Ancient Weapons of Oman. Volume 1: Edged Weapons 1803270306, 9781803270302, 9781803270319
Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recently. Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are
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English Pages 220 Year 2022
Cover
Title page
Copyright information
Contents
List of illustrations and plates
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Oman and the “Steel Road”
Chapter 2 Swords and Sabers
Chapter 3 Omani Swords
Chapter 4 Omani Shields
Chapter 5 Omani Daggers
Chapter 6 Omani Axes
Chapter 7 Omani Spears and Lances
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
APPENDIX
THE DESERT LORD OF SINAWAND HIS IRON WEAPONRY
Authors contacts
The Discovery
A Historical Perspective
Anthropological Studies
Zooarchaeological Studies
Typological and Chronological Assessments
Conservation and Restoration
Metallographic Analyses
Experimental Replication
Social Media
Back cover
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T H E A R C H A E O LO G I C A L H E R I TA G E O F O M A N - V O L . 8
ANCIENT WEAPONS OF OMAN VOLUME 1 – EDGED WEAPONS Vincenzo Clarizia
MIN ISTRY OF H E RITAGE AND TOUR I SM - SULTANAT E OF OMAN 2022
The Archaeological Heritage of Oman
ANCIENT WEAPONS OF OMAN VOLUME 1 – EDGED WEAPONS
VINCENZO CLARIZIA
Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Heritage and Tourism
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com Ministry of Heritage and Tourism Sultanate of Oman P.O. Box 200, Postal Code 115 Thaqafah Street Muscat, Sultanate of Oman © Vincenzo Clarizia 2022 Ancient Weapons of Oman, Volume 1 – Edged Weapons (Includes bibliographical references and index). 1. Arabia. 2. Oman 3. Weapons. 4. Traditional. 5. Antiquities. This edition is published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd in association with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman. This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman. Cover image: Al-Saidi khanjar (© Bait Al-Zubair Museum, Muscat). First published 2022
ISBN: 978-1-80327-030-2 ISBN: 978-1-80327-031-9 (e-Pdf)
Note: The maps in this book are historical and cannot be modified as they are specifically drawn for that period only and they do not reflect political, geographical and administrative boundaries. The Geographical Place Names (GPN) in these maps are not written by the Arabic Standardized Romanization System applied in the National Survey Authority of Oman (NSA).
Contents
List of illustrations and plates
vii
Acknowledgments
xiii
Introduction
xv
1 Oman and the “Steel Road”
1
2 Swords and Sabers
4
3 Omani Swords
7
4 Omani Shields
78
5 Omani Daggers
84
6 Omani Axes
107
7 Omani Spears and Lances
115
Endnotes
120
Bibliography
123
Index
127
Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry The Funerary Complex The Discovery, by Francesca Candilio, Fausto Mauro & Romolo Loreto
137
A Historical Perspective, by Romolo Loreto & Fausto Mauro
145
Anthropological Studies, by Francesca Candilio
151
Zooarchaeological Studies, by Elena Maini & Antonio Curci
158
The Iron Sword and Daggers Typological and Chronological Assessments, by Vincenzo Clarizia
167
Conservation and Restoration, by Gianluca Regoli & Nicola Pagani
174
Metallographic Analyses, by Ivan Stepanov
191
Experimental Replication, by Vincenzo Pastorelli
200
List of illustrations and plates
FIGURES 1.1.
The “Steel Road” (modified after Jacob 1985: 33).
2
2.1.
Parts and components of a sword with scabbard.
6
3.1.
Different types of swords present in Oman (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
8
3.2.
Saif Yamani sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
9
3.3.
Quillons and collar (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
10
3.4.
Different pommels of the saif Yamani (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
10
3.5.
Particulars of the construction and assembly of the saif Yamani hilt. The two parts grip (upper left), the wooden core of the grip with rivets (upper right), the blade tang riveted to the hilt (central) and silver decorations (lower) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
11
3.6.
Theodore, manuscript from Fayyum, Coptic, 9th century AD (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York).
12
3.7
Abū Zayd and his listeners, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, manuscript Arab 3929, second quarter of 13th century, Folio 85 Recto: maqama 32 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
13
3.8.
Abū Zayd before the Governor, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, manuscript Arab 3929, second quarter of 13th century, Folio 129 Recto: maqama 38 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
14
3.9.
Omani saif Yamani sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum) (left), Omani or Zanzibari saif sword with zoomorphic quillon tips (Czerny’s International Auction House) (center), and the sword of Boabdil, Abū Abdullah Muhammad XII, of Nasrid dynasty (Museum Cluny Paris) (right).
15
3.10.
Mamluk blessed sword of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) (Topkapi Palace Museum Istanbul).
15
3.11.
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said wearing a saif with gilded decorations on the scabbard (from www.fortantiques.com).
26
3.12.
Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid (1874-1927), who ruled Zanzibar during the Anglo-Zanzibar War, wearing a similar saif sword.
26
3.13.
Guardless saif sword (1), sword from Central Asia (2), Ethiopian sword (3), and Seme sword (4) (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collections).
26
3.14.
Plate showing at number 101 a Zanguebar sword in the Christie’s collection in London (Demmin 1869).
27
vii
viii
3.15.
Bani bu Ali. Shaikh Bandar bin Nasir wearing a guardless saif and a khanjar. This photograph was taken by Bertram Thomas during his travel from Ras Al-Hadd to Salalah in 1929. Bertram Thomas was appointed Financial Adviser to Sultan Taimur in 1925 and was known locally as the “Wazir”. He was the first European to cross the Rub Al-Khali from Salalah to Qatar in 1931 (Peyton 1983: 62).
28
3.16.
His Majesty the Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said with a straight guardless saif sword in an official meeting (www.fortantiques.com).
28
3.17.
A guardless saif presented to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said (www. fortantiques.com).
28
3.18.
Sword dances funun (www.fortantiques.com).
29
3.19.
Possible Yemeni swords (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
30
3.20.
Various marks present on the blades of the guardless saif: (a) Running wolf, (b) Lion, (c) Deer and globe, (d) Eyelash or “Gurda” mark, (e) Orb and cross variants, (f) Crosses, (g) Stars, (h) Crescent, (i) Writings (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
31
3.21.
Conical hilts of the guardless saif: covered with leather (a), with silver geometrical motif embroidery (b), covered with braided silver wires and silver sheets (c) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
32
3.22.
Very crude hilts can be found assembled with old blades in the guardless saif (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
33
3.23.
Types of pommels of the guardless saif hilts (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
33
3.24.
The scabbards of the guardless saif are often covered with embossed leather (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
34
3.25.
Hilt decorations of the curved kattara (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
45
3.26.
Embossed leather scabbards of the curved kattara probably from Zanzibar (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
46
3.27.
His Highnesses Sayyid Taimur bin Faisal and His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al-Said wearing kattara sabers (www.vikingswords.com).
46
3.28.
Oman’s National Emblem (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
46
3.29.
Portrait of the Moorish Ambassador Abdul Guaid of the Barbary States to the Court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Ambassador wears a gold decorated nimcha saif sword carried with a baldric on the shoulder (courtesy University of Birmingham) (left); Portrait of Admiral Hadge Abdulcader Perez, Ambassador from the Emperor of Morocco to the Court of St. James, ca. 1724 (Ben Elwes Fine Art) (right).
56
3.30.
An actual nimcha (short) sword (www.vikingsword.com).
56
3.31.
The downward quillons of the saif nimcha were common in the Italian crab hilted swords (left) as well as in the Venetian Dalmatian swords of the type carried by the Venetians troops in the 16th and 17th century (right) (www.pinterest.com).
57
3.32.
Examples of Sinhalese kastane which hilt is clearly similar to the saif nimcha hilt (www. vikingsword.com).
57
3.33.
Zanzibari saif nimcha (www.vikingswords.com).
58
3.34.
Hilt with straight quillons (Muscat private collection) (upper); hilt without guard (Czerny’s International Auction House) (lower).
58
3.35.
Yemeni Arab saif nimcha (www.vikingswords.com).
59
3.36.
Arab saif nimcha with ivory hilt and an inscribed straight single-edged blade (Czerny’s International Auction House).
60
3.37.
Karabela hilts with langet (www.vikingswords.com).
60
3.38.
These simple and crude karabela hilts can be found in the souqs of Oman. They are currently made also in Yemen for the tourist market (www.vikingswords.com).
61
3.39.
Arab Hadhrami saif with silver mounts (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
62
3.40.
Brass hilted saber. These trilobate hilts have been produced in Hyderabad (India) for export to Hadramawt (www.vikingswords.com).
62
3.41.
Early 20th century Arab saif with a scorpion motif on the locket (www.vikingsword. Ecom).
70
3.42.
Omani style shamshir with the wire wrap twisted on the hilt (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
70
3.43.
Gold mounted sword dating from the early 19th century probably made in Muscat by a Persian craftsman (Wallace Collection N. OA 2002) (Elgood 1994: 20).
71
3.44.
Different grip’s end angles of shamshirs. From the left: Omani, Arab and Syrian (www. pinterest.com).
71
3.45.
The fifth Sultan of Zanzibar Sayyid Hamad bin Thuwaini Al-Busaid, who ruled from 1893 to 1896.
72
4.1.
Omani hide shield (left) and detail of its inner grip with the suspension ring (right) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
78
4.2.
Brass rosettes on the shields: star rosette (a), cross rosette (b-c), and square rosette (d) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
79
4.3.
Luxury shields with silver boss and rosettes (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
79
4.4.
Walpurgis-Fechtbuch MS I.33, ca. 1320 (Royal Armouries Leeds).
80
4.5.
Daguerreotype showing irregular soldiers of the Sultan of Zanzibar: The Omani Arabs of the Beni-mʾ-hhacen tribe. The warriors wear all the typical Omani arms: the matchlock abu fitila, the sword saif, the dagger khanjar and the shield terrs (Guillain 1857: pl. 10).
80
5.1.
Omani khanjar (a) and Yemeni jambyya (b) (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
84
5.2.
Omani boys wear a particular belt with a silver piece in the front at the waist so that they can get used to wear the khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum).
85
5.3.
Omani boy’s belt (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
85
5.4.
Omani men still wear the khanjar in social events or during art performances like AlRazha dances (left, www.vikingswords.com; right, photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
86
5.5.
Rhinoceros horn hilt (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
87
5.6.
Parts of the khanjar: (a) scabbard (shofh), (b) blade (naslah), (c) handle (maqbath), (d) ferrule (tood) (Oman National Museum, Photograph by V. Clarizia).
87
ix
x
5.7.
Utility knife attached to the back of the scabbard (left, Private collection; right, photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
88
5.8.
Cloth belt holding the khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
88
5.9.
The village postman at Ibrī, 1951-61. The big Al-Nizwani khanjar is attached to a .303 caliber cartridge belt (Peyton 1983: 84).
89
5.10.
An Omani guide at Al-Hazam, 1951. Behind the Al-Nizwani khanjar, the utility knife (sakeen). A .303 Enfield SMLE Mk III rifle carried on the left shoulder in the traditional Omani way (Peyton 1983: 102).
89
5.11.
Khanjar worn tucked in a strip of fabric wrapped around the waist on the dishdāshah (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
90
5.12.
Rear of the crooked scabbard covered with leather (left); Silver ferrule on the hilt (up) matching with the decoration of the chape and the locket (right) (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
90
5.13.
Omani daggers with four (left) or seven (right) rings on the scabbard. The left one has the conic studs called terrs on the two outer rings (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
91
5.14.
Copper or silver tweezers (malqāt) used for different purposes (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
92
5.15.
Silver eyeliner (merwad) with the silver holder of khul (mikhal), shaped like a cartridge. It is linked with a small chain to the longer part of the belt.
92
5.16.
Al-Saidi khanjar. At the left the type with the handle partially covered. At the center and right the type with the handle completely covered with filigree works and wires. The locket is typically decorated with arabesque of square motifs surrounding a circle. The seven rings denote its provenance from the Muscat area. On the chape the silver attachment to the belt (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
93
5.17.
Variant of Al-Saidi khanjar with the scabbard covered with strings. The four rings indicate an origin outside Muscat. The silver chape shows the resemblance with a dome from which its name qubb (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
93
5.18.
This khanjar is also covered with strings on the scabbard. It has four rings without the studs on the outer ones (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
93
5.19.
Wali Mohamed bin Salim, East African official for Germany, formerly a Sultan, wearing an Al-Saidi khanjar and a guardless saif sword in Tanganyika, 1902 (Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection).
94
5.20.
Two examples of khanjars from Al-Wusta Governorate. They show the same features of Al-Saidi khanjar but with a different handle. The two buttons on the handle are called shams that means sun (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
94
5.21.
Al-Nizwani khanjar hilt (courtesy Czerny’s International Auction House).
95
5.22.
Two examples of Al-Nizwani khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum, left; private collection, right).
95
5.23.
Modern Al-Batini khanjar showing the Omani National Emblem in the decoration. The plastic of the handle imitates ivory (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
96
5.24.
Old Al-Batini khanjar with horn handle (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum).
96
5.25.
Old Al-Suri khanjar with embroidered leather covered scabbard and rhinoceros horn handle (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
96
5.26.
Al-Suri khanjar with the scabbard covered with leather embroidered with silver and gold threads of simple design. The studs of the leather belt are made with coins (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
96
5.27.
Al-Ganobi khanjar with gold decorations (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum).
97
5.28.
Al-Hanshiah khanjar. The hardwood hilt decorated with solid silver work; the front side studded with small silver nails (www.pinterest.com).
97
6.1.
Parts of the axe.
107
6.2.
Small Omani axes from the Musandam peninsula called jerz (left) and from the Wahiba sands called qaddum (right) (photograph by V. Clarizia, Madha Museum).
108
6.3.
Bronze axe heads from Luristan (Iran) (www.icollector.com).
108
6.4.
Modern workshop for jerz in the Musandam (Oman Observer 30th December 2003).
109
6.5.
Modern qaddum from Sinaw in Ash-Sharqiyah Governorate (www.vikingsword.com).
109
7.1.
Al-Harith travelling, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, Manuscript Arabe 3929, 2nd quarter of 13th century, Folio 41 Recto: maqama 19 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
115
7.2.
Bedouins with lance (www.vikingsword.com).
116
7.3.
Bedouin on camel with lance (www.pinterest.com).
116
PLATES 3.1.
Saif Yamani.
16
3.16.
Modern Guardless Saif.
43
3.2.
Saif Yamani.
17
3.17.
Kattara Sword.
47
3.3.
Saif Yamani.
18
3.18.
Kattara Sword.
48
3.4.
Saif Yamani.
19
3.19.
Short Kattara Sword.
49
3.5.
Saif Yamani.
20
3.20.
Naval Kattara Sword.
50
3.6.
Saif Yamani.
21
3.21.
Kattara Sword.
51
3.7.
Guardless Saif.
22
3.22.
Kattara Sword.
52
3.8.
Guardless Saif.
23
3.23.
Kattara Sword.
53
3.9.
Guardless Saif.
35
3.24.
Modern Kattara Sword.
54
3.10.
Guardless Saif.
36
3.25.
Guardless Saif Nimcha.
63
3.11.
Guardless Saif.
37
3.26.
Guardless Saif Nimcha.
64
3.12.
Guardless Saif.
38
3.27.
Saif Nimcha.
65
3.13.
Early Guardless Saif.
39
3.28.
Squared hilted saber.
66
3.14.
Guardless Saif with Rapier Blade.
41
3.29.
Hadhrami saif.
67
3.15.
Guardless Saif from a Portuguese Sword.
42
3.30.
Hadhrami saif.
68
xi
xii
3.31.
Hadhrami saif.
69
5.4.
Al-Nizwani khanjar.
101
3.32.
Shamshir saif.
73
5.5.
Al-Suri khanjar.
102
3.33.
Shamshir saif.
74
5.6.
Al-Batini khanjar.
103
3.34.
Shamshir saif.
75
5.7.
Sikin knives.
104
3.35.
Shamshir saif.
76
5.8.
Silver holders mikhal.
106
3.36.
Crude Shamshir.
77
6.1.
Axe jerz.
111
4.1.
Shield terrs.
81
6.2.
Axe jerz.
112
4.2.
Shield terrs.
82
6.3.
Axe jerz.
112
4.3.
Shield terrs.
83
6.4.
Axes qaddum.
116
5.1.
Al-Saidi khanjar.
98
7.1.
Lance head.
117
5.2.
Al-Wusta khanjar.
99
7.2.
Spears.
118
5.3.
Goldened khanjar.
100
7.3.
Spears.
119
Acknowledgments
First of all, I wish to thank the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman for having generously invited me to contribute to the Series “The Archaeological Heritage of Oman”. In particular, I would like to thank H.E. Salim bin Mohammed Almahruqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, H.E. Ibrahim bin Said Al-Kharusi, Undersecretary for Heritage Affairs, and the General Director of Archaeology, Mr. Sultan bin Saif Al-Bakri, and his staff. A special grateful and mindful tribute goes to the late Professor Maurizio Tosi who promoted the study of the Omani historical heritage with his activity and provided me with the opportunity to deepen my research on ancient Omani weaponry. This book would not have been possible without the support I received from the National Museum to assess their collections of arms and armours. For this reason, I would like to thank H.E. Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum, and Mrs. Mouza bint Sulaiman Al-Wardi, Director of the Collections Department, who allowed me to study and photograph many of the objects that appear in this book. A special thanks also goes to Bait Al-Zubair Museum for its courtesy in allowing me to photograph and publish the pieces in its remarkable collection. For the image credits, I am grateful to the Czerny’s International Auction House, the Hermann Historica Internationale Auktionen, and all the private collectors that made the pieces of their collections available for my perusal.
xiii
Introduction
Since the early stages of his evolution, man has developed the ability to transform natural materials into tools which could be useful for his everyday life. Undoubtedly, the early tools were employed to supply food: maces, axes and javelins used for hunting were made with the most common materials available like wood, bones or stone. Shortly afterwards, however, they also started to be used against other men, thus turning into weapons, and constantly improving as instruments of offense and defense. The first step of such technology was the discovery that a stone with a sharp point or a pointed pole could be more effective than a rough stone or a simple bough. Archaeological evidence shows that the first tool which was also used as a weapon was the axe. Then followed the slingshot and the bow, which improved the ability to strike from a distance. A major breakthrough in the weapon technology came with the introduction of metallurgy, when humankind discovered that the fire was able to change the structure of metals. After learning to melt copper, around the 4th millennium BC, the possibility to produce alloys of copper from tin or antimony gradually led to the production of bronze. The metals, however, were not commonly available, thus the production of bronze was a difficult and expensive process. For this reason, the first tools made of bronze represented the most important objects in day life, and weapons were surely among them. Bronze was much more effective than copper, because of its characteristic hardness without fragility. Slowly, bronze weapons replaced those of the Stone Age, and the ability to produce and work bronze became the basis of a significant development in the social structures as well as the rising of military powers. The following step in weapon technology was the use of iron. Before the extraction of iron from its common minerals – hematite and magnetite – iron was discovered in meteorites fallen from the sky. The Sumerians in the Middle East seem to have been the first to produce objects with meteoric iron. As a matter of fact, the Sumerian word for iron, “barzil”, means “gift from the sky”, while the Greek called it “sideros”, which means “stars”. In the western world, the first iron objects, dated about 3000 years BC, were ornaments and amulets. It was only about 1500 years after that iron started to be extracted from minerals in the furnaces to be employed to make tools, tips of arrows and spears by the inhabitants of the mountain regions of Caucasus. From the Middle East it then spread to Egypt, Eastern Mediterranean countries, and India, with a production of even more elaborate tools such as needles, sickles, daggers, and swords. Regarding weaponry, the transition from bronze to iron lasted several centuries. Until the discovery of the process of hardening and tempering iron (around the 3rd century BC), bronze swords were more widespread than bending, soft iron swords. The Romans adopted iron swords in the 2nd century BC, and this gave them a significant advantage over their enemies. Since then, the development of weapons has represented the main impulse to the technical and scientific progress. Weapons affected the techniques of war that in turn caused the development of new weapons, as in a constant circle.
xv
As Carl von Clausewitz wrote in his book On War, “The necessity of fighting very soon led men to special inventions to turn the advantage in it in their own favour: in consequence of these the mode of fighting has undergone great alterations […] Fighting has determined everything appertaining to arms and equipment, and these in turn modify the mode of fighting; there is, therefore, a reciprocity of action between the two” (von Clausewitz 1989: 84). The result was a wide range of different weapons which have appeared over the centuries and in different regions of the world. Among them, this book will describe the edged weapons used in Oman, some of which have specific features that are typical of this country.
xvi
Chapter 1
Oman and the “Steel Road”
The geographic position of Oman (‘Uman) and its history played a significant role in the typology of weapons used in this country. Oman overlooks the Indian Ocean, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf. It also controls the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the most important areas in the region, linking the Sea of Oman with the Arabian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz is a gateway to all ships coming from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf. Oman’s strategic location has thus played a major role in many campaigns and regional conflicts in this region. Al-Wattiyah in the Muscat Governorate is one of the first inhabited locations in Oman: archaeological discoveries suggest that modern humans settled in Muscat during the Stone Age, i.e., more than 10,000 years ago (Cleuziou and Tosi 2020: 55). In the 3rd millennium BC, Sumerians and Akkadians had extensive trading and maritime links with Oman and referred to it as the “Land of Magan” (Laursen and Steinkeller 2017). In their cuneiform texts, Magan was associated with reed boats and copper working for which the country was then famous. Achaemenids and Sasanians settled in Oman because they wanted to control the trade routes that linked Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea (Yule 2014). Oman has been an important site in the old East-West Silk Road as well as on the frankincense and spice road. It was also a prosperous trading and maritime centre of the Indian Ocean until the end of the 19th century. Extensive ties existed between Oman and the Eastern Mediterranean, the Nile Valley, North Africa, Mesopotamia, and the Far East including China and India (Li 2006). At the end of the 17th century, with the expansion of the Omani Empire, connections and trades included cities of the African East Coast, from Mombasa to Kila, Zanzibar, Pemba, and Bata (Al-Salimi and Staples 2016). One of the relevant aspects in Omani history was the seamanship of its coastal inhabitants who learned to sail the monsoon on their stitched dhows and were able to travel from Africa to India and further, making voyages that were greater in distance compared to Columbus’ voyage to the New World (Al-Salimi and Staples 2016). The skills of the Omani sailors became legendary in the following centuries. The Sasanian navy was mainly managed by the Arabs who had settled on both coasts of the Gulf; the pilot that helped Vasco da Gama in his travel from Africa to India was also from Oman.1 All these aspects made former Southeastern Arabia, now Oman, a centre of trade well before the Islamic era, as well as a crossroads on the Silk Road or the Spice Road and eventually a centre on the “Steel Road” (Jacob 1985: 33) (Figure 1.1). In the Arabian Peninsula, a significant iron metallurgy was impeded by two factors: first, there was a clear lack of relevant amounts of iron ores; in addition, there was a significant shortage of timber to produce the coal required in the processing of iron.2 In any case, local smiths supplied a limited production of sword blades as well as hilts and other metalware. Scientist Al-Kindī’s treatise reports that Yemen was a center of production in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period, and various types of swords were forged there,3 some with iron imported from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Iran. Al-samsāma was the term used by Al-Kindī (9thcentury AD Arab philosopher, mathematician and physician) for a noble double-edged fluted Yamani sword; Al-Kindī also reported that Basra was an important centre of production, and lists other centers of production including Khorāsān, Damascus, Cairo, Rum
1
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Istanbul
Samarkand
Erzurum Tabriz
Damascus
ISFAHAN
Mašhad
KHORĀSĀN Herāt
Cairo
Lahore Jaipur
Muscat
Agra
NIRMAL
HYDERABAD
Massawa MYSORE
SALEM
Mombasa
NIRMAL
Steel production center
Steel road
ISFAHAN Relevant blades production center
Blades road
Tabriz
Blades production center
Iron road
Mascate
Blades distribution center
Massawa
Iron distribution center
Figure 1.1. The “Steel Road” (modified after Jacob 1985: 33).
(Constantinople), Ceylon, and the Malay Peninsula. Additionally, other authors cited Herāt (Abu’l-Rahman Al-Biruni in Zaky, ca. 1050) for its high-quality steel, Zarikaran in the Caucasus (Abu’l Hasan al-Mas’udi, 956, in Minorsky 1958) and, in the western Islamic world, Toledo was regarded as one of the major centers of production. During the 14th century European swords were traded via Venice. In his treatise “Primary indicators of well-regulated states”, Al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Abd Allāh Al-Abbāsī (died ca. 1310) provides details about the “Frankish swords” that were common in his time in addition to the predominant qalajūriāt sabers. These were al-suyūf al-almānyya (German swords), al-suyūf al-ankaburdiyya (North Italian swords) and al-suyūf 2
Oman and the “Steel Road”
al-burduliyya (Bordelais swords from France) (Quoted from Shihab al-Sarraf: 170).4 Nevertheless, doubleedged high quality swords were made by Syrian armourers until the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate and their subsequent deportation to Istanbul. Later, in the middle of the 18th century, Danish traveler Niebuhr found that “it was said that were not longer made swords in Yemen” (Niebuhr 1779: 47). It is documented that there was an extensive production of edged weapons in Zanzibar during the 19th and the early 20th century (Tirri 2004: 7). Other areas where swords were produced were Nizwā in Oman, Al-Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and in the Musandam Peninsula (Elgood 1994: vii and www.fortantique.com). The crucible steel or melted steel was invented in India at the beginning of the Common era. This was one of the most relevant improvements in the iron metallurgy: the process provides a superior steel structure with a macro feature design infused into the mass of steel and visible on the blade of the sword. This steel that came to be known as wootz was imported in the Mediterranean area by the Romans as the ferum sericum (meaning: “from the place of silk”), and in the Muslim world it was known as al-hindi. The “cakes” or billets of steel iron, ready to be worked, reached the main centers for the production of blades, but blades and swords were also directly imported from India. The steel produced in the south of India was made with ore that came both from the Indian Subcontinent, as well as from the Eastern coast of Africa. This latter mineral, considered as better than the Indian type, was carried to India by Arab merchants to be transformed into Indian steel and shipped to the Muslim world as rough steel or sword blades. From different sources, it is possible to identify the routes of these trades and the progress of the centers that supplied the raw material, the refined steel and the finished products. The main districts in India for the production of the wootz steel were Salem on the coast of Coromandel, the region of Koutsch on the west coast, Kona, Samundrun in the provinces of Hyderabad and Mysore. The precious cakes of steel were carried by mule through Central India, the Punjab and Afghanistan to western Asia, Persia and the Caucasus, where they were worked to be transformed into weapons. The Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea were major highways for the products from India to Egypt, and Syrian and Iraqi ports were of crucial importance in the Islamic maritime trade. The most famous sword blades and spear heads came from Persia and the Eastern Iranian province of Khorāsān was noted for its watered steel sword blades. Kermān was mentioned by Marco Polo in 1298 but any remaining sword manufacture expertise ceased abruptly in 1794, when the town was conquered by the Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar and all men were blinded.5 Isfahan was sacked by the Afghans in 1722 and took years to recover. Al-Qazvini noted that the town of Shiraz was famous for their swords and lance heads, and in 1819 excellent swords and daggers were still made there, though not considered as good as those formerly made in Kermān or Khorāsān.6 Over the 19th century the Persian production slowly fell, and the European blades replaced the Persian products. Among the causes of the decline was the Indian government’s decision to forbid the production of Indian steel wootz in the western Ghats in 1866 because the industry was causing a large-scale deforestation. This deprived the Persian manufactures of the best raw material. European blades were traded to the market of Damascus, Cairo, and Istanbul, from where they were exported to North Africa and the Balkans. From Muscat the blades were distributed to the inner regions of Oman, Yemen and the West Coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
3
Chapter 2
Swords and Sabers
From a mainly technical perspective, a sword is a weapon with a straight double-edged blade, generally pointed at its tip, which can be used for both cutting and thrusting; a saber can be defined as a weapon with a single-edged blade, sometimes also sharpened in the lower part of its back edge, designed for cutting and slashing. Sabers are usually curved, at various degrees, and some are practically straight. The hilt of a sword is generally symmetrical in shape, according to the symmetry of the blade, while saber hilts are asymmetrical in conformity with the asymmetric nature of the blade (Alexander 2001: 193). In light of this clarification to simplify the understanding of the text, the most common term “sword” could be used in the following pages also for the curved bladed weapons, using the most correct term “saber” when it is proper to underline the difference . The sword represents the edged weapon par excellence. Although the double-edged sword was far exceeded by the lance as the most common weapon for warriors, it was the weapon of the aristocracy or high-born men, just as the dagger or knife was an important auxiliary instrument for the lower classes. From the Early Bronze Age swords were the principal and more precious artifacts made and, with the introduction of the iron, they maintained their value and position in the art of blacksmiths. Names and typologies vary in their details reflecting the changes of time, social standards, tactics, national character, and skills of their craftsmen. From a rather early time swords differed whether they were used by footmen or horsemen, civilized nations or barbarous people, as an interdependence between the shape of the swords and the manner in which they were used has always existed. The first weapons that can be classified as swords without any ambiguity are those found in Minoan Crete, dated about 1700 BC, and reaching a total length of more than 100 cm. A thrusting sword with a leaf shaped blade was one of the most important and long-lasting types during the European Bronze Age. These swords had a lifespan of about seven centuries, from the 13th century BC, surviving into the Iron Age, and spread from Southern Europe into the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The cut-and-thrust sword probably appeared in the 14th century BC in the Near East, possibly in Anatolia or the Caucasus among the Hittites, and in Palestine. With a few exceptions from the Iron Age, swords maintained the double-edged straight blade well beyond the classical period and until the Middle Ages.7 These swords ranged in length from 35-45 cm of the Persian akinaka, to the 50-60 cm of the Greek xiphos and Roman gladius, to the 75-100 cm of the late Roman spatha that originated from the Asiatic tribe of the Sarmates and their kinsmen Alans. The curved sword or saber, usually a horseman weapon designed to slice, was probably introduced into the Islamic lands by Turkish warriors from Central Asia who were employed as royal bodyguards during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutaṣim (833-842 AD) (Alexander 2001: 205). It is not known where and when it was first developed, but it was probably used by the nomadic warriors of Central Asia, and since the 7th century AD it had spread from Hungary to China and Japan. In the Middle East, curved swords or scimitars appeared around the 9thcentury and were used among soldiers in the Khorāsān region of Persia. Al-Kindī describes a sword called qalajūriāt made in Yemen as light in weight and curved.
