The Omani Battle Sword. Sayf Yamaani.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ Better Shot Later ~

What is quite interesting is that this sword came from Rostaq and belonged to a member of the Yaruba dynasty who essentially were the power who ejected the Portuguese in 1650 from Oman. They would probably have used swords like this to do the job... The Old Omani Battle Sword in place for 1261 years since 751 AD is the only true Omani Battle Sword and based on the Abbasiid weapon viewable at the Topkapi both compared by us at...#1. of this thread.

I have checked the hilt which is octagonal and has the original two rivet holes and the third for a wrist strap. The blade is stiff, razor sharp and round tipped with wear at the sweet spot..

The sword was discovered whilst an old house in Rostaq was being demolished. The work on the leathered hilt was completed by an old silversmith in the past 3 months at Rostaq.

The sword has the feeling of excalibur in an odd sort of way... I mean you pick it up and you're off to do battle immediately...Its a dragon slayer !!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Notes; From Wikipedia.com

Quote" Country; Oman.

Region;
Al Batinah Region.

Rustaq (Arabic: الرستاق‎) is a town and wilayah (district) in the Al Batinah Region of northern Oman. The city is located at 23°23′27″N 57°25′28″E23.39083°N 57.42444°E.
The wilayah of Rustaq is in the Western Hajar, in the south of the Batinah. Rustaq was once the capital of Oman, during the era of Imam Nasir bin Murshid al Ya'arubi. Rustaq fort, built four centuries prior to the dawn of Islam in Oman, is an imposing structure built on three levels, containing separate houses, an armoury, a mosque and four towers. The tallest tower stands over 18.5m high and has a diameter of 6m. Hazm Fort is an outstanding example of Omani Islamic architecture and was built in 1711 AD. The fort's roof is built on columns, and contains no wooden supports. Its walls can withstand great impact, at no less than 3m thick at any point.
Rustaq is an area of healing warm springs, the most notable being Ain al Kasafa. Its waters runs at 45°C and are regarded as a cure for rheumatism and skin diseases due to its sulphur content.

There are three popular wadis to visit: Wadi Bani Ghafar; Wadi al Sahtan and Wadi Bani Auf. In addition, the mountains are pitted with caves such as Al Sanaqha Cave with its own subterranean springs. One of the main occupations in Rustaq is beekeeping. Pure Omani honey is a most sought-after commodity and is of the highest quality. Fruits such as pomegranates, apricots, plums and grapes are grown on the foothills of the Akhdar Mountains and brought to Rustaq for sale.

The name of this town is a derived from the Middle Iranian, rustag, (Baluchi, Persian, Kumzari, etc.), New Iranian, 'rusta', meaning a 'large village.' The term is a cognate to other Indo-European tongues such as Latin, where 'rustica', means the same thing (whence the source for the English term, 'rustic' meaning old country style... or original old form...).

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all.. Should I discover something to the contrary I will be the first to report it !!

What appears to be a rather grainy picture ... it was e mailed to me ... but I shall attempt to get a better picture in due course.. in the top picture a dancing sword.. and lower a dancing sword with a fighting blade... The first I have ever encountered. Interestingly the enclave is near Rostaq ~ and the question in my mind was always why didnt some Old Omani Battle Swords get converted to dancing swords despite their total inability to vibrate in the flicked wrist as do dancing blades? The answer is here... they did ! or at least one did. According to the owner this is a stiff heavy blade whereas the top sword is flexible.

Here we have an Old Sayf Yamaani, The Old Omani Battle Sword dressed like a dancing Sayf.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams all.. Should I discover something to the contrary I will be the first to report it !!

What appears to be a rather grainy picture ... it was e mailed to me ... but I shall attempt to get a better picture in due course.. in the top picture a dancing sword.. and lower a dancing sword with a fighting blade... The first I have ever encountered. Interestingly the enclave is near Rostaq ~ and the question in my mind was always why didnt some Old Omani Battle Swords get converted to dancing swords despite their total inability to vibrate in the flicked wrist as do dancing blades? The answer is here... they did ! or at least one did. According to the owner this is a stiff heavy blade whereas the top sword is flexible.

