This week I’m doing a special Weapons Weekly on one of the grandfathers of the modern cavalry sabre, the Kilij. Unlike most other sabres, the Kilij had a special design that not only made it more dangerous than other sabres, but gave it an exotic appearance that fit well into the Turks that wielded it. The sabre was not a sword designed for fighting on foot such as the longsword and broadsword, but was specifically designed for cavalry. Sabres have curved blades that are sharp on only one side. Their blades were forged to handle slicing without shattering. The Kilij was one of the few sabres that were designed with thrusting as an option, but like all sabres, slashing at an opponent was still far more deadly.
The Kilij was a redesigned version of the Turko-Mongolian Sabre, which may have been the first sabre ever recorded in history. The Mongolians were notorious cavalrymen and had a heavy influence on Turkish culture after the Mongols invasions of the Turkish and Arabic lands. The difference between the Kilij and most other sabres is the tip. It had a double edged tip that flared out making the tip stronger and heavier. This added weight gave the Kilij an axe-like quality in that it was capable of cutting through bone with one swipe.
