Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Two Small Yemeni (I think) Jambiyas and Questions

ariel · 15th November 2007, 12:03 AM

Wire binding can be seen on Turkish scabbards and, I am sure, on Persian as well.
Arabian Peninsula was an Ottoman colony until WWI. Elgood mentions Syrian weapon merchants and armourers in old Arabia. Surely, Caucasian Muslims went to Arabia on the Hajj and even Shamil died there. Circassians were re-settled there by the Ottomans after 1870. Also, Daghestani blades were popular there: Omani Kattaras used curved trade blades.
However, nothing in this jambiya would suggest any Caucasian motive. The contour of the blade, the pronounced central ridge, the silverwork are all unmistakeably South Arabian.

15th November 2007, 12:03 AM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Wire binding can be seen on Turkish scabbards and, I am sure, on Persian as well. Arabian Peninsula was an Ottoman colony until WWI. Elgood mentions Syrian weapon merchants and armourers in old Arabia. Surely, Caucasian Muslims went to Arabia on the Hajj and even Shamil died there. Circassians were re-settled there by the Ottomans after 1870. Also, Daghestani blades were popular there: Omani Kattaras used curved trade blades. However, nothing in this jambiya would suggest any Caucasian motive. The contour of the blade, the pronounced central ridge, the silverwork are all unmistakeably South Arabian.