Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Dagger from Crete (?)

eftihis · 28th February 2016, 10:33 PM

It is definitely a cretan dagger of late manufacture...
I have 2 comments. First the unnecessary length (counter-productive!) for a knife, it is clearly a "status statment". Like the very long "zybek" yataghans, and a sign of late manufacture.
Second, it is interesting that cretan daggers, by 1800 developed a distinctive shape. This development corresponds with the development of the cretan muslim identity. The Cretans that became muslims created a community that although spoke greek, they were neither Greeks nor Turks! After the Greek revolution of 1821, the cretan muslims started to became more and more "turks", and in my opinion this is reflectεd in this dagger, that looks more "turkish" than cretan daggers of previous decades.

28th February 2016, 10:33 PM	#13
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 500	It is definitely a cretan dagger of late manufacture... I have 2 comments. First the unnecessary length (counter-productive!) for a knife, it is clearly a "status statment". Like the very long "zybek" yataghans, and a sign of late manufacture. Second, it is interesting that cretan daggers, by 1800 developed a distinctive shape. This development corresponds with the development of the cretan muslim identity. The Cretans that became muslims created a community that although spoke greek, they were neither Greeks nor Turks! After the Greek revolution of 1821, the cretan muslims started to became more and more "turks", and in my opinion this is reflectεd in this dagger, that looks more "turkish" than cretan daggers of previous decades.