Circassian Weaponry

ariel · 23rd June 2007, 11:24 PM

If you are really interested in Caucasian weapons, you must get books by Astvatsaturyan and Miller. The short blurb you referenced is not very informative.
I am at a loss why you classified these Ottoman ( whether Turkish or Balkan is debatable, as you saw ) kindjals as Circassian? No doubt, they were influenced by the Caucasian design, but to claim their specifically Circassian origin you might want to offer better evidence. Any inscription with Circassian name? Just because Circassians were dispersed across the Ottoman Empire , including Jordan, is not an evidence: Caucasians served as mercenaries in Turkish military for ages and constituted substantial proportion of Egyptian Mamelukes. But these were Circassians, Daghestanis, Georgians, Armenians and many more. Any of those ( and, likely, all of them) brought Kindjals to the Ottoman and Persian spheres of influence. Also, the borders as we know them now, were not always the same: sustantial proportion of historic Georgia and Armenia are now Turkey.
I, for one, would be very interested in your further clarification: always ready to learn something new.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Threaded Mode

23rd June 2007, 11:24 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	If you are really interested in Caucasian weapons, you must get books by Astvatsaturyan and Miller. The short blurb you referenced is not very informative. I am at a loss why you classified these Ottoman ( whether Turkish or Balkan is debatable, as you saw ) kindjals as Circassian? No doubt, they were influenced by the Caucasian design, but to claim their specifically Circassian origin you might want to offer better evidence. Any inscription with Circassian name? Just because Circassians were dispersed across the Ottoman Empire , including Jordan, is not an evidence: Caucasians served as mercenaries in Turkish military for ages and constituted substantial proportion of Egyptian Mamelukes. But these were Circassians, Daghestanis, Georgians, Armenians and many more. Any of those ( and, likely, all of them) brought Kindjals to the Ottoman and Persian spheres of influence. Also, the borders as we know them now, were not always the same: sustantial proportion of historic Georgia and Armenia are now Turkey. I, for one, would be very interested in your further clarification: always ready to learn something new.