In the 13th century, North India was ruled by the Turk slaves of Sultan Muhammad ibn Sam of Ghor. A portion of the armies of these Turkic sultans was comprised of Pashtun or Afghan people. Fakhar-i-Mudabbir, in his book Adab al-Harb wal-Shujaʿa (written circa 1211–1236 A.D.), provides a very interesting piece of information regarding the Pashtun soldiers in the army of Sultan Shams al-Din Iltutmish (r. 1211–1236). He mentions that the Pashtuns favored straight and heavy swords called Surman (سورمان) and Turman (تورمان).
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These swords, Surman and Turman, were made by the Afghan artisans, and they were in great demand in Delhi. They were straight, hard and strong which were intended to inflict wounds even after coming in contact with the armour worn by the opponent. Hence, they were heavy, so that the force of the sword along with its sharp and strong blade gave the opponent a lesser chance of being uninjured.
In Pashto, "Sur" means red and "Tor" means black. It is possible that Torman and Surman were referred to as such because they represented black and red hues, respectively. However, it is more likely that Torman and Surman were the names of two Pashtun personalities after whom the two types of swords were named. Torman, as a name, was prevalent among Pashtuns in the distant past. For example, according to traditional genealogical trees, a son of Khattak (the progenitor of the Khattak tribe of Pashtuns) was named Torman. Surman was also most likely a Pashtun name. The suffix "maan" is a Persian element derived from the Persian word "manind" (meaning “like”). The same suffix also appears in the term "Turkman", meaning “Turk-like.” The Turks who had long settled in Iran (Persia) retained the language and culture of the Turks, but their facial features became similar to those of Persians; hence, they were referred to as Turkman. Thus, Torman and Surman mean “Black-like” (or “Blackish”) and “Red-like” (or “Reddish”), respectively.
The traditional Pashtun sword in recent centuries, the Pulwar, was curved. However, from Adab al-Harb wal-Shujaʿa we learn that in the early 13th century and before, typical Pashtun swords were straight and bulkier. In early medieval times, straight swords were commonly used in Persia and present-day Afghanistan. Later, due to the influence of Turks from Central Asia, curved swords became the preferred type in this region.
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| From Hayat-i-Afghani (1867) |
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| Pulwar |
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