Russian Kuban Cossack shashka/sabre with Imperial symbol on scabbard, 1700-1900 AD. Extremely sharp, with comfortable grip, very dangerous and strong weapon in the hands of Russian Cossacks. Russian Cossacks from Don, Kuban, Volga and Zaporozhie were decisive army, protecting Russian Empire, in multiple battles for 500 years. Russian Cossacks were Orthodox Christians and honored Russian tsars. Length of the shashka without scabbard: 23.5 inches = 60 cm; Length of the shashka in scabbard: 26.25 inches = 67 cm; Length of the blade; 43.5 cm; Weight without scabbard: 15.3 oz. = 434 g; Weight with scabbard: 1 lb. 6.9 oz. = 650 g; Condition: perfect for the age, the leather for the wooden scabbard was deteriorated and replaced by new leather. Provenance: private collection in Florida, from Estate of early Russian emigrants (after 1917) The shashka or shasqua (Adyghe: сэшхуэ, [saʃxʷa] – long-knife; Russian: шашка) is a kind of North Caucasian sabre; a single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sabre. The comparatively gentle curve of a shashka blade puts the weapon midway between a typically curved sabre and a straight sword, effective for both cutting and thrusting. HISTORY: The shashka originated among the mountain tribes of the North Caucasus. The earliest depictions of this sword date to the early 17th century in west Georgia [1], though most extant shashkas have hilts dating to the 19th century.[2] The earliest datable example is from 1713. Later, most of the Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks adopted the weapon. Two styles of shashka exist: the Caucasian/Circassian shashka and the Cossack shashka. In 1834 the Russian government produced the first military-issue shashka pattern.[3] The blades of non-regulation shashkas were of diverse origins; some were locally made in the Caucasus, others in Russia, some were manufactured in Germany, mostly in Solingen, and displayed imitations of the 'running wolf' mark of Passau.[4] The typically Circassian (Adyghe) form of sabre was longer than the Cossack type; in fact, the Russian word shashka originally came from the Adyghe word – Adyghe: Cэшхуэ (Sashko) – meaning "long knife". It gradually replaced the sabre in all cavalry units except hussars during the 19th century.[5] Russian troops, having encountered it during their conquest of the Caucasus (1817–1864), preferred it to their issued sabres. At this time, there were three types of non-regulation shashka: 1) The Caucasus type, where the handle almost sits inside the scabbard. This type was used by Kuban Cossacks and tribes from the Caucasus. The only problem with this type of shashka was that in the rain, water could go down into the scabbard. This type of shashka was very light at 300–400 grams (0.66–0.88 pounds), flexible, and strong. The best and most famous shashkas of these types were Gurda, Volchek (running wolf symbol on the blade). 2) The Don Cossack shashka, which has a straighter blade. The weight of this shashka is around 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). 3) The Terek Cossack shashka; the hilt, like the Don Cossack shashka, does not go inside the scabbard. It is very light and strong. The first officially regulated Russian military shashka was the 1834 pattern, also called the "Nizhegorodka". This was followed by the 1838 pattern shashka. In 1881, two patterns were introduced: a 'Cossack' pattern, which was typical in not having a guard, and a 'dragoon' pattern, which was much more like a standard sabre in having a brass knuckle-bow, and was derived from the 1841 dragoon sabre. The blades of the two types were, however, essentially identical.[6] Kuban Cossacks (Russian: Кубанские казаки, romanized: Kubanskiye kazaki; Ukrainian: кубанські козаки, romanized: kubanski kozaky), or Kubanians (Russian: кубанцы, kubantsy; Ukrainian: кубанці, kubantsi), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Northern Caucasus in the late 18th century (estimated 230,000 to 650,000 initial migrants). The western part of the region (Taman Peninsula and adjoining region to the northeast) was settled by the Black Sea Cossack Host who were originally the Zaporozhian Cossacks of Ukraine, from 1792. The eastern and southeastern part of the host was previously administered by the Khopyour and Kuban regiments of the Caucasus Line Cossack Host and Don Cossacks, who were re-settled from the Don from 1777.[1]