06-16-2015, 10:25 PM
Hi, Jan
The sagaris was used for 2,500 years in a wide variety of shapes. Some, like the simple Scythian ones, only had the axe blade (nothing on the other side). Others had multiple spikes like the Luristanian/Cimmerian ones, others had thin blades, while others had wide blades. I would classify all of the forms of light, long-handled axes, as a sagaris. In my above post, I showed the 1,900 BC arsenical-bronze version found at Sintashta. It had opposing narrow blades. Here are more representative forms.
An tin-bronze style from Tuva in the Altai. Narrow-bladed:
[attachment=12456]Tuva-Altaibronzesagaris.JPG[/attachment]
A simple Scythian style with a wide offset blade:
[attachment=12457]Scythiansagaris.jpg[/attachment]
The Kushan gold-plated iron sagaris from the Oxus Treasure, Afghanistan, narrow-bladed with two "punchers" on the other side:
[attachment=12458]Gold-platedironsagaris--OxusTreasure.jpg[/attachment]
A wide-bladed iron sagaris from the Caucasus, either Scythian or Sauromatae:
[attachment=12459]ironsagarisfmtheCaucasus.jpg[/attachment]
Theseus fighting Antiope, with her wide-bladed Sauromatae (Amazon) version:
[attachment=12460]THESAntiope_2015-06-16.jpg[/attachment]
As a rule, at least from the variations I've noticed, the narrow-bladed versions originate east of the Urals, particularly within the Sintasha, Karasuk and Saka/Alanic cultures. This "modern" style, although it's also the earliest, would be the type carried by the Alans into Europe and up to Pannonia.
The sagaris was used for 2,500 years in a wide variety of shapes. Some, like the simple Scythian ones, only had the axe blade (nothing on the other side). Others had multiple spikes like the Luristanian/Cimmerian ones, others had thin blades, while others had wide blades. I would classify all of the forms of light, long-handled axes, as a sagaris. In my above post, I showed the 1,900 BC arsenical-bronze version found at Sintashta. It had opposing narrow blades. Here are more representative forms.
An tin-bronze style from Tuva in the Altai. Narrow-bladed:
[attachment=12456]Tuva-Altaibronzesagaris.JPG[/attachment]
A simple Scythian style with a wide offset blade:
[attachment=12457]Scythiansagaris.jpg[/attachment]
The Kushan gold-plated iron sagaris from the Oxus Treasure, Afghanistan, narrow-bladed with two "punchers" on the other side:
[attachment=12458]Gold-platedironsagaris--OxusTreasure.jpg[/attachment]
A wide-bladed iron sagaris from the Caucasus, either Scythian or Sauromatae:
[attachment=12459]ironsagarisfmtheCaucasus.jpg[/attachment]
Theseus fighting Antiope, with her wide-bladed Sauromatae (Amazon) version:
[attachment=12460]THESAntiope_2015-06-16.jpg[/attachment]
As a rule, at least from the variations I've noticed, the narrow-bladed versions originate east of the Urals, particularly within the Sintasha, Karasuk and Saka/Alanic cultures. This "modern" style, although it's also the earliest, would be the type carried by the Alans into Europe and up to Pannonia.
Alan J. Campbell
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
