Middle eastern sword

ariel · 16th May 2019, 02:48 AM

Jim,

With all due respect, it is not “one of the”, it is “THE”.

Kirill forgot more about Caucasian weapons than all of us here know......

And his recent book about the evolution of the Eastern sword is an academic masterpiece.

I admire him.

Kubur · 16th May 2019, 10:27 AM

With all due respect, it is “one of the”.
Kirill's book is really great but I prefer Lebedynsky.

And completely disagree about the book on the evolution of the Eastern sword.With four pages of references (and half in Russian), it's not an academic masterpiece. I was very disapointed by this book. I agree with most of the theories and ideas of the author, but the book is more a like a discussion that you can find on this forum. Lot of opinions without historical evidences.

ariel · 16th May 2019, 10:44 PM

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.
Just like I to mine.

Taking into account that a good part of the book is dedicated to the nomadic swords, most of which are located in what is now Caucasus, Russia and Ukraine, it is not a miracle that many references are from local archeologists.

Kubur · 17th May 2019, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.
Just like I to mine.

Taking into account that a good part of the book is dedicated to the nomadic swords, most of which are located in what is now Caucasus, Russia and Ukraine, it is not a miracle that many references are from local archeologists.

I respect your opinion and your experience as I respect Dr. Rivkin's work.

I totally agree with you about Russian scholars, and also I think that it is particulary unfair that Turkish, Iranian and Arab scholars as not mentionned as well by Europeans and North Americans.

ariel · 17th May 2019, 10:31 PM

There are no Arabian books dedicated to bladed weapons. The same is true about Iranian authors as well, Khorasani’s is the only one, and it is referenced in Rivkin’s book.
The only Turkish one I know is by Unsal Yucel. It is cited extensively, because its topic is right up the alley.

Regretfully, the first and only study of the Topkapi collection was done by a visiting German in the 1920s, and the only previous attempt to describe the content of military museums in Iran was done by a visiting Russian art historian from Leningrad ( now St. Petersburg) in the AFAIK 1950s. He died suddenly and the Iranians did nothing since.

It is sad that the entire field of Oriental weapons with the exception of Japan and Indonesia is covered by the Europeans.

16th May 2019, 02:48 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Jim, With all due respect, it is not “one of the”, it is “THE”. Kirill forgot more about Caucasian weapons than all of us here know...... And his recent book about the evolution of the Eastern sword is an academic masterpiece. I admire him.

16th May 2019, 10:27 AM	#2
Kubur Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2,145	With all due respect, it is “one of the”. Kirill's book is really great but I prefer Lebedynsky. And completely disagree about the book on the evolution of the Eastern sword.With four pages of references (and half in Russian), it's not an academic masterpiece. I was very disapointed by this book. I agree with most of the theories and ideas of the author, but the book is more a like a discussion that you can find on this forum. Lot of opinions without historical evidences.

16th May 2019, 10:44 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Just like I to mine. Taking into account that a good part of the book is dedicated to the nomadic swords, most of which are located in what is now Caucasus, Russia and Ukraine, it is not a miracle that many references are from local archeologists.

17th May 2019, 10:31 PM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	There are no Arabian books dedicated to bladed weapons. The same is true about Iranian authors as well, Khorasani’s is the only one, and it is referenced in Rivkin’s book. The only Turkish one I know is by Unsal Yucel. It is cited extensively, because its topic is right up the alley. Regretfully, the first and only study of the Topkapi collection was done by a visiting German in the 1920s, and the only previous attempt to describe the content of military museums in Iran was done by a visiting Russian art historian from Leningrad ( now St. Petersburg) in the AFAIK 1950s. He died suddenly and the Iranians did nothing since. It is sad that the entire field of Oriental weapons with the exception of Japan and Indonesia is covered by the Europeans.