
	Kavkaz - forum

Home Editorial board Publication ethics Information Current Archive Rules for authors Contacts	THE SPREAD OF LONG CAVALRY SWORDS IN ALANYA AND IRAN Kanukov, Zaurbek T. Kavkaz Forum. 2025. Issue 24. Abstract: This article examines the spread of horsemen’s swords with massive hilts among the Sarmatian-Alanian and Iranian communities. Alanian warrior burials, with their considerable number of accompanying goods, provide insight into Alanian military art, warfare methods, and the prevalence of various types of weaponry in different periods. In studying Alan warfare, we concluded that the Alans and Persians (as well as the Parthians) share many similarities in this regard. Specifically, these include long-bladed, double-edged swords with massive hilts, which have been discovered in large numbers during archaeological excavations in the territories inhabited by Sarmatian and Alanian tribes. Similar finds, although rare, are also found in the Middle East and Central Asia, where, according to recent research on the topic, the fashion for this type of weaponry originated. Cavalry swords, widely used by the Parthians and Persians, occupy a significant place in the museums of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to rare archaeological material, iconographic sources provide valuable information. Depictions of members of the service class on various bas-reliefs, dishes, and plaques provide insight into the manner in which long-bladed horse swords were carried and allow us to classify them into various subtypes. Similar artefacts are found in the lands of historical Iran, Central Asia, the former Kushan Empire, and elsewhere. Research into this topic is highly relevant, as it helps shed light on the specifics of cultural and technological exchange between regions of Eurasia in the Classical and Medieval periods, as well as identifying certain parallels in the military art of the Alans and Persians (and also the Parthians). The study of parallels in the military art of the Alans and Persians, specifically the origin and spread of double-edged cavalry swords, is the goal of this research. This topic is considered to be understudied, which determines the scientific novelty of the research. Keywords: Alans, Persians, Parthians, cavalry swords. Language: Russian Download the full text For citation: Kanukov, Z.T. The spread of long cavalry swords in Alania and Iran. KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2025, iss. 24 (31), pp.174-185 (In Russian). + References 1. Gabuev, T.A. Alanskie knyazheskie kurgany V v. n.eh. u sela Brut v Severnoi Osetii [Alanian princely burial mounds of the 5th century AD near the village of Brut in North Ossetia]. Vladikavkaz, Izdatel’sko-poligraficheskoe predpriyatie im. V. Gassieva, 2014. 184 p. 2. Moshtagh Khorasani, M., Akbarzadeh, D. The Development of Sasanian Swords (Coins, Dishes and Bas-Reliefs). Parseh Journal Archaeological Studies. 2023, vol. 7(24), pp. 127–166. 3. Nikonorov, V.P. Vooruzhenie i voennoe delo v Parfii [Weapons and military affairs in Parthia]. PhD dissertation (in history). Leningrad, 1987. 274 p. 4. Khazanov, A.M. Ocherki voennogo dela sarmatov [Essays on Sarmatian military affairs]. Moscow, Nauka, 1971. 171 p. 5. Obel’chenko, O.V. Mechi i kinzhaly iz kurganov Sogda [Swords and Daggers from Sogdiana Kurgans]. Sovetskaya arkheologiya [Soviet Archaeology]. 1968, no. 4, pp. 115–127. 6. Bezuglov, S.I. Pozdnesarmatskie mechi (po materialam Podon’ya) [Late Sarmatian Swords (Based on Materials from the Don Region)]. Materialy i issledovaniya po arkheologii Dona. Vyp. I: Sarmaty i ikh sosedi na Donu [Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the Don Region. Part I: Sarmatians and Their Neighbors on the Don]. Rostov-on-Don, Terra, 2000, pp. 169–193. 