A battle axe from the collection of the museum of Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn

Purpose. We examined a Kyrgyz iron battleaxe from the museum of Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn. Our analysis is based on the main data on the history of weapon, in cluding that of battleaxes that were part of the complex of armament of the Kyrgyz people of Tian Shan in the era of the Late Middle Ages and Modern Time. Results. Based on the results of researching Kyrgyz weapons obtained by Russian, Kazakh and Kyrgyz scientists, the paper provides a detailed description of a unique iron battleaxe from the collection of the museum of Kyrgyz National University. This axe belongs to the type of battleaxes with a low head, narrow wedge and dilated roundish blade. We define the place of the axes of this type in the history of development of this kind of weapon used by the Kyrgyz of the Yenisei River and Tian Shan. Battleaxes of this type were in the inventory of the Kyrgyz people of Tian Shan during the Late Middle Ages. Our analysis shows that such battleaxes were used by Kyrgyz and Kalmyk warriors in the course of conducting hand-to-hand combat, which agrees with the data from the famous Kyrgyz heroic epos «Manas». According to the epical legends, Kyrgyz warriors could skillfully shot bows and fired from guns, and also effectively acted in combat with spears, sabres clubs and battleaxes. Skillful use of poleaxes in close combat was an important indicator of the military prosessionalism of the Kyrgyz warriors named Baghaturs. We also found particular evidences from eastern historical sources of the Kyrgyz participating in hostilities in Tian Shan in the periods of the Late Middle Ages and Modern Time. The explorers of the 19th century, who researched the features of military science of the Kyrgyz in Tian Shan, pointed out their «militant nature» in comparison with several other Turkic peoples of Central Asia. A significant informative source on the history of armament and military art of the Kyrgyz Late Middle Ages and Modern Time, the Kyrgyz heroic epos «Manas», includes decriptions of weapons used by the Kyrgyz warriors and the methods of applying them. Among the various kinds of effective short-range weapons mentioned in these epical legends, there were Kyrgyz battleaxes «aybalta». We compred the battleaxes from the collection of the museum of Kyrgyz National University with the findings of chopping weapons of the Yenisei Kyrgyz, as well as the axes used by ancient Turkic and Mongolian warriors during the Early and High Middle Ages. Conclusion. We trace similar traits in the appearance of the battleaxe studied with the chopping weapons of Kyrgyz and Uzbek warriors of Central Asia used in the Late Middle Ages and Modern Time. We arrived at a conclusion that the battleaxe from the museum of Kyrgyz National University belongs to the complex of armament of Kyrgyz warriors in Tian Shan used in the Late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Time.