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Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi
Salaams Ariel ~ I think you hit the nail on the head there!!! ha ! 
I have the book "Selim The Grim" and will dive into that in due course. Great stuff Ariel.
I imagine this will throw open the debate on Karabela appearing in Saudia hilts and Zanzibari Nimcha (hilts that I think look like hawksheads) I can see the transition from Turkey down the Eastern Mediterranean via Bedouin formations down into the entire region (Saudia and. the Red Sea) much more logically.. looking at Buttin now... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=bedouin shows great map by Dom on Bedouin grouping..and a post showing Karabela hilts is close by.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.  |
Correction the book is on the son
Sulaiyman the Magnificent, however, interestingly he is shown wearing a Karabela hilted sword in a sketch which I will publish tomorrow.
I add the note by wiki encyclopaedia as follows and for those of us, like me, who aren't yet quite conversant with this style of sword ~
Quote "A karabela was a type of Polish sabre (szabla). Perhaps one of the most famous types Polish sabres, it became highly popular in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1670s.
The word "karabela" does not have well-established etymology, and different versions are suggested. For example, Zygmunt Gloger suggests derivation from the name of the Iraqui city of Karbala, known for trade of this kind of sabres. It may also be a loanword from the Turkish compound word "kara-bela", which means
* "black-bane".
The sabre was modelled after the swords of the Turkish footmen formations of Janissaries and Spahis, which used it in close quarters. Much lighter than the hussar szabla, the karabela had an open hilt with the pommel modelled after an eagle's head. Such a grip allowed for easier handling of circular cuts while fighting on foot, and for swinging cuts from horseback.
Initially, the karabela sabres were used mostly for decoration or as a ceremonial weapon worn on special occasions. Popularized during the reign of King Jan III Sobieski, the sabre became one of the most popular Polish melee weapons. Though in theory the type could be subdivided into ornamental ceremonial type and a simple battle weapon, in reality both more expensive and the cheaper designs were often used in combat. Most of the Polish nobility (szlachta) could afford only one expensive karabela and, in case of need, simply replaced the ebony or ivory-made scabbard with a leather-made one, and removed some of the precious stones from the hilt in order to convert it into a fully reliable weapon". Unquote.
*I have never heard of
"black bane" however ~ They think history's most serious anthrax outbreak was "Black Bane," a terrible epidemic that swept Europe in the 1600s. It killed at least 60,000 people and many more domestic and wild animals. Perhaps it refers to that ? See rense.com/general16/thehistoryofgerm.htm
It thus occured to me that if a sword was named after an anthrax epidemic in Europe that it would point to its origin of design.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.