The Khopesh sword has a special crescent shape, it is found throughout the Nile Valley.
The Khopesh sword and the supremacy of the Egyptian army in the Bronze Age
For centuries, the West has viewed Egypt as a mysterious land filled with ancient wisdom, hidden secrets, and forgotten empires.
Egyptian military technology is also a mystery. The khopesh is a curved sword commonly used in Egypt during the Bronze Age, representing the oldest style of sword used in North Africa and the Near East. With this sword, the Egyptians established an ancient empire.
During the Bronze Age, Egypt was the dominant world power. Perhaps the Egyptian Empire fully defended its sovereignty due to its advanced army with effective weapons like the Khopesh sword. It is not enough to seek out Khopesh, but it is an effective weapon in combat.
Khopesh is a curved blade, the edge of the blade is also a curved edge. The khopesh sword has a crescent shape, the blade attached to the hilt has a hook. As a result, some scholars classify the Khopesh as the sword of the crescent, which is found throughout the Nile Valley, East Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.
The origin and beginnings of the Khopesh sword
The Khopesh sword is closely related to Egypt, although its origin is not here. It was invented in Mesopotamia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC.
Additionally, the stele dates to 2500 BC, depicting a Sumerian king wielding a sickle-shaped sword. So this weapon could be the forerunner of the Khopesh sword.
After being present in Mesopotamia, the Khopesh sword went to Syria and the Canaanite city. It was introduced to Egypt from Mesopotamia around 1550 BC, during the New Kingdom period.
The first metallic weapon was the copper ax. Before the Bronze Age, only axes were available because copper was not strong enough to withstand the metallurgical process of making swords. Later, copper became more popular. However, harder metals allow for a stronger impact force. Blades long enough to be swords were forged. Thus, swords like the Khopesh were born.
Use the Khopesh sword
Unlike axes and spears which were not originally used as weapons, the sword was probably one of the earliest weapons intended for combat. The curved Khopesh sword is mainly used as a cutting, slicing and chopping weapon. Therefore, armor is commonly used to protect the body of the warrior.
In addition to slicing and slicing, the Khopesh sword was also used for stabbing. Therefore, it becomes a multipurpose weapon. The hook on the back of the sword is also used to tear off an opponent’s shield. The Khopesh sword becomes a formidable and versatile weapon. It is considered a powerful weapon as a mace in Egyptian military art.
The influence of the Khopesh sword on other cultures
From the 6th century BC. approximately, the Greeks began to use a weapon with a blade called a machaira or kopis. Some researchers have suggested that the name kopis could be derived from Egyptian khopesh.
In addition, the Hittites – formidable opponents of the Egyptians in the Bronze Age also used swords in the form of Khopesh. However, it is not clear whether they copied the Egyptian design or inherited the Khopesh design directly from Mesopotamia.
Curved swords similar to the Khopesh are also found in East and Central Africa. Other cultures have used daggers like the curved blade of Khopesh. It is not clear whether the tradition of making curved blades was inherited from Egypt or whether the design of a dagger was developed specifically in southern Mesopotamia.
A sword or dagger like the Khopesh is also found in Dravidia cultures in southern India, parts of Nepal that are not Dravidic in the north.
Swords like the Khopesh are still present in cultures influenced by Dravidia and Mesopotamia. The Indus Valley, or Harappan civilization, had trade relations with Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC probably influenced by the Dravidian ethnicity.
The pre-Aryan civilization of the Indus Valley existed in one form or another until the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE. Now is the right time to pass blades like the Khopesh of Mesopotamian civilization to Dravidia.