7. Berezutskii, V.D. Pozdnesarmatskoe klinkovoe oruzhie iz pogrebenii Berezovskogo kurgannogo mogil’nika [Late Sarmatian Bladed Weapons from Burials of the Berezovsky Kurgan Cemetery]. Vestnik Volgograbskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser. 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Bulletin of Volgograd State University. Series 4. History. Regional Studies. International Relations]. 2023, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 47–56. 8. Bezuglov, S.I. Pozdnesarmatskii mech iz st. Kamyshevskaya [Late Sarmatian sword from the village of Kamyshevskaya Late Sarmatian sword from the village of Kamyshevskaya]. Materialy VII Donskoi arkheologicheskoi konferentsii «Problemy arkheologii Yugo-Vostochnoi Evropy» (Rostov-na-Donu, 22–26 noyabrya 1998 g.) [Proceedings of the VII Don Archaeological Conference «Problems of Archaeology of South-Eastern Europe» (Rostov-on-Don, November 22–26, 1998)]. Rostov-on- Don, Otkrytoe obshchestvo, 1998, pp. 87–88. 9. Kozaev, P.K. Otchet arkheologa P.K. Kozaeva ob arkheologicheskikh raskopkakh kurganov i mogil’nikov u s. Tarskoe Prigorodnogo raiona i ob arkheologicheskoi razvedke v Alagirskom raione RSO-Alaniya za 2001 g. [Report of archaeologist P.K. Kozaev on archaeological excavations of burial mounds and cemeteries near the village of Tarskoye, Prigorodny District, and on archaeological reconnaissance in the Alagir District of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania for 2001]. Arkhiv GBUK «Natsional’nyi muzei RSO-Alaniya» [Archive of the State Budgetary Cultural Institution «National Museum of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania»]. Fund 1. Inventory 2. Case 1453. 10. Dzhanaev, Eh.G. Otchet ob issledovanii Beslanskogo kurgannogo katakombnogo mogil’nika v Pravoberezhnom raione Respubliki Severnaya Osetiya- Alaniya v 2011 g. (v zone stroitel’stva avtomagistrali M–29 «Kavkaz» na uchastke obkhoda g. Beslan), 2012 [Report on the study of the Beslan kurgan catacomb cemetery in the Right-Bank District of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania in 2011 (in the construction zone of the M-29 «Kavkaz» highway on the bypass section of the city of Beslan), 2012]. Arkhiv IA RAN [Archives of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. P-1, no. 29675–29693. 11. Zagazezhev, T.R., Kadieva, A.A., Demidenko, S.V. Mech s derevyannym perekrest’em ehpokhi arabo-vizantiiskikh voin [A sword with a wooden crossguard from the era of the Arab-Byzantine wars]. Otkrytiya i uspekhi kavkazskoi arkheologii [Discoveries and achievements of Caucasian archeology]. Moscow, Nalchik, Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2024, pp. 114–118. 12. Masia, K. The Evolution of Swords and Daggers in the Sasanian Empire. Iranica Antiqua. 2000, vol. 35, pp. 185–289. 13. Karamian, G., Farrokh, K. A unique Parthian Sword in the Bonyad-e Mostazafan Museum. Historia I Świat. 2019, no. 8, pp. 211–214. 14. Holaei, A.Sh., Jini, B.F., Niknami, K. Preliminary Study and Introduction of Recovered Armaments from Parthian Catacombs at Vestemin, Kiasar, Sari, Considering 2015, 2017 and 2018 Excavation Seasons. Journal of Archaeological Studies. 2023, no. 2, vol. 15, pp. 113–131. 15. Mostagh Khorasani, M. Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period. Munich, Legat Verlag, 2006. 780 p. 16. Tatsit Kornelii, P. Sochineniya. V 2 t. [Works. In 2 vols]. Vol. II. History. Leningrad, Nauka, 1968. 269 p. 17. Nefedkin, A.K. Voennoe delo sarmatov i alanov (po dannym antichnykh istochnikov) [Military Affairs of the Sarmatians and Alans (according to Ancient Sources)]. St. Petersburg, Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University, Nestor-Istoriya, 2011. 304 p. 18. Ilyasov, J.Ya., Rusanov, D.V. A Study on the Bone Plates from Orlat. Silk Road art and archeology. 1997/98, vol. 5, pp. 107–159. ← Contents of issue


	Home \| Editorial board \| Publication ethics \| Information \| Current \| Archive \| Rules for authors \|
	© 2025 Kavkaz forum