[Jim McDougall]

Hi Ariel,
Excellent photos of these interesting Bedouin sabres! I have always been intrigued by these, and have often wondered if they possibly were derived in the hilt form by Caucasian shashkas. It seems that the Oriental Arms references by Artzi attribute the to Bedouins of the Sinai, so diffusion may have expanded to other northern Arabian regions as well as Syria. The blades suggest Solingen trade blades, but may well be Caucasian products (see Elgood, "Arms and Armour of Arabia"). If Caucasian blades entered trade spheres frequented by Bedouin tribes, then possibly fully mounted shashkas also appeared here and more it seems possible that Rhys-Michaels' example may be a locally mounted version sabre from these Arabian regions, while clearly crudely fashioned. Since the distinct hilt form of the sabres known as Bedouin are so often also designated as from Sinai regions, it may be possible that a tribal smith in more remote regions could have assembled this or it may derive from regions in Arabian regions proper in the north?

I have always been drawn to these rougher examples as they often were essentially ersatz weapons assembled for actual use using various captured or trade blades. The raiding and intertribal warfare of these regions well into the 20th century is well established, so this one may well have been intended for such use.

It seems these tribal weapons are often the hardest to properly identify as their diffusion among nomadic tribes typically defies any distinct geographic assignment! I agree that this example does not associate visually with these Bedouin examples, but do you think the variation idea for Arabian regions is possible?

Best regards,
Jim