Kopis
Kopis is a Greek word for a cutting implement and, in military contexts, is associated with a curved single-edged sword. Blade forms and terminology varied; kopis and machaira did not always designate two rigidly separated archaeological categories.
Such swords occur in Greek, Italic and Iberian equipment. Their origins cannot be reduced to a proven single chain from Egypt through Sumer and Media to Greece. The Egyptian khopesh is a different blade form and should not be described as an ordinary shortened halberd with a half-metre handle.
A curved sword could supplement a spear and be used by cavalry. Reenactment choices require a date, region and particular find.
Machaira
Another word for the same curved sword is machaira (mahera) (Ancient Greek: μάχαιρα), which means knife in modern Greek. This word in antiquity was widely used to refer to all sorts of cutting objects, and not just the fighting swords of the Greeks. Xenophon uses "kopis" and "machaira" in relation to the same type of sword, but it is clear from the context of his writings that by "machaira" he meant a cutting, not a piercing type of blade, and by "kopis" - a curved sword: "We prefer a curved saber (μάχαιραν) to a straight sword (ξίφος) for harming an opponent, because for a rider from a high position, a saber strike (κοπίς) is more convenient than a sword strike.". Thus, machaira is a broader concept than kopis. In the 10th-century East Roman version, the word "machaira" simply means a sword, referring to the text of the ancient Greek historian Polybius, who referred to Celtiberian double-edged swords and native Roman swords by the word machaira. In earlier texts, the Greeks called swords xiphos (Ancient Greek: ξίφος).
Kopis. Found on the Halkidiki peninsula in Greece. 4th century BC
A Greek hoplite fighting a Persian archer warrior. Both are armed with kopis. National Archaeological Museum,Athens. Drawing from an ancient kilika (vase). 5th century BCFalcata
The name falcata is not historical — it originated in the second half of the 19th century due to the liberties of one of the translators from Latin, who took the figurative descriptive expression "ensis falcatus" — "a sword curved like a sickle" for the name of a type of weapon. The Romans themselves called this weapon the " Spanish saber " — machaera Hispana. According to legend, Iberian swordsmiths in the 3rd century BC tested the quality of steel in such a way: the sword was placed flat on its head and bent so that both ends touched the shoulders. When released, the sword should straighten without consequences. even though the swordsmiths repeated this trick many times, a good sword always regained its shape.
Falcata. Museum in Madrid. 4th century BCThe blades of many kopides and falcatas broaden towards the point. Shape and mass distribution affect handling, but do not by themselves prove superiority over every straight blade. The claim that no helmet or cuirass could withstand a falcata is an exaggeration, not a universal experimental result.
Falcata with the remains of a scabbard. A museum in Madrid. 3rd century BCRelated topics
Bas-relief. Kopis in its scabbard. Archaeological Museum,Istanbul. Second half of the 3rd century BCInterested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.
