Indian sword
{{Short description|Sword of India}}
File:Szabla Tarwar (Indie) - Muzeum Azji i Pacyfiku.jpg
There are a number of swords that originated in India and have seen their usage throughout the history of warfare.
Overview
In the Indian subcontinent, one of the earliest available Bronze age swords of copper was discovered by the period of Indus Valley civilization. Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges-Jamuna Doab region of Indian subcontinent, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper.Allchin, pp. 111–14 Swords have been also discovered in Fatehgarh, where there are several varieties of hilt. These swords have been variously dated to times between 1700 and 1400 BC. Other swords from this period in India have been discovered from Kallur, Raichur. Allchin, F. R. in [https://books.google.com/books?id=H2GW1PTHQ1YC South Asian Archaeology 1975: Papers from The Third International Conference of The Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe, Held in Paris] (December 1979) edited by J. E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw. Brill Academic Publishers, Incorporated. 106–18. {{ISBN|90-04-05996-2}}
In general, Indians have significantly used one-handed swords in order to carry the shield along with them. Nevertheless, there has been use of two-handed swords in India, such as by Naga people of Assam.[https://books.google.com/books?id=xb90CwAAQBAJ Hank Reinhardt's The Book of Swords], Hank Reinhardt Baen Publishing Enterprises, p. 201-202
The Indian swords have been also used by Arabians[https://books.google.com/books?id=M3UMAQAAIAAJ Indian Warfare: An Appraisal of Strategy and Tactics of War in Early Medieval Period] Surinder Kumar Bhakari, p. 101 and Europeans since medieval times.[https://books.google.com/books?id=FW5FaeZEVAsC The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords Up to the 16th Century], p.35, Alan Williams, BRIL
Swords have culturally influenced the iconography and culture of India.[https://books.google.com/books?id=B33sAAAAMAAJ The Indian Sword], p. 29-40 Sikhs consider swords to be holy and the Sikh emblem (Khanda (Sikh symbol)) depicts a doubled-edged sword surrounded by a circle and two curved swords.[https://books.google.com/books?id=QJyZKOtHWg4C How and why Do Hindus Celebrate Divali?], Jean Mead, 2008, p. 29