4
Swords and Sabers
Sword Making Independently from its shape, a good sword must be hard enough to hold an edge along the blade. At the same time, it must be strong and flexible enough in order to absorb massive shocks at just about any point along its length and should not crack or break. Finally, it should be balanced along its length so that it can be wielded effectively. The primary technique to make a sword is forging. Forging uses heat to bring the material to a malleable state; the material is then hammered to shape. The basic materials, generally iron and/or steel, are shaped into a bar or billet; if several metals are to be used, they will be combined by welding them to form the billet. In some techniques, the billet might be drawn, folded, and welded back on itself creating layers of steel of different types. In others, longer bars or rods of steel and iron might be welded together, edge to edge, to create the basic billet placing the softer iron inside with the steel at the core and edges. Once the billet is created, it is drawn out farther, generally tapering to the edge(s) and point. The technique of fullering might be used to create a ridge or ridges down the length of the blade. Whether single or multiple, the primary purpose of a ridge is to give the blade greater structural strength. During fabrication the metal might be annealed to relieve the stress deriving from forging and differential heating, and to make the metal easier to file, engrave or polish. One of the last processes in fabricating a sword is quenching and tempering it. Quenching hardens the metal so that it holds a lasting edge, but this also makes it very brittle. To restore some ductility and durability the sword is eventually tempered. It is possible to make the cutting edge harder than the body with a different hardening of the blade. Parts of the Sword As word consists of the blade and the hilt. Blades can be straight or curved: straight blades are mostly doubleedged, or single-edged, whereas curved blades are usually single-edged with the edge on the convex side, except for swords with sickle blade that have the edge in their concave side. Early iron blades had rounded points due to the limited metallurgy of the time. As technical skills advanced, blades slowly became narrower, stiffer, and sharply pointed. Specialized cutting blades are wide and thin and often have grooves known as fullers which lighten the blade; their edges are almost parallel. Blades oriented towards the thrust have thicker blades, sometimes with a distinct midrib for increased stiffness, with a strong taper and an acute point. The part of the blade near the point is called the foible (feeble) and that near the hilt is the forte (strong). The ricasso or shoulder identifies a short section of the blade immediately below the guard that is left completely unsharpened. The tang is the extension of the blade to which the hilt is fitted. The hilt is the collective term for the parts allowing for the handling and control of the blade; these consist of the grip, the pommel, and a simple or elaborate guard. The pommel is a counter balance to the blade: it can also be used as a blunt instrument at close range, and its weight affects the centre of percussion. The guard can have hand protections of various shapes with branches (quillons) and short strips of metal (langlets) projecting from the centre of the guard area down the blade to properly fit it into the scabbard. The sword blade is inserted in the scabbard (or sheath), a protective cover that could be made of many materials, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel. The metal fitting where the blade enters the leather or metal scabbard is called the throat, which is often part of a larger scabbard mount, or locket, that bears a carrying ring or stud to facilitate wearing the sword. The blade’s point in leather scabbards is usually protected by a metal tip, or chape, which in both leather and metal scabbards is often given further resistance by an extension called a drag, or shoe.
5
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Scabbard Suspension ring Locket Chape
Band Guard Grip Pommel
Ricasso
Quillon Languet
Point Weak
Strong
Hilt
Blade
Back: Unsharpened side of a single-edged sword blade. Blade: Straight with one or two sharpened edges, or curved with one sharpened edge. Chape: Metal fitting at the tip of a scabbard. Crossguard / Quillon: Metal part between the grip and the blade, used to protect the hand. Debole: Ending part of the blade, near the point. Edge: Cutting part of the blade. Finger guard / Finger ring: Enables to loop the finger over the guard, increasing control of the point. Forte: Strongest part of a sword blade near the hilt. Fuller: Groove in the flat side of the blade. Grip: Part of the hilt hold by the hand. Hilt: Handle of the sword made up of the cross guard, the grip, and the pommel. Languet: Piece of metal on a sword-hilt overhanging the scabbard. Locket: Metal fitting where the blade enters the scabbard. Point: Tip of a sword’s blade. Pommel: Part of the hilt which acts as a counterweight to the blade. Ricasso: it is referred to any narrowing, or thickening, of a sword blade, which remains unsharpened, at the base of the blade. Scabbard: Sheath to hold the sword. Suspension ring(s): One or two ring(s) fixed to the scabbard and used to attach the sheath of a sword to a belt or a baldric Tang: Unsharpened end of a sword blade, covered by the hilt. Figure 2.1. Parts and components of a sword with scabbard.
6
Chapter 3
Omani Swords
While in Europe swords were used until the repeating firearms became common, in Arab tribes they maintained their value as weapons until the 20th century.8 The reasons for this conservatism are in part related to the Islamic culture. Since the pre-Islamic era, the two great empires of the Near East, the Byzantine and the Sasanian, employed Arabian tribes as mercenary troops. In the 7th century, Islam turned Arab tribes into an army with the objective of spreading the Islamic faith. Across the north of Africa to Spain and Sicily, as well as in the East, to Central Asia and India their swords imposed their hegemony from Egypt to the end of the Maghreb, from the Golden Horn to Andalusia, in a momentum of conquest that intended to make the Mediterranean a Muslim area. Since then, the traditions of Arab warriors remained valid until the 20th century, and it is indubitable that swords for the Arabs maintain a deep level of symbolism. In his treatise on equestrian martial exercise, Ibn Akhī Hizām, commander and stable master to Caliph Al-Mutadid (r. 892–902), defined the sword as the noblest and most trustworthy of all weapons. He mentioned three types of swords used in the Abbasid army in the 9th century: a straight, double-edged sword (saifdhū’l-haddayn), a single-edged sword (al-sughdī), and the “edge-and-a-half sword” (had wanisf) which was also called alkhisrāwanī (the royal Persian). According to Al-Kindī, khisrāwanī swords were made in Fārs, in the southeast of Iran, using steel from Sarandībī (Ceylon) and iron ore extracted from the Silmān Mountains in Afghanistan. Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) was reputed to have owned nine swords, the names of which were al-Ma’thur, Qal’i, al-Battar, Hatf, al-Mikhdham, al-Rasub, Dhu al-Faqar, al-’Adb, and al-Qadib (Wheeler 2008). The most famous is Dhu al-Faqar, obtained as a loot by Prophet Mohammed after the Battle of Badr, and given as a gift to his cousin Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib. The inclusion of the sword Dhu al-Faqar as part of the legacy of the Prophet, and its use by the Caliphs as a symbol of authority is an example of the veneration of swords in the Islamic world. Such traditions were continued by the great medieval dynasties, such as the Mamluks, Seljuks, Ottomans, and Safavids. Many sword and saber blades are inscribed with verses referring to the Prophet’s swords. Moreover, the inscription of Quranic passages, religious and mystical verses and talismans are the most common blade decorations. Among the most used expressions are bishmallāh al rahmān al rahīm (in the name of Allāh the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), tawakkaltu (I trust in God), and mashalla (whatever God wills) (Alexander 2002: 201-234). Furthermore, some of the ninety-nine names of Allāh9 were frequently engraved on Islamic swords and armours.10 Those expressions, and consequently the great power that invested them, made swords an ideal talisman to protect the warrior. Names of swords were also often considered as steps for the devotee’s contemplation of the divine majesty. This concept was associated with Mohammed’s Ladder, the pattern of the highly prized Kirk-Narduban blades. One of the major problems in the study of early Arab swords is the scarcity of iconographic documentation. As a matter of fact, Arab literature lacks references and details about edged weapons. Therefore, information about the oldest swords remains limited to some manuscripts and material survivals. Accounts of travelers can be a source of information, but they frequently lack crucial details about their actual shape.
7
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Straight saif Yamani
Straight guardless saif
Curved kattara
Curved with nimcha hilt
Curved Hadhrami saif
Curved with shamshir hilt
Figure 3.1. Different types of swords present in Oman (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
8
Omani Swords
Arab swords that are today part of western collections, as they were brought home by travelers or gifted to notable men, are another useful source. Nevertheless, weapons were often seized or traded and can easily be found at great distance from their place of manufacture, and filing them historically or by geographic region is a complex process, due to the variability of political borders and migratory movements. In Oman, as well as in all the Arabian Peninsula, a considerable quantity of swords have survived since the18th, 19th, and 20th century, but because of their continued use, few of them can be found in their original condition. Swords and heirloom blades possessed by esteemed or high-ranking individuals tend to be well preserved, while lower everyday weapons were often modified, as owners frequently replaced old hilts and scabbards with new ones, or embellished them with gilt and silver, obliterating the antique decoration and form. As for the blades, both straight swords and curved sabres have been consistently present in Oman. Regardless of the form of the hilt, straight blade swords are locally called saif, which in Arabic means “sword”. Curved bladed swords, on the other hand, are called kitarah, katarah or kattara. The latter is a worldwide known term for the typical Omani and Zanzibari sword, with a conical guardless hilt and a straight or curved blade. As evidence of the current findings, several types of swords coexisted in Oman for some time (Figure 3.1): • • • • • •
Straight sword with a reverse quillons hilt (saif Yamani); Straight sword with a conical guardless hilt; Curved sword with the same guardless hilt (kattara); Curved short sword with the nimcha hilt; Curved sword with the hadhrami hilt; Curved sword with the Arab shamshir hilt.
Saif Yamani The oldest type of Omani sword, not found elsewhere, is a straight double-edged sword with a typical reverse quillon and a bulbous pommel. As mentioned locally, it is called saif Yamani or just saif (Figure 3.2). Its length ranges between 62 and 72 cm, with broad and powerful blades, suitable for close fighting with thrusts and cuttings. The blade width ranges from 4 to 5 centimeters and more. The thickness at the ricasso is usually between 3 and 5 millimeters, but could also be thicker, and decreases toward the tip. The older blades had Persian origins and were possibly made in Oman by Persian or Baluchi swordsmiths. More recent blades, on the other hand, had European origins (German or Italian) of a type manufactured in the 17th century. The cross-guard block is shoulder-shaped with down turned quillons which end with simple, sometimes multilevel cylindrical tips. The hilt is strengthened by a collar at its base (Figure 3.3).
Figure 3.2. Saif Yamani sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). 9
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.3. Quillons and collar (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). The iron hilt has in general a bulbous octagonal pommel, but in some cases, it has twelve or more sides (Figure 3.4). Its spiked shape has clearly an Islamic origin, resembling the architecture of a mosque. The grip is of tubular or octagonal form made in two parts of iron sheet filled with wood, and sometimes it is covered with leather. The tang is secured to the grip by rivets. The hilt can be decorated with silver sheets, silver collar and silver disks on the shoulders of the guard (Figure 3.5). The origin of this sword is still debated. Elgood (1994: 17) reports different hypotheses: the first is that the saif Yamani had a Persian origin, possibly from Arabistan; the second hypothesis claims that these swords came from the Omani enclave of Makran, west of Baluchistan. In any case, these swords are quite rare, and the absence of similar hilts outside of Oman and the Emirates (that were part of the Oman Empire) strengthens the hypothesis of a local production of the hilt. The local name of saif Yamani may suggest a Yemeni origin, specifically from Hadramawt, where the production of swords was a well-established business. Al-Kindī called al-samsāma a straight double-edged sword made in Yemen, and the term al-samsāma itself later became a synonym of saif. A more likely hypothesis about the origin of the name saif Yamani could be related to the Yamani tribes of Iraq that Omani Azd encountered in Basra in the 7thcentury AD. From Basra, at the beginning of the Abbasid period, Ibadism spread in Oman, and it is likely that these swords were also introduced.
Figure 3.4. Different pommels of the saif Yamani (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). 10
Omani Swords
Figure 3.5. Particulars of the construction and assembly of the saif Yamani hilt. The two parts grip (upper left), the wooden core of the grip with rivets (upper right), the blade tang riveted to the hilt (central) and silver decorations (lower) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
According to the available evidence, early pre-Islamic Arab swords had a straight blade. In this period, single-edged sabers al-sughdī were known by both the Sasanians of Iran and the Arabs but were not commonly used. At the time of the Prophet, Arabs still used swords, not sabers.11 Consequently, the straight double-edged sword had been regarded as a symbol for Arab identity since the reign of the Caliph Al-Mansūr. The earliest representations always show Arabs with swords. Abbasid Caliphs always appeared wearing a double-edged sword hanging from a baldric or shoulder belt (Figure 3.6). A Coptic manuscript from Fayyum shows that these kinds of swords were present in the Byzantine area in the 9th century AD and were worn on the shoulder, suspended with a baldric as used by Arabs. Similar swords can also be seen in the illuminated manuscript of Maqamat of Al-Harīrī (Figures 3.7 and 3.8).12 For these reasons, the early Omani saif sword probably derived from a pre-Islamic type of sword and was introduced in Oman by the Abbasid dynasty from Baghdad.13 This pre-Islamic sword could have originated in the Byzantine Empire from the Sarmate cut and thrust swords, and then spread in Persia during the Sasanian kingdom and the early Caliphate. Later, probably during the Persian rule, it developed its present hilt form that is not found elsewhere. The style of the quillons, drooping downward, probably originated in the East, passing from Persia to Byzantium and the Arab world with the purpose to catch and stop the opponents’ blades in sword to sword combats. The endings of such quillons in Persia took the form of dragons’ or other animals’ heads, but 11
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.6. St. Theodore, manuscript from Fayyum, Coptic, 9th century AD (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York).
12
Omani Swords
Figure 3.7. Abū Zayd and his listeners, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, manuscript Arab 3929, second quarter of 13th century, Folio 85 Recto: maqama 32 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
13
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.8. Abū Zayd before the Governor, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, manuscript Arab 3929, second quarter of 13th century, Folio 129 Recto: maqama 38 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
14
Omani Swords
Figure 3.9. Omani saif Yamani sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum) (left), Omani or Zanzibari saif sword with zoomorphic quillon tips (Czerny’s International Auction House) (center), and the sword of Boabdil, Abu Abdullah Muhammad XII, of Nasrid dynasty (Museum Cluny Paris) (right). this seems to be a later evolution, probably around the 12th or 13th century. The oldest images show stylized and geometrical ends like, for example, clover leaves. This led to the particular shape of the quillons on the Moorish cavalry swords of the socalled Boabdil-type, carried by the Spanish jinetes in the 14th and 15th centuries (Figure 3.9).14 The simple spiked ends of the Omani swords probably reflect the original Arab form that, in a quite conservative area, continued to exist unchanged until our modern times. This kind of swords is similar in its shape to the swords housed in the Topkapi Sarayi Museum in Istanbul. Its collection of arms and armours counts thirty-six sword blades, probably from the Mamluk treasury. Their attributions are generally derived from inscriptions on the blades, and refer to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), his companions, and the Umayyad caliphs of the 7th and 8th centuries. All these arms are swords with straight blades, with only one exception, and some have hilts with reversed quillons (Figure 3.10).
Figure 3.10. Mamluk blessed sword of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) (Topkapi Palace Museum Istanbul). 15
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.1. Saif Yamani
(Total length 92 cm, blade length 62 cm, blade width 4.7 cm, blade thickness 3.0 mm). Straight double-edged plain blade with rounded tip. A cartouche on the blade is inscribed ‘Nasser bin...’ and the date 830 AH (1427 AD). Iron hilt with reversed spiked quillons. Silver round chiseled disks on the guard. Round grip covered with chiseled silver sheet. Octagonal fluted pommel. Leather covered scabbard with silver chiseled locket and chape. Two silver bands and suspension rings connected with two silver chains. The silver decorations are of rather modern local production . The older blades are usually not longer than 65 centimeters. National Museum, Muscat.
16
Omani Swords
Plate 3.2. Saif Yamani
(Total length 88.5 cm, blade length 70 cm, blade width 4.0 cm, blade thickness 7.8 mm). Straight European double-edged blade of 17th or 18th century with round tip and one big central ridge. Iron hilt with reversed quillons (the points are broken). On the guard the holes for the silver disks (missed). Tubular grip covered with new replacement leather. Octagonal fluted pommel. Wooden scabbard with leather cover. This blade of clearly European origin has a length scarcely seen on these types of swords. It is interesting to note the different age of the scabbard (newer than the blade) and the latest additions of suspension rings and grip’s covering (modern) which suggest a use of this sword until recent times. National Museum, Muscat.
17
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.3. Saif Yamani
(Total length 89.5 cm, blade length 62 cm, blade width 5.3 cm, blade thickness 3.3 mm). Straight double-edged blade of the 18th century, probably from Persia or Baluchistan. Semi round point. Iron hilt with reversed quillons on the guard, partially covered with leather and the holes for the decorative disks (missed). Round grip covered with leather (recent replacement). Octagonal tulip pommel. Leather covered scabbard with one iron band (one is missed). The poor but original condition shows the use of the sword still in relatively recent time. The width of the blade is remarkable. National Museum, Muscat.
18
Omani Swords
Plate 3.4. Saif Yamani
(Total length 80 cm, blade length 63 cm, blade width 4.8 cm, blade thickness 3.0 mm). Straight double-edged blade fullered at forte probably from Germany. Semi round point. Iron hilt with guard reversed quillons. Quillon points broken. On the guard the holes for the decorative disks (missed). Round grip covered with leather (new replacement) Octagonal tulip pommel. Brown leather covered scabbard. The blade seems to have been shortened and rounded at the tip, probably to adapt it to the traditional blade length of these swords. National Museum, Muscat.
19
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.5. Saif Yamani
(Total length 84.5 cm, blade length 68.5 cm, blade width 4.7 cm, blade thickness 3.7 mm). Straight plain double-edged blade probably of European origin. Two pieces iron hilt with guard reversed quillons. Octagonal tulip pommel. The grip shows clearly the way of its construction in two parts. The two pieces of the hilt are kept together by a wooden core to which they are secured with iron rivets. The pommel is empty and made of two sheets of iron soldered together and to the upper part of the tubular grip. In this old original example of the saif Yamani is evident the function of the reversed quillons that, jointly with the collar, allow to hold the blade of the opponent and to break or snatch it. The blade maintains almost its original length and pointed tip. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.6. Saif Yamani
(Total length 83.5 cm, blade length 66 cm, blade width 50 mm). A nice example of saif Yamani in original condition with the sharp blade maintaining its pointed tip. On the hilt can be clearly seen the iron plug fixing the tang to the hilt.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.7. Guardless Saif
(Total length 102.5 cm, blade length 80 cm, blade width 4.3 cm, blade thickness 3.6 mm). German blade fullered at forte. Black leather covered scabbard with silver chiseled locket and chape. Leather hilt with silver inlays and silver wires. Parallelepiped pommel covered with silver chiseled sheet. Two silver bands and suspension rings connected with two silver chains. All the silver works seems to have been made by local silversmiths. On the blade a mark resembling a running wolf. The single central fuller is common to the German blades of the 17th – 18th century as well as the so called “Passau wolf ” mark (Schmid 1902-1905: 317). The considerable thickness of the blade, its length and the tip make it an effective weapon both for thrusts and cuts. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.8. Guardless Saif
(Total length 95 cm, blade length 77 cm, blade width 5.5 cm, blade thickness 3.6 mm). Straight double-edged blade probably Persian of 17th or 18th century with fuller at forte. Traces of decoration on the blade with 3 deep maker marks on both sides of the blade. Religious script inscribed in a circle on one side added later. Pointed tip. Welded tang with guardless hilt type grip and pommel. The grip made with modern cord. This blade probably was re-mounted, according to local fashion, with a guardless saif hilt, soldering a new tang to the blade. To be noted than the pommel is of the type found on the older swords of this kind. Similar blades are found on a type of sword attributed by some scholars to the Emirate of Bukhara in Central Asia, by others to Yemen. It is conceivable that from Central Asia they come into the Ottoman world and then in Yemen that was part of the Ottoman Empire. From here the double attribution and the presence in Oman. ... ...
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
On top a sword from Auctions Imperial. The description assigns it at the beginning of the 19th century and reads the maker’s mark “work of Hassan(?)”. Bottom a sword auctioned by the Czerny’s International Auction House. A similar sword is stored in the Wallace Collection. Both blades have the same marks of the Muscat’s sword National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Even when sabers came into use, straight double-edged swords were widely regarded as a typical Arab weapon, perhaps because they had been traditionally used by the Arabs. These correlations would thus explain why, in later periods, the Arabs were almost always portrayed using swords and wearing them suspended from a baldric, for this was how Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) wore his own (Alexander 2001: 204). Swords were used in the most important ceremonial events in Mamluk Egypt, where the Caliphate took refuge after the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in the 13th century. During their investiture ceremonies, Mamluk sultans always wore an Arab sword suspended from a baldric. There are no surviving descriptions of such swords, but it is very reasonable to assume that they were of the same type of the Mamluk sword blades now preserved in Istanbul. Even when the qalijūriāt sabers became widely used by the Mamluk army, the straight double-edged swords were still used by the tribal auxiliary Arab troops, hence the Mamluk term of al-saif al-badawī (the Bedouin sword). The straight double-edged sword disappeared with the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, replaced by the Ottoman qilic and the Safavid shamshir, but survived in interior Oman. The Furusiyya Art Foundation collection holds one of this type of swords, and according to its catalogue, “swords of this type were popular over a long period of time and their documented associations suggest they are ultimately based on dhu’l-Faqar, the silver hilted sword of the Prophet. They represent a simplified version of the luxurious Nasrid swords of the 15th century” (Bashir 2008: 184). This does not imply that the Omani swords developed from the Nasrid swords,15 rather that both swords probably derived from a common early Islamic type. The domed pommel had a practical and religious function. It recalled the Islamic architecture with its shape, but also had the practical function of a counterbalance and a spike for close combat. The massive turned down quillons, in addition to their guarding function, were designed to catch the opponents’ sword blade, twisting or breaking it. These swords seem to have been in use since the 9th century until the present day, as witnessed in a sketch of the Zanzibar Sultan Bargash Al-Busaid, and a photograph of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said wearing similar swords (Figures 3.11 and 3.12). The reason for such a long life can be found in the fact that these swords most likely remained in use in the interior regions of Oman in a notably conservative environment. It is worth noting that Oman had been divided into two countries for centuries: in the mid-20th century, these were still known as Muscat and Oman. Muscat was the capital on the coast, while Nizwā was the seat of power of the interior Oman. The seat of the Ibadi had always been Nizwā as the capital of Ad-Dakhiliyah in the interior. Therefore, due to the conservatism and relative isolation of the population of the internal regions, these earlier types of saif continued to be used even when, in the late 18th century, a new guardless sword was introduced in coastal Oman. Guardless Saif There is another straight double-edged sword that is typical of Oman. It is locally called saif although it is known outside Oman as kattara. It has a long guardless handle which tapers to a metal pommel, and it is bound with leather strings or silver plaits. This sword seems to have been developed around the end of the 17th century, and probably has direct associations with the rise of the Omani trade in Zanzibar and East Africa. The cylindrical hilt without guard of the Omani saif has clear similarities with the guardless hilts of Mandingo swords of Mali or seme swords of Kenya (Figure 3.13). It is relevant that the Portuguese were driven out of Muscat in 1650, and in the following half century the Omanis extended their empire driving out the Portuguese from their African possessions as far as Mozambique.16
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.11. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said wearing a saif with gilded decorations on the scabbard (from www. fortantiques.com).
Figure 3.12. Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid (1874-1927), who ruled Zanzibar during the AngloZanzibar War, wearing a similar saif sword.
Figure 3.13. Guardless saif sword (1), sword from Central Asia (2), Ethiopian sword (3), and Seme sword (4) (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collections). 26
Omani Swords
After Oman conquered Zanzibar in 1698, the country became a very influent trader all over the African coast. The Omani Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the African Great Lakes coast, known as Zanj, as well as extensive inland trading routes through the Sahara to Timbuktu, in Mali. It is likely that the above mentioned simple hilt swords evolved in Omani trade areas in Eastern Africa and were brought from Zanzibar to Oman by Omani merchants. Incidentally, these swords are also known as Zanzibar swords. In his book, Demmin describes a couple of straight swords stored in the Museum of Artillery in Paris, both mentioned as “Zanguebar swords” (Demmin 1869: 416).17 One is of the current Omani type, and the other resembles a seme (Figure 3.14). Once established in Oman, these swords assumed their typical aspect with silver embellishments that range from simple silver wires to embossed and chiseled silver ornaments. In addition, silver lockets and chapes are often present on the scabbards. Over the centuries, Omani silversmiths have developed a very high artistic level combining design and handicraft techniques from the various cultures they encountered, such as for example, seafaring people of ancient traditions. Islam added crescent moons, full moons, and simple geometrical forms to motifs from India, Persia, China, and East Africa, such as stars, leaves and petals. Moreover, many Jewish silversmiths who had settled in Muscat after they left Baghdad in 1828 introduced Figure 3.14. Plate showing at number 101 a new techniques, like the granulation process and the niello. The Zanguebar sword in the Christie’s collection in London (Demmin 1869). silver used to decoration swords reached Oman mostly in the form of silver coins. The scabbard decorations include suspension bands and rings. These swords were originally carried in hand or suspended from a cord from the shoulder, as normal in all Arab lands until the adoption of the European manner from a waist belt (Elgood 1994: 21).The habit of wearing the swords suspended to a baldric has a practical reason: the horseman only needed one hand to draw a sword that was slung from a shoulder strap, whereas both hands were needed to unsheathe a sword hung from a waist-belt. In this way, the cavalryman could easily use his weapon during combat without losing control of his horse (Figure 3.15). Older guardless saif swords have European blades, and this strengthens the link with East Africa. The long straight double-edged blades of European origin, fullered and very flexible, were largely used from Sudan to Mali and from Abyssinia to Kenya. Many European blades, including obsolete ones stored in European arsenals, must have passed into the hands of the Omanis in this period. They entered from the Red Sea or from India along the trade routes of the Arab dhows, and often remained in use for many generations and after many adjustments. Many Italian, Spanish and German blades, some from the 17thcentury, were exported to Arab lands and India when in Europe firearms rendered swords obsolete, and a large number of redundant blades were sold in the Near and Middle East. 27
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.15. Bani bu Ali. Shaikh Bandar bin Nasir wearing a guardless saif and a khanjar. This photograph was taken by Bertram Thomas during his travel from Ras Al-Hadd to Salalah in 1929. Bertram Thomas was appointed Financial Adviser to Sultan Taimur in 1925 and was known locally as the “Wazir”. He was the first European to cross the Rub Al-Khali from Salalah to Qatar in 1931 (Peyton 1983: 62).
Burckhardt reports that in 1813 about three thousand Solingen blades were annually sold at Cairo to southern traders (Burckhardt 1921: 271). In 1835 Lane described the trade of straight German blades to the Nubians in Cairo (Elgood 1994: 16). James Fraser offers an interesting description of these swords, having visited the Omani garrison at Hormuz in 1821: “their sword is edged on both sides. A few of these weapons are made in Yemen, but the greater part are procured from Egypt, whither they are brought from different ports of the Mediterranean. Many may be seen with the Solingen mark and not a few with that of Andrea Ferrara” (Fraser 1825: 50). These guardless swords, defined by Egerton as “pure Arab weapons”, were largely present in the Bazaars of Aswan and Luxor after the defeat of the Mahadi’s armies in 1889, since he described them as follows: “The usual sword is a large straight weapon bound round the hilt with silver or brass wire, or more ordinarily with leather thongs and without guard […].In the better class of weapons the hilts are of silver with raised arabesque patterns on the grip of the handle and one or more saucer shaped pommels above it […].The blade is generally flexible, in many cases of Spanish, Italian, or German origin” (Egerton 2002: 156-157).
Figure 3.16. Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al-Said with a straight Figure 3.17. A guardless saif presented to Sultan Qaboos guardless saif sword in an official meeting with Sayyid Tariq bin Said Al-Said by Jacob Zuma of President South Africa (www.fortantiques.com). bin Taimur bin Faisal Al-Said (www.fortantiques.com). 28
Omani Swords
Figure 3.18. Sword dances funun (www.fortantiques.com): Fann Al-Ayyalah was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2014 (left), Fann Al-Azi was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2012.
