thumb|upright=0.6|Syrian shamshir from the Royal Armoury, Stockholm
A shamshir () is a type of Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word shamshīr, which is made of two words sham ("fang") and shir ("lion"). The curved "scimitar" sword family includes the shamshir, kilij, talwar, pulwar, and nimcha.
A shamshir shekargar () is a shamshir with decorative engraving on the blade, usually depicting hunting scenes.
Etymology
Although the name has been associated by popular etymology with the city of Shamshir (which in turn means "curved like the lion's claw" in Persian) the word has been used for a sword since ancient times, as attested by Middle Persian shamshir (Pahlavi šmšyl), and the Ancient Greek σαμψήρα / sampsēra (glossed as "foreign sword").
"Shamshir" is usually taken to be the origin of the word scimitar, the latter being a broader term.
Description
thumb|upright=0.6|[[Uzbeks|Uzbek warrior armed with bow and arrows, khanjar, flail, and a shamshir]]
Early Persian swords were straight and double edged. Curved sabre blades are Central Asian in origin. There is considerable disagreement between historians as to when these curved blades were introduced from Central Asia into Persia, and over what period the design was adopted by Persian makers who modified it into the recognizable shamshir. Curved swords did exist in Persia in the 9th century, used by soldiers in the Khorasan region of Central Asia, but they were not widely adopted. The sword now called a "shamshir" was developed in Persia over a period of time following influence from the Turkic Seljuk Khanate in the 12th century, the Mongol invasion of the 13th century, and had taken a form distinct from earlier sabres by the 16th century.