Scimitar

A scimitar

A scimitar is a single-edged, curved sword of Middle Eastern origin. It was used predominantly throughout Western Asia and North Africa in a wide variety of forms, including the Syrian Sabre and the Ottoman Janissary Kilij. Rare but not unknown to Europe via export and transmission, pirates of the West Indies during the Golden Age of Piracy also favored scimitars alongside the more typical cutlasses.

Description

Yusif Tazim's kilij

Akin to the European saber, a scimitar is a single-edged, curved sword hailing from West Asia that takes on a myriad of forms depending on its cultural origin.

The Turkish kilij, for instance, bears a distinctive blade which is only slightly curved for the first half or third of the blade from the hilt before rearing back radically at the last half. A little further from the point of the shift, at around the last third towards the tip, the blade widens suddenly, such that it appears to "flare" outwards. This spontaneous change in degree of curvature along with the flaring tip is a trademark of the kilij, a Turkish type of scimitar.

The Persian Shamshir

Other varieties of scimitars are more conventional. The blades of Syrian Sabres are moderately curved throughout their entire length. The profile of their blades alongside the simple guard at the grip makes it quite similar to the much later European saber. Unlike the kilij, Persian scimitars are less uniform in design; the Persian Shamshir common throughout Italy during the Renaissance boasted an exceedingly broad blade while other Persian scimitars bore slender or tapering blades.

Scimitars were also diverse in terms of performance. In some cases, aged swords such as the powerful Syrian Sabre even decayed in efficacy over the centuries. However, given scimitars' common design feature as single-edged, curved swords, cutting power is a universal quality. Slashing techniques is a specialty of scimitars at the expense of piercing power.

History

A Persian scimitar

As a ubiquitous type of sword in the Middle East, the scimitar was widespread among Saracen forces during the Crusades. In the Third Crusade, they were employed by not only Saracen guards but the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins as well. In 1190, the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad utilized two distinct types of scimitars during his mission to recover the Chalice. They were the most powerful weapons he had in possession until he was given a special sword by his lover Adha, the Chalice. The next year, he no longer bore any of the swords he had utilized in that prior mission. Master Assassins, such as he, were entitled to the prestigious Syrian Sabre, among the deadliest in the Levantine Brotherhood's armory at the time.

During the Italian Renaissance, a certain model of the Persian scimitar characterized by a distinctively broad blade was widespread throughout the Italian city-states. It was sold at blacksmith shops across cities such as Florence, Venice, Forlì, Monteriggioni, and San Gimignano and saw service with many city guards. This model also found its way to Constantinople, then under the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, the Ottoman military had their own design of scimitars, the Turkish kilij, which was likewise a regular sword of the Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins.

Aside from their brief foray into Italy during the Renaissance, scimitars remained a rarity in Europe. European armies of the 18th century developed their own single-edged, curved swords commonly known as sabers. Despite this, scimitars were popular among European pirates who roamed the West Indies during the early 18th century. They remained rare in France at the time of the French Revolution, but some scimitars still found their ways into Parisian markets.

Weapon statistics

Third Crusade

Name	Damage	Availability
Assassin's Sword (Enhanced II)	3	Sequence 6; Assassin's Rank 9

Italian Renaissance (15th century)

Name	Damage	Speed	Deflect	Cost	Availability
Old Syrian Sword	1	2	3	2,300ƒ	Sequence 3
Scimitar	3	3	5	11,300ƒ	Sequence 6

Spanish Renaissance

Name	Tier	Damage	Speed	Miss Chance	Modifiers	Requirements
Scimitar	★	12-18	1.00	7%	+5 Lethality	1,200 Reales 15 Copper Ore 15 Tin Ore
Fine Scimitar	★★	38-48	1.00	7%	+8 Lethality	4,000 R 50 Iron Ore 50 Leather Scraps 1 Scimitar
Syrian Sabre	★★	36-50	1.00	7%	+1% Critical Chance +10% Critical Bonus +1% Dodge	4,000 Reales 50 Iron Ore 50 Tanned Leather
Fine Syrian Sabre	★★★	108-132	1.00	7%	+2% Critical Chance +20% Critical Bonus +1% Dodge	9,000 Reales 100 Steel Ingot 100 Hardened Leather 1 Syrian Sabre
Branded Kilij	★★★★★	1.8k-1.9k	1.00	7%	+200 Defense +100 Health +5% Critical Chance +10% Critical Bonus	150,000 Reales 130 Gold ingots 80 Fine Silk 1 Malachite

Italian Renaissance (16th century)

Name	Damage	Speed	Deflect	Cost	Availability
Scimitar	3	3	5	N/A	Sequence 3
Old Syrian Sword	3	4	1	8,800ƒ	Sequence 6

Ottoman era

Name	Damage	Speed	Deflect	Cost	Availability
Persian Shamshir	1	4	3	3,163	Sequence 2
Syrian Sabre	2	4	3	11,960	Sequence 5
Janissary Kilij	4	2	2	28,290	Sequence 6
Yusuf's Turkish Kilij	5	5	5	N/A	Complete "The Deacon, Part 1"

Golden Age of Piracy

Name	Damage	Speed	Combo	Cost	Availability
Pirate Scimitars	5	2	3	10,000 R	Sequence 2
Persian Scimitars	3	2	2	N/A	Complete community challenges
Edward Kenway's Unique Swords	2	3	2	N/A	Enter code found with McFarlane Edward Kenway action figure

Seven Years' War

Name	Damage	Speed	Combo	Cost	Availability
Pirate Scimitar	1	2	2	£1,200	Sequence 1

Colonial Louisiana

Name	Damage	Speed	Combo	Chain-kill	Cost	Persona	Availability
Pirate Scimitar	2	4	3	3	N/A	Assassin	Mysteries of the Bayou Pack

French Revolution

Name	Level	Damage	Parry	Speed	Range	Cost	Modifiers	Requirements
Scimitar	◆◆◆	3	3	4	2	1,000₣	Additional Damage: +25%	N/A

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed
• Assassin's Creed II (first identified as "scimitar")
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Unity
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage