A karabela was a type of Polish
sabre
A sabre (French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...
() popular in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. Polish fencer
Wojciech Zabłocki defines a karabela as a decorated sabre with the handle stylized as the head of a bird and an open
crossguard.
Etymology
The word "" does not have well-established
etymology
Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
, and different versions are suggested.
*
Zygmunt Gloger
Zygmunt Gloger (3 November 1845 in Tybory-Kamianka – 16 August 1910 in Warsaw) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popu ...
suggests derivation from the name of the
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i city of
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...
, known for trade of this kind of sabres.
* Another suggestion is that the name originated in Turkey, associated with the Turkish town Karabel, in the vicinity of
Izmir, or the Karabel district in
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
.
See also
*
Kilij
A kilij (from Turkish ''kılıç'', literally "sword") or a pusat is a type of one-handed, single-edged and moderately curved scimitar used by the Seljuk Empire, Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and other Turkic khanates of Eu ...
References
Bibliography
* Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz "1000 słów o broni białej i uzbrojeniu ochronnym" MON, Warszawa 1981,
* PWN Leksykon: Wojsko, wojna, broń, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2001,
* Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz: ''Dzieje szabli w Polsce'', Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 1999,
Single-edged swords
Weapons of Poland
Turkish words and phrases
Sabres
European swords