Passing from the African coast to Zanzibar, these swords reached Oman carried by traders, acquiring the current shape and thus becoming the iconic Omani sword, still in use for sword dances. They show a variety of blades that range from the old European 17th century to the currently Omani-made. The study of the swords preserved in museums at Muscat allows us to verify the evolution of the fittings related to their purpose. The oldest examples of blades, sometimes from rapier swords, are roughly fitted with leather hilts to obtain actual weapons that could be suitable to be used in combat. Afterwards, they became more refined, with silver embellishment to be used as part of the attire, yet their function was still that of actual weapons. Finally, in present days, they have lost their original function to become dance swords, artifacts for tourists, or symbols of rank (Figures 3.16 and 3.17). The adoption of these swords was related to a fighting technique markedly different from its predecessor. This sword was designed as a slash and snick fast whip action, with the fighters at a distance of two meters or more, fighting with a small leather shield (called terrs in Oman) of Somali origin. The balance achieved with the sword in one hand and the shield in the other allowed for very fast action. This combat style also gave origin to the war dance that was performed as a limbering up exercise before going into battle and as a training martial art. It is still practiced in Oman as a sword dance called funun (Figure 3.18). Omani sword dances are characterized by blade quivering, and modern thin blades are the best option for this purpose. In 1833, Whitelock noted this peculiarity in the Emirates, when they were still part of Oman (Whiteloch 1844: 32-54). 29
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.19. Possible Yemeni swords (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
In 1835 Wellstead describes a war dance as follows: “The blade of their sword is three feet in length, straight, thin, double-edged, and as sharp as a razor. As they carry it upright before them, by a peculiar motion of their wrist they cause it to vibrate in a very singular manner”. He also described the hilt of these swords as “having a long handle, without any guard” (Wellstead 1838, Vol. 1: 69). The new guardless saif swords coexisted in Oman with the older guard hilted saif for many years, but the oldest saif gradually became less used as demonstrated by their current scarcity. The latter probably remained in use in the interior regions, because of the conservatism and relative isolation of the local population, while the first spread in coastal regions.18 Some hybrid swords combine some elements of the hilt form of the older type (with the cylindrical grip and minaret type pommel) with the long guardless saif blade, and are guardless (Figure 3.19). Guardless saif’s blades are generally fullered, as 17th century European blades, and have a spatula tip. The rounded tip relates to the cutting and slashing use of the fighting technique that rendered the thrusts useless. In older European blades, the tip was clearly modified and is semi rounded, while the recent locally produced blades were conceived with the tip full rounded. These blades have one or three central fullers, locally called abu falaj (the one with irrigation channels). The thickness of the blade at ricasso is generally associated with its age. As for the older blades, their thickness ranges from 3 up to 6 millimeters with an average of around 4 millimeters. The most recent blades which were made locally in the 20th century are thinner, from approximately 2 up to 3 millimeters. The older and thicker blades were very flexible and can be bend almost at 90 degrees, thanks to the method employed in processing steel. Probably, the reason for thinning the latest blades is the change in the function of the sword itself as a fighting weapon. The characteristics that these swords required are more and more aimed at their flexibility and lightness for use in sword dances. The width of the blades is around 4 centimeters and is independent from their thickness. The length ranges from 65 to 90-95 centimeters with an average of about 80 centimeters. Nevertheless, the length of a blade could be affected by its reshaping and tip rounding during the lifespan of a sword. Sometimes, marks can be found on the blades (Figure 3.20). The most common are crescents, stars, and running wolves, all symbols used on Solingen and Italian blades. These marks on old European blades had the intent of proving their guild quality and they were often counterfeited, on locally made blades for a magical or talismanic purpose. Fake marks were noticed by Lord Egerton in the late 19th century: “some of the European marks have been imitated more or less rudely by native workmen” (Egerton 2002: 157). 30
Omani Swords
Figure 3.20. Various marks present on the blades of the guardless saif: (a) Running wolf, (b) Lion, (c) Deer and globe, (d) Eyelash or “Gurda” mark, (e) Orb and cross variants, (f) Crosses, (g) Stars, (h) Crescent, (i) Writings (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). 31
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.21. Conical hilts of the guardless saif: covered with leather (a), with silver geometrical motif embroidery (b), covered with braided silver wires and silver sheets (c) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
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Omani Swords
Figure 3.22. Very crude hilts can be found assembled with old blades in the guardless saif (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
The hilt is conical, about 15-20 centimeters long, made of wood and covered with leather. The leather can be decorated with silver wires with geometrical patterns. Sometimes the hilt is covered with braided silver wires and silver sheets (Figures 3.21 and 3.22). The hilt ends with an iron pommel that is almost cubic in the oldest types, becoming rectangular parallelepiped and cylindrical in the latter (Figure 3.23). When not covered with silver, the pommel has a hole for a cord to pass through. Like the hilt, the scabbard is also generally made of wood with leather covering (Figure 3.24). However, this seems to have changed over time; in fact, some of the older swords have the hilt and the scabbard exclusively made of hide, often embossed with geometrical patterns. In this fashion, they resemble the African swords from which they probably descend.
Figure 3.23. Types of pommels of the guardless saif hilts (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.24. The scabbards of the guardless saif are often covered with embossed leather (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
34
Omani Swords
Plate 3.9. Guardless Saif
(Total length 109 cm, blade length 79 cm, blade width 4.2 cm, blade thickness 5.4 mm). German blade with three fullers at forte and crescents incised at ricasso. Leather covered scabbard with silver chased locket, bands and chape. Hilt covered with silver braided strings. Rectangular pommel covered with silver sheets. On the hilt is engraved “the work of Ali Bin Rahmeen”. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.10. Guardless Saif
(Total length 106 cm, blade length 84 cm, blade width 4.5 cm, blade thickness 4.7 mm). Straight massive European double-edged blade fullered at forte. “Eyelash” mark on the blade at the ricasso. At forte engraved a naive “Orb and Cross”. Old leather scabbard with silver chiseled chape and bands, silver suspension rings. Hilt wrapped with leather strings and silver wires. Big cubic pommel. The curved dented arcs known as “eyelash” or “sickle” marks with the dots at the ends are commonly associated with Genoa, that was with Venice one of the principal port for export of the North Italian made blades to the Middle East. Some marks have the name “GENOA” between the arcs. Thus the mark became a proof of quality and began to be used in Styria (Austria), Solingen (Germany) and Chechnya where they are termed “gurda”. It was abundantly imitated on the oriental blades (Lebedynsky 1992: 78). The “Orb and Cross” mark was an invocative and often talismanic symbol which seems to have derived from Southern Germany centers and is associated with Solingen. In this case, it seems to be an imitation mark added later, with a wrong added line in the orb, as can be seen in the above table at number 24 (Cronau 1885: 18). National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.11. Guardless Saif
(Total length 109 cm, blade length 82.5 cm, blade width 4.9 cm, blade thickness 5.2 mm). Straight European double-edged blade with one fuller at forte. A circle with a line resembling a “Orb and Cross” crudely incised at forte. A little star (or sun) punched at ricasso. The wooden scabbard covered with black leather chiseled and embossed. Chiseled silver locket, bands and chape. The hilt decorated with silver inlays and wires. Parallelepiped pommel covered with silver sheet. This sword was owned by H.H. Sayyid Khalifa II bin Harub Al-Said (1879-1960), the ninth Sultan of Zanzibar who ruled from 1911 to 1960. It is interesting to note that such a huge sword with a long and thick blade and with ordinary fittings belonged to a Sultan of Zanzibar. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.12. Guardless Saif
(Total length 104.5 cm, blade length 82 cm, blade width 4.6 cm, blade thickness 7.3-3.4 mm). Straight European or Zanzibari double-edged blade with one fuller at forte. The ricasso reinforced on both sides with two locally made bands soldered and riveted. On one side near the ricasso is engraved a lion that recalls the “running wolf ”. Dark brown leather covered scabbard with silver locket, band (one missed) and chape chiseled with geometrical patterns. Replacement suspension slings. All leather hilt with rounded square pommel. This sword shows many characteristics that suggest an origin from Zanzibar. The leather hilt, the silver decorations and the lion mark are clearly derived from East Africa. Thanks to the proximity of many mines in East Africa, Zanzibar become an important center of iron working, trading weapons to all the Arabian Peninsula devoid of iron resources. The reinforcements of the blade confirm its use as an effective weapon. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.13. Early Guardless Saif
(Total length 80 cm, blade length 65.5 cm, blade width 2.8 cm, blade thickness 2.9 mm). Some examples of swords stored in the National Museum of Oman, probably part of the belongings of Al-Busaidi dynasty, rulers of Zanzibar. These swords show that old worth European blades were used intensely as well as they could be serviceable even with crude mountings. On top a German rapier blade with one large fuller at ricasso. Passau mark and dot on the blade. Leather hilt and scabbard. Rectangular pommel.
(Total length 84 cm, blade length 68 cm, blade width 3.9 cm, blade thickness 5.7 mm). European blade with three fullers at forte, mounted with a new replacement wooden hilt of kattara type. Pointed tip. Rectangular pommel. ... ...
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
(Total length 101.5 cm, blade length 83.5 cm, blade width 3.7 cm, blade thickness 4.2 mm). European plain blade. Pointed tip. Three stars and a crescent on the blade. Leather embossed hilt with large and short quadrangular pommel.
(Total length 88.5 cm, blade length 74.5 cm, blade width 4.1 cm, blade thickness 3.0 mm). European blade with one large fuller at forte. Hilt made of leather wrapped around the tang. Parallelepiped pommel. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.14. Guardless Saif with Rapier Blade
(Total length 108.5 cm, blade length 91 cm, blade width 2.3 cm, blade thickness 6.4 mm). German rapier’s blade with original tang and round pommel. Fuller at forte. The sides of the blade inscribed in Latin with “IOHANNIS STAM SOLINGEN” and “IOHANNIS STAM ME FECIT” (Iohannis Stam made me). The tang covered with a wrapped leather string. The Stam or Stamm was a well-established sword blade producing family in Solingen (Germany). The marking Iohan was used by Peter active in 1680-1700 AD. The last pictures show the stamp “STAMM” and the date 1708 on a guardless saif found in the souq of Mutrah. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.15. Guardless Saif from a Portuguese Sword
(Total length 100 cm, blade length 82.5 cm, blade width 3.5 cm, blade thickness 5 mm). European blade, probably German, with a central fuller. On the forte an inscription added later on both the sides says “VIVA EL REY” and “DO PORTUGAL”, which means “LONG LIVE THE KING OF PORTUGAL”. On the blade also the “Orb and Cross” mark. An example of a 17th century blade used by a Portuguese soldier and after re-mounted in Omani fashion. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.16. Modern Guardless Saif
(Total length 105.5 cm, blade length 76 cm, blade width 4.4 cm, blade thickness 2.1 mm). The guardless saif sword is still in use in Oman hence blades, usually thin and flexible and with a spatulate tip, are still produced. Locally made blades were produced in the past at Musandam, Nizwā, Zanzibar, Yemen and Ras Al-Khaimah in the Emirates. The swords are used at weddings, celebrations and Eid festivities in the funun tradition. Between the mountain tribesmen like the Shehhu and Habus the swordmanship is valued for good wedding. The sword is also used for the Raz’ha which contains a sort of combat practice. The swords, often very sharp, are used with a small shield (terrs) miming a fight. They are also vibrated with the wrist movement and thrown high in the air and then taken by the hilt. Top sword. Blade with rounded tip. Three fullers at forte named locally “abu thalaatha musayil”. On the blade the date 1948 stamped in a round cartouche. Black leather covered scabbard with silver chiselled locket, chape and band (1 missed). Leather hilt with cylindrical pommel covered with silver sheet.
(Total length 92.5 cm, blade length 71.5 cm, blade width 3.8 cm, blade thickness 2.0 mm). Blade with 3 fullers at forte. Scabbard and hilt covered with embossed brown leather. Pommel shaped as a parallelepiped. Madha Museum. ... ...
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
(Total length 102,5 cm, blade length 77,2 cm, blade width 4,2 cm, blade thickness 2,0 mm). Unusual wavy blade thin and flexible with three fullers at forte. Round tip. Traces of marks on both sides of the blade. Black leather covered scabbard and hilt. Parallelepiped pommel. The blade waved after its manufacture for unknown reason.
(Total length 102 cm, blade length 73 cm, blade width 4.2 cm, blade thickness 2.1 mm). Thin blade fullered at forte with spatula tip. Trace of maker’s mark. Black leather covered scabbard with silver chiseled locket and chape. Hilt with silver chiseled sheet and wires. Parallelepiped pommel covered with engraved silver sheets. Two silver bands and suspension rings joined with a double silver chain.
(Total length 103 cm, blade length 78 cm, blade width 4 cm, Blade thickness 2.0 mm). Thin flexible blade with three fullers at forte. Spatula tip. Scabbard and hilt entirely covered with silver chiseled sheets. Cylindrical pommel covered with silver chiseled sheets. Two silver bands and suspension rings. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Curved Kattara The conical guardless hilt is often found associated with curved, single-edged blades. As already mentioned, the terms kitarah, katarah or kattara are used in Oman for every curved blade sword. This corresponds to the most accepted theory about the origin of the name kattara as derived from the English “cutter”, because the curved blades are specifically designed to cut. Likewise, the term kattara started to be used when these swords spread on coastal Oman and Zanzibar. It was known by the British who used it to name all Omani swords with the conic guardless hilt, regardless of the shape of their blade. Almost all blades have European or Caucasian (Dagestan) origins. The first ones belong to the type of blades used for cavalry sabers; the latter are more similar to the blades of the shashka.19 These blades were largely exported in all the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th and early 20th century. European blades replaced Persian and Indian blades when European industrial mass production made valuable steel products available at reasonable prices, while the production of blades in Persia was in decline. At the same time, the Caucasus became an important center for the production of swords which were exported to the Near East.20 The nearby towns of Amuzghi and Kubachi in Daghestan specialized in the manufacture of blades (the first), and hilts and scabbards (the latter). Amuzghi produced many types of blades, such as, for instance, copies of European blades with fake trademarks and inscriptions, Persian watered blades, and blades of Caucasian shape used by the Cossacks and the Circassians (Elgood 1994: 25). Nonetheless, swords were manufactured elsewhere in the Caucasus and met a considerable demand at home and abroad, thus sanctioning their reputation of high-quality products. After the Russians conquered the northern part of the Caucasus in 1864, over 400.000 Circassians fled the area and resettled in the Ottoman Empire, particularly Jordan and Syria, bringing their weapon-making skills and weapon styles with them (Tirri 2004: 99).
Figure 3.25. Hilt decorations of the curved kattara (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.26. Embossed leather scabbards of the curved kattara probably from Zanzibar (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). Those sabers were assembled both in Oman and at Zanzibar. The more recent sabers are fitted with wooden hilts and scabbards, covered with leather and decorated with embossed or chiseled silver sheets, and seldom with silver wires. Some older examples have few or any silver embellishments and more elaborated embossed leather scabbards in an “African fashion” and were probably made in Zanzibar (Figure 3.26). Some of these swords are also mounted with short, curved blades, probably used for naval warfare like cutlasses. As for the straight guardless saif, the curved kattara sabres were (and are) also worn by rulers and dignitaries in Oman (Figure 3.27). Furthermore, the Omani saber is part of the national emblem with the Omani khanjar (Figure 3.28). Figure 3.27. His Highnesses Sayyid Taimur bin Faisal and His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al-Said wearing kattara sabers (www. vikingswords.com).
Figure 3.28. Oman’s National Emblem (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). 46
Omani Swords
Plate 3.17. Kattara Sword
(Total length 103 cm, blade length 81 cm, blade width 3.0 cm). Caucasian or East European fullered blade. Wooden scabbard partially covered with old black embossed leather. Iron chape. Silver chiseled locket. Hilt covered with black leather string and silver inlays. Pommel with hole. On the back of the blade a ‘cross potent’ with symbols. The Greek cross in conjunction with these symbols that often occur in multiple, other than a magical or talismanic purpose can involve also a numerological symbolism. On the blade near the tang in Cyrillic the letters “∆” and “B” (D and V). The iron chape added later and crudely made and the new leather with suspension rings, witness of a continuous use of the saber until recent time, at least for representative functions. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.18. Kattara Sword
(Total length 96 cm, blade length 72.8 cm, blade width 3.8 cm). Caucasian or European blade with three fullers. Hilt covered with brown leather. Silver wires on the hilt. Parallelepiped pommel with hole. On both sides of the blade near the ricasso a sun rising, a star and an arm holding a scimitar. Scabbard not pertinent covered with new black leather. Silver locket and chape chiseled with floral motif. The arm coming from the cloud device was most likely adopted by Solingen makers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The arm holding a saber have a talismanic and religious allegory. It represents the arm of God with the sword extending from Heaven. To be noted that in these images the sword is a “scimitar” and not the European saber. Similar images were copied in Eastern Europe and Caucasus, but appear more crude than the originals. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.19. Short Kattara Sword
(Total length 70 cm, blade length 44 cm, blade width 3.6 cm). A saber with shortened blade, making it suitable for a naval use. Caucasian blade with three fullers. Wooden hilt and scabbard covered with black leather. Silver chiseled locket and chape. Silver bands. Hilt with silver inlays. Rectangular pommel covered with silver sheets. The rather luxurious mountings of this saber and its blade of only 44 centimeters make it more a sort of naval dirk to wear for an officer than a cutlass weapon. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.20. Naval Kattara Sword
(Total length 85.5 cm, blade length 62.5 cm, blade width 3 cm). European or Caucasian broad curved blade hollowed along the back. Stars and crescent on the blade. Wooden hilt and scabbard. This sword shows well its nature as a cutlass saber to use on ships. The stars and crescent mark was typical of Solingen blades, originally with a talismanic purpose. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.21. Kattara Sword
(Total length 99.5 cm, blade length 75 cm, blade width 2.9 cm). Old blade probably from Styria or Caucasus with three fullers. The scabbard covered with black leather. Very fine silver decoration with filigree covering the entire hilt. Silver chiseled locket and chape. Silver sheet covering the pommel. Two silver suspension bands and rings. Typical fittings of Omani fashion with an old worn blade proof of a long service. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.22. Kattara Sword
(Total length 98.5 cm, blade length 78.5 cm, blade width 3.5 cm). Broad European cavalry blade with two hollows starting at the end of the forte. On the upper three narrow fullers. Trace of mark on the blade. Leather covered hilt with silver inlays and wires. Rectangular pommel with the corners blunt. The blade shows clear traces of a coarse sharpening that make the long and massive blade an effective cutting implement. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.23. Kattara Sword
(Total length 97.5 cm, blade length 74 cm, blade width 3.4 cm). 19th century fullered blade. Wooden scabbard covered with brown embossed leather. Hilt covered with brown leather crossed string. Rectangular holed pommel. Two brass suspension bands. On the blade an “eyelash” mark. An example of an original 19th century saber with a typical “trade blade”. The origin of these blades of poor quality is ever uncertain even in presence of marks. Many of these blades were produced in German and Styria but also in Chechnya. Often the level of the European made blades was lower than the Caucasian and the marks just pretended to prove an actually absent quality. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 3.24. Modern Kattara Sword
(Total length 101 cm, blade length 73 cm, blade width 2.9 cm). Like the straight guardless saif also the curved kattara continued to be made in Oman in the 20th century as traditional artifacts. Above a saber with Indian or Omani blade with three fullers. Wooden scabbard covered with brown leather. Hilt covered with leather string. Iron quadrangular pommel. Madha Museum.
(Total length 100 cm, blade length 74.5 cm, blade width 3.5 cm). Curved fullered blade probably locally made with a spurious running wolf. Wooden scabbard covered with brown embossed leather. Silver chiseled locket, chape and bands. Silver suspension rings and chain. Silver wires covered hilt with semi rounded pommel. Madha Museum.
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Omani Swords
Saif Nimcha The Arab peninsula has been a crossroads for trade, and while swords were widely used in the region, there were no relevant manufacturing centers. Swords were then made available to Arabia from many regions via the caravan routes and dozens of seaports. This led to a dissemination of swords which were essentially different in style and origin. One of these is the saif nimcha sword, whose hilt differs reflecting local traditions, but at the same time maintains a common approach, from North Africa to Southeast Asia. These pronged pommel types of hilts seem to have been widespread at least from the 16th century with subtle local variants in decoration and blades, as can be seen in the portrait of a Moorish Ambassador (Figure 3.29). This sword has a characteristic grip, shaped as a stylized lion’s head, with a curved knuckle guard and downturned quillons. The hilts are commonly made of wood, but other materials that were used include horn, bone, and ivory for the most luxurious. The squared-off “hooked” pommel ends with an iron or brass guard that often has a knuckle guard starting beneath the quillons to the bottom of the pommel; on the opposite side of the hilt this path is normally continued into a third quillon. The name nimcha, which means “short sword” from nim, “a half ”, and cha, a diminutive suffix (Elgood 1994: 10), was originally associated with short bladed swords suitable for naval use, like a cutlass (Figure 3.30). Today though, the term nimcha is also used for long bladed swords instead of the more correct term saif. The resemblance of these Arab swords with the Moroccan nimcha is too strong to be casual, and can only be explained supposing a common origin from a nearly type, even if it is unclear which one was the precursor. The multiple downward quillons were common on Italian “crab claw” hilts, as simple downward quillons were used in Venetian Dalmatian swords. Curved blades were also commonly used as stortas in Northern Italy. Thus, one hypothesis is that this sword originated in Venice from the stortas of Italy, and reached the southern shores of the Mediterranean to Algeria and Morocco, where it influenced the development of the nimcha hilt in the Maghreb.21 From there, through the Red Sea, it arrived on the Arabian scene with the variants occurring in Arabia, Yemen and Zanzibar, and eventually reached Ceylon with its variant kastane (Figure 3.32).22 Other hypothesis claim its Arab origin, from where it was brought to northern Africa with the Muslim conquest, or possibly it originated in Ceylon, from where it reached the Arabs and then North Africa.23 These swords can have straight double-edged blades or gentle curved single-edged blades, where the first appear to be the older ones (Figure 3.36). The blades are often of European origin, with German, Genoese, and Venetian marks or Styrian imitations, while the hilts and scabbards were locally made. Zanzibar was one of the centers for the manufacture of swords. As one of the stages on the monsoon route, it was an important trade harbor for exchanges between Africa and the Arab world, and the proximity of many mines in East Africa rendered it a major center of iron working. The swords manufactured in Zanzibar have a “D” metal loop at the base of the hilt that joins two of the quillons (Tirri 2004: 79) (Figure 3.33). The ring on the crossguard seems to have originated under the influence of Italian swords. The hilts are often decorated with brass or silver layers and filaments or tortoise shell. Sometimes the guard has straight quillons, and some items, probably used on ships, do not feature the guard (Figure 3.34). These swords were used mainly by the Arab mercantile elite both in Arab places like Oman, Yemen and Zanzibar, and in non-Arab African and Asian countries where they were well established. Nowadays these swords are made in India and Yemen for the tourist market (Figure 3.35).
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Figure 3.29. Portrait of the Moorish Ambassador Abdul Guaid of the Barbary States to the Court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Ambassador wears a gold decorated nimcha saif sword carried with a baldric on the shoulder (courtesy University of Birmingham) (left); Portrait of Admiral Hadge Abdulcader Perez, Ambassador from the Emperor of Morocco to the Court of St. James, ca. 1724 (Ben Elwes Fine Art) (right).
Figure 3.30. An actual nimcha (short) sword (www.vikingsword.com). 56
Omani Swords
Figure 3.31. The downward quillons of the saif nimcha were common in the Italian crab hilted swords (left) as well as in the Venetian Dalmatian swords of the type carried by the Venetians troops in the 16th and 17th century (right) (www. pinterest.com).
Figure 3.32. Examples of Sinhalese kastane which hilt is clearly similar to the saif nimcha hilt (www.vikingsword.com). 57
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.33. Zanzibari saif nimcha (www.vikingswords.com).
Figure 3.34. Hilt with straight quillons (Muscat private collection) (upper); hilt without guard (Czerny’s International Auction House) (lower).
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Omani Swords
Figure 3.35. Yemeni Arab saif nimcha (www.vikingswords.com).
A variant of these sword attributed to Yemeni manufacturers has a so-called karabela hilt, with the pommel modeled after an eagle’s head (Figures 3.37 and 3.38). This type of open hilt probably originated in Mesopotamia and was used by the Turkish Janissaries and Sphais.24 The origin of the name karabela is still debated. It could have derived from the town of Karbala in Iraq or from the village of Karabel in Türkiye (Ostrowski and Bochnak 1979: 232). At any rate, this type of hilt has been commonly used in Turco-Mongol weaponry for centuries, and provides a good grip both for circular cuts while fighting on foot, as well as swinging cuts from horseback. The karabela hilt spread from the Ottoman Empire to Eastern Europe where it became the Polish saber par excellence, and to the Caucasus, first used by the Circassians, and later by Russian Cossacks. Another variant features a squared hilt without any guard (Figure 3.33).
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Figure 3.36. Arab saif nimcha with ivory hilt and an inscribed straight single-edged blade (Czerny’s International Auction House).
Figure 3.37. Karabela hilts with langet (www.vikingswords.com).
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Figure 3.38. These simple and crude hilts of the karabela form can be found in the souqs of Oman. They are currently made also in Yemen for the tourist market (www.vikingswords.com).
Hadhrami Saif This type of sword is commonly attributed to the Hadramawt in Yemen, but it was widely used in the Arab world (Elgood 1994: 15). The hilt in the shape of a stylized lion’s head is usually decorated with brass or silver embossed sheets, as well as the scabbard. The pommel has two ears symmetrically placed at the ends of the widening. The guard has two straight short quillons with two symmetrical languets. The lockets of the scabbard are often decorated with the motif of a scorpion, known as agrab. The back of the grip is straight or slightly curved forward. According to Buttin, the curved grip is due to the fact that, in the 16th century, the Arabs adopted a cut with the tip launched forward and the outstretched arm. For this type of cut, the curved grip is better than the straight one as in order to obtain the effect of the centrifugal force, the weapon tends to slip away from the hand and, to have a good cut, it is necessary that the weapon is launched without holding it too tight (Buttin and Buttin 1933: 253). The plain guard often has a fine chain from the end of the quillon to the pommel. The blades are usually slightly curved, single-edged, with a false edge and hatchet point like the European cavalry blades but shorter and lighter. The suspension rings were originally mounted on both sides of the scabbard to wear it over the shoulders with a baldric, in the Arab fashion (Figures 3.39 and 3.40).
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Figure 3.39. Arab Hadhrami saif with silver mounts (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
Figure 3.40. Brass hilted saber. These trilobate hilts have been produced in Hyderabad (India) for export to Hadramawt (www.vikingswords.com).
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.25. Guardless Saif Nimcha
(Total length 91 cm, blade length 75 cm, blade width 3.9 cm). Broad Caucasian or European blade hollowed with one large fuller. Wooden scabbard covered with black leather. Silver locket and chape engraved with floral motifs. The wooden hilt with silver wires. Two silver suspension bands and rings with silver chain. A guardless saif nimcha saber typical of the coast of Yemen and Oman probably used on ships. National Museum, Muscat.
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Plate 3.26. Guardless Saif Nimcha
(Total length 102 cm, blade length 78 cm, blade width 3.3 cm) Old Caucasian or European blade with three fullers. Wooden scabbard covered with black leather embossed with typical Omani geometrical patterns. Silver chiseled locket and chape. Wooden hilt with silver chiseled sheet and silver wires. Two suspension bands of different form and materials. A guardless version of the Arab saif nimcha. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.27. Saif Nimcha
(Blade length 75 cm). Slightly curved fullered blade probably Caucasian. Characteristic horn grip with curved iron knuckle guard and downturned quillons. Leather covered wooden scabbard with white metal locket, chape and suspension bands embossed and incised with geometric designs. Antony Cribb Arms and Armour Auctions.
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Plate 3.28. Squared Hilted Saber
(Total length 83 cm) A squared hilted saber without guard. Curved, single-edged blade with grooves. Horn grip with silver mounts, nielloed and engraved with floral motifs; wooden scabbard covered with leather and silver mounts decorated en suite. Two silver suspension rings. Czerny’s International Auction House.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.29. Hadhrami Saif
Some good Hadhrami saif sold at the Czerny’s International Auction House. All have two aligned suspension rings to wear it with a baldric.
A good Hadhrami saif with an european saber cavalry blade. Silver mounts and scabbard finely incised with gold rosettes and silver chain guard. Two opposed suspension rings to wear it with a baldric. Czerny’s International Auction House.
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Plate 3.30. Hadhrami Saif
(Total length 78.5 cm) A silver mounted Hadhrami saif . Slightly curved, single-edged blade with rear groove. On the blade the mark of Passau wolf. Silver Plated hilt and scabbard engraved and decorated with floral and geometrical motifs. Silver chain guard. Two opposed suspension rings. Czerny’s International Auction House.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.31. Hadhrami Saif
(Total length 89 cm) Straight, single-edged Ethiopian blade engraved with Amharic inscriptions and floral decorations. Silver plated grip and scabbard engraved and decorated. The silver chain guard missed. Two opposed suspension rings. Czerny’s International Auction House.
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Figure 3.41. Early 20th century Arab saif with a scorpion motif on the locket (www.vikingsword.Ecom). Shamshir / Saif The shamshir is the Persian saber par exellence. Originally, the word did not refer to a particular type of sword. Arabic-Persian linguist Al-Maydani (died in 1136) described the term shamshir as the perfect equivalent of the straight double-edged Arab saif (Al-Maydani: 235-237). It acquired its current reference to a specific type only in the 16th century under Safavid rule, when the specific saber was fully developed and became the Persian “national” saber. From Persia it then spread to Mughal India and the adjoining Arab world due to the Shah Abbas the Great’s conquests during the 17th century. In Arabia it is known as saif, while in Oman it is called kattara or kitarah like all curved blade sabers. The deeply curved blades of Persian origin are usually made of wootz or true Damascus steel, and present inscriptions with the manufacturer’s name and quotations from the Holy Quran. The most celebrated swordsmith, Asadullah Isfahani, worked during the high renaissance of the Safavid Empire in the time of Shah Abbas, who reigned between 1588 and 1629.
