The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c10.s1.7

c10.s1.7

*Sirohī*. The *Ma’āsir-ul-Umarā*, iii, 152, tells us that these blades obtained their good repute from the work done with them in 1024 H. (1615), during a fight at Ajmer between Rājah Sūraj Singh, Rāthor, and his brother, Kishn Singh. “Whoever was struck on the head by these Indian blades was cleft to the waist, or if the cut were on the body, he was divided into two parts.” Egerton, 105, says this sword had “a slightly curved blade, shaped like that of Damascus.” There is no specimen in the India Museum. Hendley, “Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition,” 1883, Vol. II, plate xxix, N°. 4, has a sword from the Alwar armoury, which he calls a *Shikārgah* or *Sirohī gaj bail* (?). The blade appears slightly lighter and narrower than that of the ordinary *talwār*. Evidently the name is obtained from the place of manufacture, Sirohī in Rājputānah, of which “the sword blades are celebrated for their excellence now as formerly,” Thornton, 874. The town is situated in Lat. 24° 59′, Long. 72° 56′, 360 miles S. W. of Āgrah.