[ariel]

We have not discussed these beasties in a while. Here are 3 from my collection.
They are bigger, heavier and more curved than the usual Caucasian shashkas from which they derive (Lebedynsky's " pseudo-shashkas). The Central Asians were likely impressed by the Cossack weapons when the Russians invaded what is now Uzbekistan and the surroundings in 1850s.
Both sport stamps of the Mazar-i-Sharif armoury (legally Afghanistan, ethnically Uzbek).
Notice the unusual arrangement of the scabbard rings: the hanging one on the convex part of the scabbard, the fixed, rectangular one on the "body" side of the scabbard, close to ricasso. Both have the so-called Asian construction, i.e. handle sunken into the scabbard half-way. I am wondering, whether this manner derives from Khybers.... The Caucasian construction had the handle all the way out.
The blades are of simple steel, the smaller one with 3 bronze (brass?) dots (What is the reson?) and a false-edge tip (Kilij-like). The handle strap and the bolster are silver and have typical Central Asian engravings.
The bigger one is Koranically etched all over and has a very simple and sturdy steel bolster.