Figure 3.42. Omani style shamshir with the wire wrap twisted on the hilt (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum). 70
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Figure 3.43. Gold mounted sword dating from the early 19th century probably made in Muscat by a Persian craftsman (Wallace Collection N. OA 2002) (Elgood 1994: 20). The blades of shamshir shape of Persian and, more commonly, Indian manufacture, were widely traded and used with hilts of local manufacture throughout the Near-Eastern Islamic world. In the Arab examples, the quillons are longer and more drawn out than in the classical Persian version. The quillons arise from a centrally thickened and convex crossguard assembly from which integral languets also emerge and extend towards the tip of the blade. In addition to their obvious assistance in holding the sword in its scabbard, the languets probably had the function of blade catchers or blade breakers. Like the Hadhrami saif, in the Arab saif the lockets of the scabbard are often decorated with the motif of a scorpion (Figure 3.41). The Omani and Zanzibari variants can lack the motif of the scorpion, probably because they were more influenced by the Persian or Muslim Indian design. The Arab saif often has a wire wrapping over the portion of the grip adjacent to the crossguard, which originated as a reinforcement of that area of the hilt. In the Omani-style shamshirs, the wire wrapped on the hilt has a twist to it (Figures 3.42 and 3.43). The end of the grip generally ends with an angle that is larger than in the Persian shamshir, while in the sabers of Syrian style the end of the grip turns to an acute angle towards the edge to form the pommel (Figure 3.44).25
Figure 3.44. Different grip end angles of shamshirs. From the left: Omani, Arab and Syrian types (www.pinterest.com). 71
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 3.45. The fifth Sultan of Zanzibar Sayyid Hamad bin Thuwaini Al-Busaid, who ruled from 1893 to 1896.
The tip is covered with a pommel cap which is often decorated. The blades tend to reach their maximum degree of curvature just over half of the blade and straighten at the forte near the hilt. This particular shape requires a specific procedure to ensure that the blade can be inserted in the sheath. Persian and Indian scabbard mouths are wider than their blade, so that when it is inserted, the blade can shift towards the side of the scabbard mouth. Turkish scabbards and some Arab scabbards instead have a slot from the spine end of the scabbard mouth for short distance. The shamshir scabbards are often made of wood and covered by leather, velvet, metal sheet, or a combination thereof. They were worn suspended at the wearer’s left side with the edge down, even if some examples have the suspension ring on the convex side in order to carry it with the edge up in the Circassian fashion. Shamshirs are usually regarded as having been optimized for mounted combat at close quarters, but are also known to have been carried by dismounted as well as mounted warriors. The deeply curved blades are clearly adapted for the draw cut, thus greatly reducing the chance for thrusting. Since the 19th century European and Caucasian cavalry blades were also mounted with these hilts and in the coastal regions of Oman, Yemen and Zanzibar, swords can also feature almost straight blades. These were the swords usually worn by the rulers of the Arabian Peninsula and Zanzibar (Figure 3.45).
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Plate 3.32. Shamshir Saif
(Total length 99.5 cm, blade length 83 cm, blade width 3.4 cm) European cavalry blade deeply pitted overall. Hilt covered with silver chiseled sheets. Coupled with a black leather covered scabbard of a kattara with silver chiseled locket, bands and chape. Probably from Zanzibar. National Museum, Muscat.
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Plate 3.33. Shamshir Saif
(Total length 94 cm, blade length 77 cm, blade width 4.2 cm) A shamshir saif mounted with an European or Indian large blade with one central fuller. The hilt of iron covered with two scales of bone. The hilt decorated with silver wires and chiseled silver sheet. The wooden scabbard covered with black leather incised with floral patterns. Chiseled silver chape. Replacement iron bands crudely made with coarse leather suspension rings. The scabbard is not pertinent since the languet does not fit into the notch. The sword was owned by H.H. Sayyid Ali bin Hamud Al-Busaid (1884 – 1918) the eighth Sultan of Zanzibar that ruled from 1902 to 1911. Even if it could be strange that a similar ordinary sword was owned by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in a 1907 picture he seems to wear exactly the same sword. The massive blade makes it more a combat weapon than a ceremonial sword. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.34. Shamshir Saif
(Total length 90 cm, blade length 78 cm, blade width 3 cm) Shamshir saif with an Indian blade. On the ricasso an Arabic inscription and two marks at forte. The grip with two bone scales. The hilt decorated with silver wires and chiseled sheet. On the guard a cartouche shaped as a heart with Arabic inscription. The wooden scabbard covered with black leather embossed with floral patterns. Silver chiseled chape and bands of circular form with Arabic inscription. The sword was gifted to Sheikh Mubarak bin Ali Al-Hinai, Wali of Mombasa (Kenya) by the Islamic Charity Organization of Kenya. The date of presenting the gift is inscribed on the guard: 12 Rabi Awal 1379 AH (1959 AD). Indian blades were largely exported in all Arabian Peninsula and East Africa in the 20th century. National Museum, Muscat.
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Plate 3.35. Shamshir Saif
Arab saif sword with a gold cartouche on the guard. Curved European cavalry saber blade with fullers. Scabbard with embossed leather cover and silver chiseled locket, bands and chape. Private collection, Muscat.
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Omani Swords
Plate 3.36. Crude Shamshir
(Total length 90 cm, blade length 73 cm, blade width 2.9 cm) Sometimes crude hilts made of wood were fitted with old slim curved blades of the shamshir type. These swords were made for an actual use rather than as a status symbol. An old slim curved blade of uncertain origin (Persia, India) deeply pitted overall, has been mounted with a crude wooden hilt in the Arabic/Yemeni saif form. Modern black leather covered scabbard.
(Total length 90 cm, blade length 78 cm, blade width 3 cm) Deeply curved blade of Persian shape. Leather and wood hilt. National Museum, Muscat.
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Chapter 4
Omani Shields
The Omani shields are called terrs or turrs in Oman and are clearly of African origin. They were probably introduced together with the new flexible kattara, being functional for the new fencing associated to its use and referred as saif wa terrs (sword and shield). Thick and heavy to defend against any sword blows or repel arrows, these are circular in shape with a raised shield boss26 made of hide and with brass rosettes. These small parrying shields have a diameter ranging from 15-18 to 28-30 centimeters, with an average of about 24-25 centimeters. Their height generally ranges from 7 to 16 centimeters. These shields were known to be made in the Zanguebar (Buttin and Buttin 1933: 278), the region comprising the East Coast of Africa and Zanzibar. Fraser, who visited Muscat in 1821, describes the shields he found there as follows: “The targets are brought from Zanguebar, made, as we were informed, from the hide of some amphibious animal, probably the Hippopotamus. They are very thick and tough, but not above eight or nine inches in diameter, just enough to cover the hand and wrist; and they rise in the middle, almost to a point” (Fraser: 50-51). In Oman, they were surely imported from Zanzibar but they were probably made in the coastal region, although Zanzibar could have also been involved in their manufacture. Undoubtedly, they have strong similarities with the Somali shields, and it is possible that they were made there. Tirri (2004: 103) claims that “shields of the southern region of Oman are direct imports from Zanzibar/Somalia”. It should also be noted that Somalia was still ruled by the Sultan of Zanzibar in the early 20th century. The raw material used was mainly the rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide,27 but also the water buffalo’s and possibly the whale’s hide seems to have been used. The shields have concentric rings as grooves and ridges on the surface. At large, there are two rings right under the boss, and five to seven along the board. A robust grip made of hide is fastened to the inside part with brass pins, and usually has a ring to suspend the shield (Figure 4.1). The metalwork is typically made of brass, shaped as two rosettes symmetrically placed on the sides of the hump, facing the hilt. Sometimes the rosettes are doubled.
Figure 4.1. Omani hide shield (left) and detail of its inner grip with the suspension ring (right) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum).
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Omani Shields
a
b
c
d
Figure 4.2. Brass rosettes on the shields: star rosette (a), cross rosette (b-c), and square rosette (d) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Oman National Museum). In addition to their obvious function of securing the handle holding the pins to secure the grip, they could also catch the blade of the opponent, disarming him with a twist of the wrist, but this appears to be very unlikely because of the shape of the rosettes. The brass rosettes are shaped in different forms, but always based on four elements, as they recall stars, crosses, or squares, and probably refer to the four cardinal points and can be regarded as talismanic (Figure 4.2). In luxury shields the boss is covered with a silver spike and the rosettes are also made of silver (Figure 4.3). These small shields, largely used by tribesmen and soldiers all over the Omani empire, were used in the same manner of the buckler shields according to European fighting techniques. A buckler is a small round shield from 15 to 45 centimeters in diameter used in hand-to-hand combat (Figures 4.4 and 4.5). The Omani terrs are still produced using different materials including wood, plastic, and animal hides. Besides terrs, however, another shield associated with the saif Yamani might have been in use in Oman, possibly larger and stronger than the parrying shield, according to the different fencing styles requiring heavier and more powerful swords. It was probably the type described by Wellstead in the same years as Fraser, but referring to the Bedouin: “The shield is about 14 inches in diameter and is usually attached by a leather tong to the sword. The best kind made from the skin of the Hippopotamus are brought from Abyssinia” (Wellstead 1838, Vol 1: 349).28
Figure 4.3. Luxury shields with silver boss and rosettes (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Figure 4.4. Walpurgis-Fechtbuch MS I.33, ca. 1320 (Royal Armouries Leeds).
Figure 4.5. Daguerreotype showing irregular soldiers of the Sultan of Zanzibar: The Omani Arabs of the Beni-m’-hhacen tribe. The warriors wear all the typical Omani arms: the matchlock abu fitila, the sword saif, the dagger khanjar, and the shield terrs (Guillain 1857: pl. 10). 80
Omani Shields
Plate 4.1. Shield terrs
(Diameter 26 cm, height 14 cm) Parrying shield made of hippopotamus hide. Two brass stars with 4 points. Inner fastened hand grip of the same leather. The ring on the grip was used to suspend the shield.
(Diameter 22.5 cm, height 15 cm) Rhino hide parrying shield. Two brass quadrangular rosettes. Inner fastened hand grip of the same leather. National Museum, Muscat.
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Plate 4.2. Shield terrs
(Diameter 22.5 cm, height 16 cm)
(Diameter 26 cm, height 14 cm)
(Diameter 22.5 cm, height 16 cm)
(Diameter 26 cm, height 14 cm)
These rhino hide shields were probably made in the same place as they show many similarities: a raised boss, the same number of circular pattern and the same dimensions. The form of the rosettes is also common, shaped like stars. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Shields
Plate 4.3. Shield terrs
(Diameter 26.5 cm, height 13 cm)
(Diameter 24 cm, height 11 cm)
These hippopotamus hide shields shows different patterns embossed on the board and probably originated in Somalia. They have two couples of brass rosettes of cruciform or square form. The four rosettes hold the four ring pins securing the grip. In this shield is possible to see how the suspension ring is replaced by the red cord.
(Diameter 17 cm, height 7 cm) National Museum, Muscat.
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Chapter 5
Omani Daggers
The Omani dagger khanjar (pl. khanājir) has a broad, double-edged crooked blade with a raised spine in the center of the blade. The blade has a broad triangular shape like the Italian cinquedea, but it is bent to the right at about half of its length. The curved double-edged blade daggers are a constant with all the Islamic world and have been observed from Morocco to Mughal India and from Eastern Africa to Türkiye, with local variations and different names. In the Arabian Peninsula two main terms are used for the dagger: khanjar and janbyya. The first is used in Oman, the Emirates, Al-Aḥsā Oasis, and part of Hadramawt (Elgood1994: 70), while in Dhofar the term khanjar is replaced by the Yemeni term janbyya. The word khanjar, which means knife, is also used in Syria, Iraq, and Türkiye (Figure 5.1).
a
b
Figure 5.1. Omani khanjar (a) and Yemeni jambyya (b) (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
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Figure 5.2. Omani boys wear a particular belt with a silver piece in the front at the waist so that they can get used to wear the khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
Both the Omani khanjar and the janbyya in South Arabia have a turned scabbard that exceeds the size of the blade. The reason for this peculiar shape has not been ascertained. It was probably designed to achieve a quick draw in reverse grips and cutting with the inner edge. The Omani blades are less curved than the Yemeni that also tend to be bigger. The Omani scabbard turns at about 90 degrees while the Yemeni can turn up to 180 degrees. An explanation for this difference associates the curvature of the scabbard with religious causes: when placed on the ground pointing the North, one extremity of the scabbard shows the direction of Mecca like a compass. This accounts for the different curves of the scabbard in the Omani and Yemeni daggers.29 Omani daggers are still worn on some occasions, and they are currently made by local craftsmen. Khanjar blades may be locally made or imported. In a khanjar the blade is considered the most important part. Good quality blades are made of mild steel, and when hit they produce a dull sound. Low tempered steel provides them with very sharp edges so that the dagger can cut through clothes, hair, and skin to the bones in one strike. On the other hand, the edge can deteriorate if it hits a hard surface. The curvature of the blade makes the tip to point around 30 degrees to the handle. The blade has a pronounced ridge on both sides in the centerline for almost its full length. The ridge gives more strength when thrusting and withdrawing the blade.
Figure 5.3. Omani boy’s belt (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
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Figure 5.4. Omani men still wear the khanjar in social events or during art performance like Al-Razha dance (left, www.vikingswords.com; right, photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
The dagger in all the Arabian Peninsula is a symbol of masculinity as well as social standing. Warfare, manhood, and the right to marry were interwoven in Arabian society. In marriage ceremonies there were dances with flaunting swords and daggers. The distinction between combatants and non-combatants is often marked at puberty. In Oman, boys wear a particular belt with a silver piece in the front at their waist so that they can get used to wear the khanjar when they are old enough, around the age of 10 (Elgood 1994: 30) (Figures 5.2 and 5.3). Omani men have been wearing the khanjar until recently, as a weapon and an ornament. It was considered an integral part of their everyday outfit and would be worn for most of the day. Today men still wear the Omani khanjar during social events such as weddings and engagements, or in religious celebrations, such as the Eid al-Fitir or Eid al-Adha. Another occasion to wear the dagger is during art performances like the AlRazha dance. This is the oldest sword dance in Oman in which male performers dressed with the dishdāshah and the Omani turban wear the khanjar and hold the straight saif with the terrs shield (Figure 5.4). Parts of the dagger The hilts are traditionally made of rhinoceros horn or elephant tusk, but other materials can also be used, such as for example water buffalo horn, cow horn, sandalwood, and bitter wood (Quassia amara). Rhinoceros horns were by far the preferred material because of their beauty and slightly translucent look (Figure 5.5). 86
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Moreover, it is a very solid material, and allows for the use of very close silver pins without splitting. It was extensively imported from Zanzibar. The local term of a rhinoceros is z’raff and this could be at the origin of the belief that also giraffe hoof was used, thus confusing it with the term ziraffah (giraffe), yet the use of giraffe hoof is unproven. Since rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks are not available anymore because of the CITES limitations, they have been replaced with synthetic materials. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon that rhinoceros hilts removed from old khanjars are reused on newly made daggers.30 Sandalwood is also valued for its fine-grain and fragrance. In addition, it has antimicrobial properties and cannot be gnawed by insects. The heated blade is secured to the hilt using a shellac imported from India and Pakistan,31 and then poured into the hilt cuff. This method allows for an easy replacement of this part of the dagger (Figure 5.6). A small utility knife with a silver handle (sikin) can be found in Al-Nizwani and Al-Saidi khanjar, normally worn in a leather wallet sewn to the back of the scabbard (Figure 5.7). The blades of these knives are usually European (Sheffield or Solingen) or Japanese (Seki).
a
Figure 5.5. Rhino horn hilt (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
b
c
d
Figure 5.6. Parts of the khanjar: (a) scabbard (shofh), (b) blade (naslah), (c) handle (maqbath), (d) ferrule (tood) (Oman National Museum, Photograph by V. Clarizia). 87
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Figure 5.7. Utility knife attached to the back of the scabbard (above, photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum; left, Private collection). The khanjar is attached to a belt (hizaq) made of leather or cloth and divided in two parts of different length. The cloth belt is often embroidered with geometric patterns sewn with silver threads. It can be 3 to 6 centimeters wide (Figure 5.8).
Figure 5.8. Cloth belt holding the khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
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Figure 5.9. The village postman at Ibri, 1951-61. The big AlNizwani khanjar is attached to a .303 caliber cartridge belt (Peyton 1983: 84).
The belt usually features circular silver studs that can be made of coins. Photographic evidence confirms that the use of embroidered belts was not the standard for men carrying rifles, and the khanjar was worn attached to the cartridge belt (Figures 5.9 and 5.10). The khanjar can also be worn tucked in a strip of fabric, called shāl, wrapped around the waist on the dishdāshah (Figure 5.11). The scabbard is made of two pieces of wood (shohf) carved in the center and glued together. The shape of the scabbard accentuates the curvature of the blade and is crooked to about 90 degrees. The wooden scabbard is covered in the front with sheepskin decorated with silver embroidering and colored threads. The rear of the scabbard is covered with a soft brushed broadcloth. The silver locket and the chape, decorated with silver carvings of Omani design - typically geometric or floral patterns- are placed on the scabbard. Their engravings of different shapes and decorations characterize and distinguish khanjar, and match with the ferrule of the blade (Figure 5.12). The silver works on Omani khanjars are considered as the best in Arabia as well as in the main silver working centers including Muscat, Nizwā, Rustāq, Ibrī, Sur, and Bahla (Elgood 1994: 78). In the past, silver was obtained by melting silver coins, mainly Maria Theresa thalers (qrsh) that contain 82% of fine silver.32 In order to join the scabbard and the belt, a rectangular ribbon (tems) made of cow leather is used; this is located in the middle of the khanjar under the locket. The belt holder is covered with a silver sheet and complete with two rings to attach the belt. Other rings are mounted on the scabbard and connected with twisted silver wires. Omani daggers can have four or seven rings on the scabbard.
Figure 5.10. Omani guide at Al-Hazam, 1951. Behind the AlNizwani khanjar, the utility knife (sakeen). A .303 Enfield SMLE Mk III rifle carried on the left shoulder in the traditional Omani way (Peyton 1983: 102). 89
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Figure 5.11. Khanjar worn tucked in a strip of fabric wrapped around the waist on the dishdāshah (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
Figure 5.12. Rear of the crooked scabbard covered with leather (left); Silver ferrule on the hilt (up) matching with the decoration of the chape and the locket (right) (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
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Figure 5.13. Omani daggers with four (left) or seven (right) rings on the scabbard. The left one has the conic studs called terrs on the two outer rings (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
Scabbards with seven rings are used in the Muscat region. In Al-Saidi and Al-Nizwani khanjars the two outer rings have conic studs called terrs because of their resemblance with the Omani shields (Figure 5.13). Some accessories can be attached to the belt, such as copper or silver tweezers (malqāt), used for different purposes, such as for example to remove thorns (Figure 5.14), and silver eyeliner (merwad) used by men to apply khul (mikhal) to their eyes to protect them from the sun (Figure 5.15). Types of Dagger There are different types of Omani khanjars which correspond to local variations and have specific characteristics that differentiate them from other Arabic daggers. The principal element that differentiates the types of khanjars is the shape and decoration of the handle. One type is the so-called Royal khanjar or Al-Saidi khanjar. This dagger is said to have been designed by a Persian wife of Sultan Said bin Sultan, who ruled from 1804 to 1856. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the handle that has silver cones on the rounded pommel, applied on each side and ending with silver balls. Three more silver balls are on the top part, in a crest. The hilt is covered with silver buttons, wires, and filigree works that can cover the entire handle or leave some parts uncovered thus exposing the hilt material. This kind of khanjar usually has seven silver rings on the scabbard connected with silver wires in the form of a strand of twisted wires. The belt is attached to the two outer rings that have a conical head shape called terrs (shield). A variant of this dagger usually used outside Muscat only has four rings located in the area of the belt holder of the scabbard. 91
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Figure 5.14. Copper or silver tweezers (malqāt) used for different purposes (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum). Figure 5.15. Silver eyeliner (merwad) with the silver holder of khul (mikhal), shaped like a cartridge. It is linked with a small chain to the longer part of the belt.
The silver locket is decorated with rectangular motifs surrounding a circular shape in the middle that resemble mulberry fruits. A variant in the decoration presents parallel straight lines followed by wavy and floral motifs. The scabbard cover is usually made with silver sheet decorated with geometrical or floral motifs. Sometimes on the top of the chape there is a silver attachment to the belt (Figures 5.16 to 5.18). This khanjar is worn straight in the center of the body (Figure 5.19). Before the introduction of the Al-Saidi khanjar, the same structure and design was used with a different hilt (Figure 5.20). Another type of Omani khanjar has a double T-shaped hilt and some local variations in the decoration. The more common example of this type originated in the town of Nizwā, in the Ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate, which was one of the main centers for the manufacture of khanjars, namely Al-Nizwani. 92
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Figure 5.16. Al-Saidi khanjar. At the left the type with the handle partially covered. At the center and right the type with the handle completely covered with filigree works and wires. The locket is typically decorated with arabesque of square motifs surrounding a circle. The seven rings denote its provenance from the Muscat area. On the chape the silver attachment to the belt (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
Figure 5.17. Variant of Al-Saidi khanjar with the scabbard covered with strings. The four rings indicate an origin outside Muscat. The silver chape shows the resemblance with a dome from which its name qubb (photographs by V. Clarizia, private collection).
Figure 5.18. This khanjar is also covered with strings on the scabbard. It has four rings without the studs on the outer ones (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait AlZubair Museum).
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Figure 5.19. Wali Mohamed bin Salim, East African official for Germany, formerly a Sultan, wearing an AlSaidi khanjar and a guardless saif sword in Tanganyika, 1902 (Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection). The T-shaped handle is covered by a thin sheet of silver only in the front to leave the material of the handle clearly visible (Figure 5.21). The belt holder has a slope, therefore the dagger slants when worn in the middle of the body. There are usually four rings on the belt holder, and the two outer rings have conical heads. The decoration of the cover of the scabbard is mainly with curled leaf patterns (Figure 5.22). A variant is the Al-Batini khanjar, named after Al-Batinah Governorate. It is smaller than the AlNizwani and may have the handle made of ivory and decorated with silver pins. Like the Al-Nizwani khanjar, it has four rings and no conical heads.
Figure 5.20. Two examples of khanjars from Al-Wusta Governorate. They show the same features of Al-Saidi khanjar but with a different handle. The two buttons on the handle are called shams that means sun (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum). 94
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Figure 5.21. Al-Nizwani khanjar hilt (courtesy Czerny’s International Auction House).
Figure 5.22. Two examples of Al-Nizwani khanjar (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum, left; private collection, right). 95
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Figure 5.23. Modern Al-Batini khanjar showing the Omani National Emblem in the decoration. The plastic of the handle imitates ivory (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
Figure 5.24. Old Al-Batini khanjar with horn handle (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
Figure 5.25. Old Al-Suri khanjar with embroidered leather covered scabbard and rhinoceros horn handle (photograph by V. Clarizia, private collection).
Figure 5.26.Al-Suri khanjar with the scabbard covered with leather embroidered with silver and gold threads of simple design. The studs of the leather belt are made with coins (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum). 96
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Figure 5.27. Al-Ganobi khanjar with gold decorations (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Bait Al-Zubair Museum).
Figure 5.28. Al-Hanshiah khanjar. The hardwood hilt decorated with solid silver work; the front side studded with small silver nails (www.pinterest.com).
The belt holder is straight, and it is worn on the left. The scabbard is decorated with sewn silver wires (Figures 5.23 and 5.24). The smallest of the Omani daggers is called Al-Suri after the city of Sur, located in Ash-Sharqiyah Governorate. For its dimension and light weight it is suitable for use on dhows.33 The handle can have the usual thin sheet of silver, as in the Al-Nizwani, or a decoration made of a small silver plate (often embossed), ringed in the middle of the grip with two rosettes at the top and the bottom of the handle in the form of a sun and called shams (sun). The decoration of the scabbard can exhibit silver and gold wires. This dagger has four rings and a straight belt holder (Figure 5.25 and 5.26). In the Dhofar Governorate in the south of the Oman, near the border with Yemen, another type of dagger can be found: it is the so called Al-Ganobi khanjar. This type of khanjar has a different shape than other Omani daggers, and clearly resembles the jambyya of Hijiaz. The hilt has a less pronounced T-shape and can be decorated like the Al-Nizwani or the Al-Suri khanjars. The scabbard is fully covered with silver embossed sheet and directly joined with the simple leather belt, without scabbard holder and rings (Figure 5.27). A smaller and lighter version of the Al-Ganobi khanjar, used by the inhabitants of the desert in the AshSharqiyah Governorate, is called Al-Hanshiah khanjar. The main difference with the Al-Ganobi khanjar is that the scabbard is covered with undecorated leather. The dagger is worn inserting the scabbard between two undecorated leather belts (Figure 5.28). 97
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Plate 5.1. Al-Saidi Khanjar
(Total length 31.5 cm)
(Total length 30 cm)
A khanjar of Al-Saidi type with seven rings on the scabbard. The locket has the geometric design of the Muscat khanjars. The hilt is partially covered with the silver works. To note the lack of the conical terrs on the outer rings. When Al-Saidi hilt took place didn’t affected the shape of the scabbard that maintained the existing style of the region.
A variant of Al-Saidi khanjar from the region of Salalah in the Dhofar Governorate. The hilt is made of ivory.
Hermann Historica International Auctions.
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Private collection.
Omani Daggers
Plate 5.2. Al-Wusta Khanjar
(Total length 30.5 cm) Al-Wusta khanjar with a rhino horn handle of the type locally called Al-Sifani. This type of handle is named after the Bani Saif family. This type of khanjar pre-dates the Royal khanjar. Hermann Historica International Auctions.
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Plate 5.3. Goldened Khanjar
Two khanjars with gold decoration. The use of gold instead of silver in the decoration was extremely rare and only people with high status could afford them. Gold was seldom used only to decorate limited areas of the silver mountings. The presence of gold suggests that the khanjars were probably made in Sur. Bait Al-Zubair Museum.
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Plate 5.4. Al-Nizwani Khanjar
(Total length 31.5 cm) Al-Nizwani khanjar with rhino horn handle. Ferrule and locket with floral gold decorations. The partially silver mounted back with chased maker’s signature. The scabbard with elaborate gold and silver wire embroidery with the so called “Bedu eye”. Hermann Historica International Auctions.
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Plate 5.5. Al-Suri Khanjar
On the blade of this Al-Suri khanjar is visible a hole made by a bullet. The owner of this dagger was a warrior in the Jebel Akhdar war in Oman (1954-1957). While he was fighting his ammo finished. Because he heard a shot he immediately draws the blade and the bullet hit into the blade saving his life. On the back of the ferrule is incised the name “Saif”, probably the name of the owner. Private collection.
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Plate 5.6. Al-Batini Khanjar
(Total length 30.5 cm) An Al-Batini khanjar with ivory handle. The hilt with silver mounts chased on both sides with flowers. The belt holder with four rings decorated en suite with the chape with geometrical pattern. Hermann Historica International Auctions.
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Plate 5.7. Sikin Knives Utility knives (sikin) with curved blades probably of the older type. The hilts are richly decorated with silver works. Bait Al-Zubair Museum.
Knife with the hilt covered with silver woven wires and a western straight blade. Private collection.
A sikin with the leather belt that was attached to the rear of the khanjar’s scabbard with a small silver wire. The blade was made by the Solingen firm Herder. The still existing Friedr. Herder Abr. Sohn GmbH. started to produce knives in 1650 and since 1800 Herder knives were introduced in the Malay Archipelago by the Dutch East India Company. Since then the Tjap Garpu (Fork Brand) trademark became famous in the Near and Far East. Bait Al-Zubair Museum. ... ...
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A silver elaborated hilted knife in the Bait AlZubair Museum (left) compared with a Yemeni sikin (below).
Bait Al-Zubair Museum.
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Plate 5.8. Silver Holders Mikhal
A selection of silver holder of khul (mikhal), shaped like a cartridge. They are made of solid cast silver and joined to the belt with a silver chain. The first two have a silver ring with the terrs stud. Khul (or khol) is an ancient eye cosmetic based on lead sulphide. Was used by men applying it to the eyes with the eyeliner to protect them from the sun rays. It was probably also effective against conjunctivitis. Bait Al-Zubair Museum.
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Chapter 6
Omani Axes
The axe is one of the oldest hand tools used by man. The first axes were made from stone in the Neolithic Period or around 9500 BC. Around 6000 BC a handle was added to the stone head by fastening a piece of wood to the stone. As technology developed, axes were made from metals such as copper, bronze, iron, and eventually steel. An eye added to the axe head to insert the handle made the tool sturdier and more dependable. The axe has two primary components: the axe head, and the handle. The axe head is typically bounded by the bit (or blade) at one end, and the poll (or butt) at the other. Either side of the head is called the cheek, and the hole where the handle is mounted is called the eye (Figure 6.1). In Oman there are two typical small axes that slightly differ: one is used in the Musandam peninsula and is called jerz, while the other is used in the Wahiba sands and is called qaddum (Figure 6.2). The origins of these axes likely date back to the Bronze Age, as demonstrated by their resemblance with Luristan axes (Figure 6.3). Similar small axes have been excavated in Oman and the Emirates dating from the second to the first millennium BC, of which the jerz can be considered the last descendant, with a cultural continuity of 4000 years (Costa 1993: 158). The jerz was (and still is) in use in the Musandam peninsula by men of the Shiḥuḥ tribe. It has a wooden shaft of 80-90 cm and 2 centimeters in diameter, with a small engraved steel axe head and a cutting edge normally between 2 and 4 centimeters. A brass ring is placed at the bottom of the shaft to protect it from wear. The typical inlaid brass strips and incised bands of decoration distinguish the jerz and have no parallel in Oman. In the past, prayers were inserted into the jerz to cast evil spirits away.
Axe head
Cheek
Poll or Butt
Eye
Blade
Handle or Haft
Figure 6.1. Parts of the axe.
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Figure 6.2. Small Omani axes from the Musandam peninsula called jerz (left) and from the Wahiba sands called qaddum (right) (photograph by V. Clarizia, Madha Museum).
