Afghan Shashkas

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by ariel

Mazar-i-Sharif is essentially an Uzbeki territory ( Not politically, but ethnically. I am not eager to get onto a s..t list of Taliban :-))
My question: are these "shashkas" in fact Uzbeki? Any examples from other areas in Afghanistan? Were they formally adopted by the Afghani military? Any examples of them ( not the so-called Bukharan sabers) in Uzbekistan proper? Say what we like, their bifurcated pommel has no analogy with any weapon of the area ( native or european), except for the Russian Cossack shashka. And those were in use only in Uzbekistan/Tajikistan and never in Afghanistan. They apparently appeared in the area in the second half of the 19th century, co-incidental ( or just after) the Russian invasion of the Central Asian emirates/khanates.

Help me here Ariel but I do not belive they are Uzbeki based on the suspension, I thought all true Uzbeki "Shashka" were worn blade down sabre style. These presented are all worn blade up "Cossack" style. Could these swords bearing this mark be from the paricular region of North Afghanistan as noted above and be for export to the regions north and north west after or during the Russian invasions to capitalise on trade???

I have two fine complete examples of central Asian Shashka, one with the feeling of Uzbek true, being blade edge down, the other sharing similar suspension fitting styles but in silver, with a shorter bolster, three rivits inline to the hilt like these and suspended in a blade edge up style...this I placed more to the west of Uzbek areas in the Turkman regions.

Through talking with another here, I was actually going to raise this thread and another to the top again in a few weeks after I get some good photos done and offer my examples to compare and question the difference...

The entire central Asian theme is a melting pot of ethnic communities over time, from the west from over the Casptain sea, from the south in Afghanistan, the east and the north...a weave that is hard to understand in any exactness.

Husar, you example also shows a wonderful blade and hilt, but the leather of the scabbard looks new the scabbard fittings to my eyes only shows the suspension ring and the drag as being original, the rest look thin and tinny???
Any thoughts or is it just the lighting?

Gav