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..