[stag_toggle style=”normal” title=”Piece details” state=”closed”]Scabbard with scabbard
Ottoman workshop, 1591
Damascus steel, silver, gold, wood, coral
Scimitar – L: 83 cm
Sheath – L: 74 cm
Total length: 85 cm
Blade width: 3.5 cm[/stag_toggle]
Scimitars represent a separate category within the vast framework of edged weapons, being classified by the specialized literature in the group of large knives, having a curved blade made of the highest quality steel, with a single cutting edge necessarily arranged on the inner edge of the blade. The handle of this type of edged weapon is not provided with a guard; it represents a characteristic element of the scimitar and stands out due to the specific-looking plates, ending at the upper part in the form of slightly curved fins towards the edge of the blade, known generically as "ears". The shape of the plates is perfectly designed for the easiest possible handling of the weapon, the "ears" of the handle having the role of stopping the scimitar from slipping out of the hand during fights. If necessary, its "ears" could serve as a support for supporting and fixing rifle barrels.
Regarding origin Regarding this type of bladed weapon, the specialized literature believes that the scimitar is of oriental origin, according to some sources even from eastern India, from where it spread throughout the Orient.
Other documentary sources mention that the origin of the scimitar is found in Asia, especially in the area where numerous Turkic tribes once lived. Through the Ottoman Turks, it became widely spread, reaching the Balkan Peninsula during the Ottoman expansion, where numerous production centers were created over time, famous at the time for the quality of the scimitars they made.
Yataghans began to be manufactured in the mid-16th century and continued until the 19th century, and as forname, There are many legends that place the genesis of the weapon and its name in the territories inhabited by the Turks, in Central Asia. Here, a military commander named Osman Bey conquered a province in the southwest of today's Turkey (Denizli) where he stayed with his blacksmith named Yatagan Baba (Father Yatagan), establishing a workshop for making edged weapons. Becoming famous, he lent his name to both the town and the weapons produced, which diversified with spears, javelins, knives, etc. This explains the fact that some documentary sources mention weapons manufactured in Yatagan, which thus became the main source of income for the inhabitants, until the advent of firearms. The inhabitants of this town still produce this type of weapon today, which they sell as souvenirs.
The name of the scimitar can also be interpreted taking into account the manner in which it is worn by the Janissaries, attached to the wide belt of the military uniform, left free to hang down, next to the hip – "yatabilen" (which hangs).
In the specialized literature, there have been numerous confusions over time regarding name and form scimitars, so that, scimitar was often misidentified as daggerDealing with this type of bladed weapon, numerous authors have failed to establish a clear differentiation between scimitars and hangars; moreover, there are numerous cases in which the term scimitar has been erroneously used to designate oriental swords.
dagger is a dagger with a shorter, particularly hard blade, which is strongly curved from the middle to the tip. Unlike the scimitar, the hanger has a cutting edge on both edges and a rib arranged in the middle of the blade. The hanger was used in the Ottoman Empire by Janissary units, being part of their standard equipment. The hanger was worn in the boot and being a weapon with a preponderance of military use, it is considered that in the civilian environment of the Balkans, this type of dagger was not very widespread.
scimitar Instead, it is a weapon with a special appearance, both from the point of view of the blade and the handle. The blade of the scimitar is curved in two different directions, first presenting a concave shape from the handle to the tip of the blade, and then following a convex shape, up to the tip of the weapon itself (the second curvature is much smaller and less pronounced than the first).
Length The average length of scimitars is 60–80cm, and form Their design has not changed much over time, in this sense a major contribution having the special characteristics of this type of weapon: the striking and splitting force. Due to the specific shape, the striking force is concentrated towards the tip of the blade, so the scimitar was perfect for close combat, but also in mass. Even when firearms gained supremacy on the battlefield, the scimitar was maintained in the standard equipment of the Janissaries, precisely because of its technical qualities.
The scimitar became a "national" weapon during the Ottoman rule, being included among the popular elements of men's clothing, Ottoman or Balkan. The scimitar was worn on the belt along with the two holsters with flintlocks. The belt, also known as bensilah, was a popular item of clothing used especially for carrying weapons, for this reason some authors consider it a military accessory. The scimitar was in the possession of the Ottoman navy and the Janissaries and was a mandatory element of every Muslim's attire.
The component parts The components of a scimitar are specific to any bladed weapon, namely: blade, handle and sheath.
