Huge sword - Persia or Caucasus

wolviex · 22nd December 2005, 05:45 PM

I'll try to take better picture tomorrow.

wolviex · 23rd December 2005, 09:29 AM

I don't know if these picture will do, but let's make a try.I can upload bigger pics on photobucket if those posted below won't be enough.
One thing seems to be sure: these aren't Persian letters.

Thanks!

Rivkin · 23rd December 2005, 04:06 PM

looks like very strange version of armenian to me. I will try to find out more.

ariel · 23rd December 2005, 09:26 PM

Armenian Kindjals were supposed to be big. Perhaps, that is what you have. This would be a very rare find!!!

Rivkin · 25th December 2005, 05:21 PM

Have shown the writing to some armenians, they confirmed that the characters, with an exception of 2 are armenian (I guess it is probably some old dialect writing, so some characters can be different). Bigger resolution pictures would be appreciated, thanx in advance. I will try to see if someone can translate it.

wolviex · 25th December 2005, 06:03 PM

Rivkin - thank you very much for your efforts, I really appreciate it!

Does Armenian letters excludes Persia as a place of workmanship?

I don't know if these (a little bigger) picture will help:
pic1
pic2
pic3
pic4
pic5
pic6

The problem is, this is only a part of the blade. The letters are barely visible and it's a real pain taking them with camera.

Thanks!

Rivkin · 25th December 2005, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolviex

Rivkin - thank you very much for your efforts, I really appreciate it!

Does Armenian letters excludes Persia as a place of workmanship?

Thanks!

My pleasure. Even today, there is a very strong armenian minority in Iran. However, in the past, Armenia per se and surrounding armenian populated areas (like Karabagh/Arzagh) were a battlefield for ottomans and iranians. Control over Armenia was going back and forth, with ancestors of modern armenians in general being more supportive of iranians and iranian culture (this topic is a subject of many heated and politisized debates). A very large number of armenians was moved by iranians to more steadily controlled iranian provinces, like Azerbajan and Mazandaran.

Now, when talking about Qajars - the early years of Qajars were marked by qajar army establishing control over entire azerbajan and eastern armenia, wrestling large armenian centers under their control. This ended with iranian defeat in ruso-iranian wars, with the borders being finalized in 1828, leaving iran with much smaller armenian diaspora.

It well may be that the sword is early qajar and was made by an iranian sympatizer, even through early Qajars were far less popular among armenians due to their turkoman origins and their support of northern iranian turks (azeris etc.).

It is also possible that the sword is of later period (if its indeed an armenian mega-kama), and in this case was most likely made in one of the armenian diaspora centers in Fars.

23rd December 2005, 09:29 AM	#2
wolviex Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Poland, Krakow Posts: 418	I don't know if these picture will do, but let's make a try.I can upload bigger pics on photobucket if those posted below won't be enough. One thing seems to be sure: these aren't Persian letters. Thanks! Attached Images

22nd December 2005, 05:45 PM	#1
wolviex Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Poland, Krakow Posts: 418	I'll try to take better picture tomorrow.

23rd December 2005, 04:06 PM	#3
Rivkin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 655	looks like very strange version of armenian to me. I will try to find out more.

23rd December 2005, 09:26 PM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Armenian Kindjals were supposed to be big. Perhaps, that is what you have. This would be a very rare find!!!

25th December 2005, 05:21 PM	#5
Rivkin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 655	Have shown the writing to some armenians, they confirmed that the characters, with an exception of 2 are armenian (I guess it is probably some old dialect writing, so some characters can be different). Bigger resolution pictures would be appreciated, thanx in advance. I will try to see if someone can translate it.

25th December 2005, 06:03 PM	#6
wolviex Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Poland, Krakow Posts: 418	Rivkin - thank you very much for your efforts, I really appreciate it! Does Armenian letters excludes Persia as a place of workmanship? I don't know if these (a little bigger) picture will help: pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 pic6 The problem is, this is only a part of the blade. The letters are barely visible and it's a real pain taking them with camera. Thanks!