The difference between a Khopesh and a Scimitar

[Rameses Niblick the Third]

OK, what is a Khopesh?
I always thought that a Khopesh was one of those Arabian swords - broad,
heavy and with a curved blade. However I was then told that that was a
scimitar.

So which is it?

Thanks.

[Chris Pierson]

In article <EBx5A...@ul.ie>, Rameses Niblick the Third <colm@skynet> wrote:
>OK, what is a Khopesh?
>I always thought that a Khopesh was one of those Arabian swords - broad,
>heavy and with a curved blade. However I was then told that that was a
>scimitar.

The scimitar is the classic Arabian curved sword (although they did use
straight-bladed swords as well). The khopesh is something entirely
different: a cumbersome sword with a sickle-shaped blade. It was used in
the ancient world, especially in Egypt and Abyssinia (where it was called
the shotel, I believe), but passed out of use well before Arabian culture
began to flourish.
--
****************************************************************************
Chris Pierson ** Want me never, ever, EVER to consider giving you or your
Game Designer ** company money? Great! Keep those spam ads coming!
****************************************************************************

[but...@auhs.edu]

It's neither, really... a khopesh sword is an "Egyptian" weapon... sort
of. It's blade heavy, slightly curved, and (I think) based on the sickle
principle of sword making... Take a swipe, 'orf wit' 'is 'ed!

Hope that help... If anyone knows any better, PLEASE correct me so
I don't look like a boob. The "Egyptian" tag is something I picked up
from an AD&D book... not sure on its historical accuracy.

- BUTCH
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"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability
of the human mind to correlate all its contents.We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its
own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing
together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of
reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go
mad with the revelation, or flee from the deadly night into the peace and
safety of a new dark age."

excerpt from "The Call of Cthulhu"
by Howard Phillip Lovecraft
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[SL Nyveen]

In article <Pine.PMDF.3.95.9706171...@venus.auhs.edu>,
<but...@auhs.edu> wrote:

> It's neither, really... a khopesh sword is an "Egyptian" weapon... sort
> of. It's blade heavy, slightly curved, and (I think) based on the sickle
> principle of sword making... Take a swipe, 'orf wit' 'is 'ed!
>

It was an ancient Egyptian weapon. The blade started out from the hilt
straight, then curved in a semi-circle - sort of like the shape of a
question mark.

However, it wasn't a sickle. Sickles are thin and have a blade on the
inside of the curve. A khopesh had a heavy, wedge-shaped cross-section,
with the sharp end on the outside of the curve. A khopesh was really more
like a bizarre axe than a true sword.

Laurie Nyveen lawr...@netuser.com
________________________________________________________________
Editor, Netsurfer Digest - http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/index.html
DNRC Minister of Adding "ue" to Words That End in "log"

[Seth Tupper]

On Tue, 17 Jun 1997, Rameses Niblick the Third wrote:

> OK, what is a Khopesh?
> I always thought that a Khopesh was one of those Arabian swords - broad,
> heavy and with a curved blade. However I was then told that that was a
> scimitar.
>

[]--------[]------------------
ooooooooo[] \ /\
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\_____________/

Khopesh! (Kind of.) - Seth -

[ADAM B. TRELOAR]

> OK, what is a Khopesh?
> I always thought that a Khopesh was one of those Arabian swords - broad,
> heavy and with a curved blade. However I was then told that that was a
> scimitar.
>

> So which is it?

Neither. A khopesh is an ancient Egyptian weapon, wide at the hilt, and
narrowing to a point gradually. It's slightly curved like, say, a sabre,
but not as much as a scimitar. It also has no crosspiece - a major
reason it fell into disuse. For a reasonably accurate description and
picture, look in the Arms & Equipment guide.

Guardian.

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"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indestinguishable from technology.
So there."
Adam Treloar aka Guardian
s77...@frodo.student.gu.edu.au http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1900/
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