The "EXPLAIN YOUR AVATAR" Thread!

Jim McDougall · 6th July 2008, 10:30 PM

Explain my avatar! ?
Oh!....where do I begin?
It represents the mysteries of the sword.....the secrets of Damascus, is it a shamshir? or do we call it sa'if?
Is the blade of the steel we call 'Damascened'? or wootz? does the word mean it was forged there, or is the blade from elsewhere? Could it be the majjir blade favored by the Bedouin, and were these hilts distinctly made in Syria fashioned from earlier ones from Hungary?
If it had a Hungarian blade, why was it called kurda? was it from the Caucasian gurda?
After Tamerlane left with all the makers to Samarkand, did they still forge blades in Damascus? or did it become a huge trade center for mounting the blades from other centers?
It is all about 'why?'

Or is it? Maybe it was just a bit of available clip art!

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6th July 2008, 10:30 PM	#26
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Explain my avatar! ? Oh!....where do I begin? It represents the mysteries of the sword.....the secrets of Damascus, is it a shamshir? or do we call it sa'if? Is the blade of the steel we call 'Damascened'? or wootz? does the word mean it was forged there, or is the blade from elsewhere? Could it be the majjir blade favored by the Bedouin, and were these hilts distinctly made in Syria fashioned from earlier ones from Hungary? If it had a Hungarian blade, why was it called kurda? was it from the Caucasian gurda? After Tamerlane left with all the makers to Samarkand, did they still forge blades in Damascus? or did it become a huge trade center for mounting the blades from other centers? It is all about 'why?' Or is it? Maybe it was just a bit of available clip art!