Shotel
Shotel ሽቶል/ሽተል | |
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![]() A shotel in the collection of the British Museum | |
Type | Sword |
Place of origin | Dʿmt,(modern dayEritrea) |
Service history | |
In service | Dʿmt,Axumite Kingdom,Kingdom of Shewa,Ethiopian Empire |
Used by | Chewa regiments |
Wars | Ethiopian–Adal War Ottoman-Portuguese War of 1538 British-Abyssinian War First Italo-Ethiopian War |
Specifications | |
Mass | 0.9–1.8 kg (2.0–4.0 lb) |
Length | 76–102 cm (30–40 in) |
Blade length | 40–64 cm (16–25 in) |
Bladetype | Curved blade, double-edge |
Hilttype | Simple wooden or rhinoceros horn piece with no guard |
Scabbard/sheath | Leather, decorated with precious metals |
Ashotel(Ge'ezandAmharic:ሽቶል/ሽተል) is a curvedswordoriginating in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. The curve on the blade varies from the Persianshamshir,adopting an almost semicircular shape. The blade is flat and double-edged with a diamond cross-section. The blade is about 40 inches (1 m) in total length and thehiltis a simple wooden or rhinoceros horn piece with noguardsimilar to thejileorjambiya.The shotel was carried in a close fitting leatherscabbardwhich was often decorated in precious metals and worn on the right side.[1]
History
[edit]Evidence of the shotel dates toDʿmtand theAxumites,having been used by both mounted and unmounted warriors and used dating as far back as 700 BC.[citation needed]After theSolomonic Dynastyrestoration ofAtseYekuno Amlak,the resurgent emperors began to organize their armies in a similar manners to the Aksumites, culminating in the reign ofAtseAmda Seyon I.Shotel wielders, known asshotelaiorhanetayand organized in the Axurarat Shotelai, comprised one of the elite forces of Amda Seyon's Imperial host. Along with the Hareb Gonda and Korem cavalry, Keste Nihb archers and Axuarat Axuarai lancers were said to be the forces that "flew through the air like the eagle and spun on the ground like the avalanche", by a contemporaneous historian.[citation needed]Shotel techniques among others included hooking attacks both against mounted and dismounted opponents that had devastating effect especially against mounted cavalry. The shotel could be used to hook and rip the warrior off the horse. Classically, the shotel was employed in a dismounted state to hook the opponent by reaching around a shield or any other defensive implement or weapon.[1]
Due to increased trade with the west, over time the shotel began to be replaced in the southernKingdom of Shewaand Shewan dominatedEthiopian Empireby swords fitted with Europeansabreblades known as Gurade or Gorade. InAmharaculture the generic word for sword, "seif," is mainly used to refer to a straight bladed, double edged sword.
Design
[edit]Its shape, similar to a largesickle,was effectively used to reach around an opponent's shield and stab them in vital areas such as thekidneysorlungs.While closely resembling the Afar gile, the gile has two cutting edges, while the shotel's upper edge is unsharpened and sometimes braced against the swordsman's shield for strength. The shotel and other Eritrean and northern Ethiopian swords are occasionally referred to collectively in Geez as han'e.
The mid-18th century European visitor to Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, Remedius Prutky, often used the wordshotelto describe a carving knife.[2]
Gallery
[edit]-
Dejazmach Hailu carrying a shotel.
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A shotel, a shotel scabbard and a shield.
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An Ethiopian cutting a meat with a shotel.
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An Ethiopian child with a shield and a shotel.
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A shotel and shield hanging on the roof of an Ethiopianshack.
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A colored depiction of Officer Thaime, who is wearing a shotel.
See also
[edit]- Sickle sword,a similar weapon used by theBronze AgeCanaanites,IsraelitesandAncient Egyptians
- Falx,a curved weapon used by the ancientThracians
References
[edit]- ^ab*Stone, George Cameron(1999) [1934].A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times.Mineola NY: Dover Publications. p. 562.ISBN0-486-40726-8.
- ^J.H. Arrowsmith-Brown (trans.),Prutky's Travels in Ethiopia and other Countrieswith notes by Richard Pankhurst (London: Hakluyt Society, 1991), pp. 77, 165.
External links
[edit]- "Shotel Sword from Eritrea and northern Ethiopia".Oriental-Arms. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-06.Retrieved2012-05-20.