Theodoros Kolokotroonis was a Greek general of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. His sword (pala) bears an embossed lion's head on the handle. The curved sword hung on the soldier's shoulder by a silky cylindrical cordage. The handle was always decorated with a wild dragon's or a lion's head, and sometimes gems adorned the eyes. The sheath was beautifully decorated with serpents, lions, and the end of its case resembled a dragon tail.

The armor and the weapons of Theodoros Kolokotronis and other great heroes of the Greek Revolution have a great interest, as their decorative themes demonstrate the high level of metalworking in Greece, during the 19th and 20th century and the important bond of the heroes with their weapons.

The Greek War of Independence in 1821, also known as the Greek Revolution was the revolt of the Greeks against the Ottoman Empire, in order to throw off the ottoman rule. The revolution was organized by a secret organization, the Filiki Eteria, which was founded in 1814 in Odessa, Russia. The first battle of the war was declared in 1821 in the Danubian principalities. Philhellenism contributed to the support of France, Great Britain and Russia, to the Greeks in battle and to the creation of an autonomous independent state of Greece and the finalizization of the State's borders, in 1832.

Theodoros Kolokotronis was among the most revered of the protagonists and leaders of Greece's War of Independence. He was commander in chief and leader of the 1821 Revolution and later on, he became politician. He was also known as "O Geros tou Morea" or "The Elder of Morea, whereby Morea was another name describing Peloponnese.

The weapons of the Greek revolutionaries, such as the gats (koympoyria) and the sabers (swords), played an important role in the success of the revolution. The curved sabers were an important part of the weaponry of the fighters of 1821, which hung on the soldier's shoulder with silky cylindrical cordage or on their leather belt, which they wore in their midst body. The sword, which was used even in the era of the Turkish occupation, and during the Revolution, had a long blade, convex in its ridge and concave in the brink.

The weapons and the armor of the Theodoros Kolokotronis, are exhibited at the National Historical Museum in Athens