Rivkin,
You're right, the yataghan is definitely not a Caucasian weapon, and this has been emphatically noted by contacts there. These recurved sabres are not yataghans in the true sense in that the yataghan typically has a forward or downward curved cutting edge, these have a bellied /convex cutting edge.
While these are established in Turkish regions they seem to be more aligned with Armenian/Kurdish association and reflect certain Persian influences.
The term yataghan is used in various cases in a very generic sense, such as with the so called Khyber knife, which is actually a large short sword and often colloquially termed 'Salawar yataghan'.
All the best,
Jim
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