Throughout history, the sword holds an important role in the loss or defeat of apportionment combat. This weapon was introduced in the beginning of the New Kingdom in Egypt. The Egyptian swords were inferior to other swords invented in other places.

According to the archeological record, the Egyptians did not actually use swords very much at all – at least not for military purposes (though longish daggers/short swords were fairly common in civilian and political life).

Following the collapse of central government in Egypt due to internal rebellion, the Hyksos peoples of Palestine took advantage of this instability and invaded Egypt around 1640BC. They ruled Egypt for over 200 years and brought with them striking advances in weapon making, particularly the use of metal in the manufacture of swords and edged weapons.

Kind of Weapon

There are no stone predecessors of this kind of weapon. Axes, arrows, and spears have a long wooden handle or shaft and a small cutting or piercing head which was fashioned of flint during the Neolithic period. Unlike the other arms used by the ancient Egyptians, Egyptian Swords were a direct consequence of the introduction of metal.

Egyptian Swords had short wooden or ivory handles and long cutting edges, which could only be achieved with a metal harder than copper. Bronze, easier to cast than copper and significantly harder, was first used for making swords. Bronze, easier to cast than copper and significantly harder, was first used for making swords.

Its natural temper could be further augmented by repeated heating and cooling and hammering. Sickle-shaped swords (originally inherited from the Sumerians) were gradually replaced by swords with slightly curving blades.

The “Sea Peoples”, invaders from the Aegean and Asia Minor who first attacked Egypt during the reign of Merenptah (1213-1202BC), also introduced straight, two-edged blades with sharp, stabbing points.

The infantry of the New Kingdom carried spears, battle axes, sickles words, and daggers. An early kind of sword was the khepesh or khopesh, a sickles word introduced into Egypt from the Levant during the early New Kingdom when the Egyptians came into contact with the Canaanites. It was short, had a bent blade, and was used for slashing. It went out of fashion during the 19th dynasty.

Khopesh – the cruelly curved sickle sword adopted from the Canaanites, which was used to execute en-masse their enemies, as an infantry weapon and also as a symbol of the authority of their nobles.

The Ancient Egyptian sword could be used to cutting/slicing or stabbing. Blades on a cutting sword were bent beside wide. The stabbing swords were of times pointy and lightweight.

All of these swords had a strap to hold to the censuses. As situation passed, the Egyptians started using iron, consequently, swords could be thinner lighter and stronger. This created a better possibility of being palm supremacy a close sophistication situation. Troop contingents were issued with either of these kinds of sword and deployed accordingly.