Tabar Zin

The Tabar Zin or tabar-i-zin (sometimes translated "saddle-hatchet") is the traditional battle axe of Persia and Iran. 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" is sometimes carried as a symbolic weapon by wandering dervishes (Muslim ascetic worshippers).

It is important to note that Persian weaponry is at times identical to East Indian weaponry because these two cultures have intermingled many times over the century.

"Tabar" means axe, and "zin" has to do with hanging from a horse. Some sources say that zin comes from "zar", the ancient word for war.

References

* "Complete Persian culture (Dary dialect)" by Gholam-reza Ensaf-pur