The Habaabi Khanjar/Jambia; FromThe Asir.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

The Habaabi Khanjar/Jambia; From "The Asir"

Salaams,

Some slight puzzlement has transpired over the apparent likeness to certain Saudia Arabian weapons and those of Oman. Indeed it appears that through Muscat trade by sea and camel train, diffusion of their weapons has spread regionally. One such influence appears on the Muscat sea trade route to Zanzibar Islands and the North East African broad regional strip also known as Zangibar in old maps. Perhaps the same has occurred in other regions such as the Bahrayn region that in older days contained the great Al Ahsa Oasis in Eastern Saudia though a study of those weapons has not yet been made for comparison.

This post therefor will deal with The Asir weapon.

From Wikepedia the following sections Quote''Asir or 'Aseer /ˈɑːsɪər/ (Arabic: عسير‎ ʿAsīr) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country, named after the confederation of clans of the same name. It has an area of 81,000 km² and an estimated population of 2,190,000 It shares a short border with Yemen. Its capital is Abha.

History
In 25 B.C. Aelius Gallus marched his legions south from Egypt on a 1,300-mile expedition to take control of the ancient overland trade routes between the Mediterranean and what is now Yemen and Hadhramaut. The Romans wanted control of those routes because they were desperate for money and hoped to raise some by capturing Marib, capital of Yemen, and taking control of the trade in incense - then a priceless commodity - and other valuable aromatics. As it turned out, however, the expedition was a disaster and little information about 'Asir emerged.

By 1920, however, 'Abd al-'Aziz, founder of Saudi Arabia, had begun to recoup the losses of the House of Sa'ud and to unify most of the Peninsula under his rule. As part of this campaign, he sent his young son Faisal - later king - with an expeditionary force to occupy 'Asir, and from then on 'Asir was controlled by the House of Sa'ud - a situation formalized in 1934 with the signing of the Treaty of Taif between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Even then the region was still largely unknown to the West. In 1932, H. St. John Philby, one of the first Europeans to explore and map the Peninsula, did enter 'Asir, but as he didn't publish his observations until 1952, the area remained one of the blank spots on the world's map.'' Unquote.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5512947198

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4336633417

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5780340287

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesfred/5780340299

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4318547823

Maps Key to the Asir region is the main port of Jazan vital in the old days as a trade centre for goods to and from Muscat and Zanzibar/Africa. Central to the name of the dagger ... The Habaabi ...is the Capital of the region Abha...from which the name derives..

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

(Cautionary note; In researching the design features of the Habaabi Khanjar and the Muscat Khanjar something odd is discovered; The large silver buttons and split palmette flower shapes don't appear on Muscat hilts... but are apparent on many Royal Khanjar Hilts. This is recorded here and on The Omani Khanjar The significance is important since it could indicate that the Habaabi Hilt design features were copied from the Royal Omani Khanjar after all !)

Shown here below for perusal The Royal Omani Khanjar Hilt and the Habaabi Hilt ... Is there a connection? If so it would define an more exact date before which the Habaabi did not exist...between 1840 and 1850. Can this be true?

It may transpire that at the height of trade between Muscat and Zanzibar via the Asir port of Jazan...in about 1850...this dagger influenced the local style becoming part of its cultural mix...directly because of The Royal Khanjars appearance at that time...designed by Sheherazad...Amazing if true...!!!

It would explain the two split palmette inward pointing buttons and the large central hilt silver strap.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All ~

I confirm that this style is Abha or as it is known in Oman, "Habaabi" (of Abha) and that the distinctive silver UUUUUU design is present in many of these weapons... just above the belt. I have noted that "Omani silver dot com" illustrates daggers from that region though the write up indicates Omani...which is an oversight by them...they aren't, but that daggers from Abha often have a flower tribe stamp...a flower on the reverse and many are engraved on the reverse or sometimes on the back of the Quba(crown) with either the owners or the makers name.

The pictures below illustrate the UUUUUUUU design and two from www.omanisilver.com show the floral stamp to the reverse...and just how close these items are to the Omani Royal Khanjar...The Saaidiyah style..because of the trade Muscat Asir Zanzibar at a high precisely when the Royal weapon was redesigned by Sheherezad in Muscat in about 1840..

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[kahnjar1]

For the benefit of "newbies" to this Forum, and to avoid further confusion, it should I think be noted here that the term "Habaabi" is used by Omanis to describe non Omani daggers. It is NOT a term, used for a specific style of jambiya.
This statement was made by Ibrahiim elsewhere in his posts.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

For the benefit of "newbies" to this Forum, and to avoid further confusion, it should I think be noted here that the term "Habaabi" is used by Omanis to describe non Omani daggers. It is NOT a term, used for a specific style of jambiya.
This statement was made by Ibrahiim elsewhere in his posts.

Salaams All, let me quote to you what I was told by a Yemeni just the other day...

Quote"These daggers are also called Habaabi in Yemen because as you can see when you strip the word down it becomes obvious that it means of Abha... or Abha region''. Unquote. (Abha being the capital of that region.)
I have to say I am not at all convinced but the chap may be right...he is a weapons sword and dagger dealer... It is such a closed region historically that very little detail is available. Should more evidence come about on the subject of terminology I will report it.

The pronunciation is interesting since it should actually be heard as Abhaabi but that is extremely difficult to say requiring a fully aspirated AH ...Habaabi is simply an easier pronunciation.

However khanjar 1 what is much more important to researchers is the essence of this weapon and how it developed and its obvious linkage to Omani daggers. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14878

For the uninitiated the trade link by sea between Oman(Muscat) the Asir(Jazan)...and Zanzibar in the mid 19th C is KEY. At the mid point in the 19th C Oman embarked on huge development in Zanzibar at the very same time that the Royal Omani Khanjar was designed by the Rulers wife.


Wikipedia is not a bad place to start looking for Asir...and where the difficulties are outlined as ~

Quote" By 1920, however, 'Abd al-'Aziz, founder of Saudi Arabia, had begun to recoup the losses of the House of Sa'ud and to unify most of the Peninsula under his rule. As part of this campaign, he sent his young son Faisal - later king - with an expeditionary force to occupy 'Asir, and from then on 'Asir was controlled by the House of Sa'ud - a situation formalized in 1934 with the signing of the Treaty of Taif between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Even then the region was still largely unknown to the West. In 1932, H. St. John Philby, one of the first Europeans to explore and map the Peninsula, did enter 'Asir, but as he didn't publish his observations until 1952, the area remained one of the blank spots on the world's map." Unquote.

The main port is Jazan also noted well in Wikepedia and a key centre well placed over the centuries for regional trade..

The weapon is peculiar and has confounded experts and specialists down the ages...The prestigious www.omanisilver.com even has a handful of such daggers wrongly written up as Omani..such is its similarity to The Royal Omani Khanjar...invented or redesigned from the Muscat Dagger by Sheherazad in about 1840/50 with some flair added from Indian design in the Hilt. I stress that it was the hilt which she was responsible for..See The Omani Khanjar for further details.



Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[blue lander]

Oriental Arms has a couple of these that they categorize as Omani as well.

It seems all of these Habaabi khanjars are larger than mine. The "toe" of the scabbard is also pointing slightly upwards on these whereas mine's almost horizontal. They all also have the small "shield" thing on the bottom ring and mine doesn't, although it could have fallen off.