Kaskara Fuller Styles and Some Blade Marks--a third essay for discussion

ariel · 4th September 2018, 03:29 AM

Straight to Classics

TVV · 5th September 2018, 08:07 PM

Ed, thank you for the third installment of your research on kaskaras. You have done a great job summarizing and explaining the blade types and local terminology.

I completely agree with you that the most likely source of imported blades initially were surplus old blades from European armories, and that in the 19th century the earlier symbols were copied locally on Solingen produced blanks. I have a sword that illustrates a local copy of a running wolf:

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7376

There is one more blade type with two or three parallel fullers of medium width and equal length, such as in the threads below:

http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16092
http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21372
http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23900

In previous discussions these have been described as Eritrean, but the one I have is in a Sudanese dress. What is your opinion on these?

Regards,
Teodor

ariel · 5th September 2018, 10:38 PM

European swordmakers flooded Ethiopia with their blades of various forms: from straight double-edged to copies of shotels.
From Ethiopia ( or directly?) some straight blades reached Sudan and were used for " kaskaras"

But the origin of those double-edged straight sword is not likely to be related to crusaders ( a theory discredited long ago) or to 19th century trade European blades.

Most likely, IMHO, Sudanese " kaskaras" are direct descendants of Mamluk swords the earliest of which date to 11-12 centuries.

There are multiple examples in Topkapi of such swords, with different fullering systems and with iron crossguards identical to the Sudanese ones. Mamluks invaded Sudan multiple times over centuries and even dominated it in the 19th century.
In turn, early Mamluk swords are virtually identical to the pre,- and early Islamic swords of Aravia.

Thus, Sudanese " kaskaras" may trace their identity straight to 7-8 (??) centuries, or even predating Muhammed.

Ian · 5th September 2018, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Straight to Classics

I completely agree ariel. This thread was put in the Classics "sticky" five minutes after it went online. Ed's three essays on the kaskara are linked there now, and I think his work is a major advance in the scholarly understanding of these swords. Taken together with the comments received to those posts, I think collectors and other s interested in these swords are well served by the hours of work that went into Ed's contributions.
Ian

ariel · 5th September 2018, 11:48 PM

More likely - years.
My hat is off to him.

Edster · 6th September 2018, 02:06 AM

Ariel, Teodor and Ian,

Thanks for the kind words. It was a pleasure to write these essays, but much of the knowledge and most of the illustrations are from the excellent collections of fellow Forum members. I only have four kaskara and have handled less than a dozen. And at the time I didn't know what I was seeing. I'm still learning from our experts.

Teodor, I agree those two-fuller blades are likely from Ethiopian highlands. That ancient culture no doubt produced the skilled craftsmen needed to produce the intricate work inside the fullers. This is not the work of some shade tree sword smith in Eritrea, although the port of Massaula may have had some skilled artisans from Yemen. There was a lot of traffic from the coast to Yemen, Arabia and even India going back to Roman times. Maybe we need to add another fuller category for two fullers. Need more research to further investigate them and reveal a name.

Ariel, I beginning to think the sword entered Eastern Sudan, as you say, up the Nile, but also via the Arab nomads who interacted and intermarried with the Bega. The Bega lived between the Nile and the Red Sea inland from Suakin and carried trade goods from Suakin and other Red Sea ports for hundreds of years. Andrew Paul in his "A History of the Beja Tribes of Sudan" 1950/2012 said that the Northern Beja, under Arab influence, abandoned the spear in favor of the broadsword about the first half of the 17th Century. The Southern Bega kept commonly with the spear due to Funj influence.

They likely have imported complete swords of the Arab type for some time. The cross-guards and the rest of the kaskara-look we know likely developed among the Bega and maybe Hausa smiths in the Bega regions and influenced by the Funj. Also, there were remanent Christian kingdoms in the region that survived the Funj conquest. This is of course conjecture.

Ian, I can't thank you enough for making the essays "fit to post". I haven't written this much in many years except three snarky pieces for pleasure and without online publishing expertice.

Best regards,
Ed

Jim McDougall · 6th September 2018, 04:11 PM

I just wanted to echo the congratulations, appreciation and respect to Ed for this outstanding work on the conundrums of the kaskara, which actually preempted Reed in JAAS (1987) and held material far more detailed and relevant. Our greatest fortune has been that he shared this with us and opened the doors to the greatest advance in the study of these Sudanese weapons in decades.

His work was greatly augmented by that of Iain, whose tenacious work on the takouba provided brilliant insight into the kaskara as well. I personally will be ever grateful to these two brilliant researchers for what they helped me learn on these fascinating topics.

Ian, I thank you as well for your placing of these works and the links to the many discussions for the benefit of those with continued interest in these topics. If I may, very well done!

Edster · 6th September 2018, 07:32 PM

Jim,

Thank you for your congratulations. I've always considered you my mentor on the kaskara, and I still sit at your knee to absorb your great wisdom and insights.

Highest regards,
Ed

Ian · 7th September 2018, 10:09 AM

Hi Jim,

Good to see you posting again on the kaskara. Thanks for the kind words, but my contribution was purely technical and the content was the work of Ed and our other contributors. These threads are further testimony to the talent among our membership here, and the importance of scholarship to our understanding of these weapons. We tend to think of this site as "small" in comparison to some other knife discussion forums, but this little mouse can "roar" when it has a mind to. High quality contributions, including essays like Ed's, distinguish this site from many others out there. It really is a privilege to participate in some of these efforts.

