Pole-axe "aybalta" from the funds of Omsk State Historical Museum

The article deals with the battle ax striker (№ 3788) stored in the collection of Omsk State History Museum (OSHM). Purpose. We provide a scientific description of the battle ax (pole-axe) from YUKOIKM describing its design system, as well as identifying dates and the type of the weapon. Results. The most prominent structural element of the battle ax striker is a massive blade 13,3 cm long with a C-shaped blade, the ends of which are bent towards the ax, with the blade 13,5 cm wide. The lower end of the blade is cut at the right angle. The blade gradually narrows to the neck of the convex (2,7 cm wide) and merges into a fitting with a flat down-drawn butt (2,9 cm wide) and «cheeks» of a roughly A-line form. The lower part of the butt is forged as a U-shaped (in cross-section) metal band, which ensured fastening between the striker and the ax handle and protected the handle from enemy weapon chops. The lower end of the band was found broken with the preserved part 3,5 cm long. A roughly triangular-shaped band was riveted on the upper side of the special iron plate with two through holes and served for attaching the striker to the wooden ax handle with nails. Of considerable interest is the ax decoration. Most of the blade (except for a band along the blade) is covered with a thin silver plate decorated with engraved floral and geometric designs. The cervix of the striker is not ornamented, but the «cheeks» are covered with a pattern made in the technique of silver metal notches. It is done as a cartouche in the form of a saw-back belt with an inscription in Arabic in the center. The inscription on the right-hand side of the striker is preserved fragmentarily, while on the left-hand side of the axe it is quite clear. The typological analysis has allowed us to identify this sample as an ax and to refer it to the complex weapons of Turkic nomads of Central Asia typical for the Modern period. Axes enjoyed rise in popularity among the nomads of the region after the second half of the XVIII century due to gradual displacement of metal protective arms in military practices. Cut-and-cutting blows of such an ax not only crushed bones, but also cut the skin leaving long deep traces, which lead to vast blood loss. Axes with curved C-shaped blades, which the Kazakhs named «Aybalta», i.e. a «moon ax», were extremely dangerous for armourless enemy soldiers, this being the most important factor in the spread of such a type of shock slashing weapons among the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Turkmens in the second half of the XVIII-XIX century. Employees of the Museum dated the ax by late XVIII - early XIX century. Our analysis of the ax structure, its system design and the inscriptions on the striker surface has allowed us to specify the time of its manufacturing more accurately. With the silver incision done in 1876, the time of the ax manufacturing can be dated as the mid 70-s of the XIX century. The design features of the axe indicate that it was forged by Kazakh armourers. Conclusion. The axe stored in OSHM is a bright example of Kazakh battle axes with C-shaped blades used in the middle and second half of the XIX century. It can act as a reference model for dating and defining the type of shock slashing weapons of Kazakh nomads in the given historical period.