Europe Prehistory and the Ancient Mediterranean (Saône-et-Loire, France). Found in
Saône River Stone
hand axes were in use in the
Paleolithic period for hundreds of thousands of years. The first hafted stone axes appear to have been produced about 6000 BC during the
Mesolithic period. Technological development continued in the
Neolithic period with the much wider usage of hard stones in addition to
flint and
chert and the widespread use of polishing to improve axe properties. The axes proved critical in wood working and became cult objects (for example, the entry for the
Battle-axe people of Scandinavia, treated their axes as high-status cultural objects). Such stone axes were made from a wide variety of tough rocks such as
picrite and other
igneous or
metamorphic rocks, and were widespread in the Neolithic period. Many axe heads found were probably used primarily as
mauls to split wood beams, and as
sledgehammers for construction purposes (such hammering stakes into the ground, for example). Narrow axe heads made of cast metals were subsequently manufactured by artisans in the
Middle East and then
Europe during the
Copper Age and the
Bronze Age. The earliest specimens were socket-less. More specifically, bronze battle-axe heads are attested in the archaeological record from
ancient China and the
New Kingdom of
ancient Egypt. Some of them were suited for practical use as infantry weapons while others were clearly intended to be brandished as symbols of status and authority, judging by the quality of their decoration. The
epsilon axe was widely used during the Bronze Age by irregular infantry unable to afford better weapons. Its use was limited to Europe and the Middle East. In the eastern Mediterranean Basin during the
Iron Age, the double-bladed
labrys axe was prevalent, and a hafted, single-bitted axe made of bronze or later iron was sometimes used as a weapon of war by the heavy infantry of
ancient Greece, especially when confronted with thickly-armored opponents. The
sagaris—described as either single bitted or double bitted—became associated by the Greeks with the mythological
Amazons, though these were generally ceremonial axes rather than practical implements. The
Barbarian tribes that the Romans encountered north of the
Alps did include iron war axes in their armories, alongside swords and spears. The
Cantabri from the Iberian peninsula also used battle axes.
The Middle Ages battle axe head on display in the
British Museum. Battle axes were very common in Europe in the
Migration Period and the subsequent
Viking Age, and they famously figure on the 11th-century
Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts
Norman mounted knights pitted against
Anglo-Saxon infantrymen. They continued to be employed throughout the rest of the Middle Ages, with significant combatants being noted axe wielders in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. King
Stephen of England famously used a '
Dane axe' at the
Battle of Lincoln 1141. One account says that he used it after his sword broke. Another says he used his sword only after his axe broke.
Richard the Lionheart was often recorded in Victorian times wielding a large war axe, though references are sometimes wildly exaggerated as befitted a national hero: "Long and long after he was quiet in his grave, his terrible battle-axe, with twenty English pounds of English steel in its mighty head..." – ''
A Child's History of England'' by
Charles Dickens. Richard is, however, recorded as using a Danish Axe at the
relief of Jaffa.
Geoffrey of Lusignan is another famous crusader associated with the axe.
Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, used an axe to defeat
Henry de Bohun in single combat at the start of the
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Given that Bruce was wielding the axe on horseback, it is likely that it was a one handed horseman's axe. They enjoyed a sustained revival among heavily armored equestrian combatants in the 15th century. In the 14th century, the use of axes is increasingly noted by
Froissart in his Chronicle, which records the engagements between the kingdoms of France and England and the rise of professional and mercenary armies in the 14th century. King
John II is recorded as using one at the
Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and Sir
James Douglas at the
Battle of Otterburn in 1388. Bretons were apparently noted axe users, with noted mercenaries
Bertrand du Guesclin and
Olivier de Clisson both wielding axes in battle. In these instances the type of battle axe - whether a
Danish axe, or the proto-pollaxe - is not recorded. Most medieval European battle axes had a socketed head (meaning that the thicker, butt-end of the blade contained an opening into which a wooden haft was inserted), and some included langets—long strips of metal affixed to the faces of the haft to prevent it from being damaged during combat. Occasionally the cheeks of the axehead bore engraved, etched, punched, or inlaid decorative patterns. Late-period battle axes tended to be of all-metal construction. Such medieval
polearms as the
halberd and the
pollaxe were variants of the basic battle-axe form. Steel plate-armor covering almost all of a knight's body, and incorporating features specifically designed to defeat axe and sword blades, become more common in the late 14th and early 15th century. Its development led to a generation of hafted weapons with points that concentrated impact, either to penetrate steel plate or to damage the joints of articulated plate. Increasingly daggers called
misericords were carried which enabled a sharp point to be thrust though gaps in armour if an opponent was disabled or being grappled with. Swords styles became more diverse – from the two-handed
zweihänders to more narrow thrusting instruments with sharply pointed tips, capable of penetrating any "chinks in the armour" of a fully encased opponent: for example, the
estoc. A sharp, sometimes curved pick was often fitted to the rear of the battle axe's blade to provide the user with a secondary weapon of penetration. A stabbing spike could be added, too, as a finial. Similarly, the
war hammer evolved in late-medieval times with fluted or spiked heads, which would help a strike to "bite" into the armour and deliver its energy through to the wearer, rather than glance off the armor's surface. Strikes from these armour penetrating picks were not always fatal. There are many accounts of plate armored knights being struck with said weapons and while the armour was damaged, the individual underneath survived and in some cases was completely unharmed. A useful visual guide to high-medieval battle axes, contemporary with their employment, are the scenes of warfare depicted in the
Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) of c. 1250. Battle axes also came to figure as heraldic devices on the
coats of arms of several English and mainland European families.
