Civic copper of Khoy, horseman brandishing a sword

[saro]

16,65g / 21mm
This coin is listed by B. Alaedini p. 104 and depicted as :"cavalier fighting dragon with sword"; I think that there is neither dragon on my coin nor on Alaedini's, but only a galloping horseman brandishing a sword.
"zarb Khoy" / undated

[Figleaf]

I think you are quite right, saro. Dragons are part of European culture - and different dragons, that are spoilt, not fought, are part of several East Asian cultures. In addition, dragons are fought with lances, not swords. Makes sense if they spit fire.

Also, the word sword is a bit of a misnomer since a sword is in principle straight and its primary use is stabbing, so it should be held point forward when charging (Hollywood disagrees on this.) This is a scimitar, a bent sabre, used for hacking. It is much lighter than your average sword, so fatigue is less of a problem for the owner and a major problem for a swordsman.

Peter

[saro]

Thank you Peter, scimitar (or shamshir) is the good denomination.
Dragons belong also to persian culture : the mythic hero Rustam (Rostam) and his horse Rakhsh fighting a dragon (with a sword) is found on many iranian paintings...
Some civic coppers copy russian coins showing St George fighting a dragon (with a lance); may be persians saw Rustam and not St George....

[saro]

Rustam on his brave horse Rakhsh slaying the dragon (illustration from the Shahnameh) to compare with this copper coin of Kermanshahan showing St George fighting the dragon (from Zeno), copied from the well known russian coppers.