Theacinaces, also transliterated asakinakes (Greekἀκῑνάκης) orakinaka (unattestedOld Persian*akīnakah,Sogdiankynʼk) is a type ofdagger orxiphos (short sword) used mainly in the first millennium BCE in the easternMediterranean Basin, especially by theMedes,[1]Scythians,Persians andCaspians,[2] then by theGreeks.[3]
The acinaces, of Scythian origin, but made famous by the Persians, rapidly spread throughout theancient world. TheRomans believed that this weapon originated with the Medes.[3]
The acinaces is typically 40–60 cm (16–24 in) in length and double-edged,[3] and although there is no universal design, theguard may be lobed[4] with thehilt resembling that of abollock dagger, or thepommel may be split[5] or of the "antenna" type.[6] Thescabbard – as much as anything else – defines the acinaces, and usually has a large decorative mount near the opening, allowing it to be suspended from a belt on the wearer's right side.[7][3]
Ancient texts say very little about the acinaces, other than that it was a type of "Persian sword". Because of this, authors writing inLatin throughout history tended to equate the word with whatever type of weapon the contemporary Persians were using. Thus, it is frequently used inmedieval Latin texts to meanscimitar or the like, a meaning it still retains inscientific Latin.Paulus Hector Mair even goes so far as to translatedussack asacinaces, because it is curved like a scimitar, and likewise in the works ofJesuit authors describing Japan,acinaces is used forkatana.
However, the Persianshamshir is a relatively recent weapon, and did not exist inantiquity. TheAchaemenid-era Persians made use of more than one kind of sword. AncientPersian art typically shows the king's bodyguards and importantnobles wearing ornate diagonal daggers.[citation needed]Greek art, on the other hand, frequently shows Persian soldiers using thekopis.[citation needed] One must therefore do some research to figure out which type is the acinaces.
One useful bit of evidence is thatGreek andRoman texts sometimes mention the acinaces being given out by the king as a sign of favor. This would tend to point to the dagger.[citation needed]
Aritual use ofacinaces, offered as a gift to the sea by the Persian kingXerxes, is also mentioned byHerodotus (History, VII, 54), in the ritual contrition scene following the episode known asFlagellation ofHellespont.
A very revealing passage is found inJosephus'Jewish Antiquities 20.186, where the weapons used by thesicarii are described:
And the so-calledsicarii, which were a type ofbandit, were at that time reaching their greatest number, making use of small swords, which were like the Persian acinaces in respect to their size, but curved like the Romansica, which is where these bandits got their name.
This also seems to indicate that it is the dagger which is properly called the acinaces though there are those[who?] who deny this, translating the above passage as "concave like the Roman sica".
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