Yemeni sword

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Hello Jim, I was only just looking at the Yemen Bukharan connection and dug out this https://visainfodesk.com/po-i-kalyan...ra-uzbekistan/ where the Yemen provided the inspiration for a Great Mosque which has lasted as the main Bukharan Mosque for 500 years. Obviously with such a dignatory as this from Yemen the cultural and Religious ties must have been considerable however on the timescale this rules out certain aspects of the Sayf Yemaani ..The Old Omani Battle Sword.

The Yemeni link is important and the above reference states Quote" Mir-i Arab Madrasah (‘Arab emir madrasah’), which is still a functioning madrasah Islamic school, stands across from the mosque. The construction of the madrasah (1535 – 1536) was funded by Ubaidulla-Khan, Shaybani-Khan’s nephew. It was built for the sheikh Abdullah Yemeni, the spiritual mentor of the early Shaybanids. In order to build the madrasah, Ubaidulla-Khan had to sell 3,000 captive Persians he had as slaves. According to another source, he gave Abdullah Yemeni, Bukhara Islamic leader and his teacher, also known as Emir of the Arabs, all the loot from his raids to pay for the construction.''Unquote.

I recall in discussions as I noted, that there was a distinct similarity in the scabbard decoration of swords from Hadhramaut (Elgood, "Arabian Arms & Armour) and those of Bukhara. While it is of course a tenuous suggestion based on what would seem free association, but the religious connections and proclivity for architectural influences from Mosques and Minarets on sword decoration in these contexts is most interesting.

At the top are Bukharen swords,
To the right a sa'if from Hadhramat
Botton, a San'aa mounted sword of Yemen