page_title: Kilij
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Kilij / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: Lieutenant General the Hon. Charles William (Vane-)Stewart (later 3rd Marquess of Londonderry) in hussar uniform, wearing the Army Gold Medal which he was awarded in 1810 for the Battle of Talavera, and the Star and Ribbon of the Order of the Bath. There are two versions of this portrait, the "Camden version" (this painting) and the "Londonderry version" (now in the National Gallery, London). The Londonderry version shows less of the figure, while the Camden version is inscribed "Thos. Lawrence Pinx. 1812" on the edge of the cloak and has the star and ribbon of the Bath which Stewart received in 1813 (added later, with underpainting now showing through the ribbon). There is some confusion in the literature about which version of the painting is the one being referred to (especially since Stewart sat for Lawrence for different portraits painted in 1811 and 1818). It was probably the Camden version which was exhibited at the RA in 1813, the Londonderry version being painted afterwards.
context_page_description: A kilij is a type of one-handed, single-edged and moderately curved scimitar used by the Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the later Turkic Khanates of Central Asia and Eurasian steppes. These blades developed from earlier Turko-Mongol sabers that were in use in lands invaded or influenced by the Turkic peoples.
context_section_description: The Central Asian Turks and their offshoots began using curved cavalry swords beginning from the late Xiongnu period. The earliest examples of curved, single edged Turkish swords can be found associated with the late Xiongnu and Kök Turk empires. These swords were made of pattern welded high carbon crucible steel, generally with long slightly curved blades with one sharp edge.  A sharp back edge on the distal third of the blade known as "yalman" or "yelman" was introduced during this period.  
  In the Early Middle Ages, the Turkic people of Central Asia came into contact with Middle Eastern civilizations through their shared Islamic faith. Turkic Ghilman slave-soldiers serving under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates introduced "kilij" type sabers to all of the other Middle Eastern cultures. Previously, Arabs and Persians used straight-bladed swords such as the earlier types of the Arab saif, takoba and kaskara.
  During Islamizaton of the Turks, the kilij became more and more popular in the İslamic armies. When the Seljuk Empire invaded Persia and became the first Turkic Muslim political power in Western Asia, kilij became the dominant sword form. The Iranian (Persian) shamshir was created during the Turkic Seljuk Empire period of Iran/Persia.
  After the invasion of Anatolia this sword type was carried by Turkomen tribes to the future seat of the Ottoman Empire. During the Crusades, Turks of Anatolia were the first target to be attacked by the European armies, and their curved swords were misperceived by Europeans as the imaginative "scimitar of the Saracens", the generic sword type for all "Orientals".
caption: A British Hussar general with a scabbarded kilij of Turkish manufacture (1812).
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.4.7", "Image DateTime": "2012:06:14 19:50:50", "Image Artist": "National Portrait Gallery London", "Image ExifOffset": "192", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "165", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "200", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "654", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "789"}