Yataghans:bibliography and identification

Jim McDougall · 7th November 2016, 11:32 PM

I have been going through 'search', online, and notes, and as I mentioned, the 'yataghan' has a great deal of information scattered throughout these sources. While often construed simply as 'Turkish', these eared pommel, forward curved swords were prevalent throughout the Balkans, Greece, Albania and many regions of the Ottoman Empire.

One source I would highly recommend is Robert Elgood's
"The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan Neighbors".
In his usual comprehensive manner, Elgood shows many examples and footnotes, cites, and bibliography should provide great channels to pursue in this research.

I found some notes pertaining to the term 'karakulak' (=dark, or black ears) used for these swords in the Balkans and Greece.
Meanwhile the term hun'gar or hun'cer (Ar. khanjhar) the root of the term hanger, is also applicable in degree, so more on the use of these terms might need clarification.

7th November 2016, 11:32 PM	#13
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,461	I have been going through 'search', online, and notes, and as I mentioned, the 'yataghan' has a great deal of information scattered throughout these sources. While often construed simply as 'Turkish', these eared pommel, forward curved swords were prevalent throughout the Balkans, Greece, Albania and many regions of the Ottoman Empire. One source I would highly recommend is Robert Elgood's "The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan Neighbors". In his usual comprehensive manner, Elgood shows many examples and footnotes, cites, and bibliography should provide great channels to pursue in this research. I found some notes pertaining to the term 'karakulak' (=dark, or black ears) used for these swords in the Balkans and Greece. Meanwhile the term hun'gar or hun'cer (Ar. khanjhar) the root of the term hanger, is also applicable in degree, so more on the use of these terms might need clarification.