The ornamentation of the blade of the jerz usually had geometrical designs like zigzag and chevron stripes. Jerz shafts were made of mizi wood – Arabian almond (Prunus arabica) or sidr wood or lotus jujube (Ziziphus spinachristi) – which is quite common in the Arabian Peninsula. The handle is often decorated by cutting lines and crosses into the wood. The jerz was carried by Shiḥuḥ men as a symbol of manhood like the khanjar is worn in other parts of the country. The Shiḥuḥ is a semi-nomadic tribe inhabiting the remote mountainous area of the Musandam Peninsula facing the Strait of Hormuz.34 They are believed to have come from Persia and speak a language that is a mixture of Persian and Arabic (Kay 1987: 59). Their axe was clearly intended as a tool, more than a weapon. The Shiḥuḥ used the jerz as a walking stick with the metal head held in hand to climb the mountains of Musandam and it has the same function of an alpenstock. Likewise, its blade is useful to chop the firewood and to carry heavy bags up the slopes, holding it as a prop over the shoulder. It could be used as a weapon to defend against the attacks of wild beasts that were present in the area (caracal, lynx, and leopards) as well as snakes or scorpions. Consequently, the combination of walking stick, carrying stick and weapon made it a useful tool in the rough mountains of Musandam. In 1930 Thomas described them during a minor rebellion against the Sultan as follows: “each one of them bristling with arms, the inevitable Martini Henry and a curious miniature axe peculiar to the tribe, as well as a double bladed sword or an occasional spear” (Thomas 1931: 226).
Figure 6.3. Bronze axe heads from Luristan (Iran) (www.icollector.com). 108
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Figure 6.4. Modern workshop for jerz in the Musandam (Oman Observer 30th December 2003).
Despite the small size of the head, these axes were far more effective as weapons than their appearance could suggest, but they cannot be confused or considered as war axes as the two terms commonly used by the Arabs for a war axe were tabarzin and tabar, both of which are of Persian origin.35 Instead, the word jerz is commonly said to have derived from the Persian gurz, that is the general Persian word for a mace. The term jurz36 was used by Muslim historians Dīnawarī and Al-Ṭabarī for a knobbed mace,37 part of a Sasanian horseman’s equipment and entirely made of iron, which was most probably the same of the Persian gurz. It is likely that the jerz originated as a tool or a mace and retained its original name and form from the gurz, given the isolation of the people living in Musandam and considering that Persia was the nearest trading area by the sea, since lacking roads and high cliffs made overland contacts difficult until a few decades ago.
Figure 6.5. Modern qaddum from Sinaw in Ash-Sharqiyah Governorate (www.vikingsword.com). 109
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These axes were manufactured with the traditional forging method until some years ago. They were made in the town of Limah, using steel from scraps and brass from melted cartridge cases (Elgood 1994: 35), but the last of the old jerz makers died in the 1986 (Costa 1991). Cheap versions are now being imported from India and Pakistan, but they lack the quality of the locally made product. Since 2003, however, jerz have been again made by the forge in Khasab (Figure 6.4). The other axe found in Oman is used by the Bedu, the nomadic inhabitants of the Wahiba Sands in Northeast Oman and is called qaddum (Richardson and Dorr 2003: 78-79). While the jerz is ornamented with brass (and sometimes silver) inlays, the qaddum is made of plain steel without incisions or ornaments. It is carried by the Wahiba tribesmen on camel back and used as a camel stick and defensive weapon. The shaft is made of ghaf wood (Prosopis cineraria), the only woody species common there. The length of the handle and the dimension of the axe head is quite the same in the qaddum as in the jerz. The shape of this axe and its resemblance with the jerz suggests a common origin, later differentiating in the decoration. The qaddum are made in the town of Sinaw in the Ash-Sharqiyah North Governorate (Figure 6.5).
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Plate 6.1. Axe Jerz
(Total length 91.5 cm, Head length 8.2 cm, Cutting edge 3.6 cm) Jerz axe of the second half of the 20th century probably made in the town of Limah, Musandam. The steel blade has the usual stripes and chevrons decoration with brass inserts. The red wooden shaft is likely of Arabian almond (mizi). Brass cap and ferrule. National Museum, Muscat.
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Plate 6.2. Axes Jerz Different types of the head’s decoration in this group of jerz from early to mid-20th century in a private collection in Madha.
(Total length 85 cm, Head length 8.4 cm, Cutting edge 3.5 cm)
(Total length 85 cm, Head length 10.7 cm, Cutting edge 4 cm)
Hand forged iron jerz with hammer head. Geometrical patterns on the blade. Wooden shaft with brass cap and ferrule.
(Total length 76.5 cm, Head length 7.7 cm, Cutting edge 3 cm) Hand forged iron jerz with hammer head. Brass inlay and geometrical decorations. Dated 1948 on the blade. The handle is probably made of sidr wood (Ziziphus spinachristi). The brass for the inlay came from melted cartridge cases.
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Plate 6.3. Axe Jerz
(Total length 83.5 cm, Head length 8 cm, Cutting edge 3.9 cm) Brass head with hammer. Geometrical patterns on the blade. Shaft of sidr wood with iron cap and ferrule. Madha Museum.
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Plate 6.4. Axes Qaddum Some other axes and qaddum in a private collection in Madha.
(Total length 80.5 cm, Head length 9 cm, Cutting edge 4.7 cm)
(Total length 83 cm, Head length 6.8 cm, Cutting edge 2.4 cm)
Brass axe with hammer head. Geometrical and floral patterns on the blade. Wooden shaft with incisions and brass cap. This axe was likely made in India or Pakistan. The cutting edge is larger than in the usual jerz.
Hand forged iron qaddum with hammer head. Simple geometrical patterns on the blade. Wooden shaft with brass cap and ferrule.
(Total length 82 cm, Head length 8.2 cm, Cutting edge 3.2 cm)
(Total length 84 cm, Head length 9.5 cm, Cutting edge 3.5 cm)
Crudely hand forged iron axe. Wooden shaft with iron cap and ferrule.
Hand forged iron qaddum. On the blade the inscription “Allaha Akbar”. Wooden shaft with brass cap and ferrule.
Madha Museum.
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Chapter 7
Omani Spears and Lances
The spear is one of the oldest weapons used by humans. The first spear was merely a sharpened stick with a fire-hardened tip. For centuries spears and bows were the most common weapons of tribesmen in the Arabian Peninsula and were still in use well after matchlocks were introduced (Figure 7.1). Traditionally, the Bedouins fought as raiders looking for loot rather than conquest. Raids brought honor to victorious warriors, as well as livestock and goods for their tribes. The long lance was useful on raids also to guide the captured livestock (Figures 7.2 and 7.3). The shafted pole weapons differ in size and method of use and assume different names: javelin, spear, lance. A javelin (mizark) is a small throwing weapon; a spear (shalfa) is a medium sized pole weapon that can be used both for throwing and thrusting, while a lance (rumh) is a longer, heavier pole weapon used only for thrusting, often from horseback. Spears and javelins are light enough to be thrown from a distance; the length of a spear is around two meters, while lances can be three meters or more.
Figure 7.1. Al-Harith travelling, Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, Manuscript Arabe 3929, 2nd quarter of 13th century, Folio 41 Recto: maqama 19 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
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Figure 7.2. Bedouins with lance (www.vikingsword.com). The head of these pole arms is made of iron or steel and can differ in shape and size. The shaft is made of hard wood or bamboo and has an iron spike at the bottom with the function to stick the weapon in the ground for resting and to counterbalance the head. In 1830, Burckhardt (1831: 30) wrote that the most common weapons of the Arabs were their lances. In 1835, Wellstead (1838: 198) described the lances used in Oman as “about 15 feet in length, ornamented with a tuft of red and black feathers. It is never thrown”. In the same work, in his description of typical Arab weaponry on the West coast at Rābigh, he claimed that “Their weapons consist of a spear about eight foot in length, pointed at both ends, a jambir, or a large crooked dagger of a semicircular shape, with a broad blade, a matchlock gun, having a barrel of extraordinary length; and sometimes a long sharp double edged sword” (Wellstead 1838: 258). In addition to the long lance used from a camel or a horse, there were shorter spears and javelins which varied in length according to the area of their use among the different tribes. In Oman, Palgrave (1865-1866: 310) described his meeting with men armed with a short javelin or spear, and daggers enriched with beautiful silver filigree work and small round targets slung on their backs. In the Mahdi’s army at the beginning of the revolt firearms were forbidden and the only weapons used were swords, sticks and lances to follow the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).38 Musil (1928: 132) observed that spear, sword and dagger still survived before the First World War among the Rwala Bedouins in Saudi Arabia. Figure 7.3. Bedouin on camel with lance (www.pinterest.com).
116
Omani Spears and Lances
He offered a good description of the parts of a spear: “The spear (rumh) consists of a steel or iron blade sharpened on both edges and a wooden shaft (‘ud). The blade is either broad, in which case it is called shalfa, or narrow, harba. The shalfa either is brought from Persia […] or is a common one made by a blacksmith from iron […].The sharpened edge of the shalfa or harba is called ‘asla; the lower end driven into the wooden shaft, gibb. For the shaft (‘ud) either a thin but strong piece of wood (‘erc) or a thick piece (sacri) is used; shaft are also made from a hollow bamboo-reed, ksuba[…]. The lower end of the shaft is provided with an iron point (kuntar), so that the spear can stuck in the ground […]. Sometimes the spear is ornamented with ostrich feathers or thin chains fastened to the gibb”. Spear and lance heads were in general made by local smiths. Sometimes spear or lance heads were imported from Persia or India. Nowadays spears are quite rare to find in Oman as well as in the Arabian Peninsula, probably because rifles made them obsolete at the end of the 19th century also among the tribesmen, and thus they fell into disuse. Another reason for their disappearance is probably related to their lack of appeal compared to other weapons. This particularly applies to the locally made spears. Fortunately, a small number of spears are preserved in museums in Muscat.
Plate 7.1. Lance Head
(Length 36 cm) Indo-Persian lance head with a lozenge shaped blade. The thick central rib makes the blade more rigid and suitable for thrusting. The socket (gibb) is decorated with geometric patterns. National Museum, Muscat.
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Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
Plate 7.2. Spears
(Spear length 38 cm, Total length 218 cm) Lance or spear head of lozenge form with a central rib mounted with a spear wooden shaft. This two-edged blade is called locally shalfa. Its shape was common in all the Islamic Asia, from Türkiye to Mughal India. A similar lance head is stored in the Riyadh National Museum in the King Abdul Aziz Memorial Hall among the weapons owned by the King.
(Spear length 38 cm, Total length 218 cm) A late 18th – 19th century Indo-Persian spear or lance head shalfa. Traces of silver gilding at the base of the blade. Hexagonal socket with a ball connected to the blade. Wooden shaft.
(Spear length 37 cm, Total length 199 cm) Wide two edges blade spear (shalfa) with central groove. Wooden shaft. National Museum, Muscat.
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Omani Spears and Lances
Plate 7.3. Spears A group of spears stored in the National Museum of Muscat with a four-edged spiked head (harba). Some of them have a rounded bar at the base of the socket to prevent too deep a penetration of the spear. Only two retain the shoe (kuntar) at the bottom of the shaft. These spears could be used both for hunting and fight.
Spear 42 cm Total 200 cm
Spear 42 cm Ferrule 22 cm Total 200 cm
Spear 37 cm Total 200 cm
Spear 45 cm Total 190 cm
Spear 42 cm Ferrule 17 cm Total 200 cm
Spear 38 cm Total 208 cm
National Museum, Muscat.
119
Endnotes
Ottoman historian Qutb Al-Din reported that in the mid-15th century seaman and cartographer Ahmad ibn Mājid, born in 1421, helped the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama to complete the first all water trade route between Europe and India by using an Arab map then unknown to European sailors. 1
The ancient techniques to produce iron required great quantities of wood: 150 cubic meters of carbon wood were necessary to produce 10 kilos of iron. 2
Abu Yūsuf Yaqūb ibn Isḥāq Aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ Al-Kindī, born in Basra in the 9th century, wrote an important treatise for the Abbasid Caliph on swords and their properties entitled “Risaala Ilaa Ba’dhkhwaanii Fi’lsuyuf”, which is the earliest account of Islamic swords to have survived. 3
4
Ankaburda was the Arab name of Lombardy in Italy.
5
Twenty thousand pair of eyes were presented to Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (Elgood: 2).
Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyā ibn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd Al-Qazwīnī (1203–1283) was an Arab or Persian physician, astronomer, geographer and writer. 6
Sometimes knives longer than swords were the single-edged khopesh from Egypt, the makhaira and kopis from Greece, and the falcata from the Iberian Peninsula. 7
The Ikhwan army was defeated in 1930 in Arabia, in a battle like those of the 7th century with large use of swords and spears.
8
“Allāh has ninety-nine Names; one hundred less one; and he who memorized them all by heart will enter paradise” (Al-Bukārī, vol. 9: 363). 9
10
Sixty-four names are used on a cuirass now housed in the Metropolitan Museum (acc. no. 36.25.18).
Arabs nicknamed the sabers al-aclaf, literally meaning “the uncircumcised”, thus demonstrating an aversion for them (Shihab Al-Sarraf: 169). 11
Al-Maqāmatis is the title of a book written by Abū Muhammad Al-Qāsim ibn Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Uthmān Al-Harīrī (1054-1122), an Arab poet, a scholar of the Arabic language, and a government official of the Seljuk Empire, born in Basra. The book contains fifty relatively short stories (maquamat = “settings” or “sessions”), each one identified by the name of a city in the Muslim world of the time.
12
Oman converted to Islam in the mid-7th century and adopted the Ibadi sect style in the 8th century. Consequently, the Omanis were attacked and subjugated by the Abbasid dynasty which sent troops from Baghdad in the 8th and 9th centuries. Their leader, Jabir ibn Zayd Al-Zahrani Al-Azdi, had originally come to Iraq from Oman and as he returned to Oman he could have personally transferred the weapon technology to Oman in the early to mid-8th century. 13
This cavalry sword was introduced by the Berber tribes of Benu Marin moving to the Iberian Peninsula during the 12th and the 13th centuries. The term jinete comes from Zenata, the tribe from which many of the Berber soldiers of both Granada and Morocco originated. Their light cavalry tactics were adopted first by the native Andalusian troops of Granada, then by their Iberian foes. 14
120
Endnotes
The Nasrid Dynasty was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. It rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad dynasty in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Twenty-three different emirs ruled Granada from the foundation of the dynasty until 1492, when Muhammad XII surrendered to the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon and Castile.
15
Fort Jesus at Mombasa (Kenya) was captured in 1665, and Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate in 1698. 16
“The coast of Zanguebar is a vast country of the East Africa extending on the Indian sea composed of a great number of states among which can be mentioned those of Mogadishu, Meliade, Zanzibar and Quiloa. The inhabitants speak Kaffir and many of them are Arabs” (Demmin 1869: 417). 17
It should be noted that Oman has been essentially divided in two countries for centuries, with very few contacts between the interior regions and the coastal area, and even in the mid-20th century it was still known as Muscat and Oman. Muscat was the capital of the coast while the seat of power in the interior was located at Nizwā. As a matter of fact, in the early ‘60s of the 20th century Omanis from the coast were not allowed to travel in the interior and conversely Omanis from the interior could not travel to the coast without permission (Peyton 1983: 15).
18
The shashka is a sword with a long blade, a small curvature, and a guardless hilt used by the Circassians. After 1850 it was adopted by the Russian Cossacks fighting in the Caucasus for the Tsar.
19
The Caucasus is a region in Eurasia bordered by Russia on the north, the Black Sea on the southwest, the Caspian Sea on the east, and Iran on the south. As a crossroad of civilization, the Caucasus was influenced by many cultures but fiercely retained its individuality thanks to strong warlike traditions. Today, it is a region that includes the countries of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, as well as parts of Russia. Notable among the Russian areas is Dagestan (“Land of Mountains”), a historically important center for fine arms in pre-Islamic times. 20
At the beginning of the 15th century Venice, in constant relationship with the East, was sending all possible weapons to the Saracens “to the great scandal of Christianity” (Mandrion; 213). 21
22
The earliest known examples of the Sinhalese kastane hilt date back to the early 17th century.
The relation between the Arabs and Ceylon were established well before Islam, and scientist Al-Kindī (ca. 801-866) quotes Sarandibi swords, made from a mixture of iron imported from Sarandib (Ceylon / Sri Lanka).
23
The Janissaries were an elite infantry unit whose members were recruited among young Christians living in the Ottoman empire and trained with a strict discipline; Sphai were the free born Ottoman Turkish cavalry troops. 24
25
The Arabs learned to make saif from Syria, and hybrid characteristics can be found in early examples.
A shield boss is a round, convex, or conical piece of material in the centre of a shield. The boss was originally designed to deflect blows from the centre of round shields. 26
Rhinoceros hide and horn were an important asset in 19th century trade among Zanzibar, the Arabian Peninsula, Baluchistan and India. 27
This would confirm the fact that the saif Yamani swords remained in use in the internal regions of Oman while the new saif swords imported from Zanzibar were used in the coast line.
28
29
The end of the chape is called qoba’a like the dome of a Mosque.
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Another source of rhinoceros hilts seems to have been from Ethiopian swords shotel, largely imported and dismantled using their rhinoceros hilts on the khanjar and their blades for the guardless saif. 30
31
It is an organic resin secreted by an insect of the mealy bugs family (Kerria lacca).
The 1780 Maria Theresa thaler was the most renowned and popular silver coin in the Arab world. It was common from North Africa to East Africa to Tanzania, and used as currency in large parts of Africa and the Muslim areas of Asia and India until after the Second World War. It was used in Muscat and Oman up until the 1970s as a local trading currency along with the Indian Rupee before the modern Omani banking system was implemented. 32
The city on the coast of the Sea of Oman was an established trade centre with India and East Africa. Today Sur has retained its reputation as a major dhow-building town.
33
34
Members of this tribe are also in the Omani enclave of Madha and some areas of Ras Al-Khaimah.
Thanks to the relatively long shaft and the light weight of the head they can rotate at a high speed, concentrating the kinetic energy in a small area when hitting a target.
35
Arab linguists and philologists unanimously agree that the term jurz (pl. jiraza) is a purely Arabic word meaning, amongst other things, “hard, solid, strong, and thick” (Shihab Al-Sarraf: 159). 36
Abū Ḥanīfah Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd Dīnawarī (815–896) was an Islamic astronomer, agriculturist, botanist, metallurgist, geographer, mathematician, and historian. He was born in the region of Dinawar, in modern-day western Iran. He is the author of a “General History” entitled Al-Akhbār al-Tiwāl. Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazid Al-Ṭabarī (839–923) was a prominent and influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Holy Quran from Tabaristan, the modern Māzandarān Province in Iran. He wrote an historical chronicle, Tarikh al-Rusulwa al-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings), often referred to as Tarikh al-Tabari (AlSarraf: 158). 37
From 1881 to 1898 a revolt was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese headed by the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allāh, who had proclaimed himself the Mahdi of Islam (the “Guided One”), and the Egyptian and British forces.
38
122
Bibliography
AL-ABBĀSĪ, Al-Hasan b. ‘Abdallāh, 1989. Āthār al-Uwal fi Tārtīb al-Duwal. Beyrut, Dār al-Jīl. AL-BALĀDHURĪ, Ahmad b. Yahyā 1959. Ansab al-Ashraf. Cairo, M. Hamidullah ed. AL-BUKHĀRĪ, Muhammad b. Ismāīl 1987. Sahih al-Bukhari (9 volumes). New Dehli, Muhammad Muhsin Khan ed. ALEXANDER, D. 2001. Swords and sabers during the early Islamic period. Gladius 21: 193-220. ALEXANDER, D. 2002. Jihad and Islamic Arms and Armour. Gladius 22: 201-234. AL-MAYDĀNĪ, Abūl-Fazl al-Nišāburi1967. Al-Samī fi’l-asāmi. Cairo, M.M. Al-Hindawī ed. AL-SARRAF, Shihab 2002. Close combat weapons in the early Abbāsid period: Maces, Axes and Swords. In D. Nicolle (ed.), A Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour. Woodbridge UK & Rochester NY, Boydell Press. AL-ṬABARĪ, Abii Ja’far Muhammad b. Jarir 1989. The Early Abbasī Empire, Vol. 2 (tr. John Alden Williams). Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. BASHIR, Mohamed 2008. The arts of the Muslim knight: the Furusiyya Art Foundation collection. Milan, Skira. BURCKHARDT, J. L. 1831. Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys collected during his travels in the East by the late John Lewis Burckhardt, 2 Volumes. London, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. BURCKHARDT, J. L. 1822. Travels in Nubia. London, John Murray. BUTTIN, C. & F. Buttin 1933. Catalogue de la collection d’armes anciennes européennes et orientales de Charles Buttin. Rumilly. COSTA, P. M. 1991. Musandam. Architecture and material culture of a little known region of Oman. London, Immel publishing. COSTA, P. M. 1993. Musandam: an Ethno-Archaelogical Appreciation, In New Arabian Studies Vol.1. Exeter, University of Exeter Press CRONAU, R. 1885. Geschichte der Solinger Klingenindustrie. Stuttgart, Kröner. DEMMIN, A. 1869. Guides des Amateurs d’Armes et Armures Anciennes par ordre chronologique depuis les temps les plus recules jusqu’a nos jours. Paris, Librairie de Ve Jules Renouard. EGERTON, W. (Lord of Tatton) 2002. Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour. Mineola, NY, Dover Publications.
