Afghan shashkas

[mahratt]

My favorite Afghan shashka. It is made by the private master and does not have any stamps of an arsenal (factory). But I really like her beautiful Persian blade from wootz steel.

[CharlesS]

Mahratt,

This is the nicest one I have seen. It looks to be a Persian mid-19th-century shamshir trade blade(with "AssadAllah" workshop marks and cartouche) made into a shashka. I love it... beautiful quality from top to bottom!

[mahratt]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Mahratt,

This is the nicest one I have seen. It looks to be a Persian mid-19th-century shamshir trade blade(with "AssadAllah" workshop marks and cartouche) made into a shashka. I love it... beautiful quality from top to bottom!

Yes Charles
I agree with you. This is the nicest one I have seen.

[CharlesS]

Have you translated the stylized Arabic on the scabbard mounts? Do you think the scabbard is a converted Afghan shamshir scabbard, or "born with" this sword??

[mahratt]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Have you translated the stylized Arabic on the scabbard mounts? Do you think the scabbard is a converted Afghan shamshir scabbard, or "born with" this sword??

I would be very grateful if someone would help me with the translation.
In my opinion, the scabbard was made specifically for this shashka. Its handle is deeply hidden in the scabbard, which can be seen in the first photo.

[ariel]

Charles,

Alternatively, it was a shamshir to start with, with replaced handle and suspension rings put upside down.
This can explain the slit on the throat in a "wrong" i.e. reverse location. This was very unusual, if not unseen, on pseudo-shashkas, but necessary for highly curved shamshirs.

[Jim McDougall]

This is a magnificent shashka!! and with this blade even more exciting.
As Charles well notes, this is one of the Persian trade blades with the Assad Allah cartouche and lion pictograph with the calligraphy panel.
These blades are well described in Oliver Pinchot's article of 2002 in "Arms Collecting" (Vo. 40, #1, February).

As Elgood has noted these blades along with Caucasian blades entered the Arabian sphere, as well as their being found in India and other spheres receiving such trade blades. I have a Bedouin sabre with this same blade form, but much shallower curve.

That is what is so unusual and more attractive on this particular example is the more parabolic blade than usually seen with these Persian trade blades. With Ottoman kilij ofcourse, the deep parabolic blade has the slit opening in the throat of the scabbard to allow passage of the blade exiting the scabbard.
It is most unusual to see this on the reverse carry which is a Caucasian affinity for the draw cut in sort of 'quick draw' style.

While a bit of an anomaly, it is fantastic! I have actually never seen a shamshir with one of these blades, at least per se'. It seems most I have seen are in various local hilt forms as noted with use of these trade blades.

[kwiatek]

Originally Posted by mahratt

I would be very grateful if someone would help me with the translation.
In my opinion, the scabbard was made specifically for this shashka. Its handle is deeply hidden in the scabbard, which can be seen in the first photo.

Starting with the inscription nearest the throat you have

نصر من الله وفتح قريب

“Victory from God and near conquest” (part of Qur’an 61:13)

الله محمد علي حسن حسين وفاطمة

“God, Muhammad, ‘Ali, Hasan, Husayn and Fatima”

انا فتحنا لك فتحا مبينا

“Indeed we have given you a manifest victory” (Qur’an 48:1)

On the mount in the middle, you have, repeated:

يا قاضي الحاجات

ya qadi al-hajat

“O Requiter of Needs!”

[Cthulhu]

I can't see any evidence of drags in the circled photos Mahratt posted, leaving me a little confused on terminology. I know in some cases the term "drag" is used interchangeably with the whole chape. I've edited one of Mahratt's photos to clearly show what I call the drag, distinct from the rest of the chape.

I'll note that at least in the random sampling of European saber photos I looked at, the larger side of the drag always leads, thus providing equal or greater protection to the front side of the chape that's clunking into the ground as you walk. Looking at Mahratt's shasqa sheath, the larger side of the drag is on the concave side, meaning the concave side is downward, matching the orientation of the other mounts. The chape hasn't been removed and reversed, as the carved side and plain side on it match the face and back side (stitched side) of the leather.

All that aside, these are lovely shasqas people have. I really like the shasqa's clean lines and simplicity. I'll have to dig mine out of storage and provide a photo, but it's not in the league of the ones shown here, not by a long shot.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by kwiatek

Starting with the inscription nearest the throat you have

“God, Muhammad, ‘Ali, Hasan, Husayn and Fatima”

انا فتحنا لك فتحا مبينا

This guy should have been seriously shi'a...
Persian??