My Jambiya [need help]

[Alvaro]

wow THANKS ALOT My history teacher will be amazed.
but which one is the statue the americans found in 1950's ? the one from the 50rial banknote or from the 200 rial?

[Devadatta]

Hmmm...

So who must be the man shown at 50 YMR banknote? He also has a dagger...Strange - I was sure that's Ma'adkarib (and search-engine actually thinks the same)

[Alvaro]

in my opinion the man on the 200 YER banknote doesn't really look like a statue.
Anyway, I've got another question
is the Jambiya unique to Jemen, or is it used in other countries as well?

[Devadatta]

Well, the same forms can be found in all regions of Arabic peninsula and in other countries which were influensed by Arabs. In most western sources all such daggers are called jambiya, however they have their own regional differences and in most cases they have local names (for example, Omanian traditional dagger is called khanjar, and even though it looks very similar to Yemeni, still there are certain differences which allow to bring it to a separate category).

[Alvaro]

Thanks for the quick reply youre posts are very useful to me

[Devadatta]

Always welcome, and I also suggest you to use search-engine of this forum to find some interesting topics about jambiya. There are a lot of specialists here whose knowledge on the subject are much wider, than mine are

And I'd also show one of Hizam, as we spoke about these belts...

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Devadatta

Well, the same forms can be found in all regions of Arabic peninsula and in other countries which were influensed by Arabs. In most western sources all such daggers are called jambiya, however they have their own regional differences and in most cases they have local names (for example, Omanian traditional dagger is called khanjar, and even though it looks very similar to Yemeni, still there are certain differences which allow to bring it to a separate category).

Some pics of the various types herewith for comparison with the Meccan style.
Shown are: 3 different Omani Khanjar, Jizan, Tehama
As you can see that while there is a distinct similarity, there are subtle differences.

[Devadatta]

Hi Stu,

I maybe mistaken, but I think your third Omani khanjar is actually more typical for Saudi Arabia

That's a picture from flickr.com taken by a french photographer Eric Lafforgue



Also as I noticed those khanjars worn in Saudi usually have more curved scabbard than Omani ones, and mainly they are placed straight vertical, not with a slope to the left like Omanis...

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Devadatta

Hi Stu,

I maybe mistaken, but I think your third Omani khanjar is actually more typical for Saudi Arabia

That's a picture from flickr.com taken by a french photographer Eric Lafforgue



Also as I noticed those khanjars worn in Saudi usually have more curved scabbard than Omani ones, and mainly they are placed straight vertical, not with a slope to the left like Omanis...

I see what you mean. Quite possibly the third one is of Saudi origin. I had not noticed that the scabbard tip had a more upward end to it. In more modern times the styles tended to "drift" somewhat as travel became easier on the Arabian Peninsula.