A kilij (from Turkish kılıç, literally "sword") or a pusat is a type of one-handed, single-edged and curved scimitar used by the Seljuk Empire, Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and other Turkic khanates of Eurasian steppes and Turkestan. These blades developed from earlier Turko-Mongol sabers that were in use in lands controlled or influenced by the Turkic peoples. History Etymology Most of Turkologists and linguists including Bican Ercilasun and Sevan Nişanyan think that it is derived from the Turkic root "kıl-" which means "to forge" or "to smith", with the diminutive suffix "-ıç" which creates "kıl-ıç" (roughly “ironwork”, i.e. “sword”). Also one of the earliest mentions of the word was also recorded as “kılıç” (“... altun kurugsakımın kılıçın kesipen ...”, an Old Turkic phrase from the Orkhon Inscriptions which was erected in 735 AD) in the age of Turkic Khaganate, instead of the other suggested Old Turkic reconstructed form of “kırınç”. However, according to Turkish Language Association, the Turkish root verb "kır-" which means "to kill" with the suffix "-inç" makes "kır-ınç" (instrument for killing) becomes kılınç, then kılıç, which is apparently not based on the earliest attested forms of the word. The kilij became the symbol of power and kingdom. For example, Seljuk rulers carried the name Kilij Arslan (kılıç-arslan) means "sword-lion". Origins The Central Asian Turks and their offshoots began using curved cavalry swords beginning from the late Xiongnu period. The earliest examples of curved, single edged Turkish swords can be found associated with the late Xiongnu and Kök-Turk empires. These swords were made of pattern welded high carbon crucible steel, generally with long slightly curved blades with one sharp edge. A sharp back edge on the distal third of the blade known as or was introduced during this period. In the Early Middle Ages, the Turkic people of Central Asia came into contact with Middle Eastern civilizations through their shared Islamic faith. Turkic Ghilman slave-soldiers serving under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates introduced "kilij" type sabers to all of the other Middle Eastern cultures. Previously, Arabs and Persians used straight-bladed swords such as the earlier types of the Arab saif, takoba and kaskara. During Islamizaton of the Turks, the kilij became more and more popular in the Islamic armies. When the Seljuk Empire invaded Persia and became the first Turkic Muslim political power in Western Asia, kilij became the dominant sword form. The Iranian (Persian) shamshir