Parthian swords

[Jedo]

Hello, I know this may be a bit out this group's scope, but does anyone know of any good picture references of Parthian swords?

I found information on akinakes, which is a short Skythian sword and I know that Parthians were of Skythian origin. I also found information on Sassanid swords and I know Parthian swords would be relatable. However, there is nothing specifically Parthian I could find. There is aparently this book on Iranian arms and armor that might have something in it but it costs like a million dollars.


Anyone?

[Dan D'Silva]

Well, there's only one comprehensive book I've heard of on arms and armor from Iran... which is its title. If you haven't already seen this, you can preview photos in the promotional brochure -- there is a small photo of a Parthian sword on the second page. I remember seeing another photo, probably in connection with the same book but I can't track it down now, of a group of three which were all very similar. Osprey mostly reconstructs Parthian swords with globular pommels, but the one above doesn't have one. I'm not sure exactly when these long swords with wide guards developed, but they were used in the Arsacid dynasty.

It occurred to me yesterday that if the globular pommels are accurate, then Kris Cutlery's "baselard" (which is not a baselard at all) would've made an okay, if short Parthian sword. It's been discontinued but I'm sure one could still find a few for sale somewhere, and, seeing as ithey've done two runs of these baselards already, perhaps they'll make a third in the near future.

Parthians weren't of Skythian descent, but shared a lot of cultural aspects with them. The Achaemenid/Classical relief at Naqš-e Rostam, the tomb of Darius the Great, shows a Parthian wearing an akinakes.

[Dan D'Silva]

I found another article by the same author in which he says that there have been only four Parthian swords ever found.

[daryush]

The book is excellent, but pricy, and quite lacking in the Arsacid-Sasanian area IMHO. There are also related swords from Central Asian sites - see "Arms and armour from Old Nisa" for details, some from Taxila (see "Taxila" by John Marshall - sadly I don't have this one though, but some details are repeated in Nikonorov's "Armies of Bactria."). You might also like "The Long Sword and Scabbard Slide in Asia" by Trousdale, and there is a lot on Sarmatian weaponry which is related.

Spherical pommels are certainly useable for late Arsacid / early Sasanian military swords and late Sasanian courtly swords IMHO. Sources for early Arsacids are VERY limited, but I think spherical pommels made of perishable materials would be the most likely thing - or perhaps ring or disk pommels, which were more popular in Central Asia.

The Kris Cultery baselard wouldn't really be usable IMHO - the quillions are very wrong, unfortunately. IIRC a lenticular cross section would be more common than a diamond-shaped section. I don't know of anyone who makes passable off-the-shelf Iranian swords, but I'll keep an eye out.

[daryush]

PS: Just remembered, there's one in the British Museum also, 25 inches long from Warka, 1st - 2nd C AD.
Also attached is an image of the broken sword from Cheram (similar date)

[Jedo]

Thanks all,

That one book with the brochure is indeed the one I meant - the expensive one. I study law in real life and a book that's more than 50 euros is considered expensive. This one is almost 200 USD lol. Perhaps that is normal for good reference books. Illustrations probably cost a lot to make.

I guess I'll have to go with a long double edged sword and its hilt will be a mixture of Scythian, Sassanid and Sarmatian styles (I'm makinga computer model).

[Sean Manning]

Thanks all,

That one book with the brochure is indeed the one I meant - the expensive one. I study law in real life and a book that's more than 50 euros is considered expensive. This one is almost 200 USD lol. Perhaps that is normal for good reference books. Illustrations probably cost a lot to make.

I guess I'll have to go with a long double edged sword and its hilt will be a mixture of Scythian, Sassanid and Sarmatian styles (I'm makinga computer model).

Its a large thousand-page book, about half of those pages being full colour photos. Many of those photos are the first publication of an object in a European language. So Arms and Armour from Iran is actually cheap at 150 Euros! If you can't afford a copy, ask local libraries to buy one ... in Canada they are usually interested in suggestions.

It does not have very many Parthian objects, because not many have been excavated.

[daryush]

I have photocopies of the Arsacid and Sasanian pieces in the book - PM if you like. I don't want to post them publicly. There are a few Arsacid and Sasanian swords which weren't in that book - I think he focussed mainly on pieces in Iranian museums (which don't have online collections or pictures anywhere - so v. useful in that regard)

[Dan D'Silva]

I guess I'll have to go with a long double edged sword and its hilt will be a mixture of Scythian, Sassanid and Sarmatian styles (I'm makinga computer model).

Are you going for a piece of reenactment gear, or just a sword to your own tastes? If it's the former, I would try to stick to one style -- mixing cultural influences in an undocumented way would risk turning out something that isn't correct for any impression. If the latter, of course, you have a lot more freedom to do what you like.

[Sean Manning]

I have photocopies of the Arsacid and Sasanian pieces in the book - PM if you like. I don't want to post them publicly. There are a few Arsacid and Sasanian swords which weren't in that book - I think he focussed mainly on pieces in Iranian museums (which don't have online collections or pictures anywhere - so v. useful in that regard)

Yes, I think that one of Manouchehr's motivations was to publish objects which are not known outside of Iran. He is an Iranian emigrant who lives in Germany.