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Index
.303 cartridge, 89 Abbasid Caliphate, 4, 7, 10, 11, 120 Abdul Guaid (Ambassador), 56 Abū Abdullah Muhammad XII, 15 Abu Dhabi Emirate, 3 Abū Zayd, 13, 14 Abyssinia, 27, 79 Achaemenid Empire, 1 Ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate (Oman), 25, 92 Afghanistan, 3, 7 Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, 3, 120 Agra (India), 2 Ahmad ibn Mājid, 120 al-’Adb sword, 7 Al-Abbāsī, Al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Abd Allāh, 3 Al-Aḥsā Oasis (Saudi Arabia), 84 Al-Ain (UAE), 3 Al-Akhbār al-Tiwāl, 122 Alans, 4 Al-Azdi, Jabir ibn Zayd Al-Zahrani, 120 Al-Batinah Governorate (Oman), 94 Al-Busaid, Sultan Sayyid Ali bin Hamud, 74 Al-Busaid, Sultan Sayyid Hamad bin Thuwaini, 72 Al-Busaid, Sultan Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash, 26 Algeria, 55 Al-Harīrī, Abū Muhammad AlQāsim ibn Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Uthmān, 120 Al-Harith, 115 Al-Hazam (Oman), 89 Al-Hinai, Sheikh Mubarak bin Ali, 75 Al-Kindī, Abū Yūsuf Yaqūb ibn Isḥāq Aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ, 1, 2, 4, 10, 120 Al-Mansūr (Abbasid Caliph), 11 Al-Maqāmatis, 120 al-Ma’thur sword, 7 al-Mikhdham sword, 7 almond, 108, 111 —almond, mizi, 108, 111 Al-Mutaṣim, Abbasid Caliph, 4 al-Qadib sword, 7 Al-Qazwīnī, Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyā ibn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd, 120 al-Rasub sword, 7 Al-Razha, dance, 86, 127 Al-Said, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, 26, 28
Al-Said, Sultan Said bin Taimur, 28 Al-Said, Sultan Sayyid Khalifa II bin Harub, 37 Al-Ṭabarī, 122 Al-Wattiyah (Oman), 1 Al-Wusta Governorate (Oman), 94, 99, 127 Amharic language, 69 Amuzghi (Daghestan), 45 Anatolia, 4, 169, 170 Andalusia (Spain), 7 Anglo-Zanzibar War, 26 Ankaburda (Lombardy, Italy), 120 annealing, 5 antimony, xv arabesque decoration, 28, 93 Arabian Peninsula, 1, 3, 7, 9, 38, 45, 72, 75, 84, 86, 108, 115, 117, 121 Arabistan, 10 Aragon (Spain), 121 Armenia, 121 Asadullah Isfhani (swordsmith), 70 Ash-Sharqiyah Governorate (Oman), 97, 109, 110 Austria, 36 axe, xv, 107-114 — jerz, 107-114 — qaddum, 107-110, 114 Azd tribe, 10 Azerbaijan, 121 Baghdad (Iraq), 11 Bahla (Oman), 89 baldric, 6, 11, 25, 27, 56, 61, 67 Baluchistan, 9, 10, 18, 121 Bani bu Ali (Oman), 28, 127 barzil (iron), xv Basra (Iraq), 2, 10, 120 Bedouins, 25, 79, 115, 116 belt, 6, 11, 27, 85-97, 103, 104, 106 — hizaq, 88 — shāl, 89 Beni-mʾ-hhacen tribe, 80 Benu Marin tribe, 121 Berbers, 121 billet, 5 Black Sea, 121 blacksmiths, 4 blade, 3-11, 16-25, 28-30, 35-54, 60, 63-79, 84-89, 102, 104, 107, 108, 111-121 — abu falaj, 30 — double-edged, 2-11, 16-20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 36-38, 55, 70, 84
— naslah, 87 — single-edged, 4-7, 11, 45, 55, 60, 61, 66, 68, 69, 120 Blades Road, 2 brass, 5, 28, 53, 55, 61, 62, 78, 79, 81, 83, 107, 110-114 Bronze Age, 4, 107 bronze, xv, 107, 108 buckler, 79 Byzantine Empire, 7, 11 Cairo (Egypt), 2, 3, 28 camel, 110, 116 cartridge, 89, 92, 106, 110, 112 Caucasus, xv, 2-4, 45-51, 59, 63-65, 72, 121 cavalry, 15, 45, 52, 61, 67, 72, 73, 76, 121 Central Asia, 4, 7, 23, 26, 127, 165 Ceylon, 2, 7, 55, 121 chape, 5, 6, 16, 22, 35-38, 43, 44, 47-51, 54, 63-65, 73-76, 89-93, 103, 122 — qubb, 93, 127 Chechnya, 36, 53 China, 1, 4, 27, 164 Circassians, 45, 59, 72, 121 coins, 27, 89, 96, 127 collar, 9, 10, 20, 127 Constantinople, 2 copper, xv, 1, 91, 92, 107 Copts, 11, 12 Coromandel (India), 3 cosmetics, 106 Cossacks, 45, 59, 121 crescent motif, 31 Crete, 4 cross motif, 6, 9, 28, 31, 47, 79, 120 crossguard, 6, 55, 71, 120 Dagestan, 45, 121 dagger, xv, 3, 84-91, 97, 116 — cinquedea, 84 — jambyya, 84, 97 — khanjar, iv, 28, 46, 80, 84-104, 108, 122. See also khanjar Damascus (Syria), 1, 2, 3, 70 dance, 29, 39, 86, — Al-Razha, 86 — funun, 29, 43 debole, 6 deer, 31 dhows, 1, 27, 97 Dīnawarī, Abū Ḥanīfah Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd, 122
127
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
dishdāshah, 86, 89, 90 dragon motif, 11 Dhu al-Faqar sword, 7 Dutch East India Company, 104 East Africa, 1, 25, 27, 38, 55, 75, 94, 121, 122 Egypt, xv, 3, 7, 25, 28, 120 elephant, 86, 87 embroidery decoration, 32, 101 Erzurum (Türkiye), 2 Ethiopia, 26, 69, 122 Europe, 3, 4, 9, 17, 20, 27-30, 36-42, 45-50, 52, 53, 55, 61, 63, 64, 72, 73, 74, 76, 79, 87, 120 eyelash, 31, 36 eyeliner, 91, 92, 106 — khol, 106 — khul, 91, 92, 106 — merwad, 91, 92 — mikhal, 91, 92, 106 Fārs (Iran), 7 Fayyum (Egypt), 11, 12 feeble, 5 Ferrara, Andrea, 28 ferrule, 87, 89, 90, 102, 111-114 — tood, 87 filigree decoration, 51, 91, 93, 116 foible, 5 forge, 5, 110 forte, 5, 6, 19, 22, 23, 35-44, 52, 72, 75 Friedr. Herder Abr. Sohn GmbH (Company), 104 fuller, 6, 41 funun, dance, 29, 43 Genoa (Italy), 55 geometric motif, 32, 38, 64, 114 Georgia, 121 Germany, 3, 9, 19, 22, 27, 28, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 53, 55, 94 Ghats Mountains (India), 3 Gilded decoration, 26 giraffe, 87. See also ziraffah gold, 56, 67, 71, 76, 96, 97, 100, 101 Golden Horn (Türkiye), 7 Granada (Spain), 121 Greece, xv, 4, 120 Greek cross motif, 47, grip, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16-20, 23, 28, 30, 55, 59, 61, 65, 66, 69, 71, 75, 78, 79, 81, 83, 97 guard, 5, 6, 9, 10, 16-20, 25, 28, 30, 55, 58, 59, 61, 65-69, 75, 76 Hadge Abdulcader Perez, 56 Hadramawt (Yemen), 10, 61, 62, 84 Haft sword, 7 handle, 25, 28, 30, 79, 85, 87, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 101, 103, 107, 108, 110, 112 — maqbath, 87
128
hardwood, 97 hematite, xv Herāt (Afghanistan), 2 hilt, 1, 4-11, 15-64, 68, 70-78, 86, 87, 90-92, 95-98, 103, 104, 121, 122 hippopotamus, 78, 79, 81, 83 Hittites, 4 Hormuz Strait, 1, 28, 108 horn, 55, 65, 86, 87, 96, 99, 101, 121 Hungary, 4 Hyderabad (India), 2, 3, 62 Ibadism, 10, 25, 120 Iberian Peninsula, 120, 121 Ibn Akhī Hizām, 7 Ibrī (Oman), 89 India, xv, 1, 3, 7, 27, 55, 62, 70, 77, 84, 87, 104, 110, 114, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122 Indian Ocean, 1 Iran, 2, 3, 7, 11, 108, 121, 122 Iraq, 3, 10, 59, 84, 120 Iron Age, 4 Iron Road, 2 iron, xv, 1-5, 10, 18-21, 33, 38, 47, 55, 65, 74, 107, 109, 112-117, 120, 121 — sideros, xv — ferum sericum, 3 Isfahan (Iran), 2, 3 Istanbul (Türkiye), 2, 3, 15, 25 Italy, 3, 9, 27, 28, 30, 36, 55, 57, 84, 120 ivory, 55, 60, 94, 96, 98, 103 Jaipur (India), 2 Janissaries, 59, 121 Japan, 4 javelin, 115, 116 — mizark, 115 Jebel Akhdar (Oman), 102 Jordan, 45, 164 jujube, 108 Kenya, 25, 27, 75, 121 Kermān (Iran), 3 Kerria lacca, 122 khanjar, iv, 28, 46, 80, 84-104, 108, 122 — Al-Batini, 94, 96, 103 — Al-Ganobi, 97 — Al-Hanshiah, 97 — Al-Nizwani, 89, 94, 95, 101 — Al-Saidi, iv, 87, 91-94, 98 — Al-Suri, 96, 102 — Al-Wusta, 99 Khasab (Oman), 110 Khorāsān (Iran), 2, 3, 4 Kirk-Narduban blades, 7 knife, 4, 84, 87-89, 105 — sakeen, 89 — shashka, 45, 121 — sikin, 87, 104, 105 Kona (India), 3 Koutsch (India), 3 Kubachi (Daghestan), 45
Lahore (Pakistan), 2 lance, 3, 4, 115, 116, 117, 118 — rumh, 115, 117 langet, 60 langlets, 5 languet, 6 lead, 106 leather, 5, 10, 17, 18, 19, 22, 25, 28, 29, 32-54, 63-66, 72-81, 87-90, 96, 97, 104 lion, 31 locket, 5, 6, 16, 22, 35, 37, 38, 43, 44, 47-51, 54, 63-65, 70, 73, 76, 8993, 98, 101 Lombardy (Italy), 120 Luristan (Iran), 107, 108 mace, xv, 109 — gurz, 109 — jurz, 109, 122 Madha (Oman), 43, 54, 108, 112-114, 122 Maghreb, 7, 55 magnetite, xv Makran, 10 Malay Archipelago, 104 Malay Peninsula, 2 Mali, 25, 27 Mamluks, 3, 7, 15, 25 Maqamat of Al-Harīrī, 11, 13, 14, 115 Marco Polo, 3 Maria Theresa thaler, 89, 122. See also qrsh Mašhad (Iran), 2 Massawa (Eritrea), 2 matchlock, 80, 116 — abu fitila, 80 Māzandarān Province (Iran), 122 Mediterranean Sea, xv, 1, 3, 4, 7, 28, 55 Middle Ages, 4, 120 Middle East, xv, 4, 27, 36 Minoan, 4 Mombasa (Kenya), 1, 2, 75, 121 Mongolia, 25, 59 Morocco, 55, 56, 84, 121 Mozambique, 25 Musandam Governorate (Oman), 3, 43, 107-111 Muscat, iv, 1-3, 16-29, 35-44, 47-53, 58, 63, 64, 71-78, 81-83, 89, 91, 93, 98, 111, 117-122 Mysore (India), 2, 3 Nasrid dynasty, 15, 25, 121 Neolithic Period, 107 niello decoration, 66 Nirmal (India), 2 Nizwā (Oman), 3, 25, 43, 89, 92, 121 Nubia, 28 orb and cross motif, 36, 37, 42 Ottoman Empire, 7
Index
Pakistan, 87, 110, 114 Palestine, 4 Paris (France), 15, 27 Persia, 3, 4, 7-11, 18, 23, 27, 45, 70-72, 77, 91, 108, 109, 117-122 plastic, 79, 96 point, xv, 5, 6, 18, 19, 61, 78, 85, 117 pommel, 5, 6, 9, 10, 16-25, 30, 33, 3544, 47-49, 51-55, 59, 61, 71, 72, 91 Portugal, 25, 42, 120 Prosopis cineraria, 110 Prunus arabica, 108 Punjab (Pakistan), 3 Qal’i sword, 7 Qatar, 28, 127, 146 qrsh, 89. See also Maria Theresa thalers Quassia amara, 86 Queen Elizabeth I of England, 56 quenching, 5 quillon, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15-20, 25, 55, 57, 58, 61, 65, 71, 120 Quran, 7, 70, 122 Qutb Al-Din, 120 Rābigh, 116 rapier, 41 Ras Al-Hadd (Oman), 28 Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE), 122 Red Sea, 3, 27, 55 rhinoceros, 78, 82, 86, 87, 96, 99, 101, 121, 122 ricasso, 5, 6, 9, 30, 35-39, 48, 75 rifle, Enfield SMLE Mk III, 89 rings, 16, 17, 22, 27, 36, 44, 47, 51, 54, 61, 63, 66-69, 74, 78, 89, 91, 93, 94, 97, 98, 103 rivets, 10, 11, 20, 38 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), 118 Romans, xv, 3 rosettes, 67, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 97 Rub Al-Khali Desert, 28 Russia, 45, 121 Rustāq (Oman), 89, 171 Rwala tribe, 116 saber, 4, 7, 46-50, 53, 54, 59, 62, 63, 66, 67, 70, 76 — al-aclaf, 120 — qalajūriāt, 3, 4, 25 — qalijūrī, 4, 25 Safavid dynasty, 7, 25, 70 Safawid, 70 Sahara, 27 Salalah (Oman), 28, 98 Salem (India), 2, 3 Samarkand (Uzbekistan), 2 Samundrun (India), 3 sandalwood, 87 Sarandībī, 7. See also Ceylon Sarmates, 4 Sasanian Empire, 1, 7, 11, 109
Saudi Arabia, 116 Sayyid Taimur bin Faisal, 46 scabbard, 5, 6, 9, 16-19, 22, 26, 27, 3339, 43-55, 61-77, 85-98, 101, 104 — shofh, 87, 89 scimitar, 4, 48 scorpion, 61, 70, 71 Sea of Oman, 1, 122 Seki (Japan), 87 Seljuk dynasty, 7, 120 Shah Abbas, 70 Shaikh Bandar bin Nasir, 28 sheath, 5, 6, 72 Sheffield (UK), 87 shield, 43, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 91, 121 — terrs, 43, 78- 83, 86, 91, 98, 106 — turrs, 29, 78 Shiḥuḥ tribe, 107, 108 Sicily (Italy), 7 Silk Road, 1 Silmān Mountains (Iran), 7 silver, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 22, 25-29, 32, 33-38, 43, 44-55, 61-69, 73-76, 79, 85-106, 110, 116, 118, 122 Sinaw (Oman), 109, 110 Solingen (Germany), 28, 30, 36, 41, 48, 50, 87, 104 Somalia, 78, 83 Spain, 7, 15, 27, 28, 121 spear, 3, 108, 115-118 — shalfa, 11- 118 Sphais, 59, 121 Steel Road, 1, 2 steel, 2, 3, 5, 7, 30, 45, 70, 85, 107, 110, 111, 116, 117 — al-hindi, 3 — wootz, 3, 70 stick, 108, 110, 115, 116 studs, 89, 91, 93, 96 Styria (Austria), 36, 51, 53, 55 Sudan, 27, 122 Sumerian, xv, 1 Sur (Oman), 89, 97, 100, 122 suspension rings, 72, 78, 83 sword dance, 29, 86 sword, 1-11, 15-19, 23-30, 37-45, 48, 50, 55-57, 59, 61, 70, 71, 74-80, 86, 94, 108, 116, 121 — akinaka, 4 — al-khisrāwanī, 7 — al-saif al-badawī (Bedouin), 25 — al-samsāma, 2, 10 — al-sughdī 7, 11 — al-suyūf al-almānyya (Germany), 3 — al-suyūf al-ankaburdiyya (North Italy), 3 — al-suyūf al-burduliyya (France), 3 — Boabdil-type, 15 — Ethiopian, 26 — falcata, 120
— Frankish, 3 — German, 3 — gladius, 4 — had wanisf, 7 — jinete, 15, 121 — karabela, 59-61 — kastane, 55, 57, 121 — katarah, 9, 45 — kattara, 8, 9, 25, 39, 45-54, 70, 73, 78 — khopesh, 120 — kitarah, 9, 45, 70 — kopis, 120 — makhaira, 120 — Mandingo, 25 — Portuguese, 42 — qilic, 25 — saif, 8, 10, 11, 15, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28, 33, 34, 41, 43, 54, 57-64, 67-69, 73-77 — guardless, 8, 22-46, 54, 63, 64, 94 — Hadhrami, 8, 62, 67-71 — nimcha, 55-60, 63-65 — Yamani, 8-11, 15-21, 79, 122 — saifdhū’l-haddayn, 7 — seme, 26, 128 — shamshir, 8, 9, 25, 70-77 — shotel, 122 — spatha, 4 — stortas, 55 — Venetian Dalmatian, 57 — xiphos, 4 — Zanguebari, 27 Syria, 3, 45, 71, 84, 121 Tabaristan (Iran), 122 Tabriz (Iran), 2 Ṭālib, Alī ibn Abī, 7 talismans, 30, 36, 47, 48, 50, 79 tang, 5, 6, 10, 11, 21, 23, 40, 41, 47 Tanganyika, 94 Tanzania, 122 Tarikh Al-Tabari, 122 tempering, xv, 5, 85 Theodore manuscript, 12 Thomas, Bertram, 28, 127 Timbuktu (Mali), 27 tin, xv, 190, 192 Tjap Garpu, 104. See also Friedr. Herder Abr. Sohn GmbH Toledo (Spain), 2 Tolosa (France), 121 Türkiye, 4, 59, 72, 84, 118, 121 tweezers, 91, 92 — malqāt, 91, 92 Umayyad Caliphate, 15 United Arab Emirates, 10, 29, 43, 107 Vasco da Gama, 1, 120 Venice (Italy), 3, 36, 55, 57, 121
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von Clausewitz, Carl, xvi Wahiba Sands (Oman), 107, 108, 110 Walpurgis-Fechtbuch MS I.33, 80 wires, 36, 37, 44, 48, 52, 54, 63, 64, 74, 75, 93, 104 wolf, 22, 31, 38, 54, 68 wood, 11, 17, 20, 37, 39, 46, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 63-66, 74, 75, 77, 89, 107,
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111, 112, 114, 117 — ghaf, 110 — mizi, 108 — sidr, 108, 112, 113 Yemen, 1, 3, 4, 10, 23, 28, 30, 43, 55, 59, 61, 63, 72, 77, 84, 85, 97, 105 Zanguebar, 78, 121
Zanzibar, 1, 3, 9, 15, 25-29, 37, 38, 39, 43, 45, 46, 55, 58, 71-74, 78, 80, 87, 121, 122Zarikaran dom, 2 Zarikaran Kingdom, 2 Zenata tribe, 121 ziraffah, 87. See also giraffe Ziziphus spinachristi, 108, 112. See also jujube
APPENDIX
THE DESERT LORD OF SINAW AND HIS IRON WEAPONRY A Late Iron Age Funerary Complex in Wadi Uyun, Sinaw – Ash Sharqiyah North
Authors contacts
Francesca Candilio Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio metropolitana di Cagliari e le province di Oristano e Sud Sardegna e-mail: [email protected] Fausto Mauro Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies University of Naples «L’Orientale» e-mail: [email protected] Romolo Loreto Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies University of Naples «L’Orientale» e-mail: [email protected] Elena Maini Department of Antiquities Sapienza University of Rome e-mail: [email protected] Antonio Curci ArcheoLaBio – Research Centre for Bioarchaeology Department of History and Cultures University of Bologna e-mail: [email protected] Vincenzio Clarizia e-mail: [email protected] Gianluca Regoli Regoli & Radiciotti s.r.l. – Conservazione e Restauro Opere d’Arte Piazza Paganica 14, 00186 Rome, Italy e-mail: [email protected] Nicola Pagani Regoli & Radiciotti s.r.l. – Conservazione e Restauro Opere d’Arte Piazza Paganica 14, 00186 Rome, Italy e-mail: [email protected] Ivan Stepanov School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences University of New England, UNE Armidale, NSW 2351 Australia e-mail: [email protected] Vincenzo Pastorelli HEPHESTUS – Repliche Sperimentali Storiche website: www.hephestus.net e-mail: [email protected]
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THE DESERT LORD OF SINAW AND HIS IRON WEAPONRY A Late Iron Age Funerary Complex in Wadi Uyun, Sinaw – Ash Sharqiyah North The Funerary Complex
The Discovery
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Francesca Candilio, Fausto Mauro & Romolo Loreto
A Historical Perspective
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Romolo Loreto & Fausto Mauro
Anthropological Studies
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Francesca Candilio
Zooarchaeological Studies
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Elena Maini & Antonio Curci
The Iron Sword and Daggers
Typological and Chronological assessments
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Vincenzo Clarizia Conservation and Restoration
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Gianluca Regoli & Nicola Pagani
Metallographic Analyses
191
Ivan Stepanov
Experimental Replication
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Vincenzo Pastorelli
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Sinaw–Mahout–Duqm Expressway © Ministry of Transport and Communications
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Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry
The Discovery Francesca Candilio, Fausto Mauro & Romolo Loreto
Archaeological explorations requested in 2014 for the upgrading work of the Sinaw-Mahout-Duqm Expressway led to the excavation and documentation of several clusters of Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age stone cairns and pit tombs, which would have been eventually destroyed by the road track that was under construction between Sinaw and Mahout (Figure 1). Wadi Andam and Wadi Uyun were already explored by N. Al-Jahwari and W. Deadman (Al-Jahwari 2013; Deadman 2012, 2014), whose surveys revealed the presence of hundreds of funerary monuments forming a cultural landscape dominated the Jebel Madar (Figure 2). In January 2014, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (now Heritage and Tourism) of the Sultanate of Oman, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology initiated a four-month recovery excavation program along the banks of Wadi Uyun, between Sinaw and Barzman, to the West of Jebel Madar. In the framework of this rescue archaeology project, 35 stone cairns and pit graves have been excavated by an international team including archaeologists and physical anthropologists working under the patronage of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
Figure 1. Location of the rescue archaeology project for the upgrading work of the Sinaw-Mahout-Duqm Expressway. (map based on GoogleEarthTM)
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Figure 2. Jebel Madar as seen from Wadi Al-Uyun (photograph by P. Koch).
Ancient Weapons of Oman – Edged Weapons
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Type 4
Type 3
Figure 3. Type 1) Turret tomb (SNW-1, G.52); Type 2) Pit tomb (SNW-1, G.50, G.58, G.59); Type 4) Umm an-Nar grave (SNW-3, G.38); Type 4) Camel deposition (SNW-1, G.59).
Type 2
Type 1
Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry
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From a typological point of view, the graves uncovered fall into a minimum of three categories: Hafit type tombs (ca. 3100-2600 BC); Umm an-Nar type tombs (ca. 2600-2000 BC); and Samad Late Iron Age (LIA) graves (ca. 300 BC to AD 300?), comprising also ritual depositions of sacrificed animals (for the Hafit and Umm an-Nar types, see Bortolini and Munoz 2015; for the LIA graves, see Yule 2016: 34, Tab. 1) (Figure 3). In addition to these well-defined types, there were cases of reuse in which a funerary structure was employed in different occasions throughout the millennia. For example, the Hafit grave G.52 was reused in the Umm an-Nar period and the Hafit to Umm an-Nar transitional type grave G.49, which dates to ca. 2600 BC, was occupied again around 1000 BC in the Early Iron Age (Figure 4). All considered, the area was inhabited throughout the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age from the end of the 4th millennium BC to the first half of the 1st millennium AD. The desert lord and his iron weaponry Though results have been extremely significant for all periods documented, the most interesting discovery has been by far the funerary complex composed by the underground grave of a single ca. 40 years old male individual (Grave 58) (see the contribution by Candilio), and by the adjoined graves of two camels buried in separate stone-lined pits (Grave 50 and Grave 59) (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Reuse of a turret tomb from the 3rd to the 1st millennia BC (Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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G.58
G.59
G.50
Figure 5. Sinaw (SWY-1). Graves 50, 58 and 59 (Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman). Grave 58 and the related Grave 50 and Grave 59 were discovered in the midst of a number of funerary mounds, most of which contained one or more human depositions. The man and the camels were laid in deep stone-lined pits, probably in the course of a complex funerary ceremony (see the contribution by Maini & Curci). Similar camel graves are known in south-eastern Arabian Peninsula, among many from Wadi Samad (Al-Hammariyāt) in Northern Oman and from Wadi Hadramawt (Raybūn) in Yemen (see the contribution by Loreto & Mauro; also, Yule 2001: 330 and pl. 363-364; Sedov 2000: 249). In Grave 58, three iron swords were deposited with the man (Figures 6 and 7). Although heavily corroded, the rusted iron swords were successfully recovered by conservator Gianluca Regoli and his team and are currently kept at the National Museum of Oman (see the contribution by Regoli & Pagani). The sword had a slightly curved long iron blade (81.5 cm), comparable to Sasanian slashing swords, and was aligned to the individual’s right side with the hilt in front of his face, while two long, but typologically distinct daggers, laid on the individual’s pelvis and to his left. The hooked grip of the long sword was partly covered with ivory and silver inlays (see the contributions by Clarizia; Stepanov; Pastorelli) (Figure 8). Given the age and the sophisticated weaponry worn by the man of Grave 58, he can be confidently identified as a person of high rank, probably a tribal leader and a sword carrier, who owned camels as part of his wealth and attire. 141
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Figure 6. Grave 58 prior to in situ consolidation and removal of the grave goods (Ministry of Heritage and Tourism). 142
Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry
Figure 7. Grave 58. Graphic rendering from topographic survey plot (drawing by T. Rossi). 143
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Figure 8. Grave 58, long iron sword. Drawing before restoration (drawing by T. Rossi); photograph after restoration (photograph by P. Koch, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism). According to the organic remains detected during the excavation and partly recovered, he was laid resting with the head on a pillow. A leather cap with six iron rivets was found to the left of the skull, and what appears to be leather shoes at his feet. Moreover, a hemispheric bronze bowl was placed next to his left hip. Given his age and the sophisticated weaponry and apparel he worn, and in consideration of the ritual sacrifice of the two camels, the man buried in Grave 58 can be confidently identified as a high rank individual, probably a tribal leader and a sword carrier, who owned and rode camels. Bibliography BORTOLINI, E. & O. Munoz 2015. Life and Death in Prehistoric Oman: Insights from Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Funerary Practices (4th - 3rd mill. BC). In H.M. Al-Lawati (Ed.), The Archaeological Heritage of Oman (Proceedings of the Symposium, September 7th 2012). Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat. DEADMAN, W. M. 2012. Defining the Early Bronze Age landscape: a remote sensing-based analysis of Hafit tomb distribution in Wadi Andam, Sultanate of Oman. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 23/1: 26-34. DEADMAN, W. M. 2014. Investigating the Orientation of Hafit tomb entrances in Wadi Andam, Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 44: 139-152. AL-JAHWARI, N. S. 2013. Settlement Patterns, Development and Cultural Change in the Northern Oman Peninsula: A Multitiered Approach to the Analysis of Long-term Settlement Trends (BAR International series 2483). Oxford, Archaeopress. SEDOV, A., 2000. Le sepolture di cammelli. In A. De Maigret (Ed.), Yemen. Nel paese della regina di Saba. Skira, Milan. YULE, P. A. 2001. Die Gräberfelder in Samad al Shān (Sultanat Oman): Materialien zu einer Kulturgeschichte (Orient-Archäologie 1 Band 4). Rahden/Westf., Leidorf. YULE, P. A. 2016. Valorising the Samad Late Iron Age. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 27/1: 31-71.
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A Historical Perspective Romolo Loreto & Fausto Mauro
An amazing collection of grave goods was associated to the Grave 58, a male deposition excavated within the Sinaw-Mahout-Duqm expressway project (see the contribution by Candilio, Mauro & Loreto). A suggestive scenario of the social context of this ancient warrior comes from the goods collection and the implication hold by the camel burials. The findings stretch from clothes to decorated weapons and a banqueting vessel. Both, the rapid process of burial and the pit typology helped in the process of preservation, not compromised by any past illegal excavation activity. Leather and textile Personal clothes can be seen in a partially preserved hat deposed close to the head, in proximity of the nape, as suggested by six iron rivets. This hypothesis, rather than a saddle, is suggested by six iron rivets found inside what really seems to be a hat. In addition, the presence of a woven cushion can be supported by traces of more textile found under the skull. Finally, leather boots remains could be identified at the foot-end (Figure 1). Metal objects The most impressive goods are the three iron swords buried in the tomb in association with the man (Figure 2). In particular, an iron hooked grip long sword was lying to the south of the man, who held the weapon with both hands. This sword has a slightly curved blade with a concavity in the cutting edge. Two supplementary short swords were deposed in proximity of the belt. The first, 45 cm in length, with a short tang and a ribbed blade, was lying over the pelvis; the second, 42 cm in length with a long tang, was placed behind the left hip bone. It is clear that the warrior was buried holding his primary weapon, together with his complete set of war panoply. A bronze bowl and a bronze ring were also collected (Figure 3 a, b). If this last could be easily associated to a wealthy warrior, the vessel should be related to particular burial practice. An iron bit, possibly related to camel harness, was found inside the camel pit Grave 59 (Figure 3 c).
Figure 1. Sinaw, G.58. Felt hat found near the head of the deceased (left), leather remains found between the legs (center), and textile remains from a possible pillow for the saddle (right) (Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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Figure 2. Sinaw, G.58. Long iron sword after restoration (DA 40751) with remains of the scabbard (lower) ivory inlayed and silver decorated hooked handle (upper), and iron daggers after restoration (DA 40752 and 40753) (photograph of the grave by F. Candilio, photographs of the weapons and graphic elaboration by P. Koch, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry
a)
b)
c)
Figure 3. Sinaw. Bronze bowl and ring from G.58 (left and center) and iron buckle from G.59 (right) (Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of of Oman). The material culture in a historical perspective Having defined the findings inside Grave 58, it is possible now to discuss on the chronological range of the burial and also his historical context. Starting from the organic remains, it is only possible to suggest a very hypothetical iconographic comparison in the conical felt hats of Phyrgian or Schythian tradition. The metal objects allow instead entering in more interesting implications related to the funerary context. The long sword decorated by silver and ivory does not allow to be more specific either on a Mediterranean tradition or a Parthian/Sasanian one, although several comparisons can be seen in the Samad culture funerary assemblages throughout Southeastern Arabia. In both cases, one can at least argue that this region was inserted in an international circuit of exchange. The closest comparisons for the swords are from Amlah/ Al-Fuwaydah graves Fu19 dated to the PIR.B (Periode Pré-Islamique Récente.B: second half of the 2nd-1st century AD) (Yule 1999: 132-133, pl. 6). In this grave a S5 class hooked grip blade, slightly curved on the cutting edge, was unearthed. This type of grip is attested elsewhere in south-eastern Arabia: Samad Al-Shān (Gr. S101125, 14C 1 sigma cal. 258-540 AD; Yule 2001a, i: 281; ii: pl. 206–208); Al-Amqāt (Gr. Am5; Yule 2001a, i: 366-367; ii: Taf. 474-476); Amlā/Al-Fuwaydah (Grs. Fu02, Fu10, Fu12 and Fu16; Yule 1999: 119-186); and Mleiha (Sharjah Archaeology Museum). If the iron swords clearly testify to the deposition of a warrior, the bronze vessel, whose only comparison can be found in the Late Iron Age Ja’alan (Yule 2001b: 261, fig. 3), seems to indicate a funerary ritual that involved also the deposition of luxury vessels as part of a banqueting ceremony in honor of the deceased or to perform banqueting rituals in the afterlife. Although in different types and chronological range, metal bowls are also attested elsewhere in south-eastern Arabia: Amlā/AlFuwaydah, Al-Bustān, Mleiha, Samad Al-Shān, Samāil (Yule 2001b: 255-287) and ed-Dūr (Haerinck and Stevens 1989: 60, fig. AO: 11; Haerinck et al. 1991: 48-49, figs. 22, 26.1). Such funerary practices, one could say of Mediterranean or Near Eastern tradition, are also well documented in Yemen, where in the 1st century BC kings were buried with weapons and banqueting vessels (Breton and Bafaqih 1993). A warrior in his historical context Such an archaeological context allows opening a wide range of perspectives mainly related to the historical contingency that lead to this deposition (not to mention the exhibition issue). For example, Graves G.50 and G.59 could be associated with the baliyyah practice, widespread in pre-Islamic times (Mauro 2018). As reported by B. Vogt, for baliyyah the camel would be tethered in a pit, near its master, with the head turned to the rear and covered with a saddle-cloth, and left to die (1994: 283). In addition, as suggested by G. King (2009: 81), the nearby human burials are often marked with objects of prestige, especially weapons. 147
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Figure 4. Alabaster funeral stele and incense burner from Yemen with a Sabean inscription and depiction of camel rider (courtesy Departement des Antiquites Orientales, Louvre Museum; Middle East Department, British Museum).
Indeed several comparisons for the dromedary graves of Sinaw comes from Al-Hammariyāt (Samad Al-Shān), where a camelid burial (Gr. S21104) was brought to light (Yule 2014: 115, pl. 3.2); Bat, Al-Moyassar (Al-Maysar) and Samad Al-Shān in Oman; Mleiha, Jabal Al-Buhays, ed-Dūr, Jabal Al-Imālah and Jabal Hafīt in the UAE; Raybūn and Beles in Yemen; Al-Mazrūah in Qatar, and at Al-Shākhūrah and Jid Hafs in Bahrain (Vogt 1994: 289–290; Daems and De Wael 2010: 110; Mauro 2018) The long span of occupation of the area allows to study variations in funerary practice and, then, in different human occupational pattern of the area. Since the Hafit and Umm an-Nar a complete study of the area and material culture should be conducted, as this is one of the few cases, in the whole Arabian Peninsula, where necropolises in good preservation show such a rich occupational continuity. Coming to the Iron Age, Grave 58 is the focal point of this complex argumentation. Although the sepulchral structure does not appear as a particular prominent building but a simple pit, the burial goods state without any doubt that we are in the presence of a high-ranking man buried with a kind of funerary goods related to his life activities and after life needs. The simple funerary structure, at the same time, reflect his way of living, a nomadic tribe leader, spending most of his time raiding camels. No monumental building are contemplate, as well as no pottery were buried, indicating that nomadic people, and tribe leader above all, does not settle down developing what we could define “urban activities” (Loreto 2014). A very next step should be a deep study of the interrelationship between man and environment, what is going to be a “cultural landscape”. In fact, note that the tombs were placed west of Jebel Madar, where the sun sets. Jebel Madar is a natural and symbolic point of attraction, also in close vicinity of wadis and water resources. 148
Figure 5. Arabian delegation on the Eastern Stairway of Apadana, Persepolis, Iran (Schmidt 1953: pl. 46)
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Finally, the funerary complex (G.58, G.50 and G.59) could be insert in the chronological range of the Samad period (post 300 BC - 300 AD, Yule 2019). As explained, the comparisons of burials and grave goods, in particular ones from Al-Amqāt (Am5), Amlā/Al-Fuwaydah (Fu12 and Fu19) and Samad Al-Shān (S101125) could be placed between the 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD (Mauro 2018). The simple burial structures, at the very end, could reflect a particular social system, made of tribal bonds, in which this man covered the role of a prominent warrior, buried with his camels and weapons, as well as banqueting items to celebrate those collective bonds. Bibliography BRETON, J.-F. & M. Bafaqih 1993. Trésors du Wādī Dura. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris. DAEMS, A. & A. De Waele 2010. Camelid and equid burials in pre Islamic southeastern Arabia. In L. Weeks (ed.), Death and burial in Arabia and beyond: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Oxford, Archaeopress., pp. 109-113. HAERINCK, E. & K. G. Stevens. 1989. The Belgian excavations in 1987. Mesopotamia 24: 57–72. HAERINCK, E., Metdepenninghen C. & K.G. Stevens 1991. Excavations at ed-Dur. Preliminary report of the second Belgian season (1988). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 2/1: 31–60. KING, G. 2009. Camels and Arabian balîya and other forms of sacrifice: A review of archaeological and literary evidence. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 20/1: 81–93. LORETO, R. 2014 [Unpublished]. Sinaw 2014, archaeological rescue excavation — Project 190 — The T58 grave. Report submitted to the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman. MAURO, F. 2018. MAURO F. 2018. The historical context of grave 58 (G58) from the Sināw area (alSharqiyyah, Sultanate of Oman): A warrior during the Samad Late Iron Age? Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 48: 235–242. SCHMIDT, E. F. 1953. Persepolis I: Structures, Reliefs, Inscriptions. Chicago, University of Chicago Press,1953. VOGT, B. 1994. Death, resurrection and the camel. In N. Nebes (ed.), Arabia Felix: Beiträge zur Sprache und Kultur des vorislamischen Arabien: Festschrift Walter W. Müller zum 60. Geburtstag. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, pp. 279-290. YULE, P. A. 1999. ‘Amla/al-Zāhirah — Späteisenzeitliche Gräberfelder, Vorläufiger Bericht der Ausgrabungen 1997. In P. Yule (ed.), Studies in the archaeology of the Sultanate of Oman (Orient-Archäologie, 2). Rahden/ Westfalia, Marie Leidorf, pp. 119-186. YULE, P. A. 2001a. Die Gräberfelder in Samad al Shān (Sultanat Oman): Materialien zu einer Kulturgeschichte (Orient-Archäologie 1 Band 4), Rahden/Westfalia, Leidorf. YULE, P. A. 2001b. Recently Discovered Bronze Bowls from ‘Amlah, al-Zāhirah Province and the Late PreIslamic Assemblages of Oman. Baghdader Mitteilungen 32: 255-287. YULE, P. A. 2014. Cross-Roads: Early and Late Iron Age South-Eastern Arabia (Abhandlungen Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, 30). Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz. YULE, P. A. 2019. Defence during the Samad Period: A First Attempt at an archaeology of conflict in Southeastern Arabia. Journal of Oman Studies 20: 143-176.