Best wishes,

Ian.

4th September 2018, 03:29 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Straight to Classics

5th September 2018, 08:07 PM	#2
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,666	Ed, thank you for the third installment of your research on kaskaras. You have done a great job summarizing and explaining the blade types and local terminology. I completely agree with you that the most likely source of imported blades initially were surplus old blades from European armories, and that in the 19th century the earlier symbols were copied locally on Solingen produced blanks. I have a sword that illustrates a local copy of a running wolf: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7376 There is one more blade type with two or three parallel fullers of medium width and equal length, such as in the threads below: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16092 http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21372 http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23900 In previous discussions these have been described as Eritrean, but the one I have is in a Sudanese dress. What is your opinion on these? Regards, Teodor

5th September 2018, 10:38 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	European swordmakers flooded Ethiopia with their blades of various forms: from straight double-edged to copies of shotels. From Ethiopia ( or directly?) some straight blades reached Sudan and were used for " kaskaras" But the origin of those double-edged straight sword is not likely to be related to crusaders ( a theory discredited long ago) or to 19th century trade European blades. Most likely, IMHO, Sudanese " kaskaras" are direct descendants of Mamluk swords the earliest of which date to 11-12 centuries. There are multiple examples in Topkapi of such swords, with different fullering systems and with iron crossguards identical to the Sudanese ones. Mamluks invaded Sudan multiple times over centuries and even dominated it in the 19th century. In turn, early Mamluk swords are virtually identical to the pre,- and early Islamic swords of Aravia. Thus, Sudanese " kaskaras" may trace their identity straight to 7-8 (??) centuries, or even predating Muhammed.

5th September 2018, 11:48 PM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	More likely - years. My hat is off to him.

6th September 2018, 02:06 AM	#6
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 418	Ariel, Teodor and Ian, Thanks for the kind words. It was a pleasure to write these essays, but much of the knowledge and most of the illustrations are from the excellent collections of fellow Forum members. I only have four kaskara and have handled less than a dozen. And at the time I didn't know what I was seeing. I'm still learning from our experts. Teodor, I agree those two-fuller blades are likely from Ethiopian highlands. That ancient culture no doubt produced the skilled craftsmen needed to produce the intricate work inside the fullers. This is not the work of some shade tree sword smith in Eritrea, although the port of Massaula may have had some skilled artisans from Yemen. There was a lot of traffic from the coast to Yemen, Arabia and even India going back to Roman times. Maybe we need to add another fuller category for two fullers. Need more research to further investigate them and reveal a name. Ariel, I beginning to think the sword entered Eastern Sudan, as you say, up the Nile, but also via the Arab nomads who interacted and intermarried with the Bega. The Bega lived between the Nile and the Red Sea inland from Suakin and carried trade goods from Suakin and other Red Sea ports for hundreds of years. Andrew Paul in his "A History of the Beja Tribes of Sudan" 1950/2012 said that the Northern Beja, under Arab influence, abandoned the spear in favor of the broadsword about the first half of the 17th Century. The Southern Bega kept commonly with the spear due to Funj influence. They likely have imported complete swords of the Arab type for some time. The cross-guards and the rest of the kaskara-look we know likely developed among the Bega and maybe Hausa smiths in the Bega regions and influenced by the Funj. Also, there were remanent Christian kingdoms in the region that survived the Funj conquest. This is of course conjecture. Ian, I can't thank you enough for making the essays "fit to post". I haven't written this much in many years except three snarky pieces for pleasure and without online publishing expertice. Best regards, Ed

6th September 2018, 04:11 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,453	I just wanted to echo the congratulations, appreciation and respect to Ed for this outstanding work on the conundrums of the kaskara, which actually preempted Reed in JAAS (1987) and held material far more detailed and relevant. Our greatest fortune has been that he shared this with us and opened the doors to the greatest advance in the study of these Sudanese weapons in decades. His work was greatly augmented by that of Iain, whose tenacious work on the takouba provided brilliant insight into the kaskara as well. I personally will be ever grateful to these two brilliant researchers for what they helped me learn on these fascinating topics. Ian, I thank you as well for your placing of these works and the links to the many discussions for the benefit of those with continued interest in these topics. If I may, very well done!

6th September 2018, 07:32 PM	#8
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 418	Jim, Thank you for your congratulations. I've always considered you my mentor on the kaskara, and I still sit at your knee to absorb your great wisdom and insights. Highest regards, Ed

7th September 2018, 10:09 AM	#9
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,453	Hi Jim, Good to see you posting again on the kaskara. Thanks for the kind words, but my contribution was purely technical and the content was the work of Ed and our other contributors. These threads are further testimony to the talent among our membership here, and the importance of scholarship to our understanding of these weapons. We tend to think of this site as "small" in comparison to some other knife discussion forums, but this little mouse can "roar" when it has a mind to. High quality contributions, including essays like Ed's, distinguish this site from many others out there. It really is a privilege to participate in some of these efforts. Best wishes, Ian.