History Challenge & Journal

[Siani]

1.jpg

?

Normans?

[sandman67]

Nerus nearly had it so Ill call it a day and give you the last part

The Khopesh is the odd one out as it is unique - no other weapon shares its "family" although the recurve sickle blade does turn up in odd places from time to time. Middle Ages Romanian/Hungarian soldiers occasionally used a sword that was a cross between a sickle blade and a scimitar. Its a pretty crap weapon all in all and very unwieldy to use in combat which is why its format is rare. The khopesh can also only be used on foot.

The falcata and kukri share a direct common ancestor - the Greek Kopis.

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The falcata was a later Iberian development of the kopis that Macedonian colonists carried there when they started mining gold, silver and other metals around Andalucia. The locals made the kopis a bit longer and heavier and you get a falcata. Although Macedonians had been there during his father Phillip IIs time it was under Alexander that trading and mining really kicked off. Roman cavalry sabres later copied the single edged falcata and made it straighter. The kopis and falcata are useful either on foot or horseback as they are designed for a downward slashing motion. The curve in the blade also makes it useful for getting overa shield. Thracian swords, used by the Thrax gladiator in the Roman arena, are also variants on the kopis.

The other Roman child of teh kopis is the late version legionary helmet with the ridges and peak. The earlier much more simple version of the legion helmet was useless agaist the falcata that could slash straight through it and cut the poor legionaries head in two. The Romans addressed this by adding the ridged and peaked design that made the helmets much stronger and resiliant against the falcata slash.

The kukri is also a child of the kopis, developed after Alexander the Great marched his sarissa and kopis bearing army over the Hindu Kush through Nepal in search of the outer ocean. Metal being a bit harder to find it is supposed that the Nepalese turned the kopis short sword into the long bladed utility knife that is a kukri. The short heavily crooked ones you see soldiers use now is a later version of the kukri. The older version "bamboo leaf" kukri which is still made is longer and less crooked...so looks like a kopis.

The Kopis is a wonderful weapon and can easily slice right through an unarmoured body or a soft shield like the Persians used...as they found out to their cost at Marathon, Thermopylae and Platea. Its relatively short length makes it fast in recovery, and it is the ideal short range weapon that can also be used effectively by cavalry.... Alexanders horse troops used them, which is supposedly where the falcata gets its horsehead pommel from.

The man that links the falcata and kukri is thus Alexander the Great.

If you are ever in Leeds drop into the Royal Armouries Museum and you can see demonstrations of these weapons and others such as the katana and English broadsword in action. Its excellent stuff and dispels the katana legend and lets you acually feeel what a real sword moves like.

http://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/leeds

In London the place to go for fans of steel is the excellent Wallace Collection

http://www.wallacecollection.org/

[sandman67]

DM

Id guess that the picture is a medaeval European representation of a Murghal/Indian war elephant and howdah carrying Murghal troops,

or

otherwise a representation of Hannibal and his war elephants.

[dtaai-maai]

SM - It's a medieval representation of a war elephant from a much earlier age, but not India and not Hannibal.

[Siani]

Was the answer Normans close?

[pharvey]

An illustration of Eleazar Maccabeus killing a war elephant before being crushed under it.

Eleazar Avaran, also known as Eleazar Maccabeus was the fourth son of Mattathias and the younger brother of Judas Maccabeus. He was killed at the Battle of Beth-zechariah during the Maccabean revolt. (1 Macc. 6:43-46).

Very little is known About Eleazar, except his heroic death as was told. According to the scroll of Antichus, his father saw in him a Zealot among zealots, like Pinhas. In the book of 2 Maccabees it is told that Eleazar read from the Tanakh in front of the people before going into his last battle.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleazar_Maccabeus

[dtaai-maai]

10/10 pharvey, go to the top of the class and sit next to SM.
Siani, no, the Normans left their elephants at home. They would have sunk the invasion fleet. Now put your hand down and sit still!

[Siani]

10/10 pharvey, go to the top of the class and sit next to SM.
Siani, no, the Normans left their elephants at home. They would have sunk the invasion fleet. Now put your hand down and sit still!

They were not very good at drawing elephants I thought it was a horse in armour! Also had 4 Normans on its back in a barrel! I must get some new glasses

[Siani]

What is this?

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[PeteC]

I'll go for a petrified shell of a tortoise that some ancient culture used the underside to inscribe symbolic text? Pete

[pharvey]

Clay stone tablet with symbols or hieroglyphs, not Egyptian - I'd go for something like Mesopotamian (?)

[Siani]

I'll go for a petrified shell of a tortoise that some ancient culture used the underside to inscribe symbolic text? Pete

Nope

[Siani]

Clay stone tablet with symbols or hieroglyphs, not Egyptian - I'd go for something like Mesopotamian (?)

Nope Try the country of origin first

[PeteC]

Then my second choice is a human skull cut in half. Pete

[dtaai-maai]

Is it a very old scarab?