Newly acquired yataghan for comment.

TVV · 30th December 2014, 05:00 PM

The reason that nobody has commented is probably because yataghans are very difficult to attribute as little has been written on the subject - Elgood has a nice chapter in "The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan neighbors" book, but it is far from a comprehensive guide on all the regional hilt varieties. Astvatsaturian has a typology in her Turkish Arms book, but it is somewhat questionable and debatable, as the author herself admits. The other books on the subject are catalogues - a few from Croatia, which simply list the yataghans in the collection of a Zagreb museum, and one from the Askeri museum in Istanbul, where everything is described simply as "Osmanli" in the notorious Turkish scholastic tradition when it comes to weapons that were found in areas once part of the Ottoman Empire.

To make matters more complicated, yataghans traveled throughout the Empire over the vast trade routes and fittings were replaced regularly according to the taste and means of local owners.

All metal hilts are usually associated with the Western Balkans, and the one on yours may have been made in Epirus. The scabbard is a separate addition and I cannot guess from where. Blades were produced in many centers and traded as blanks - unless the inscription contains the name and home town of the bladesmith, there really is no way of determining where the blade was forged with any degree of certainty.

Regards,
Teodor

30th December 2014, 05:00 PM	#3
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,660	The reason that nobody has commented is probably because yataghans are very difficult to attribute as little has been written on the subject - Elgood has a nice chapter in "The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan neighbors" book, but it is far from a comprehensive guide on all the regional hilt varieties. Astvatsaturian has a typology in her Turkish Arms book, but it is somewhat questionable and debatable, as the author herself admits. The other books on the subject are catalogues - a few from Croatia, which simply list the yataghans in the collection of a Zagreb museum, and one from the Askeri museum in Istanbul, where everything is described simply as "Osmanli" in the notorious Turkish scholastic tradition when it comes to weapons that were found in areas once part of the Ottoman Empire. To make matters more complicated, yataghans traveled throughout the Empire over the vast trade routes and fittings were replaced regularly according to the taste and means of local owners. All metal hilts are usually associated with the Western Balkans, and the one on yours may have been made in Epirus. The scabbard is a separate addition and I cannot guess from where. Blades were produced in many centers and traded as blanks - unless the inscription contains the name and home town of the bladesmith, there really is no way of determining where the blade was forged with any degree of certainty. Regards, Teodor