Here we have an Old Sayf Yamaani, The Old Omani Battle Sword dressed like a dancing Sayf.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

This isn't the first instance of these style mounts being found on solid fighting blades, over the last couple years on the various topics regarding these, I've pointed out plenty (trade blades, not the wider blade type seen here).

Your response at the time has been that these are then modern combinations for the tourist market because they'd be of no use within this style of mounts - but that's always seemed unlikely to some of us and this seems to validate the latter point of view.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Iain

This isn't the first instance of these style mounts being found on solid fighting blades, over the last couple years on the various topics regarding these, I've pointed out plenty (trade blades, not the wider blade type seen here).

Your response at the time has been that these are then modern combinations for the tourist market because they'd be of no use within this style of mounts - but that's always seemed unlikely to some of us and this seems to validate the latter point of view.

Salaams Iain ~ This is the first instance of a solidly stiff blade ..a fighting old Omani Battle Sword blade mounted on a dancing long hilt. In all the other instances of Sayfs (straight dancing swords)the blades have been flexible dancers or in the case of a few odd, what appear to be Red Sea variants, with stiff blades. None have the provenance European save a couple known to have been remounted in Muscat.

I reitterate that I have not handled the weapon yet but it belongs with a friend in Rostaq so I will no doubt get hold of the item soon enough. His description over the phone was that this one does not flex at all... and he realises it is a remount...

This is a completely one-off remount of an Old Omani Battle Sword blade and the only one I have ever seen. I show it as a curiousity rather than some break through in Omani Sword definition which it most certainly is not.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All ~The Omani Battle Sword. Amazing blade marks ... Please be advised that an amazing blade (pictures) are currently with me and the owner has very kindly allowed me to publish. Which I will do as soon as I can figure out how !
Note that the quillons are broken off ... This weapon has a scabbard whos picture may follow soon.. The weapon was purchased (Mutrah) thence went to Australia 30 or more years ago. I seem to see inlay metal in the tail of the animal however I shall report back after speaking with the owner. (Latten inlay ?)

The areas of concern are:
1. What is the animal configuration Dog(Perillo Spain), Wolf(Passau German) or Lion (Arabian)?
2. What is the apparent armoury roundel stamp Arabian (Mamluke?) or European ?
3. What is the significance of the apparent Star Of David ?
4. What is the other stamp?
5. Is this a refitted blade or original?
6. Are these original blade marks or copied on... locally?

Ah ...pictures ... got it ! Here goes....

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all Note to Forum. Added detail to above post ; The purchase date is nearer 1990. There is no latten inlay in any of the stamps. The star form (Islamic) is the Star of Solomon form. The Hilt; although the Quillons are missing is an Omani Battle Sword Classic... what may be questionable is the blade. I am trying to determine its flexibility. Is it a refitted dancing blade?

The scabbard details underline the Omani Battle Sword status being of the right nature and format. What is quite amazing(to me) is the style and size...about two inches square... the Lion/Wolf... I favour Lion since its tail is of that style and it has huge claws.

What is also interesting is the roundel since we know that full moons are not Islamic (it is the other moons that attract such meaning) but what is significant about roundels is their attachment to Mamluk style as the mark of ownership..by a man of the pen (as opposed to a man of the sword). The round face ... its eyes are inkwells depicting a penbox. The lips of the face are perhaps the two separate legs of pantaloons... often illustrated thus on Mamluk insignia. More on that later.

I have noted that silver wire is hammered into the Pommel as in some other hilts of Omani Battle Swords. The octagonal hilt is very visible as are the three hilt holes; the top hole being for the wrist strap. The second pin is a later addition as they are flat headed rivvets rather than pin headed. The hand tooling to the scabbard is typical for this mark.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ A full flex test has been carried out and the sword is declared stiff ... thus it is not a dancing sword blade refit ... but in fact a real Omani Battle Sword..

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.