Shakan: Kazakh 18th-19th century narrow-bladed battle axes

Kazakh narrow-bladed battle axes - shakan - in private and museum collections of Russia and Kazakhstan are described in terms of construction and decoration. Our results show that this type of shock-and-slash weapon originated from the battle axes early and high medieval Turkic and Mongolian nomads had used against armored enemies. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, the shakan axes largely fell into disuse because of the disappearance of metal armor.