Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 4th June 2006, 08:35 PM

Archery was an elite sport in the Ottoman Empire and there were elite archery units; I would not be surprised if there was something systematic on archery.
Yataghan was a weapon of "brigands" and unruly Janissaries (they were not allowed to carry swords and guns outside the barracks and a Yataghan could pass for a "knife").
I guess it was beneath the dignity of "serious people" to write official manuals for Yataghan use.
The Balkan area was under Ottoman control and did not have regular armies until eventual independence. Any resistance, if at all, was a guerilla-type and those do not publish manuals, and after the independence yataghans became not very important: artillery, rifles, uniforms and medals, medals, medals were at the top of priorities.
I know that some sword manuals were published at the West and in Russia as late as at the end of 19th century (maybe even later) and fencing exercises were required , but.... who cared anymore? The anachronistic cavalry went the way of the Dodo bird and infantrymen carried enough junk to bother with a yet another heavy piece of metal. The glamour of ivory nadles, corals, gold inscriptions and silver scabbards just faded away...

4th June 2006, 08:35 PM	#7
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Archery was an elite sport in the Ottoman Empire and there were elite archery units; I would not be surprised if there was something systematic on archery. Yataghan was a weapon of "brigands" and unruly Janissaries (they were not allowed to carry swords and guns outside the barracks and a Yataghan could pass for a "knife"). I guess it was beneath the dignity of "serious people" to write official manuals for Yataghan use. The Balkan area was under Ottoman control and did not have regular armies until eventual independence. Any resistance, if at all, was a guerilla-type and those do not publish manuals, and after the independence yataghans became not very important: artillery, rifles, uniforms and medals, medals, medals were at the top of priorities. I know that some sword manuals were published at the West and in Russia as late as at the end of 19th century (maybe even later) and fencing exercises were required , but.... who cared anymore? The anachronistic cavalry went the way of the Dodo bird and infantrymen carried enough junk to bother with a yet another heavy piece of metal. The glamour of ivory nadles, corals, gold inscriptions and silver scabbards just faded away...