We have quite a bit of documentation of the swords of Crusaders. For those defending... not so much.

From the sources I've read, the swords being used at this time were straight and double-edged (as opposed to the archetyal scimitar of the Middle East). But aside from that... I've got nothing.

Suffice to say, I now want to start comparing straight swords between cultures. Anyone have any knowledge of this subject? In fact, if there's a source concerning the arms and armor of the Middle East during this time period, do please direct me.

Thanks in advance.

Blades would probably look something like this, but I'm not sure about the hilts, these are a bit later than Saladin's time:

http://tabriz-rugs-tabriz-carpets.com/Islamic...hammed.htm

Here are some examples both earlier and later than Saladin:

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/turk/TopkapiArms2.html

Here you can see an interesting forked tip sword:

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/turk/TopkapiArms.html

And all this after just a few minutes on the net, I'm sure if you try you will find much more results...

Try these older threads: http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=997...ht=saracen

http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=175...ght=mamluk

http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=185...ght=mamluk

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=12417