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Anthropological Studies Francesca Candilio
The rescue excavation conducted during the Sinaw-Mahout-Duqm Road Development project brought to light a truly exceptional burial in which an adult male had been interred with a wealth of grave goods including two sacrificial camels and three swords. The excavation techniques used and the fact that the area preserved the tumuli exceptionally well, allow us to interpret safely the discovery as the tumulated remains of a high ranking ca. 40 year old male individual buried in a highly ritualized manner with the contextual interment of a couple of live camels. This burial is of particular interest due to both the richness of the interred goods but also the presence of the camel burials that bring important testimony of the interment ritual. The paleopathological analysis on the preserved bones provides further detail on lifestyle and living conditions. The burial, presented itself as three clearly interdependent tumuli that were distinguishable prior to archaeological intervention. Though presenting themselves as similar in their superficial conformation, orientation, and in the raw materials used, during excavation it became increasingly evident that underlying structures and purpose of the tumuli was very different. The westernmost one (T. 58) held a single primary burial deposed within a carefully constructed rectangular chamber lined in stone whilst the other two (T. 50 and T. 59) brought to the uncovering of camels tumulated within uneven pits that were tightly packed with large stone slabs. The significant structural analogies, the proximity as well as the contextualization strongly suggest the three tumuli are part of the same burial and the camels are sacrificial offerings slaughtered during funerary rituals performed in honour of the individual buried in T. 58. The taphonomical analysis conducted during the excavation by observing the relative disposition of the skeletal remains discovered within the three tumuli indicates that the bones uncovered well depict the original positions in which the deceased and the two camels were interred with only minimal displacement due to gravity and local constrictions. Both the individual and the animals were, consequently, undisturbed primary burials in which the cadavers decomposed, undisturbed by later anthropic activities, in the place where they were discovered. Furthermore, the observed bone displacement, allowed us to make deductions regarding the architectural characteristics of the tumuli and the progression of the ritual. As will be described in greater detail, the displacement of the human bones clearly indicates that the individual was buried within a sealed chamber void of any sediment whereas all displacement observed in the camel bones is well compatible with narrow pits, packed with tightly wedged stone slabs, that must have been covered, at least in part, with sediment and stone slabs prior to the positioning of the cranium over the right shoulders and the construction of the tumulus above. The differences in architecture and ritual between T. 58 and the two associated tumuli further support the sacrificial nature of the camel burials. While the individual was uncovered in a position that clearly indicates he was, as expected, dead prior to his interment in a position that reflects the well established ritual observed in the nearby burials (Candilio and Sparacello 2014), the size of the pits, the position of the faunal bones as well as the presence of stone slabs wedged between the bones and the sides of the pits, suggest this might not have been the case for the camels. Both camels were in a resting position with their heads placed above their right shoulder and their limbs in what appear to be very natural positions. 151
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Figure 1. Grave 50. a) The cranium, bent backwards. Below it, the spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae and the right shoulder blade. b) Side view of the thoracic region after the removal of the cranium, the first cervical vertebrae and a number of stone slabs. c) Pelvis, and appendicular skeleton after the removal of the cranium and the torso showing how tightly the animal had been wedged in-between the stone slabs. The image shows the position of the limbs that were correctly folded beneath the body. d) Particular of the hind feet (photographs by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman). Pit conformation and bone disposition suggest the camels may have been led into the pits while still alive given that the relative position of the bones (including those of the limbs, correctly bent underneath the animals’ abdomens) would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to arrange had the camels been dead; especially considering the depth and the confinement of the pits (Figures 1 and 2). The individual was interred with the cranium to the west and the feet to the east, in what both archaeological and anthropological parameters indicate must have been a sealed chamber that filled with sand only after decomposition had time to advance substantially. This is particularly evident from the observation of the mandible, the left elbow joint and the right leg given that in all of these districts the bones involved dislodged substantially from the anatomical position they must have been in prior to decomposition. These displacements clearly indicate the chamber must have still been void after the disappearance of the anatomical constraints (skin, ligaments and tendons) given that the presence of sediment would have impeded them. The individual was deposed in a semi-supine position, on his back but slightly rotated onto his right side, with both his arms and his legs bent. Though the cranium did not move noticeably from its original position, the considerable displacement of both the mandible and some cervical vertebrae attest the presence of a perishable headrest at the time of burial.
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Figure 2. Grave 59. a) Cranium in the midst of the stone slabs showing the depth at which the camel was interred. b, c) Different perspectives of the skeleton uncovered (photographs by V. Sparacello, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman).
The thorax is slightly rotated to the individual’s right. The left scapula is raised, the clavicle and humerus slightly rotated suggesting the presence of lateral compression on the left side of the shoulder girdle. This compression was presumably caused by the presence of an oval shaped perishable item that has left no trace but for a clear imprint (ca. 40 by 20 cm) in the soil and its repercussion on bone disposition (Figure 3). However, the displacement to the north of two of the lower left ribs indicates this delimitation was confined to the shoulder girdle and did not affect the entire torso. The considerable dislocation observed throughout the vertebral column, combined to observations made in the nearby burials during the excavation campaign, suggests that the body was laid on a perishable support or platform (a bed or a stretcher) that kept him some centimeters from the actual chamber floor. This is further supported by the significant displacement of the bones of the lower limbs (see Figure 5 in the contribution by Candilio, Mauro & Loreto). At the time of discovery the femurs and tibias were in a flexed position against the southern wall of the chamber.
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Figure 3. Grave 58 during excavation showing, close to the individual’s left shoulder, the imprint left in the soil by what appears to have been an oval shaped perishable item deposed with the body (photograph by T. Rossi, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman).
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Figure 4. Grave 58. a) Cranial base with altered right occipital condyle; b) First cervical vertebra, alterations visible on upper right facet where it articulates with the cranial base; C) First three cervical vertebrae (view from the right), fused;d) Cervical vertebrae (frontal view) (photographs by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman).
However, the right patella was dislocated to the floor northwest of its pertaining joint and the proximal portion of the left fibula rested against the right os coxae, suggesting the original position was more contracted and that the lower limbs slid (presumably during the decomposition of the perishable support) eastward against the chamber wall. Sex was inferred from morphological features of the os coxae: in particular, the greater sciatic notch and the inferior pubic ramus are decidedly male. The cranium is fairly gracile, with a hint of parietal and frontal bosses and a non-robust occipital region. However, the vertical and retroverted gonial angles, the size of the mastoid processes, the shape of the glabella, as well as the conformation of the zygomatic bones, are compatible with a male individual. Age was estimated from the auricular surface of the ilium and integrated with evidence from rib ends. Following the standards detailed in Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) we concluded that this individual was a mature adult, presumably over the age of 40. Cranial suture closure further supports this conclusion, as does dental wear. Stature estimates based on dry bone length vary considerably when using long bones of the upper and lower limbs resulting in estimates of 171-173 cm when using the first and of 163-165 cm when using the latter. It will be possible to make a better estimate once the entire skeleton becomes available (it was impossible to study all elements due to the fact that some bones were removed together with the archaeological finds).
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Figure 5. Grave 58. a) Cranium and mandible; b) Particular of the mandible showing the severe extent of ante-mortem tooth loss as well as the presence of an abscess (photograph by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultanate of Oman).
The individual from T.58 shows multiple pathological manifestations. The cranial area shows a highly asymmetrical atlanto-occipital joint, with abundant osteophytic bone spurs on both facets of the right side. Eburnation, porosity and pitting are likewise present on both the cranial and the vertebral articular facets of the right side. The first three cervical vertebrae are fused together and the remaining cervical vertebrae show severe osteophytic lipping around the vertebral bodies and alteration of most articular facets (Figure 4). Given the clinical scenario, we conclude that this individual had severely impaired neck mobility, and had to rely on the very limited range of movement offered by the lower cervical vertebrae (presumably not more than 5 degrees). Less dramatic are the alterations observed in the thoracic district of the vertebral column: some elements, such as T11 and T12 show marginal lipping or bone spurs along the articular facets but the vertebral elements remain un-fused. The lumbar vertebrae show minimal osteoarthritic proliferation, especially when compared to the upper vertebral districts. Osteo-pathological manifestations in this individual were not limited to the vertebral column. The temporo-mandibular joint shows ample evidence of inflammation and bone resorption. This is particularly apparent on the right side, where the inflammatory process triggered a proliferative response of the tympanic portion of the temporal mandibular fossa, with the formation of new bone and the enlargement of the joint. Other joints show no signs of relevant osteoarthritic modifications with the exception of the bilateral osteophytic crowning of the articular facets of the big toes. Dental pathologies were severe. The individual shows extensive ante-mortem tooth loss and alveolar retraction. He had lost most of his premolars and his molars (upper and lower) long before his death; as indicated by the complete resorption of all the pertaining alveoli. The few teeth present are badly damaged and show relevant dental wear. On one of the remaining upper teeth a cavity damaging most of the crown and reaching the dental pulp is also visible. Below the remaining lower teeth, bone remodelling clearly shows the presence, at the time of death, of an abscess, a common cause of death in societies that do not have access to antibiotics (Figure 5). 156
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The pathological alterations observed do not seem to follow any demonstrated activity-related pattern described in literature. The observed overall osteological picture is nonetheless suggestive to be compatible with horseback – or in this case “camelback” – combat. The remodeling and fusion of the cervical rachis as well as the significant ante-mortem tooth loss observed could perhaps have been the result of trauma or stress caused by continually drawing reins with teeth: a practice that frees the hands during combat. Evidence of this practice is however, more commonly observed in archers rather than swordsmen, if the abundance of weapons interred with the individual as well as the presence of two camel skeletons support this hypothesis; the nature of the weapons uncovered – swords, daggers, not arrows – does not. While a full anthropological analysis is yet to be conducted given, among other things, the momentary unavailability for study of the bones extracted with the grave goods, the indications gathered in situ provide a surprisingly complete picture of the individual’s health status and living conditions; his mobility was significantly compromised but all pathological manifestations were of chronic nature and compatible with life. No evident sign of immediate trauma or cause of death was observed. The only osteo-pathological evidence of a possibly lethal condition is the abscess observed on the mandible, obviously this does not exclude any other causes that would not have left skeletal evidence. Bibliography BUIKSTRA, J.E. & D.H. Ubelaker 1994. Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains (Research Series, no. 44). Arkansas Archaeological Survey, Fayetteville. CANDILIO, F. & V. Sparacello 2014 [Unpublished]. Sinaw-Muhut- Duqm Road Development Project (190): 2014 Rescue Excavation Anthropological Report. Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman.
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Zooarchaeological Studies Elena Maini & Antonio Curci
During the excavation of a large funerary complex in Wadi Uyun at Sinaw (Ash-Sharqiyah North, Sultanate of Oman), which included necropolises dating from the Early Bronze Age up to the Late Iron Age, two entire skeletons of Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) were found within two graves (see the contribution by Candilio, Mauro & Loreto). Excavations at Sinaw brought to light the exceptional deposition of an adult male buried with a long iron sword and two iron daggers, which date the grave between the last centuries BC and the first centuries AD (see the contribution by Clarizia). Two burials (G.50 and G.59), including each the entire skeleton of a camel, were found in close proximity to G.58 and formed a single funerary cluster. G.50 and G.59 were different from G.58 for their shape, the materials used and the construction technique (see the contribution by Candilio). The pits of the camel graves were oval and narrowed towards the bottom, while the other one was rectangular. At the end of the funerary ritual, the pits were filled with soil and covered with stone slabs and a thin layer of soil. A small tumulus of stones was eventually built on their top to serve as landmark (see the contribution by Loreto & Mauro) (Figure 1).
G.58
G.59
G.50
Figure 1. Sinaw. General view of the Late Iron Age funerary complex with a 40 year old man buried with iron swords and camels ritually sacrificed (photograph by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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Figure 2. Sinaw. Detail of G.59 during excavation showing the stone slabs placed against the camel after it was slaughtered in the pit (photograph by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman). Both animals, one adult and one sub-adult, were found in kneeling position and were probably sacrificed during a funerary ritual for the deceased following the well-known practice called balîya (or baliyya) during both pre-Islamic and Islamic tradition (King 2009; Dirbas 2014; Mauro 2014-15). According to G. King, the balîya describe the sacrifice of one or more animals, normally female of camel, cow or equids, for a deceases individual, in order to use them in the afterlife. For this motif the balîya immolation does not imply the disarticulation of the animals and the skeletal remains tend to be found complete (King 2009: 81). The anthropological analysis revealed that the human skeleton pertained to an adult male that was more than 40 years old and showed multiple pathological manifestations. The individual was found in primary deposition that well reflects the position he had been given at the time of burial: facing south, in a slightly rotated almost supine position with both elbows and knees flexed to his right (Candillo and Sparacello 2014). Besides the sword, placed on top of the right arm, and two daggers, organic traces show the possible presence of a pillow, of a conical hat and of footwear. A bronze ring in the left hand and a hemispherical bronze bowl near hip left, below one of the two daggers, completed the grave goods (Mauro 2014-15). The zooarchaeological analyses of the dromedaries Concerning the camel depositions, the structural organization of the graves allowed the preservation of the anatomic connection of the skeletons and the reconstruction of the original posture of the animals at the death (Figure 2). The stone slabs were possibly set to hold the body in place after the animal was slaughtered inside the pit. Where this wedging was less effective, i.e. at the level of the lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, bones fell into the empty space left by the decomposition of the abdomen (Loreto 2014). 159
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Figure 3. G.59. Detail of the left dromedary jaws with both milk and permanent teeth (photograph by E. Maini).
The animals were led into the pits still alive, made then kneeling and eventually killed, probably slaughtered by cutting their throat. Even if the positions of the two animals are slightly different, both are well-comparable with the position taken by kneeled camels and no evidence for violence or hamstring is visible. The bones of the two camels are still under study and only partially restored, in these paper are presents the preliminary results of the zooarchaeological analyses. Measurements will be completed when the reassembling of all anatomical portions – mainly the skulls and the pelvis that have been removed using special consolidant bandages – will be completed. This will eventually allow a comprehensive reappraisal of published data. In the G.59, the dromedary lays crouched facing West, in East-West direction, with the head reclined backward and overturned on the back. The forelegs were bent with the dorsal side of the metacarpals and of the phalanges facing downward. The hind legs were bent with the hocks touching each other, while the plantar side of the metatarsals and of the phalanges was towards the ground. This evidence describes a natural sitting position for the camels, although slightly different from the one documented for the animal in G.50 (see below). The skeleton had the neurocranium and part of splanchnocranium with incisive portion completely destroyed. Deciduous canine and deciduous upper premolar (D2, D3, D4) were instead well preserved and were present also two permanent molars (M1 and M2), while the third molar (M3) had not erupted yet. In the lower jaw, two deciduous premolars (D3 and D4) and two permanent molars (M1 and M2) were present (Figure 3). As for the postcranial skeleton, all the epiphysis of the long bones were not fused with the shaft, with the exception of few ossification points visible on the first posterior medial phalanges and on the second medial and lateral phalanges. 160
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Figure 4. G.50. Detail of skull and teeth during excavation (photograph by F. Candilio, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
The zooarchaeological analysis of the camel in G.59 allows to propose an age ranging between 3 and half and 4 years, according to the teeth, and not exceeding 5 years basing on the fusion rate of the axis (Olsen 1988; Studer and Scheider 2008; Pigiére and Henrotay 2012; Bello et al. 2013). There is unfortunately no information suitable for determining the sex. In the Grave 50, the dromedary was found in a kneeling position facing West, in East-West direction, with the head reclined backward and overturned on the back. The forelegs were bent with the dorsal side of the metacarpals and of the phalanges facing downward. The hind legs were bent with the hocks distant one from the other, while the plantar side of the metatarsals and of the phalanges were towards the ground. The extremity of the right hind leg was folded under the abdomen. As for the camel of G.59, the crouched sitting position was typical even if slightly different from the animal in G.59. The epiphyses of the long bones were completely fused with the shaft, as well as were phalanges and vertebrae. The skull was heavily damaged and, at the moment, it cannot be reconstructed. Both upper and lower permanent premolars and molars on the left side (P2-M3) were still recognizable, allowing to estimate an age between 7 and 15 years (Bello et al. 2013). The observation of the right side of the splanchnocranium (Figure 4), mainly due to the size of the canine and upper incisor, suggests that it was a male (Olsen 1988). According to the morphological characteristics of metapodials, phalanges, astragali, calcanei and to the general evaluation of the skeletons, the two animals were Camelus dromedarius (Steiger 1990). The dimensional study, conducted only on a part of the sample, still allows some prudent consideration in the waiting of a possible widening of the sample. The individuals were smaller than the average size reported in literature for dromedaries of comparable ages (Steiger 1990; Uerpmann and Uerpmann 1999, 2002; Studer and Scheider 2008; Pigiére and Henrotay 2012; Curci et al. 2014). 161
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Figure 5. Metrical comparison of the Phalange I post (GL/SD) from Sinaw dromedaries to both recent and pre-protohistoric dromedaries and Bactrian camels from Arabian Peninsula (image by the authors).
Figure 6. Metrical comparison of the Metacarpus (GL/SD) from Sinaw dromedaries to both recent and pre-protohistoric dromedaries and Bactrian camels from Arabian Peninsula (image by the authors). 162
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Graphs plot the dimensional ratios of skeletons from both museum collections and archaeological excavations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East (for all measurements plotted in the graphs, see Curci et al. 2014; Pigiére and Henrotay 2012; Steiger 1990; Studer and Scheider 2008; Uerpmann 1999; Uerpmann and Uerpmann 1999, 2002). The phalanges of the camels found at Sinaw fall within the range of Camelus dromedarius and are distinct from those of Bactrian camels or hybrids (Figure 5). GL/SD ratio of the metacarpals also confirms that the camels found at Sinaw were dromedaries (Figure 6). Although the visual analysis and the photographic documentation of the skull suggests that the adult animal was a male, the morphometric analysis conducted so far does not allow to establish positively the gender of these sacrificed animals. In fact, if a degree of morphological differentiation between the two sexes is rather evident in the Bactrians, the gender differentiation is less clear for the dromedaries. The small number of specimens studied so far does not allow to confirm a marked sexual dimorphism as instead reported several time in literature (Olsen 1988; Bello et al. 2013).
Figure 7. Fully articulated skeletal remains of a ritually slaughtered camel buried in a grave dating to the last centuries BC/first centuries AD in Wadi Harou, Hadramawt, Yemen (photograph by Abdal Barakani, RASA Project). 163
Figure 8. Logarithmic size index (LSI) distribution for bone measurements of dromedaries from Arabian Peninsula. (image by the authors).
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Conclusions Skeletal remains of camels slaughtered in a kneeling posture, clearly related to balîya immolations, have been discovered at archaeological sites of different periods across the Oman Peninsula and the neighboring regions (Bin Aqil and McCorriston 2009; Dirbas 2014; Magee 2015) (Figure 7). Many of them accompanied burials of humans identified by signs of prestige like weapons, as in the case of the funerary complex of Sinaw. The statistical evaluation of osteometric data using specific diagrams and the LSI calculation (Logarithm Size Index, see Meadow 1999) allowed some interesting observations for a better understanding of the dromedary breeding characteristics from the early stages of domestication up to the first centuries AD. Intra individual variability of the LSI index is rather wide (for examples of high variabilities, see the single individuals of Al-Buhais 12 and Sinaw G.59, while is less marked in Sinaw G.50). However, the average values – even if not distant from the lower values available for the wild dromedaries from Baynunah – rank at the lowest levels among all samples tested to date (Figure 8). Although the beginning of dromedary domestication is still the matter of a complex debate (Uerpmann and Uerpmann 2002; Curci et al. 2014; Magee 2015), there is no doubt that the two camels of Sinaw were domestic and, considering that at least one of the two individuals was almost certainly a male, their small size might be due to an advanced stage of domestication. Bibliography BELLO, A., M. L. Sonfada, A. A. Umar, M. A. Umaru, S. A. Shehu, S. A. Hena, J. E. Onu & O. O. Fatima 2013. Age estimation of camel in Nigeria using rostral dentition. Scientific Journal of Animal Science 2(1): 9-14. BIN AQIL, A. J. & J. McCorriston 2009. Prehistoric small scale monument types in Hadramawt (southern Arabia): convergences in ethnography, linguistics and archaeology. Antiquity 83/321: 602-618. CANDILLO, F., V. Sparacello 2014 [Unpublished]. Sinaw–Muhut–Duqm Road Construction Project – 2014 Excavations, Appendix 2 – Anthropological Report. Report submitted to the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman. CURCI, A., M. Carletti & M. Tosi 2014. The camel remains from site HD-6 (Ra’s al-Hadd, Sultanate of Oman): an opportunity for a critical review of dromedary findings in eastern Arabia. Anthropozoologica 49 (2): 207-224. DIRBAS, H. 2014. The Sacrifice of Riding Animals in Amorite and Arabic Traditions. Subartu 8: 3-12. KING, G. 2009. Camels and Arabian baliyaand other forms of sacrifice: a review of archaeological and literary evidence. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 20: 81-93. LORETO, R. 2014 [Unpublished]. Sinaw 2014 – Archaeological Rescue Excavation - Project 190 - The T58 Grave. Report submitted to the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman. MAGEE, P. 2015. Where was the Dromedary domesticated in the Ancient Near East? Zeitschrift Für OrientArchäologie 8: 252-277. MAURO, F. 2014-15 [Unpublished]. La necropoli di Sinaw e le culture dell’Oman centrale nella Late Iron Age. Il caso del guerriero della Tomba 58. BA Thesis, University of Naples “L’ Orientale”. MEADOW, R. H. 1999. The Use of Size Index Scaling Techniques for Research on Archaeozoological Collections from the Middle East. Historia Animalium ex Ossibus. Festschrift für Angela von den Driesch zum 65. Geburtstag (InternationaleArchäologie, Bd 8, Studia honoraria). Verlag Marie Leidorf, Rahden, Westf, pp. 285-300. 165
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OLSEN, S. J. 1988. The Camel in Ancient China and an Osteology of the Camel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 140/1: 18-58. PIGIÉRE, F. & D. Henrotay 2012. Camels in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire. Journal of Archaeological Science 39: 1531-1539. STEIGER, C. 1990. Vergleichendmorphologische Untersuchungen an Einzelknochen des postkranial Skeletts der Altweltkamele. PhD Dissertation, Universität München. STUDER, J. & A. Schneider 2008. Camel use in the Petra Region, Jordan: 1st century BC to 4th century AD. In Archaeozoology of the Near East VIII, Proceedings of the eight international symposium on the archaeozoology of southwestern Asia and adjacent areas (TMO49). Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, pp. 581-596. UERPMANN, H.-P. 1999. Camel and horse skeletons from protohistoric graves at Mleiha in the Emirate of Sharjah (U.A.E). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 10: 102-118. UERPMANN, H.-P. & M. Uerpmann 1999. The camel burial of al-Buhais 12 (Sharjah, U.A.E.). In Becker, C., Manhart, H., Peters, J., Schibler, J. (eds.), Historia ex animaliumossibus. BeiträgezurPaläoanatomie, Archäologie, Ägyptologie, Ethologie und Geschichte der Tiermedizin. Rahden/Westfalia, Leidorf, pp. 455-462. UERPMANN, H.-P. & M. Uerpmann 2002. The Apparence of the Domestic camel in South-east Arabia. Journal of Oman Studies 12: 235-260.
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Typological and Chronological Assessments Vincenzo Clarizia
The sword was buried with a male adult, likely a chief warrior, in a grave within a burial ground near Sinaw in Ash-Sharqiyah North Governorate, between Al-Hajar Mountains and the Wahiba desert. In addition to the sword, the weapon equipment included two daggers. The sword, 83 cm long in total, has a singleedged iron blade of 70 cm curving forward and widening at the middle. The edge is concave on the part of the blade near the hilt and swells to convexity towards the tip that is very piercing. The 13 cm long hilt is suitable for one handgrip. Thanks to its shape, the weight is well balanced and the long cutting edge can hit with a great momentum, like an axe, making the sword a lethal cut and thrust weapon. The length of the sword allows an effective use also from horseback or camelback. This type of sword is usually known as derived from the Greek kopis, introduced in Central Asia by Alexander the Great. With any evidence, this is a wrong assumption because similar swords are depicted on Greek pottery containers already in the 5th century BC, one century before the Macedonian conquest, in the hands of Persians or their allies (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Greek hoplite and Persian warrior holding a kopis type sword depicted on a kylix dating to the 5th century BC (National Archaeological Museum of Athens). 167
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Figure 2. The sword of Sinaw after restoration (photographs by P. Koch, Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman). 168
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Figure 3. Etruscan sword from Gualdo Tadino (Italy) 5th century BC (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy National Etruscan Museum, Rome).
Moreover, the Macedonian examples tended to be shorter than the early examples, with a blade length under 50 cm. It is very likely that similar curved blades were developed independently in different regions, as an alternative to the straight double-edged blade. Curved forward blades enlarged toward the tip can be found in all the ancient world differing in the length, curvature and the hilt. The Iberian falcata, used widely by the Carthaginians, is the most known, but also the Etruscans and other Italic populations used similar swords. In fact, some scholars have claimed an Etruscan origin for these swords, because they have been found as early as the 7th century BC in Etruria (Figure 3).
Figure 4. Hoplites fighting using spears depicted on an Attic black-figure hydria, ca. 560 BC–550 BC (courtesy Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Louvre Museum).
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Figure 5. Turkish Ottoman yatağan with a steel blade richly overlaid with gold and a large walrus ivory handle embellished with gold-gilt filigree. The blade is decorated on both sides with an engraving saying Sâhib wa mâlek Suleiman 1855, trad. Lord and owner Suleiman 1855 (photograph from www.swordscollection.it).
Figure 6. Swords from Samad Al-Shan and Al-Fuwaydah in the Sultanate of Oman (from Yule 1999: fig. 39/Fu16, 41/Fu19; Yule 2001: pl. 475/8).
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Figure 7. The suspension band and ring (left) and the rivet fixing the suspension band to the scabbard (right) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman). Figure 8. Chape of the Sinaw sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman). In Greece, the kopis was regarded as a foreign weapon possibly originating from the Egyptian kopesh. However, swords were rarely used by Greek warriors in favor of spears, as widely documented by representations on the Greek vases (Figure 4). Subsequent evolutions of this concept of sword can be considered the flyssa in North Africa, the yatağan in the Balkans and Anatolia, the kukri in Nepal and the pata in India (Figure 5). Compared to the kopis, the Sinaw sword has a slender blade and a more stylized handle. Similar swords, but shorter, have already been found in Oman at Al-Fuwaydah and Samad (Figure 6). After their removal from the grave, the sword and the two daggers were subjected to a conservative treatment. The blade is consolidated within the scabbard, which was probably made of wood and covered with a sheet of soft iron. On the scabbard there are two iron suspension bands with ring, one of which is complete (Figure 7). The suspension bands give the exact dimension of the scabbard to which they are fixed with rivets or nails. The position of the suspension rings suggests that the sword was worn with the edge of the blade facing down, likely suspended relatively high under the armpit to prevent it bouncing around when riding. This allowed drawing the sword using only the right hand in order to control the horse or the camel holding the bridles with the left hand, considering also that at the time no stirrups were used. Figure 9. Hollow ring on the scabbard of the Sinaw sword (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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Figure 10. Blade of the Sinaw sword near the ricasso (left) and at the edge (right) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
An iron chape was at the tip of the scabbard. Even if not in good condition its shape can be recognized and the bulge at his end can be found both in the later yatağan and khyber knife scabbards (Figure 8). Probably the scabbard had also a locket as suggested by the hollow ring at the top of the scabbard (Figure 9). As said the blade is covered by the scabbard. However the blade can be checked in some uncovered spots near the ricasso and the edge and seems to be in quite good condition. Even if not in detail, the general shape and dimension of the blade can be recognized, with the protruding ricasso to protect the fingers, while the widening of the blade on the side of the edge was a substitute of the guard that was instead present in some kopis type swords (Figure 10). The back of the blade is not visible. It could be supposed plain, as in the similar swords found in Oman, or with a round or T shaped spine to give greater strength to the blade (Figure 11). The hilt is of the so called eagle head shape (Figure 12), which became common in Anatolia, central Asia and Caucasus.The best-known examples are the Turkish kandjar, the Afghan knife and the Caucasian shashka. It is covered with white scales at the two ends and of wood in the middle. The scales are riveted to the tang. The white material could be ivory or bone. The chromatic black and white effect of the scales suggest that a black wood was used, maybe ebony. A sheet of silver alloy bordered the hilt and probably had the function of languet.
