Translation please

David R · 27th March 2019, 11:30 PM

You get some odd scripts on Islamic blades of the 19th 20th centuries I am trying to remember the term, possibly "Thuluth", it turns up a lot on Mahdist's swords... Could this be a retro-script on a captured Turkish sword.

Jim McDougall · 28th March 2019, 01:39 AM

That's a good suggestion David, and you're right there do seem to be some unusual scripts used in Islamic context. The 'thuluth' you mention used on Mahdist swords is actually found as well in Mamluk metalwork and typically bold characters which are acid etched. As I say I am far from being even close to any linguistic skills, but unsure this would qualify.

I tried looking into other scripts and found Perso-Arabic script for the Tajik language, which was used in Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan. Ukraine and Afghanistan and surely others where this people locate. Ottoman presence and influence was remarkably wide of course, which is why we have tried to consider these regions to find close match to the inscription.

While not a match perhaps, it might be a script which influenced that in this inscription if is is indeed not in an exact language, but then the range would widen greatly. All we can do is try at this point until we get a response from someone who recognizes this.

28th March 2019, 01:39 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,585	That's a good suggestion David, and you're right there do seem to be some unusual scripts used in Islamic context. The 'thuluth' you mention used on Mahdist swords is actually found as well in Mamluk metalwork and typically bold characters which are acid etched. As I say I am far from being even close to any linguistic skills, but unsure this would qualify. I tried looking into other scripts and found Perso-Arabic script for the Tajik language, which was used in Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan. Ukraine and Afghanistan and surely others where this people locate. Ottoman presence and influence was remarkably wide of course, which is why we have tried to consider these regions to find close match to the inscription. While not a match perhaps, it might be a script which influenced that in this inscription if is is indeed not in an exact language, but then the range would widen greatly. All we can do is try at this point until we get a response from someone who recognizes this. Attached Images

27th March 2019, 11:30 PM	#1
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,131	You get some odd scripts on Islamic blades of the 19th 20th centuries I am trying to remember the term, possibly "Thuluth", it turns up a lot on Mahdist's swords... Could this be a retro-script on a captured Turkish sword.