Sickle-sword (khopesh)
Espada de hoja curva (khopesh)
- Date
- c. 2500 BCE · confidence low
- Place
- Lagash (Telloh), Dhi Qar, Iraq
- Credited to
- Sumerian armies; later spread to Egypt and the Levant
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A bronze weapon with a sickle-shaped blade sharpened on its convex edge, combining the striking power of an axe with the ability to hook an enemy's shield or arm. It appears on the Stele of the Vultures and was adopted in Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period.
The dating of the Stele of the Vultures (c. 2450 BC) and the identification of the curved weapons it shows as sickle-swords are debated; the Egyptian khopesh proper dates to c. 1700-1550 BC and its Mesopotamian or Levantine origin is unresolved.
What it led to
- symbol of royal power in Egyptian and Mesopotamian iconography
- curved-edge swords such as the Iberian falcata and the sabre
- bronze-age armies combining curved blade, shield and chariot