Blade The scimitar is made of the highest quality steel, known as damask and is often decorated by damascene with gold or silver thread, or by engraving, necessarily mentioning the year of the piece's manufacture, the name of the armorer, the name of the owner, texts from the Quran, proverbs, addresses to Allah, and stylized geometric and floral motifs.
- Damascus steel is the most suitable material to ensure the main qualities of a blade, namely the flexibility and hardness of the edge, which must remain sharp and be easily restored if it is degraded by repeated use.
Steel with a high carbon content is very hard but brittle, and steel with a low carbon content is flexible but soft and does not retain a functional edge for a longer period of use. Two processes are known to obtain steel with superior properties: European and Indian.
The European procedure The process of manufacturing steel for edged weapons involves the hot forging of two or more steel grades in the form of overlapping bars and hot forging. The bar thus obtained is folded in half and hot forged again, the process being repeated until 512 or 1024 overlapping and homogenized layers are obtained, as a result of repeating the forging nine or ten times. After the actual shaping of the blade, before being fixed in the handle, the blade is treated with acid, an operation that gives it a “milled” appearance, since the steels in the composition react differently with acid. This visual appearance of the blade is the prerogative of Damascus steel.
The Indian Process steelmaking ((wootz) is considered representative for obtaining this amazing metal. Produced by the Indians of Damascus, for more than 1000 years, the process consists of slowly enriching iron with carbon, by heating the mixture for a long time to temperatures close to fusion. This produces a carburization of the iron of up to 2%. By slowly raising the reaction temperature, the fusion takes place unevenly, and the appearance of the final product is inhomogeneous. Cooling takes place slowly and emphasizes the diversification of the final structure of the steel and provides it with the desired qualities of suppleness and resistance. Treated with acid, the blade presents the same specific, moire appearance.
HANDLE The scimitar is made up of several elements: in the lower part it is equipped with a short cylindrical sleeve, made of an alloy containing lead or tin, richly decorated and slightly beveled at the bottom towards the blade, which this continues with an ornament in the form of a stylized leaf. The second element is presented in the form of a metal strip fixed longitudinally, along the edge of the handle, at the junction of the handle plates. These strips, usually made of filigree silver, feature coral or turquoise cabochons and tiny metal ornaments of floral, pyramidal, rhomboidal, circular shape – hot-glued to the central plate. The last element of the handle is represented by the two plates that present a configuration characteristic of this type of weapon, ending at the top with two “ears” that can be of different shapes and sizes. The bifurcated shape of the scimitar handle, resulting from the two “ears” located at the end of the plates, fully proves its usefulness when handling the weapon, having a dual role: protecting the fighter’s hand, but also as an obstacle against the weapon slipping out of the hand in the heat of battle.
Yataghans were carried in TEACl manufactured from metal or wood, covered in leather or metal and reinforced with metal fittings. Their configuration faithfully follows the contour of the blade and the end reproduces a stylized animal head. The sheaths of the scimitars were richly decorated, with semi-precious stones, ornaments and damascene inscriptions, generally with gold thread. These scimitars were very expensive and were in the possession of dignitaries and high-ranking officials, being in many cases gifts from the sultan. Scimitars with richly decorated metal handles were gala pieces worn on special occasions, having as their main role, together with the rest of the clothing, the illustration of the owner's social status.
Decoration The design of the assembly consisting of scimitar and scabbard is unitary and depended on the sponsor, as it reflected his social position and financial power. The materials used are gold, silver, brass, semi-precious stones (coral, turquoise), and the techniques are varied: casting, hammering, chiseling, engraving, damascene, application of cabochons, filigree, vegetal and geometric motifs.
- Technology damascene involves decorating metal surfaces with gold or silver thread. First, the surface to be decorated is engraved with the desired pattern, making more or less deep grooves, which are either filled with molten metal (gold or silver) known as the technique of deep inlay, or it is covered with metal wire (gold or silver) and then hammered and finished to a perfect flatness, called the technique surface incrustation. The method allows for the creation of a particularly fine and rigorous decoration in the rendering of details.
