Gurz
Also known as: gorz
A Persian mace, weapon of heavy infantry and cataphracts, also a symbol of office in India; in Zoroastrian tradition the hero Fereydun's weapon.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The gurz, also called gorz, is a mace of Persian origin. In Persia, the round-headed mace called gorz served in many periods as a principal battle weapon, most often of heavy infantry or cataphracts. The Persian epic Shahnameh contains many mentions of heavily armoured knights fighting each other with maces, axes and swords. In the Mughal era the Persian bladed mace reached South Asia. The British Royal Collection holds a two-headed mace called gurz: eight leaf-shaped steel blades sit on an octagonal steel haft ending in a sword-like hilt with a broad knuckle guard and a flat round pommel. We have not been able to establish general dimensions in the sources. In some parts of India, maces served as a symbol of office. In Zoroastrian tradition, the bull-headed gurz is named as the favoured weapon of the legendary hero Fereydun.