Military Museum Pictures

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Michael Blalock

Ibrahiim, Thanks for bringing this back. I did not see this when it was first posted. Beautiful swords. Yes, the Mamluke swords look very much to be the foundation of the south arabian straight sword. I think the sword in photo 12 with the spade end is an example of the south arabian sword we have seen in the Yemeni museum, Riyadh and I think you have one.

Salaams Michael Blalock,
Mamluk Weapons. The point being that they got many designs from the Abaasids. The Abaasids may well have taken the design from the previous dynasty (Umayyad) however since the Abaasid were infatuated with "The Greeks" who knows?.... probably both influences. Certainly the whole lot influeced the Ottomans... so we see tantalising likenesses in the Topkapi etc.

On the subject of the spatulate tip sword like your museum photos yes there is part of the link. It is possible that it may have influenced the Old Omani Sayf insofar as hilt design (however more squat in size on the Omani since the blade is short) and that the other blades shown here in this thread which are almost exact copies of the Abaasid/Umayyid are linked to the Old Omani Sword.

I have to say however that no early spatulate tip Omani Sword was ever discovered. It is a peculiar twist since spatulates suddenly reappear in possibly the 18th C though I am personally not at all yet convinced about their provenance thus the TVV thread Kattara For Comments in which we continue to meander..

Where I think the Mamluke re appears in the Red Sea is exactly where you portay them i.e. Saudia and possibly a spill over to the Yemen.

What a gem it was to run into this as I was sweeping through the early threads... plodging about in the basement.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.