Mongolian Sword

Mongol saber or Turko-Mongol saber is a single-edged, slightly curved long sword. Used for a long time by Mongol cavalry in war. Most of the swords in medieval Europe were straight; that is to say, they were used to either cut and thrust or simply cut. Mongol saber on the other hand was far superior to European swords for the high speed warfare that the Mongols conducted on horseback. The curved shape of the Mongol saber enabled the rider to perform a ‘draw cut’, a cut which was made by slashing down at the enemy and then allowing the blade to continue on from the cut, rather than trying to pull the blade back through the cut in the opposite direction to the stroke. This would have required great force to combat the weight of the horse and the weight of the rider.

Importance to the Empire

The curved sword was seen by the Mongol Empire as a ‘finishing tool’ and its primary use would be in the latter stages of a battle. The bow would have done the initial damage to break up the enemy, then the curved sword would be used in a final charge to cut down any remaining enemy, who were in full retreat¹

The curved sword was a very effective sword in long hand to hand combat as it was light, strong and well balanced. The broadswords of the West were used for short powerful hacks and were not suitable for long hand to hand combat. The Mongols used their curved swords to great effect against their opponents, whether they were heavily armored knights of the Holy Roman Empire or the highly organized and disciplined infantry of the Song Dynasty in China. ²

Effect on the Silk Road

The Mongol Curved Sword was a very popular item of trade on the Silk Road of the Mongol Empire. The magnificent Mongol Curved Sword was highly exported to other cultures of the Silk Road.

This sword greatly influenced many later blades such as the Persian shamshir, Indian talwar and even the Polish szabla. The Mongols were true pioneers of metallurgy of the Silk Road. They spread high-carbon steels and special techniques of metalworking to other cultures. They also spread their inventions of forging

The Mongol Curved Sword therefore is a symbol of innovation on the Silk Road and at the same time a defender of the road, implementing the Khan’s law to the smallest detail.

Philosophy of Craft

Mongol blacksmiths made swords for horseback combat by building a sandwich of two metals: hard steel and soft iron.

A sword made entirely of hard steel such as steel would be sharp as a razor and cut well, but would shatter on the first impact with a solid object, such as armor. A sword made entirely of soft iron such as wrought-iron would be very tough, but would bend easily, also losing its edge in battle.

A Mongol blacksmith would have made a sword for horseback combat in much the same way by using a “sandwich” of hard steel and tough, yet flexible, iron. The hard, yet brittle steel, was used to make the very sharp cutting edge of the sword. The whole of the spine of the sword was made of the very tough, yet flexible, material of iron.

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Bibliography

• Kuttel, Sifu. 2026. “Securly - Geolocation Sharing.” Lkchensword.com. 2026. https://lkchensword.com/yuan-mongol-saber.
• Wikipedia Contributors. 2024. “Turko-Mongol Sabre.” Wikipedia. March 2, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turko-Mongol_sabre.
• Saber and Scabbard, 17th-18th Century, The Met, New York City, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/763132
• Sword Hilt, 13th-14th Century, The Met, New York City, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26624