MAIASP. 2025. No. 19

O.M. Agatay (Astana, Kazakhstan), A.On. Kumisova (Astana, Kazakhstan), Zh.A. Ismurzin (Astana, Kazakhstan)

LONG-BLADED WEAPON IN KAZAKH HEROIC EPIC

This article examines the long-bladed weapons of the Turkic nomads of Eurasia during the Medieval and Early Modern periods with particular attention paid to swords, sabers, and shashkas as reflected in Kazakh heroic epics. The study is based on a comprehensive analysis of written, material, and visual sources, supplemented by folklore materials that have not previously been introduced into scholarly discourse or translated into foreign languages. The research identifies original designations of long-bladed weapons attributed to warrior-batīrs in the Kazakh heroic epics. Evidence indicates that during the Medieval and Early Modern periods, the Turkic nomadic warriors of Kazakhstan and adjacent territories employed weapons such as the standard sword (semser), the saber (qīlīsh), and the shashka (sapī). The investigation further reveals a range of specific names of weapons used by the Kazakh military-political elite, including aldaspan, isfahan (also attested as asfahan, asbaqan), narkesken, zu al-faqar, and the distinguished beren. Terminological variations were also associated with material — bolat, almas, color — qara bolat, and decorative features — baldağī aq beren, aq baldaqtī kök beren, aq almas. In epic narratives, the saber zu al-faqar was poetically characterized as “a saber like the tongue of a dragon.” Furthermore, epic sources testify that the hilts of sabers — shamshir — which became widespread in Kazakh weaponry during the late Medieval and Early Modern periods were made of white bone — an observation fully corroborated by both material and written evidence.

Key words: long-bladed weapon, swords, sabers, Kazakh heroic epics, Ulus of Jochi, the history of Kazakhstan.

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