It seems you have exhausted this thread. Your reasoning vis a vis this illustration is nebulous. As you noted, it's Orientalist work, and not very good at that. It's clear it was done by an illustrator-- someone who has little or no knowledge of the material culture of Zanzibar, specifically not weapons-- what is the point of citing such a thing? Bart Simpson would be as accurate a reference on kings of Zanzibar.
Regarding your query, the sword in the image isn't a shamshir. It's a nimcha.
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