My first Jambiya...but is it a good one?

S.Al-Anizi · 29th July 2006, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

Actually, the Jambiya family extends well into the Southeast Asian archipelago, with lots of local variations!

Regards,
Kai

Never knew that, thanks

ariel · 29th July 2006, 05:09 PM

What we call "jambiya" is just a short curved dagger traditionally attributed to the "Arab" tradition.
Question: Did it originate in the Arabian Peninsula and spread through the Maghreb, Persia, Middle East etc. with the Arab conquest in the 8th century and beyond or was it originally a local weapon of one of the conquered cultures and adopted by the Arabs? There are many examples of similar daggers in ancient, pre-Islamic, Asian and Scythian cultures (see Gorelik)
No doubt, Arab traders subsequently brought it to Indonesia and beyond. Each culture had its own style, but they often intermixed: one can see, for example, a "typical" Omani one made in India (early globalization!

). Some survived in isolated pockets: Palestinian one (shibriya) or Moroccan Koummya come to mind. Also, there is not much difference between "jambiya" and "'khanjar". Elgood says that it is just a matter of geography: West of the Arabian Peninsula it is Jambiya, East of it it is called Khanjar.
Weapons migrated with the speed of conquering armies and trade caravans.

S.Al-Anizi · 29th July 2006, 07:03 PM

In the arab sense, the only place in the world that these daggers are named Jambiya is in Oman. This term was/is not used in Yemen, Nejd, Hijaz, Syria or Iraq. Im also sure that the Persia's and Turks do not use this term. The rest of the arabs use the term "Khanjar", similar to the Indo-Persian one.

I believe this has alot to do with the arab conquest in the 8th century as Ariel says. This probably originated as a very simple style dagger, yet very effective. Thus adopted throughout the Islamic world.

29th July 2006, 05:09 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	What we call "jambiya" is just a short curved dagger traditionally attributed to the "Arab" tradition. Question: Did it originate in the Arabian Peninsula and spread through the Maghreb, Persia, Middle East etc. with the Arab conquest in the 8th century and beyond or was it originally a local weapon of one of the conquered cultures and adopted by the Arabs? There are many examples of similar daggers in ancient, pre-Islamic, Asian and Scythian cultures (see Gorelik) No doubt, Arab traders subsequently brought it to Indonesia and beyond. Each culture had its own style, but they often intermixed: one can see, for example, a "typical" Omani one made in India (early globalization! ). Some survived in isolated pockets: Palestinian one (shibriya) or Moroccan Koummya come to mind. Also, there is not much difference between "jambiya" and "'khanjar". Elgood says that it is just a matter of geography: West of the Arabian Peninsula it is Jambiya, East of it it is called Khanjar. Weapons migrated with the speed of conquering armies and trade caravans.

29th July 2006, 07:03 PM	#3
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	In the arab sense, the only place in the world that these daggers are named Jambiya is in Oman. This term was/is not used in Yemen, Nejd, Hijaz, Syria or Iraq. Im also sure that the Persia's and Turks do not use this term. The rest of the arabs use the term "Khanjar", similar to the Indo-Persian one. I believe this has alot to do with the arab conquest in the 8th century as Ariel says. This probably originated as a very simple style dagger, yet very effective. Thus adopted throughout the Islamic world.