Indo Persian Battle Axe

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Iliad

Greetings to you, Ibrahiim,
Thank you for your prompt and helpful reply. You have convinced me that my axe is indeed a parade axe. Your references are most impressive.
It seems that the main feature which distinguishes a battle axe from a parade axe would be the weight, a battle axe requiring a substantial weight to be truly effective.
Please now explain to me the circumstances in which a parade axe might be used? And why not the heavier battle axe, since the battle axe would be readily available to soldiers?
Best wishes,
Brian

Salaams Iliad, I think you have the answer right there... Parade axes and parade weapons of the Qajar Dynasty were highly ornate and often less weighty than the battlefield items. Yes there are indeed swords and other items in the Qajar parade weapon structure all generally heavily ornate but obviously not for fighting. (some less obvious than others!) The Qajar Dynasty ended in about 1923 and by then a lot of the old weapons were relegated to museums and/or out of service... so here was the opportunity to copy weaponry for parade use ... pomp, pageantry and a show of strength etc. I describe some axes as battle axe when I should really use the term Saddle Axe for the thick heavy single hammer axe combination.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.