Chris,
This is a much, much better summary of Mr. Z.'s book than I attempted to provide. Many thanks.
Folks, now you can get it straight from the horse's mouth.
BTW, I got several rather nasty e-mails accusing me of anti-Persian propaganda, Shamshir-hatred, ethnic prejudice, lying, ignorance etc. I would like to point out to these anonymous correspondents that I just cited ( and rather accurately, as the above link proves) Mr. Z.'s evaluation. He is a professional swordsman and did an extensive work comparing various designs of sabers. Whatever one thinks, please do not shoot me: I am just a messenger :)