Arsenical bronze sword and dagger
Espada y puñal de bronce arsenical
- Date
- c. 3300 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Arslantepe, Malatya, Turkey
- Credited to
- Palace elite of Arslantepe (Early Bronze Age)
- Field
- Conflict
What it is
Nine arsenical bronze swords and twelve spearheads with silver inlay found in the palace complex at Arslantepe, the oldest known swords. A weapon designed exclusively to kill people, with no agricultural or hunting use.
Arslantepe VIA (c. 3350–3000 BCE) shows the first palace building with storerooms, seals and metal weapons.
What it led to
- Organised warfare as an elite activity and a monopoly on violence
- A palace state that stockpiles weapons and redistributes metal
- A metallurgical arms race towards tin bronze and iron
Built on
Made possible
- Sickle-sword (khopesh)c. 2500 BCE
- Tin bronze sword
- Bronze Age warrior panoply
- Bivalve mould