Pulwar
Sign in to savethumb|200px|Afghan pulwar, 19th century mounts, earlier (17th to 18th century) deeply curved 82 cm blade of damascus watered steel, inlaid on one side with maker's mark and Islamic inscription, other gold inlays throughout the blade, large iron hilt with characteristic down turned quillions and brass rivet caps, inside measurement 104 cm, leather over wood scabbard with iron chape. The pulwar or pulouar () is a single-handed curved sword originating in Afghanistan.
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Origin
- Characteristics
- See also
- Notes
- References
thumb|200px|Afghan pulwar, 19th century mounts, earlier (17th to 18th century) deeply curved 82 cm blade of damascus watered steel, inlaid on one side with maker's mark and Islamic inscription, other gold inlays throughout the blade, large iron hilt with characteristic down turned quillions and brass rivet caps, inside measurement 104 cm, leather over wood scabbard with iron chape. The pulwar or pulouar () is a single-handed curved sword originating in Afghanistan.
==Origin== The pulwar originated alongside other scimitar-type weapons such as the Arab saif, the Persian shamshir, the Turkish kilij, and the Indian talwar, all of them ultimately based on earlier Central Asian swords. Originally, the Khyber Knife (a type of short sword) served as the weapon of the common people while upper-classes could afford to import swords from neighbouring Persia and India. Over time, the Afghans combined characteristics of the imported swords and adapted it to create the pulwar. Most existing pulwars date back to the early 19th century.