Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 27th August 2019, 12:58 AM

I cannot judge Bulgarian/ Bysantine relations, but I trust Teodor’s knowledge and judgement.

As to the Yemeni/ Omani weapons, I have already fully agreed with him based on the same considerations. These “ Bukharan” swords do not look more than 200 years old at the most, and I am unaware of anything similar in Russian museums coming out of Central Asia despite their full control of that area since mid-19th century and even despite multiple lavish gifts of the local Khans and Emirs to the Tsar: they sent khandjars and shamshirs with Persian wootz blades and gold handles. I can fully believe that similar swords might have belonged to the Sassanian era, but after that, Persians ( the main influence on Central Asia) rapidly switched to curved sabers. To the point that they had to invent “revival swords” in the 19th.
My money is on South Aravia, Yemen especially.

27th August 2019, 12:58 AM	#49
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I cannot judge Bulgarian/ Bysantine relations, but I trust Teodor’s knowledge and judgement. As to the Yemeni/ Omani weapons, I have already fully agreed with him based on the same considerations. These “ Bukharan” swords do not look more than 200 years old at the most, and I am unaware of anything similar in Russian museums coming out of Central Asia despite their full control of that area since mid-19th century and even despite multiple lavish gifts of the local Khans and Emirs to the Tsar: they sent khandjars and shamshirs with Persian wootz blades and gold handles. I can fully believe that similar swords might have belonged to the Sassanian era, but after that, Persians ( the main influence on Central Asia) rapidly switched to curved sabers. To the point that they had to invent “revival swords” in the 19th. My money is on South Aravia, Yemen especially.