It seems that this distinctive stamp, which usually appears in the upper left quadrant of the forte on many of the Afghan military sabres of c.1890s has typically been referred to as representing the "Blue Mosque" at Mazir-i-Sharif.
In research and discussions with scholars some years ago at least, this seemed generally held. The Mosque is also known as the "Shrine of Hazrat Ali" and is a principal location much revered in the Sh'ia Faith.
It seems that after the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War (ended 1880) Emir Abdur Rahman Khan made agreements with the British which included considerable arrangements for procurement of arms for his standing army. British assistance in many aspects included minting of coins, and as I recall, this image also appears on many coins of this period. I believe the knuckleguard and overall appearance of the military sabres is derived from western military fashion, and the Afghan army even wore the metal 'Albert' type helmets familiar in British cavalry regiments. Some of the Afghan units also wore kilts.
In any case, it would seem to me that these markings were probably more collectively indicative of the regime of Abdur Rahman Khan than to signify to a distinct location such as arsenal such as suggested to Mazir-i-Sharif. While many of these Afghan swords seem to date from around 1893 to as late as 1903 from various known examples, it is notable that some of these post date Abdur Rahman Khan. His son, Habibullah Khan continued the regime, so it would be understandable of little change in these details. Many, if not even most of these swords were used in the 3rd Anglo-Afghan war in 1919, and of I understand correctly, the later issues had brass hilts of similar type. We have seen these hilts mounted on 'Khyber knife' blades as well.
Mazir-i-Sharif is located in the extreme north of Aghanistan however, and indeed was controlled by the Khanate of Bukhara into mid 18th century when it was taken over by the Durrani Empire, so Bukharen presence and influence was well placed. It is noted that its location kept Mazir-i-Sharif out of the direct combat events during the Anglo-Afghan wars, so it does seem possible that at certain times it may have served as a central repository or control location for weaponry, however it does not seem to me that the marking necessarily indicates that location. It seems more likely that it was a regime oriented marking relating to the armies of Abdur Rahman Khan.
All best regards,
Jim
Attached: Abdur Rahman Khan, note knuckleguard on paluoar
Map of Afghanistan, upper left is Uzbekistan, Mazir-i-Sharif near that upper border
The Afghan sabre marking
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