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A scimitar ( or ) is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in the Middle East. The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Middle East from at least the Ottoman period, with early examples dating to Abbasid era (9th century) Khurasan. The type harks back to the makhaira type of antiquity, but the Arabic term ''saif'' is probably from the same source as Greek xiphos (the straight, double-edged sword of Greek antiquity). The Persian sword now called "shamshir" appears by the 12th century and was popularized in Persia by the early 16th century, and had "relatives" in Turkey (the kilij), and the Mughal Empire (the talwar). ==Names== The name is thought to be derived from the Persian word ''shamshēr'' which literally means “paw claw,” due to its long, curved design. The word has been translated through many languages to end at ''scimitar''. In the Early Middle Ages, the Turkic people of Central Asia came into contact with Middle Eastern civilizations through their shared Islamic faith. Turkic Ghilman slave-soldiers serving under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates introduced "kilij" type sabers to all of the other Middle Eastern cultures. Previously, Arabs and Persians used straight-bladed swords such as the earlier types of the Arab ''saif'', ''takoba'' and ''kaskara''. During Islamization of the Turks, the ''kilij'' became more and more popular in the İslamic armies. When the Seljuk Empire invaded Persia and became the first Turkic Muslim political power in Western Asia, ''kilij'' became the dominant sword form. The Iranian ''shamshir'' was created during the Turkic Seljuk Empire period of Iran. The term ''saif'' in Arabic can refer to any Middle Eastern (or North African, South Asian) curved sword. The Arabic word is ultimately derived from the ancient Greek ''xiphos'', but it is not necessarily a direct loan from the Greek, it may have entered Arabic from another source, as both ''saif'' and ''xiphos'' go back to an old (Bronze Age) Wanderwort of the eastern Mediterranean, of unknown ultimate origin. Richard F. Burton derives both words from the Egyptian ''sfet''. The English term scimitar is attested from the mid-16th century, derives from either the Middle French ''cimeterre'' (15th century) or from the Italian ''scimitarra''. The ultimate source of these terms is unknown. Perhaps they are corruptions of the Persian ''shamshir'', but the OED finds this explanation "unsatisfactory". The following are regional terms for the scimitar: * Shamshir (Iran) * Kilij (Turkey and Egypt) * Nimcha (Morocco) * Pulwar (Afghanistan) * Talwar (North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) * Kirpaan (Punjab,North Western India) * Shotel (Horn of Africa, primarily Ethiopia and Eritrea) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「scimitar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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