Ethnographic Arms & Armour - The Syrian Jambiya/Khanjar

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- Ethnographic Weapons (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=2)

- - The Syrian Jambiya/Khanjar (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13979)

Yes Richard, you are right. It is a very common inscription on blades and the writing is so clear that even I can read it.
As for the age of the dagger, it is hard to be sure, but it is safe to assume it is later than 1950.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motan

Hello again,
Yes Kubur. I agree with you. It is very possible that production started earlier, I just don't have proof. It is rare to see Majdali type daggers in a book. Can you produce a larger picture? Dates on old Majdalis is quite common, but consistently start at around 1900. See first picture - clearly 1318 Hijri - 1900 Gregorian.

Stuart, yours is indeed a unique example, probably made on special order. Very high quality work and an a-typical but very good scabbard in Ottoman style. Straight blades are known, but rare. I know you don't have it anymore, but do you happen to have a good picture of the back of the hilt? It is signed by the maker and I think I know who he is - Iskander. This workshop made top-notch pieces in the round handle/fullered blade style. I recognize the decorative element in the middle of the hilt. I have seen several signed examples - see pictures

Hi Motan,

Here is the beast, despite many 19th c. features i think this jambiya majdali is from the 20th c. (1900-1914) maybe from your iskander... same fabric on the scabbard...
with nice Ottoman emboidery, amazing blade,and amazing enameled hilt with pictures of al aqsa and the dome of the rock... Is it possible that your Iskander was from Jerusalem?

Enjoy
Kubur

This one should be added to the discussion...
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10838

Hi Kubur,
Surely a unique find. The hilt with beads is an Ottoman feature known from small daggers, where the the beads are either from stone/amber inlaid with gold, or with emaille decoration. This style has been imitated in Syrian and North African daggers.
As for the dagger itself, I think it is another one made on special order. I tend to think it is bit later than very early 20th c., maybe the 1920's. The use of white metal in the hilt is new to me - always brass in other daggers.
The blade is of excellent quality for this type of daggers, but I think that the fuller is engraved, not forged. The scabbard is in Ottoman style, but the zig-zag decoration is very Syrian/Palestinian.
As for the maker, you may very well be right. The precise and polished finish of the horn and bone parts are typical of Iskander (Skandar) and we know he made special pieces of the rounded hilt style, probably to specific customers. I looked at an earlier thread where Stuart's dagger was introduced and saw his signature on the hilt.
As I mentioned before, Skandar, the Arab version of Alexander, is a name given mostly to Christians. We know that some of the important dagger makers in Majdal Shams were Christians, but they gradually moved to other part of Syria following the great Druze revolt in 1925-1927 and probably kept making daggers elsewhere.