Saif? Szabla?? What have I got?

[phil.reid]

What are peoples thoughts on this one? Arabic? Armenian? Caucas/ Polish? Elements of all , quite crude, picked up in local Auction , Australia

[broadaxe]

Nice representation of Syrian Saif, I would not say "crude", rather plain, or munition grade, a true fighting saber, with good Ottoman-period fittings, especially the leather stitching on the scabbard. The European military blade is less than usual choice for such swords.

[Jim McDougall]

This is a most appealing saber IMO, and as perfectly described by Broadaxe, has a European blade, which is frankly unusual on these. In regions of Arabia, Gulf of Aden, Egypt, etc. in the colonial periods officers of various nations often favored what they deemed exotic swords.
These kinds are to me most interesting with this kind of historical potential.

These Syrian style hilts were mostly situated in seems in the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, Aden in Arabia latter 19th c. where outfitters in these regions catered to the whims of British officers. In that light, I think of Lawrence of Arabia in the early 20th c. who was situated to the north in Arabia, interestingly close to Syria. This context brought the popularity of these hilts with downward canted pommel into the far ranging Bedouin sphere.