The Omani Battle Sword. Sayf Yamaani.

[Iain]

I think I can see it - perhaps this enlarged, sharpened and labelled image will help - obviously not the pinnacle of graphic design...

It's very hard to tell on an image of this resolution.

[Gavin Nugent]

That is excellent Iain, it shows he shading in the pixels much clearer.

[Gavin Nugent]

Ibrahiim, thank you for bearing with me, the hole in the quillon that Iain has shown convinces me of the type absolutely.
Now you'll just have to convince me the "dance form" sword was only always for dance...never a fight, despite thick heavy fighting blades in the type...

Gavin

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Iain

I think I can see it - perhaps this enlarged, sharpened and labelled image will help - obviously not the pinnacle of graphic design...

It's very hard to tell on an image of this resolution.

Brilliant Iain ~ One day someone will teach me how to do that ! There are several give aways on determining the sword... all noted by you plus of course theres the scabbard style and the fact that Sultans don't wear dancing swords. The Tubular hilt and the very obvious quillons etc etc make it very clear but thats ok for me to say since Im sitting here with a real Omani Battle Sword on my desk ... and as you point out this is only a sketch...
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Another spotted in the book (Richardson and Dorr).

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[Al Shamal]

Salam,

Wow! I have a battle sword and i have the books by Richardson and Dorr....and I never saw the battle sword hiding in that image.....well spotted!!

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Al Shamal

Salam,

Wow! I have a battle sword and i have the books by Richardson and Dorr....and I never saw the battle sword hiding in that image.....well spotted!!

Salaams Al Shamal ~ They now produce an Arabic Version !

On the subject of Old Omani Battle Swords ~ apparently the Muscat Museums have a few of them and theres one in the Al Ain Museum which has a little silver on it in particular a silver floral button in each quillon hole. ( the tag just says "Arabian Sword" ). Theres another in the Tareq Rajab Museum in Quwait placed by me in about ''95. The largest collections are held in the UAE in private hands and each numbers about 20 or 30. I try to get pictures... no avail so far. Out there in the market there are none that I know of. They are truly rare. The museum teams are searching to upgrade in all the major countries around here with new Museums going up in Al Ain, Saudia, Qatar and the Gugenheim and Louvre projects in the UAE etc.

Anyone able to drop in on the Tareq Rajab Museum in Quwait will be astonished at the brilliant collection ... Picture below shows another of their Omani Battle Swords silvered up Royal Icon style to the right of an Omani Dancing sword.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all~ Note to Library;

The Old Omani Battle Sword ~ Sayf Yamaani ~ This one with some new work on the hilt using silver stitches and leather. Light wonky but will try to get a better shot later...

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ Better Shot Later ~

What is quite interesting is that this sword came from Rostaq and belonged to a member of the Yaruba dynasty who essentially were the power who ejected the Portuguese in 1650 from Oman. They would probably have used swords like this to do the job... The Old Omani Battle Sword in place for 1261 years since 751 AD is the only true Omani Battle Sword and based on the Abbasiid weapon viewable at the Topkapi both compared by us at...#1. of this thread.

I have checked the hilt which is octagonal and has the original two rivet holes and the third for a wrist strap. The blade is stiff, razor sharp and round tipped with wear at the sweet spot..

The sword was discovered whilst an old house in Rostaq was being demolished. The work on the leathered hilt was completed by an old silversmith in the past 3 months at Rostaq.

The sword has the feeling of excalibur in an odd sort of way... I mean you pick it up and you're off to do battle immediately...Its a dragon slayer !!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Notes; From Wikipedia.com

Quote" Country; Oman.

Region;
Al Batinah Region.

Rustaq (Arabic: الرستاق‎) is a town and wilayah (district) in the Al Batinah Region of northern Oman. The city is located at 23°23′27″N 57°25′28″E23.39083°N 57.42444°E.
The wilayah of Rustaq is in the Western Hajar, in the south of the Batinah. Rustaq was once the capital of Oman, during the era of Imam Nasir bin Murshid al Ya'arubi. Rustaq fort, built four centuries prior to the dawn of Islam in Oman, is an imposing structure built on three levels, containing separate houses, an armoury, a mosque and four towers. The tallest tower stands over 18.5m high and has a diameter of 6m. Hazm Fort is an outstanding example of Omani Islamic architecture and was built in 1711 AD. The fort's roof is built on columns, and contains no wooden supports. Its walls can withstand great impact, at no less than 3m thick at any point.
Rustaq is an area of healing warm springs, the most notable being Ain al Kasafa. Its waters runs at 45°C and are regarded as a cure for rheumatism and skin diseases due to its sulphur content.

There are three popular wadis to visit: Wadi Bani Ghafar; Wadi al Sahtan and Wadi Bani Auf. In addition, the mountains are pitted with caves such as Al Sanaqha Cave with its own subterranean springs. One of the main occupations in Rustaq is beekeeping. Pure Omani honey is a most sought-after commodity and is of the highest quality. Fruits such as pomegranates, apricots, plums and grapes are grown on the foothills of the Akhdar Mountains and brought to Rustaq for sale.

The name of this town is a derived from the Middle Iranian, rustag, (Baluchi, Persian, Kumzari, etc.), New Iranian, 'rusta', meaning a 'large village.' The term is a cognate to other Indo-European tongues such as Latin, where 'rustica', means the same thing (whence the source for the English term, 'rustic' meaning old country style... or original old form...).