers, turned out to be inconvenient in foot combat. A more effective and maneuverable light weapon was required for defense and attack in close combat.
According to one of the legends, when the sultan forbade the janissaries to wear sabers in peacetime, they circumvented this ban by making themselves arm-length combat knives. This is how the Turkish scimitar appeared. They wore it in the same way as a dagger, tucked into a belt, and not in a sling like a saber.
The scimitar has proven to be more practical in everyday life than a saber or dagger. They could cut cattle and chop wood for a fire. Gradually, these knives passed from a civilian life to a war, turning into an addition to a saber.
In urban settings, the scimitar was used by the Janissaries to pacify the crowd. In a crush, this weapon worked perfectly. It could be used even with a large crowd of people. The Janissaries marched with him through the crowd, breaking bones and inflicting wounds on those who were not too quick to make way for them.
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The scimitar looks like a biconcave blade with a sharpened edge on both sides, allowing you to stab and chop the enemy. Its center of gravity is closer to the handle, and the concave side is sharply sharpened. They could cut well with the upper part, close to the point, and the lower, located closer to the handle, perfectly cut and prick.
The guard (part of the hilt to protect the hand) was absent from the blade, and the handle covered the lower part of the palm and ended in an extension called "ears", a characteristic feature of the scimitar. Thanks to this, the weapon did not slip out of the hand during thrusting, and it was easier to get it out of the scabbard and out of the enemy's body.
Raptor Steel
The scimitar is a weapon that was used by the Janissaries in close combat, while the grip alternated from direct to reverse. The blows were delivered mainly with pulling towards themselves, which increased the damage inflicted. If in a duel the piercing weapon was more effective, then in the dump of foot hand-to-hand combat, when blows rained from all sides and it was necessary to brush off several opponents at once, chopping was used. Sometimes the scimitar was used not alone, but in pairs - the janissaries wielded it with both hands.
Even a weak chopping blow to the neck with a pull-back cut the enemy's arteries, instantly incapacitating him. Obviously, for this reason, the weapon got its name (yatagan in translation from Turkish means "to lay", "bed").
The small weight of the scimitar (about 800 g) and a fairly long blade (about 65 cm) made it possible to inflict chopping-cutting and stabbing blows in rapid series. The shape of the handle did not allow the weapon to escape from the hand, but it was impossible for them to pierce the metal armor. Protective beats were carried out both with the blade and with the non-pointed convex side.
The blade and the hilt were usually decorated with carvings, notches and engraving. The blades were inlaid with silver wire. The handles were mostly made of copper or tin, covered with silver foil, and were richly decorated. The handles themselves were made of bone or horn. Most scimitars, besides the name of the master, were marked with the name of the owner. High quality workmanship and amusing decor made these weapons very representative and popular.
Scimitars became widespread not only among the allies of the Ottoman Empire, but also among opponents. They firmly entered the arsenal of the Balkan peoples who fought against Turkish rule - Albanians, Bosnians, Montenegrins.
The legacy of the Janissaries
The main types of edged weapons of the Janissary infantry, in addition to the yatagan, were the kylych saber (Kilic in Turkish) and a battle ax with two semicircular large blades.
In the kylych, the bend of the blade began from the second third, and the upper third was straight. The weight of the saber ranged from one to one and a half kilograms. It was a weapon that was used by both foot soldiers and horsemen. The massive upper third of the kylych allowed them to penetrate even high-quality armor.
Throughout Turkey, the unwritten law of the ax was strictly observed. If a janissary, walking through the city, noticed a house under construction, he could come up and hang his battle ax on the already finished wall. After that, he left, and the owners of the house under construction had no right to continue work while the ax remained in place. They collected gifts and treats that might please the owner of the ax. If the returned janissary was given gifts, he took off the ax and left. If not, the ax remained in place until the owners of the construction managed to please the janissary.
Knives (bichak) and daggers (khanjar) were widely used by the janissaries as an additional blade weapon. They also had slightly curved blades. Spears were cavalry weapons and were supplied with various tips, which were fixed on shafts from one and a half to four meters long.
Turkish shields were of two types - wicker from willow rods with a metal umbon in the center and all-steel. Such shields were traditionally called kalkan (from the Mongolian verb "weave"), even when they were completely steel. From the inside, a pillow under the arm and a pair of straps were attached to them.
Martial traditions
Throughout history, janissary training has included weapons training and competition. The famous Ottoman scientist, artist, historian and statesman Nasuh-Effendi (1480-1564), nicknamed Matrakchi, invented the fighting game matrak, which later became a national sport.
The equipment for this game consisted of a protective helmet, a wooden stick, most often wrapped in leather and having a rounder and wider upper part, and a padded shield in the form of a square cushion. According to experts, matrak became a synthesis of ancient oriental martial arts.
The game was based on moral values. It set out to train brave, virtuous, skilled and cultured warriors. Matrak specialists trained the Ottoman soldiers in attack and defense techniques.
For centuries, matrak was played not only by ordinary soldiers, but also by the sultans themselves. In the 19th century, after the transformation of the Ottoman army and the brutal massacre of the janissaries, the game lost its popularity, and the use of scimitars and ancient methods of fighting was prohibited.
In the XXI century, the game was restored and officially registered in 2010 as a combat sport. The first Turkish Matrak Championship was held in Ankara in December 2011. 155 athletes took part in it. Since 2012, the Ministry of Education has included training in this combat game in the curricula of all educational institutions in Turkey.
Mattress competitions are held in the summer on a field in the form of a circle with a diameter of seven meters, and in winter - in gyms. During the competition, Turkish marches and Janissary hymns are traditionally performed.
Vera CHISTYAKOVA, Alexander PLOSHINSKY