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

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.

5th September 2018, 10:38 PM	#5
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.