Turkish sword , good stuff ?

ariel · 8th November 2018, 10:18 PM

As a matter of fact, Sudanese crossguards resemble not the Ottoman , but rather old Mamluk guards.
One only has to check the book by Yucel to see that they are virtually identical twins, only the Sudanese are cruder.

Ottoman ones are slender, with thin langets and are either silver or brass ( or silvered brass) Both Mamluk and Sudanese are massive and made out of iron.

And the general construction of the entire swords is virtually identical : straight double-edged blades . Some Sudanese kaskaras have furrows virtually identical to the Mamluk one: the last one of the attached is an ancestor of the Doukerry:-)

This is not surprising: Egyptian Mamluks controlled or semi-controlled Sudan for centuries, well before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.
Then, the Ottomans took some later Mamluk swords and modified them. I suspect that Persian influence played a role there.

8th November 2018, 10:18 PM	#7
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	As a matter of fact, Sudanese crossguards resemble not the Ottoman , but rather old Mamluk guards. One only has to check the book by Yucel to see that they are virtually identical twins, only the Sudanese are cruder. Ottoman ones are slender, with thin langets and are either silver or brass ( or silvered brass) Both Mamluk and Sudanese are massive and made out of iron. And the general construction of the entire swords is virtually identical : straight double-edged blades . Some Sudanese kaskaras have furrows virtually identical to the Mamluk one: the last one of the attached is an ancestor of the Doukerry:-) This is not surprising: Egyptian Mamluks controlled or semi-controlled Sudan for centuries, well before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. Then, the Ottomans took some later Mamluk swords and modified them. I suspect that Persian influence played a role there. Attached Images