The most representative example of a scimitar appreciated in the specialist literature is the one made for Suleyman the Magnificent, who ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566. Manufactured in 1526/7, this scimitar is among the first in its history and mentions on the blade the year of manufacture and the name of the artist who executed it, Ahmed Tekelü. With a perfectly balanced shape and remarkable execution, it is exhibited in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
Yataghans were not only produced in the Ottoman area. For example, in France, yataghans were manufactured in the Versailles arms factory, the resulting product being known as scytheor oriental knifeIn some countries, bayonets were made with a shape similar to the scimitar blade, and even small swords for striking were made (Haudegen) with curved blades. In the second half of the 19th century, in Austria, scimitars were produced in armament factories, these weapons becoming part of the equipment of some military units in Dalmatia. In the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) scimitars were created that faithfully reproduced the quality and configuration of the Ottoman ones, the difference being represented by the decoration of the blade, the size of the “ears” and the material from which they were made (ivory, bone).
The weapons collection of King Carol I is the largest in the country and is almost entirely housed at the Peleș National Museum. The scimitar with scabbard is part of the oriental weapons collection and is believed to have been brought by King Carol I from his father's collection at Sigmaringen Castle. It appears in the weapons catalogue compiled by the Austrian Julius Scheűrer, in chapter IV, entitledOriental Handjare.
- Hired by King Carol I for this purpose, Julius Scheürer elaborated around 1914, Verzeichnis der Waffensammlung Seiner Majestät König Karl I von Rumänien, a work that has remained in manuscript, which includes several folders that follow the traditional division of the collection: ceremonial weapons, hunting and combat weapons, firearms, edged weapons and knightly armor. The files are each accompanied by a pen drawing, which meticulously reproduces all the details of the pieces. As an appendix to the catalog, Scheürer also wrote a Register zum Inventar der Waffensammlung in dem Rumänischne Königsschloße Pelesch (Vienna 1913).
The scimitar presents a blade double curved, made of Damascus steel, with a single cutting edge on the inner edge and a wide groove for blood drainage, near the blunt edge; it is decorated towards the handle, on the blunt edge, with a gold damascene leaf motif and along its entire length with 5 inscriptions on each side, calligraphed in the Ottoman language, presented in cartouches with gold damascene vegetal motifs.
Handle metallic, with forked blades and flared “ears”, of large dimensions, ornamented on the entire surface with gold damascene vegetal motifs. In the middle part, longitudinally, at the place where the blades join, a decorative silver band worked in tracery and cabochons with coral and small silver spheres imitating pearls. The ring at the base of the handle forms a common body with the “leaf” on the blade and reproduces the vegetal motifs made in the same manner as it.
Sheath is made of wood, covered in metal (steel), with a wide filigree silver sleeve, decorated in alternate registers, with silver bumblebees and corals mounted in silver and filigree cabochons. The scabbard is entirely damascene on three-quarters of its length with gold and silver, with vegetal motifs and medallions with arabesques, Laterally, on the outer side, it presents two fastening rings for the cord. The scabbard presents a termination in the shape of a fantastic animal head decorated in the same manner as this.
Some of the inscriptions could be deciphered and translated from the Ottoman–Turkish language, namely:
- An inscription stating the year 1000 of the Hegira (according to the Islamic calendar) and 1591 (according to the Gregorian calendar), representing the year of manufacture.
- The inscription on the handle of the scimitar is written: اللهإِلَّا إِلَّهَ لَا and reads “lā ʾilāha ʾillā l-Lāh”, and in translation ""There is no God but God"
- One of the inscriptions on the blade would translate as: “(This is) the day chosen for intolerance and darkness”
- Another inscription on the blade refers to “"the royal house of Allah".
- The blade features a more difficult-to-decipher inscription, which mentions the words "journey", "(on) the sea" and a proper name "Alid"
The scimitar with scabbard from the collection of King Carol I at the Peleș National Museum is a piece of exceptional value, made at the beginning of the history of this type of bladed weapon, because it defines all the typological identification elements, presenting an impeccable execution technique and having special aesthetic values. Manufactured in Asia Minor, according to the Scheürer Catalog, it is representative of the scimitars of ottoman type, which are characterized by large "ears", strongly bent towards the blade and the ornaments and inscriptions damascene with gold and silver thread made using the "surface inlay" technique
Made entirely of metal, the way the handle's component parts are joined (fixed by hot-gluing) is perfect, giving the impression of being molded, and the transition from one descriptive element to another gives the ensemble continuity, also ensured by the application of the decoration. The impression the piece leaves is of a fluid image, punctuated by the red color of the coral.
The piece was intended exclusively for parade and represents a collector's weapon, having unusually large dimensions for a scimitar (total length 85 cm) and particularly rich ornamentation, with gold, silver and coral. The ensemble has been restored and is in a very good state of preservation, and can be admired in the Hall of Oriental Weapons on the ground floor of Peleș Castle.