The well-known reference to the Slavs paying tribute to the Khazars in the form of swords has sometimes been taken as evidence that straight, double-edged swords were superior to the single-edged sabres otherwise used by Khazars. Arguing against this is not only the interpretation of such tribute as a disarmament of the defeated, but the plain facts that sabres were not only still used by the Khazars right up until the collapse of the Khaganate under Russian pressure in the 10th and 11th centuries, but remained the most popular close-combat bladed weapon amongst steppe nomadic horsemen◦– and many other cavalry◦– for centuries to come. It may also be the case that the spread of sabres in much of Eastern Europe was closely associated with the Khazars.
In the second half of the 7th century the swords found in steppe warrior burials are, with very few exceptions, single-edged ‘sabre’ types ranging in length from 75cm to 100cm including hilts (29.5–39.4in). The appearance of increasingly curved blades reflected a search for greater effectiveness in mounted combat, and in many 7th-century single-edged weapons the hilt was also curved towards the cutting edge. This style is unlikely to have been invented by the Khazars themselves, but was probably borrowed from the Persians. There is, however, no scholarly consensus regarding the origin of distinctive ‘D’ or ‘P’-shaped projections on the scabbard to attach the suspension straps.
In the mid-8th century the warriors of the Khazar Khaganate adopted an early form of curved or true sabre. According to A.V. Kryganov, the renowned expert on nomad weaponry:
The length of the cutting part of the blade varies between 650 and 860mm (25.6–33.8in), more often being between 680 and 750mm; hilts are between 70 and 130mm long, usually 80 to 110mm (31.5–43in); the width of the blade is between 30 and 44mm, more often 30 to 35mm (1.2–1.4in). Curvature is either uniform along the entire length of the blade, or is only in the last third of the blade. The hilt is either straight, or … bent toward the cutting edge. The ends of the blades are almost double-edged.[2]
A certain thickening towards the end of the blade may have produced greater striking power, or may simply have resulted from giving the weapon a doubled edge towards its point. In contrast to the 8th–9th century Khazars’ highly effective close-combat cavalry or infantry weapon, the early Russian sword was really only effective on foot.
Daggers traditionally served as auxiliary close-combat weapons amongst foot-soldiers, so it is not surprising that they did not immediately become widespread among the nomadic horse-riding population of the Khazar Khaganate. Early daggers did not significantly differ in shape from smaller knives, usually being single-edged with a straight grip. At the end of the 7th century a Turkish type of larger fighting knife, sometimes with a grip markedly curved towards the cutting edge, spread among the Khazars. This weapon, unknown earlier in Europe, may have been of Soghdian Central Asian origin, where it was the ancestor of the khanjar which then spread across most of the Islamic world and beyond.
Across the Volga-Ural steppe region, metal spearheads had been known from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. These had sockets rather than tangs for attachment to wooden shafts, often with an additional crimping ring which fixed the head more securely.
Khazar burials of the 7th century rarely contain spearheads; only at the turn of the 7th–8th centuries do spearheads with slender tetrahedral (i.e. ‘diamond-section’) blades appear in a Khazar context. The appearance of this form of weapon also coincided with fragments of mail armour being found in such burials. More specifically armour-piercing types of spearheads appeared in the 8th to 10th centuries, and were especially associated with the highly developed Saltov-Khazar culture. The majority of spearheads found in graves of both nomadic and settled Khazars, as well as in Alan and Bulgar burials, are of this basic form. Broader, leaf-shaped spearheads designed for engaging warriors who were unprotected by armour are rare, but there are nevertheless two main variants: spearheads with a diamond-shaped section, and two-ended spears having a metal butt or ferrule that could also be used to strike. Meanwhile, thrown javelins were only used in the Khaganate by Slav and Finno-Ugrian tribal warriors.
The spearheads were mounted on slender wooden shafts, 3 to 4m long and up to 4.5cm in diameter (9ft 9in–13ft, x 1.8in); nowhere along its length was the shaft much thicker than the maximum diameter of the socket (from 0.8 to 1.7in). The shafts were made from straight saplings or pollard-poles of young trees, of species which varied with the local climates. As a rule, saplings were cut in late autumn or early winter during the period of minimum sap flow; they were then straightened and allowed to dry, after which the wood was scraped and polished to the desired size and shape.
Shafts might also be bound with metal bands to increase their strength when thrusting, and the addition of rawhide or birch-bark bindings gave a more secure grip. To make carrying the spear easier, a rawhide strap was attached (which the Cossacks later called a temyak). Again judging by Cossack fighting styles, the medieval steppe nomads might have fastened a looped leather strap near the butt of the shaft for the rider’s foot, to keep his weapon in an upright position when on horseback.
The methods of using this type of spear could vary, and the following examples are based upon available data:
(1) With a firm grip at the point of balance: the shaft is clamped under the bent arm tightly pressed against the warrior’s body. The effectiveness of the thrust and impact of the lance depended upon the speed of the horse at the moment of contact.
(2) Couched: the shaft is grasped nearer its lower end, and either rests beneath the armpit or is tightly pressed into it, with the arm bent at the elbow in a horizontal position. The result is a significant increase in the effective reach of the lance, but makes it difficult to control in a horizontal position because it is not grasped at the point of balance.
(3) With a free grip: the spear is held in one hand in a horizontal ‘trail’ position. Immediately before the moment of contact, the warrior thrusts his arm in whatever direction he chooses. This results in a weaker impact, but allows the rider to fence with the spear and use it to deflect enemy blows.
2
Kryganov, A.V., Armament and Equestrian Equipment of Nomads of the South of Eastern Europe in the 7th–10th Centuries (Historical science thesis, in Russian; Kharkov, 1987) 60–61