Persian Akinakes

Origins

The akinakes began on the Eurasian steppe. Scythian and related nomad warriors of the seventh century BC carried short iron swords and daggers with a distinctive heart- or butterfly-shaped guard and a straight bar pommel, worn in a scabbard with a projecting side lobe for suspension. When Cyrus the Great built the Achaemenid Empire in the mid-sixth century BC, his Medes and Persians — horse peoples themselves, in constant contact with the Saka of Central Asia — took up the weapon, and it became the standard sword of the empire's Iranian troops. Greek writers borrowed the Persian word; Herodotus uses it for the sword Xerxes cast into the Hellespont along with a golden bowl as an offering before crossing into Europe in 480 BC. The best images come from the palace reliefs at Persepolis, where row after row of guards and tribute-bearers carry the akinakes, and from the gold scabbard fittings of the Oxus Treasure in the British Museum.

Design & Construction

The akinakes is a short, straight, double-edged sword, its iron blade usually 30 to 45 centimeters long and tapering to a sharp point suited to both cut and thrust. The hilt is the diagnostic feature: a guard shaped like a heart or a pair of kidneys, a plain grip, and a transverse bar or pair of volutes as a pommel. Ceremonial examples were gilded or made entirely of gold. It was worn in an unusual way. The scabbard, often of leather with a decorated metal chape, had a large projecting lobe near the mouth by which it hung from the belt on the right side, and a thong tied its tip to the right thigh so it would not swing when the wearer ran or rode. This let the sword be drawn with the right hand in a single cross-body motion from its high, forward position. The weapon was short enough to use on horseback or in a crowded line without fouling a neighbor.

Combat Use

Persian infantry fought first with the bow, shooting from behind a wall of wicker spara shields, and closed with spear, battle-axe, and akinakes only when the enemy reached them. The Persian Immortals, the ten thousand elite infantry of the royal guard, are shown at Persepolis and Susa carrying spear, bow, and the sword on the right hip. Against Greek hoplites with their heavy Greek Aspis and bronze armor, the short akinakes and linen or quilted protection of the Persian line were at a serious disadvantage, and Herodotus attributes the Persian defeats at Thermopylae and Plataea partly to that mismatch. The Greek Greek Xiphos was of similar length; the difference lay in shields and armor rather than swords. Horsemen, Scythian and Persian, used the akinakes as a last-resort weapon after bow and javelin.

Legacy

The akinakes outlasted the empire that made it famous. Scythian, Sarmatian, and Saka warriors carried variants for centuries, and its image — a sword worn at the right thigh — became shorthand for 'Persian' in Greek art. It was also a symbol of royal favor: Herodotus and Xenophon record the gift of a golden akinakes as one of the highest honors the Great King could grant. Surviving iron examples are rare and usually heavily corroded; the famous pieces are the gold ones, and collectors should treat any complete 'Achaemenid' sword on the market with caution. Replicas based on the Persepolis reliefs are a mainstay of the ancient reenactment hobby. See also Persian Arms & Weapons.