Post-medieval axes Battle axes were eventually phased out at the end of the 16th century as military tactics began to revolve increasingly around the use of
gunpowder. However, as late as the 1640s,
Prince Rupert—a
Royalist general and cavalry commander during the
English Civil War—is pictured carrying a battle axe, and this was not merely a decorative symbol of authority: the "short pole-axe" was adopted by Royalist cavalry officers to penetrate Roundhead troopers' helmets and cuirasses in close-quarters fighting, and it was also used by their opponents: Sir
Bevil Grenville was slain by a Parliamentarian pole-axe at the
Battle of Lansdowne, and Sir
Richard Bulstrode was wounded by one at the
Battle of Edgehill. In Scandinavia, however, the battle axe continued in use alongside the halberd, crossbow and pole-axe until the start of the 18th century. The nature of Norwegian terrain in particular made pike and shot tactics impracticable in many cases. A law instituted in 1604 required all farmers to own weaponry to serve in the militia. The Norwegian peasant militia battle axe, much more wieldy than the
pike or halberd and yet effective against mounted enemies, was a popular choice. Many such weapons were ornately decorated, and yet their functionality shows in the way that the axe head was mounted tilting upwards slightly, with a significant forward curve in the shaft, with the intent of making them more effective against armoured opponents by concentrating force onto a narrower spot. During
Napoleonic times, and later on in the 19th century,
farriers in army service carried long and heavy axes as part of their kit. Although these could be used in an emergency for fighting, their primary use was logistical: the branded hooves of deceased military horses needed to be removed in order to prove that they had indeed died (and had not been stolen). Napoleon's
Pioneer Corps also carried axes that were used for clearing vegetation—a practice employed by similar units in other armies.
Middle East The
tabarzin (, lit. "saddle axe" or "saddle hatchet") is the traditional battle axe of
Persia. It bears one or two crescent-shaped blades. The long form of the tabar was about seven feet long, while a shorter version was about three feet long. What made the Persian axe unique is the very thin handle, which is very light and always
metallic. The tabar became one of the main weapons throughout the Middle East, and was always carried at a soldier's waist not only in Persia but Egypt, and the Arab world from the time of the Crusades.
Mamluk bodyguards were known as
tabardiyya after the weapon. The tabarzin is sometimes carried as a symbolic weapon by wandering
dervishes (Muslim ascetic worshippers). File:Darvish bazaar.jpg|A
Qajar-era Persian dervish, with
Tabarzin (axe)
Tehran's Grand Bazaar. File:Preziosi - Derviş cerşetor.jpg|A dervish with Tabar (axe)
Asia China In
Chinese mythology, the deity
Xingtian () uses a battle axe (
qi ) against other gods. Several different types of battle axes were used in ancient China. They can be divided into three subgroups:
fu (), ''
() and ge
(). A yue
is, as a general rule, broader than a fu
. The qi
() and yue'' () were heavy axes. They were common in the
Zhou dynasty (–256 BCE) but fell out of favor with users due to the lack of mobility. They eventually became used only for ceremonial purposes, and such battle axes made of bronze and jade have been found. The Chinese
fu appeared in the Stone Age as a tool. In the
Shang dynasty (–), the
fu began to be made from bronze and used as a weapon. The
yue was also a symbol of power during the Shang dynasty; the bigger the
yue, the greater the power. There are a few rare examples of
yue with a round blade and a hole in the middle. The prominence of the
fu waned on the battlefield during the
Zhou dynasty (–256 BCE). In the
Warring States era, iron axes started to appear. Having lost its importance on the battle-field, the
fu once again appeared during the
Han and
Jin dynasty as cavalry was used more often. In the
Yuan (1271–1368) and
Ming (1368–1644) dynasties, axes retained their use in the army.
Water Margin ), a well-known novel from the Ming dynasty, features a character known as Li Kui, the Black Whirlwind, who wields two axes and fights
naked. In the
Qing dynasty (1644–1912), new types of axes with straight edges emerged among the
Eight Banners military forces. The
Green Standard Army used double axes weighing each, with a length of . Due to its clean cutting capabilities it was also sometimes used as an execution weapon. It is said that the Moro warriors wielding panabas would follow the main group of warriors up front and would immediately charge in on any American survivors of the first wave of attack during the
Philippine–American War. Among the various
Cordilleran peoples of the northern Philippines, another type of traditional battle axe, the
head axe, was favored for
headhunting raids. It was specialized for beheading enemy combatants but was also used as an agricultural tool. They were banned, along with headhunting practices, during the
American colonial period of the Philippines in the early 20th century. File:Mindanao moro panabas 1.JPG|A
Moro nawi File:Mindanao lumad panabas 2.JPG|A
Lumad panabas File:Luzon kalinga head axe.JPG|A
Kalinga head axe File:Yakan ceremonial sword (panabas).jpg|A very large
Yakan ceremonial
panabas for
executions
Sri Lanka The
keteriya was a type of battle axe that was used in ancient Sri Lanka. A keteriya consisted of a single edge and a short handle made of wood. This would allow the user to wield it with a single hand.
Vietnam The battle axe is one of the most common type of weapons found in Vietnamese ancient cultures, particularly the
Dong Son culture. ==See also==