THE OLDEST KNOWN YATAGHAN!!!!

[Sancar]

I personally find Hilmi Aydın's book not a very good source. I have the same book and I only use it for its pictures. Because he makes lots and lots of mistakes, misreadings of Ottoman Turkish scripts, misjudgements about origins of weaponry and terminology. Also, existing arms and armour terminology is not as clear cut as European counterpart(due to lack of interest in art history and archeology community in Turkey about arms and armour studies; most of my professors did not even consider it as a subject of study) Aydın must have made that mistake because of the shortness of the blade relative to later longer yataghans.

There is a Timurid period yataghan in display in Topkapı armoury about same blade length and shape with the Ahmet Tekeli yataghan, with a earless jade handle(which might be a later addition) That yataghan is older than Kanuni ones, even maybe older than Bayazid one, but it is categorized by the curator(who knows absolutely nothing about arms and armour; believe me, I met him) as a "knife".

Below are some paintings in "Saz Yolu" or "Saz Üslubu" by Ottoman painter Şahkulu, inventor of the style:

Dragon in Leaves, 16th century


Dragon fighting unicorns, 16th century

[Martin Lubojacky]

Sancar,
Thank you !
Regards,
Martin

[Sancar]

You are most welcome, Martin.

[Emanuel]

Hello,

Here is yet another gorgeous yataghan, possibly from the same workshop of Ahmed Tekelu. It's actually featured in the Furusiyya Foundation's collection.
Dated 1500-1515. It exhibits the same phoenix and dragon in foliage theme.
Attached the plates 56-57 from "The Arts of the Muslim Knight"

Is it just me or does the blade look like wootz?

The text refers to a 9th century Tang painting of a Turkish chieftain with "a long yataghan-like knife", shown in "Palace Museum" Taiwan, Ettinghausen 1963. has anyone run accros this painting?

Emanuel

[Emanuel]

And the details...

[Sancar]

This is the first time I ever saw this yatağan! Very interesting. Thank you very much Emanuel!

[Emanuel]

Hello everyone,

Here is another yataghan, very similar to those posted above, but lacking the extensive decoration. It does appear to have some of the same foliage decoration, and it also seems to have a fuller at the spine. Note the bolster. Overall reminiscent of khukri blades, but more elongated and lacking the kaudi.

This piece was photographed by photographer Charles Clifford sometime in the 1860s from a collection supposedly in Madrid.

Also very similar is the following likely Indian-made sossoun-pata, that is a bit more khukri-like: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...8&postcount=25

Thoughts?

Emanuel