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Originally Posted by Kubur
Thank you Jim
Regard to the introduction of these swords to Ethiopia.
It's true that the Coptic Church headquarter based in Alexandria was sending missionaries since the Byzantine period. These relations became stronger around 1000 AD and they might introduced some Islamic swords to Ethiopia during this period. Later with the conquest of Dongola in Nubia, the Mamluks introduced or re-introduced these swords in sub-Saharan Africa...
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I think Mameluke contact is the far more likely source. The Mamelukes used Makuria as a buffer state and were trading in arms and armor with Bornu already.
Regarding the swords in this thread with the curious pommels, I've seen depictions of kaskara in Ethiopian art and iconography but don't recall such a pommel design specifically. Still the theory you outlined is certainly not impossible.