Figure 11. A sword from Lanuvio (Italy) 6th-5th century BC (photograph by V. Clarizia, courtesy National Roman Museum – The Baths of Diocletian, Rome)
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Figure 12. Handle of the Sinaw sword (DA40751) with the silver alloy sheet (right) and remains of the silver alloy languet (left) (photographs by V. Clarizia, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
The metallographic analysis on the few samples taken from the sword reveal only soft iron with a low carbon content and are probably parts of the scabbard. Unfortunately, due to the condition of the sword, no samples from the cutting edge could have been taken, so there are not indications about the type of the steel of the blade and the forging technique. The most probable hypothesis is of a Persian origin of the sword suggested both by the strong connections between Persia and Oman and by the presence in the grave of a conical felt cap of the Phrygian type. In Persia these type of swords were used for centuries before Islam and Persia was a main center of production of blades made with the steel usually imported from India in the form of billets. It is also possible that the sword was made locally by a Persian smith. The strong similarity with the Samad sword (Yule 2016: 67) suggest a similar Sasanian origin. In particular the bent grip in the form of a bird’s head and the two suspension rings are considered Sasanian features (Potts 1998: 197). Trousdale noted that the two point suspension system did not appear in Western Asia until after the reign of Shapur II (AD 379). He therefore dated its earliest appearance in the region to the late fourth century (Trousdale 1975: 97). Southeastern Arabia was annexed by the Sasanian Empire from the 3rd century AD, becoming the province of Mazun, perhaps as early as the reign of Ardashir from 221 AD (Potts 1998: 196-197). During the Sasanian rule it is probable that Sasanian arms entered into the region with the Sasanian garrison troops. In the late Sasanian period the old feudal organization was modified in order to control the interior and a military class was established directly related to the governor established at Rustāq (Wilkinson 1975: 99). Because the sword was surely a luxury object, as the most common weapon was the spear, the fact that such a valuable asset was buried with two daggers and two camels gives to the Sinaw’s warrior a very respectable position, compatible with a military feudal rule in the Sasanian administration. Bibliography POTTS, D. T. 1998. Some issues in the studv of the pre-Islamic weaponry of southeastern Arabia. Arabian Archeology and Epigraphy 9: 182-208. TROUSDALE, W. 1975. The Long Sword and Scabbard Slide in Asia. Washington, Smithsonian Institution. YULE, P. A. 2016. Valorising the Samad Late Iron Age. Arabian Archeology and Epigraphy 27: 31-71. WILKINSON, J. 1975. The Julanda of Oman. Journal of Oman Studies 1: 97-108. 173
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Conservation and Restoration Gianluca Regoli & Nicola Pagani
The iron sword (DA40751) and the two iron daggers (DA 40752 and DA 40753) from the archaeological site of Sinaw Al-Mudhaibi (Ash-Sharqiyah North Governorate) are part of the funeral equipment of the Grave 58 (SU 94-1113) dated to 300 BC and belonging to a chieftain (Figure 1).1 The restoration took place in two different phases after a period of two years. In the first phase (April 2014) during the archaeological excavation, was made the detachment and the extraction of the artifacts from the burial site. All the finds were then transported to Muscat in order to be stored at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (now Heritage and Tourism). About two years after, began the actual conservation work in which the findings from the tomb of Sinaw have been restored on the occasion of a wider restoration project (January-April 2016) that affected\interested a large number of artifacts from the sites of Daba and Safha.2 Conservation status Each artifact was taken from the burial site within its block of sand and soil preliminary consolidated by gauze and wax (cyclododecane) for a safer handling and manipulation (Bruckle et al. 1999) (Figures 3 and 4). Because of the intricate position of all the goods in the grave, before the extraction, all the artifacts needed a very strong preliminary consolidation in order to avoid serious damages during all the stages of removal procedure, packaging and transport. When the conservation treatment started the artifacts were still conserved inside their wood boxes crafted on the burial site and used as a storage containers (Figures 5 and 6). Only one side of each weapon was visible, still covered by soil and sand deposits, gauze and wax. All the three weapons were extremely corroded and fragmentary with a large amount of disfiguring iron scales. Most of those scales were still in position thank to the presence of consolidated deposits and soil (Figures 7 and 8).
Figure 1. Overview of the deposition with daggers and sword in their original positions together with the deceased.
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Figure 2. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle before the extraction from the burial site.
Figure 3. Sword DA40751. First step of preliminary consolidation with gauze and Cyclododecane. 175
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Figure 4. Dagger DA40753. Preliminary consolidation with gauze and Cyclododecane before the extraction.
Figure 5. Sword DA40751. Sword inside its wood box immediately after the extraction.
Figure 6. Daggers DA40752-DA40753 inside their wood box immediately after the extraction. 176
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Figure 7. Sword DA40751. Conservation status, detail of a highly fragmented part with the disfiguring scales.
Figure 8. Daggers DA40752-DA40753. Overview of conservation status, both daggers inside their new temporary support, DA40752 during the micro-excavation. 177
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Figure 9. Dagger DA40753. Area affected by a wide expansion. In this detail all the iron layers are observable, highlighted by the deformation process.
During the oxidation and corrosion processes the iron layers were affected by a wide expansion (Figure 9). This process mainly affected the two daggers. Unfortunately, the corrosion products blocked some of the scales\flakes in a disordered position. As a result, the presence of this highly deforming thick layer of iron corrosion products made impossible to preliminarily identify the original shape of the daggers (Figure 10). For what concerns the sword, this was less deformed then the daggers but highly fragmented with some big lacunae due to the complete dissolution of the iron. The sword was also hardly cracked near the handle and in the middle of the blade. Despite the presence of the consolidant and of the deposits it has been possible to recognize the presence of the constituent material that composed the handle of the sword (after confirmed by micro-excavation). The exposed side of the handle showed a highly fragmented ivory plaque and few wood traces near it. A grey metal band run along the edges of the handle. This thin metal band, after identified as silver, was covered by a wax-like thick layer of silver chlorides which partially hid and deformed the real shape of the metal band (Figure 11). Conservation treatments Because of the different conservation status between the daggers and the sword, the cleaning treatments, (although similar in some aspects) have led to different procedures of conservation treatment. Sword (DA 40751) Micro-excavation, cleaning and temporary supports The first step of the conservation treatment was to carefully remove the layers of deposits from the exposed side until the iron surfaces in order to identify the shape of the object and to make a preliminary “soft” cleaning of the surfaces. 178
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Figure 10. Dagger DA40753. Overview of an area affected by a wide expansion of iron layers.
Figure 11. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle before the conservation treatment. 179
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Then a new temporary support was created for the sword in order to safely reverse the whole block and to permit the micro-excavation from the other side. This new support was crafted with plaster and gauze.3 The temporary support must fit perfectly with the shape of the block in order to avoid damages to the object during the operation of overturning. At the same time it has to be strong enough to support\ tolerate the micro-excavation.4 After the complete removal of most of the soil deposits and the bones from the surfaces the “intensive” cleaning treatment was started (Figures 12 and 13).5 The coherent soil and sand deposits together with unstable and highly deforming corrosion products were removed using scalpels, brushes and micro-motor burs and small steel instruments for dental usage. The incoherent deposits, like dusty corrosion products and soil deposits left from the micro-excavation, were mechanically removed by soft brushes and cotton-tipped swabs of ethanol. Evident traces of cyclododecane were noticed in several more or less extended areas and a tipped-cotton swab of white spirits was used to remove them. During the cleaning treatment it was chosen to separate the three pieces composing the sword (handle, middle blade and blade tip) following the existing fractures (Figures 14 to 16). This decision allowed to handle and analyze each element in a safer and guarded way to perform a very specific treatment of each part. As a result, it was possible to identify the precise structure of the handle: both sides were assembled with two ivory plaques and a wood plaque, all maintained in place by few tiny iron nails. A silver band runs along the edges of the handle and another silver band partially covered the upper top of the ivory plaques near the cutting edge (Figure 17). For what concern the blade tip of the sword it was possible to identify and separate a part of the chape belonging to the scabbard (see Figure 14). Inhibitors, dehydration, improvement of adhesion and fillings During the cleaning treatment it was necessary to infiltrate a very small amount of bi-component epoxy resinto improve the adhesion of some fragments.6 The resin was added with pigment powder to reach a basic brown color. In some cases an instant bi-component epoxy adhesive had to be used to avoid scales detachment (Figure 18).7
Figure 12. Sword DA40751. The sword inside the new temporary support in plaster, during the micro-excavation (initial step).
Figure 13. Sword DA40751. Second step of the micro-excavation after the removal of the bones. 180
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Figure 14. Sword DA40751. Detail of the blade tip with fragments of the chape.
Figure 15. Sword DA40751. Detail of the middle part of the sword after the removal of the blade tip for conservation treatments.
Figure 16. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle after the separation of the three parts composing the sword. 181
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Figure 17. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle after the micro-excavation process, this side of the handle was concealed and protected by the soil.
At the end of the cleaning operation, the iron surfaces were treated with a corrosion inhibitor.8 The inhibition of unstable iron corrosion products was performed with a 2.5% of tannic acid in a water-alcohol solution (Logan 1989). The solution was applied as much as needed (three times maximum) to permit a uniform reaction of the surfaces. After the inhibition treatment a localized solvents compresses were applied in order to dry the objects. The fillings was realized with two different kind of bi-component epoxy resins.
Figure 18. Sword DA40751. Blade tip, detail of the area interested by the infiltration of epoxy resins. Only a small amount of resin was used to fix the main fragments. 182
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Figure 19. Sword DA40751. Detail of the suspension ring reconstructed at the centre of the sword, after the conservation treatment.
Figure 20. Sword DA40751. Overview of the sword after the conservation treatment (photographs by P. Koch, courtesy Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of Oman).
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The most used is a paste composed by a bi-component epoxy resins (UHU plus 12/24h) mixed with pigment powders. Few small temporary supports in wax were used to maintain in position the parts to block\to glue. After the hardening of the epoxy resins the wax-tapes support were removed. All the fillings were mechanically finished and refined with scalpels and micro-motor burs. In order to create structural bonding a bi-component thixotropic epoxy resin was used mixed with pigment powders.9 Protection and chromatic integration A 2.5% acrylic copolymer resin (Paraloid B72) solution in acetone was used to protect and consolidate the objects. A further wax-based protection layer was excluded in order to maintain an higher reversibility of the protective treatment in case of new corrosion process. The chromatic integration was made with varnish colors chosen for their stability and reversibility. This treatment was only made for aesthetics covering of the fillings (Figures 19 and 20). Sword (DA 40751) Handle Conservation treatment and products The disfiguring scales that composed the ivory plaques were consolidated and glued with polyvinylbutyral adhesive from 2 % to 5% in ethanol solution.10 Cyanoacrylate glue was used to fix some fragments in the case that it was essential and only in a very specific area. All plaques were reinforced with silk gauze glued with 10-20% acrylic copolymer resins solution in acetone (Figures 21 to 23).11 All the plaques were attached to the handle in their original position using very specific spot of instant bi-component epoxy adhesive (UHU plus 5min schnellfest). The wood fragments were consolidated using 1.5-2.0% acrylic copolymer resins solution in acetone. A specific epoxy platform was created to attach the wood fragments in their original position using 10-20% acrylic copolymer resins solution in acetone (Figure 24). The silver band fragments were cleaned using brushes, scalpels and micro-motor burs. Each fragment was reinforced with silk gauze and glued in its original position using very specific spot of instant bi-component epoxy adhesive.12 All the silver parts were dehydrated with a localized solvents compresses and then coated with 1.5-2.0% acrylic copolymer resins solution in acetone (Figure 25). Daggers (DA40752, DA40753) Micro-excavation, cleaning and fillings As it was for the sword, the daggers were taken from the grave within their block of sand and soil and then placed together in a single temporary wooden storage box. So the first step was to separate them by crafting of two different temporary supports made with gauze and plaster (Figure 26). The supports were realized after the sampling operation and after a “soft” cleaning of the surfaces. The cleaning operation was very complex because of the awful conservation status of both daggers characterized by the presence of different overlapping layers of corroded iron scales\flakes, only held in place by instable corrosion products and consolidated soil deposits. For this reason the treatment was carried out in several stages: after a preliminary cleaning of the upper scales it was necessary to consolidate and fix them by infiltration of bicomponent epoxy resins. The coherent soil and sand deposits together with unstable and highly deforming corrosion products were removed using small steel instruments for dental use, scalpels, brushes and micro-motor burs (Figures 27 to 29). Thank to this step by step process it was possible to proceed with caution with the micro-excavation to fully discover each dagger from the soil deposits. After the excavation process the daggers were composed by few group of blocked fragments (Figure 30). 184
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Figure 21. Sword DA40751. Detail of the backside of two ivory plaques reinforced with silk gauze.
Figure 22. Sword DA40751. Detail of reconstructed ivory parts before the assemble of the handle.
Figure 23. Sword DA40751. Backside of two ivory plaques with a detail of their joint. An iron nail is visible on the centre of the bigger plaque. 185
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Figure 24. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle. Near the central nail the epoxy resin “cushion” realized to attach the wood fragments in their original position.
Each group was then put back in place with temporary supports and fixed with bi-component epoxy resin in order reconstruct again the original shape of each dagger. For the dagger DA40753 was also possible to reconstruct the most part of the handle thanks to the discovery of some fragments which were kept separately from the main artifacts. The fragments of the handle were glued to the sword using a bicomponent thixotropic epoxy resin in order to create a structural bonding (Figures 31 and 32). Inhibitors and dehydration Likewise the cleaning, the inhibition treatment was performed step by step and for each single group of fragments, before and after each cleaning phase. The inhibition of unstable iron corrosion products was performed with a 2.5% of tannic acid in a water-alcohol solution. The dehydration was performed with solvents and IR light lamps. Protection and chromatic integration A 2,5% acrylic copolymer resin (Paraloid B72) solution in acetone was used to protect and consolidate the objects. A further wax-based protection layer was excluded in order to maintain a higher reversibility of the protective treatment in case of new active corrosion formations. The chromatic integration was made with varnish colors chosen for their stability and reversibility. This treatment was only made for aesthetics covering of the fillings (Figures 33 and 34). 186
Figure 25. Sword DA40751. Detail of the handle after the conservation treatment.
Appendix – The Desert Lord of Sinaw and his Iron Weaponry
Figure 26. Daggers DA40752-40753. last step of the crafting of the new temporary supports made with plaster and gauze.
Maintenance Plan The preservation and future maintenance of the artifacts should include a series of activities for inspection and maintenance. Through simple operations carried out periodically and regularly (twice a year), it will be possible to maintain the benefits obtained with the restoration and extend the life of the artifacts. The maintenance and monitoring activities shall be followed and carried out by specialized and trained technicians or conservators.
Figure 27. Dagger DA40752. Detail of a micro-excavation step. Only one side of the dagger is visible the other part is still covered by soil deposits. 187
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Figure 28. Dagger DA40752. Detail of a semi-finished infiltration of epoxy resin.
Figure 29. Dagger DA40752. Detail of a semi-finished infiltration of epoxy resin. 188
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Figure 30. Dagger DA40753. Overview of the group of fragments in position and before their assembling.
The main monitoring activities shall be as follows: • Removal of superficial incoherent deposits with soft brushes; • Review of conservative treatments: verify the status of fillings and gluing with any remedial action in case of verification of new alterations; • Inspection on the surface to check for any deterioration phenomena such as de-cohesion; • Appearance of new postings or fractures or new active corrosion formations with any remedial action in case of verification. For the metal artifacts, the control of relative humidity and ventilation is high priority activity compared to controlling lighting and temperature. Ventilation is essential to have a uniform distribution of temperature and humidity but should not be excessive and should be made with filtered air to limit the deposition of dust. The restored objects must be preserved in a strictly controlled environment. The relative humidity must not be higher than 45% (Logan 1989). Temperature should be constantly around 20°C. It is necessary to avoid draughts of air. If the object is not exhibited in a showcase but kept in storage, it must be conserved in a PVC container with some bags filled with silica gel. These bags must be controlled periodically to see if their weight has changed, having in the meantime absorbed humidity. The objects must not be in contact one with another, because a process of contact corrosion could easily start. The vibrations must be avoid. Conclusions Despite the difficulties that have arisen during the conservation treatment the results look very interesting and satisfying. For what concerns the daggers it has been possible to reconstruct their entirety and as far as possible to understand their original shape. For what concerns the sword, the restoration has allowed identifying the various constituent material such as the ivory and wooden plaques that adorn the 189
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handle. Now it is also possible to assume some construction techniques. Furthermore, the conservation treatment showed that the sword is still and partly preserved within its sheath although it is no longer possible to separate the two elements because the corrosion process has welded together the blade and the scabbard. However, it was possible to identify and preserve part of the iron chape as an evidence of the original scabbard. Despite the success of the conservation treatment the artifact is still extremely fragile and need a very special care for their maintenance, as a consequence of their initial poor condition (Figure 34).
Bibliography BRUCKLE I., J. Thornton, K. Nichols & G. Strikler 1999. Cyclododecane: Technical note on some uses in paper and objects conservation. Journal of the american institute for conservation 38.2: 162-175. SCOTT D.A & G. Eggert 2009. Iron and steel in art. Corrosion, colorants, conservation. London LOGAN J. recise by L.Selwyn, C. Cook & T. Grant 1989. Tannic Acid Coating For Rusted Iron Artifacts, Formerly Published Under The Title Tannic Acid Treatment. Canadian Conservation Institute (Cci) Notes 9/5, 1989.
Endnotes 1
The funeral equipment included also a small bronze vessel.
Conservation carried out by Regoli e Radiciotti Srl: Gianluca Regoli, Alberto Mazzoleni, Nicola Pagani, Urszula Strugala, Valentina Raciti, Maria Facchinetti, Elena cagnoni, Giorgia Dato. 2
3
A thin layer of polyethylene film was used to avoid contact between plaster and the surface of the artifact.
A number of fragments was taken from both sides by Dr. Ivan Stephanof following Prof. M. Tosi indication in order to make metallographic analysis (see the contribution by Stephanov). 4
The sword was removed from the grave with the arm bones of the skeleton that was still grabbing the handle and the hilt of the sword. 5
6
UHU plus 12\24hour bi-component epoxy resin.
7
UHU plus schnellfest 5 minutes bicomponent epoxy resin.
An inhibitor is a substance that retards the rate of corrosion of metals. It acts to retard the elettrochemical interaction of the metal suppressing the anodic reaction, the cathodic reaction or both (Scott and Eggert 2009). 8
9
Etobond 6066.
10
Mowital B60HH.
11
Paraloid B72.
12
UHU plus schnellfest 5 minutes bicomponent epoxy resin.
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Metallographic Analyses Ivan Stepanov
Three iron weapons from Sinaw were examined: the long one-edged incurved sword DA40751 and two double-edged daggers, DA40752 and DA40753. All weapons are tanged. The composite hilt of the long sword, which incorporates several different materials, is largely preserved, while the wooden hilts of the two daggers are significantly degraded. The blade shapes differ from one another; the long sword has an incurved blade, dagger DA40752 has a straight blade, while the blade of DA40753 has a slight S-shaped curve, which probably resulted from wear-deformation of an originally straight blade. The iron in all three blades is completely corroded (as supported by metallographic observations), which has caused bloating and deformation of their original shapes. Such severe degradation is probably related to the fact that Sinaw is located in the northern part of the South Oman Salt Basin (Robertson & Searle 1990: 4, fig. 1) where the soils contain high concentrations of sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium carbonates and sulphates. Chlorides and sulphates, among other salts, are known to promote iron corrosion (Gerwin 2000: 76). Sampling After excavation in April 2014, all three iron artefacts were discovered to be very fragile due to severe corrosion and it was not even possible to undertake safe transport of these objects to the storage. The artefacts therefore were impregnated with a stabilizing material, cyclododecanol, which is known to sublimate over time. However, during sampling of the swords in February 2016, cyclododecanol did not dissolve completely and only superficial scales peeled off. In the case of daggers DA40751, DA40752, which were found without their scabbards, such flat samples from the artefact’s surface can be considered representative of the blade structure. In contrast, long sword DA40751 was situated within its iron scabbard, meaning that scales sampled from its surface belong to the scabbard rather than the blade. Therefore, due to the lack of possibility to undertake invasive sampling of such significant archaeological artefacts, a single sample belonging to the blade of DA40751 (Om-206) was extracted from the backside of its middle part where the cyclododecanol matrix was cracked, allowing access to the blade. Methodology The analytical protocol applied to the Sinaw ferrous remains included standard metallographic mounting and polishing, chemical etching, investigation of remnant carburized structures within the corroded iron matrix using reflected light optical microscopy, and compositional analyses of various microstructural features using Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry on a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM-EDS). Metallography was performed on rare surviving grains of un-corroded iron (usually 50-200 um) by etching them in a 3% Nital solution. Exposed structures provided insight into the nature of the metal. Additionally, identification and analyses of remnant carburized structures within the corroded matrix provided information similar to that which can be obtained through classical metallography, except that this method does not require etching (as no metal is present). 191
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The usefulness of remnant carburized structures relates to the fact the original iron phases, including ferrite, pearlite and cementite, are selectively replaced with different iron oxides as a part of corrosion mechanism. The limitation of this approach lay to the fact that remnant structures are preserved only sporadically, while carbon content of the rest of areas within the corroded sample remains unresolved. Nevertheless, despite full reconstruction of the corroded iron sample is not possible, the hypotheses about the original metal based on summary evidences of dominant types of remnant structures and etched structures within un-corroded metal grains can be drawn. Sword DA40751 A single-edged sword with a total length of 83 cm (Figure 1). The sword has slightly incurved blade, 68 cm long, stuck by corrosion in its iron scabbard, which is 5-6 cm wide. Attached to the blade is a composite wooden hilt, 13 cm long and 4 cm wide, whose butt-end resembles a bird’s head. The hilt is fringed with non-ferrous alloy (copper-, silver- or tin-based) and three iron rivets located in upper, lower and middle part of the handle serve to fasten ivory inlays to the wooden base of the hilt. Scabbard and blade The scabbard of DA40751 ends with a drop-shaped tip, 2.5 cm long. Welded to the front edge of the scabbard is an iron bar (Figure 1, brown), whose current dimensions are as follows: length 19 cm, width 1-2 cm, thickness 1 cm. The position of the bar suggests that it is a constituent of the sword’s doublelocket suspension system, with one locket mounted ca. 7 cm from the base of the blade and the other approximately in the middle of the blade, ca. 30 cm from its base. It can be suggested that the bar functioned to stabilize the suspension lockets on the scabbard. To our knowledge, DA40751 is the first known sword from Southeastern Arabia to employ a suspension system of this design. The metallographic investigation of three samples (Om-208, Om-203 and Om-206) extracted from the sword’s iron scabbard reveals the softness of its metal (0.0 – 0.1% C), confirming its non-combat function. The analyses of sample Om-202 extracted from the attached bar reveals a structure similar to that of scabbard, of relatively soft metal with 0.0-0.1% C. Despite the fact that both the scabbard and the blade are fully corroded, examination of the cross-section of a sample taken from the back of the blade (Om206, Figure 2), indicates that the blade is much more compact than the heavily stratified remnants of the enwrapping scabbard. This suggests that the metal for the sword was worked more intensively than the metal for the scabbard. The wedge-like section of the blade’s spine is slightly concave and resembles capital letter T. The thickness of the spine within the available sample is 4 mm. As regards the width of the sample, it is also 4 mm. However, the blade’s total width probably lies in the range 1-3 cm, while a spherical bulb was likely located between the blade and the spine, as seen in the similar swords from graves Fu12, Fu19, Fu16 of cemetery Al-Fuwaydah (Yule 2009, fig: 6) and Mleiha (Mouton 2008: fig. 41) located in Oman and UAE. Metallographic examination of five un-corroded metallic prills, 50-170 um in size, within the blade’s spine indicates that the spine was made of soft iron (0% C) with an average grain size of 15-35 um. Investigation of additional remnant structures within the corroded iron matrix confirms these conclusions. Although the structure (and hardness) of the cutting edge remains a matter of speculation, the luxury character of the sword (i.e., its incorporation of expensive materials such as non-ferrous metals and ivory), as well as its likely chronological range (ca. 1st millennium AD) might lead to an idea that steel, or at least heterogeneously carburized iron, could have been used in the cutting edge of the sword. 192
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the sword DA40751 and the location of extracted metal samples.
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Figure 2. Om-206. OM. Reflected light. X2.5. Cross-section of the back of the blade. Dotted lines mark hypothetical continuation of the blade (red) and scabbard (blue). The spherical bulb, reconstructed for the back of the blade on the grounds of typological parallels with other swords from Southeastern Arabia (Yule 2009: fig. 6; Mouton 2008: fig. 41), could have been fabricated to provide a secure connection between the spine and the edge of the sword.
The fact that the hollow core of the spine repeats its concave, wedge-like shape provides important insight into the fabrication of the blade. This observation suggests that the spine was manufactured by the cleaving of a soft iron plate, folding along these cleaves, and subsequent welding to form a triangle. Once the spine was fabricated, the steel edge could have been welded to it. The presence of a thick spherical bulge between the edge and the spine in the cross-section of the swords from Amla/Al-Fuwayda and Mleiha suggests that the edge and the spine in these weapons must have been securely welded together, and the same process of fabrication could have been employed for the Sinaw sword. In contrast, modern forging of a blade with T-shaped cross-section would probably be undertaken in a slightly different way: 1) by putting the complete blade in a narrowing swedge block with a V-shaped cavity and pounding on the blade’s edge to make a flat spine out of it (a method similar to the manufacture of a nail head by putting it a converging ‘nail header’); or 2) by upsetting the blade’s spine on the anvil edge using a small (most likely hemispherical) hammer. Hilt One of the most complex parts of the sword is its composite hilt incorporating four different materials: iron, non-ferrous (copper-, tin- or silver-based) alloy, ivory and wood. Three iron rivets were used to fasten ivory inlays within the handle. A sample extracted from the hilt for a study represents a corroded iron fragment, c. 3.5 cm x 3 cm x 0.5 cm, of an inlay located on the upper part of the hilt close to blade guard (Figure 3). The fragment can be imagined as an assemblage of three components, the main part, the gutter and the raised rim. The metallographic structure of the hilt sample, deduced from analyses of rare un-corroded metal grains, and examination of remnant carburized areas within corroded iron matrix, reveals that metal is soft iron (0.1-0.2% C). 194
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A peculiar detail of the hilt sample is a discontinuous magnetite layer formed mainly on the outer surface of the inlay (Figure 3). The presence of this layer suggests that hot oxidation of the iron resulting from continuous heating under oxidizing conditions took place. Continuous heating of this part of the hilt might have resulted from the casting of the non-ferrous metallic fringe onto the hilt. Apart from the magnetite layer, tiny metallic prills of copper (pure Cu by SEM-EDS), 0.2-0.5 μm in diameter, were observed close to external part of the corrosion layer. The presence of these Cu prills suggests that a galvanic bimetallic copper-iron corrosion process occurred (Saheb et al. 2013: 270): copper from a nearby artefact became an electrolyte, which penetrated through iron corrosion layer. The source of this copper could have been either nearby copper objects placed in the burial or copper present in the fringe of the sword’s hilt, although the silvery-bluish colour of this fringe after restoration indicates that it may not have been of copper alloy. Dagger DA40752 This dagger is 39 cm long (including a 7 cm long, 2.5 cm wide tang), with a converging double-edged blade, 32 cm long, 5 cm wide at its base, 4 cm wide in the middle. The blade cross-section is a symmetrical rhomboid without a raised mid-rib. The middle and tip of the blade are unevenly bend, which could have resulted either from the primary use of the blade or from intentional bending of the weapon: a ‘ritual killing’, the fate that befell the camels slaughtered upon nobleman’s death. Different samples, comprising peeled-off flakes, were extracted for analyses prior restoration of the artefact. The samples come from the blade tip, the blade lower edge and the tang. Metallographic examination of the remaining metallic grains and corroded areas with carburized network reveals a similar range of variation in carbon content for all samples from different parts of the dagger: 0.1-0.3% C, which corresponds to rather soft steel. No laminated structures – such as would appear as alternation of iron and steel layers (Agrawal 1990) – or quenched structures could be present, as carbon content is low. The utilization of such soft metal is unexpected for a cutting weapon. Preliminary, it can be explained by poor control of technology and/or particular nature of ironmaking industry issued that object. Dagger DA40753 This dagger is 43 cm long, with a tapering blade, whose section is symmetrical two-edged rhomboid without a raised mid-rib. In contrast to dagger DA40752, it has a longer and thinner tang (10 cm long and 1 cm thick) and a shorter (33 cm) and a less wide blade (3.5 cm wide at the base, 3 cm wide in the middle). However, similarly to the dagger DA40752, the middle part of the blade is unevenly bend although its curvature is even more pronounced. Even assuming that both daggers were produced by different manufacturing centres – on the basis of their slightly different typologies – they could have been intentionally bend in the end of their use-life as a part of burial ceremony. Flaked samples were extracted from the blade tip and the upper and lower edges of the weapon. Examination of etched metallic grains and remnant carburized areas revealed variation in carbon content in the range 0.0-0.5% C in different parts of the dagger. The presence of medium steel (0.5% C) in the blade DA40753 suggests that it is made of harder, though doubtlessly heterogeneous, metal than blade of DA40752. No laminated or quenched structures were observed, but this might be related to the difficulty of observing such structures in largely corroded and flaked samples. Overall, the significant variation in carbon content suggests that the dagger was not of the highest quality as it could be if its cutting edges were all made of medium steel (with > 0.4% C). 195
Figure 3. Om-205. OM. Reflected light. X2.5. Cross-section through the iron inlay of the hilt with three components: main part, gutter and raised rim. Red arrows mark the location of a discontinuous magnetite layer resulting from continuous heating of the artefact.
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Function and general typology of incurved blade While small daggers apparently were used in close combat, the long sword DA40751 must have served for strong swings to slash opponent over a longer distance or downward if the sword carrier was mounted. The T-shaped cross-section of the blade presumably served to increase the sword’s weight towards the tip of the blade, reinforcing thrusting hits. Typologically, sword DA40751 resembles Greek swords of the kopis type, which appear in Greece at least as early as the 6th century BC (Qesada 1994: 80). The kopis is a one handed sword with a curved handle for gripping. The blade is distinctively shaped, curving outwardly from the handle and inwardly to a point at the end. Blades of similar typology in different times and under different names existed throughout Europe and Near East: for example, the makhaira (Ancient Greece); the falcata (Iberia, since 5th-6th to 2nd centuries BC); the khayber (Afghanistan, since the 13th-14th century AD); the yatağan (Türkiye, since the 15th-16th cent AD); the khukri (Nepal, since the 17th century AD); and the pata (India, since the 12th century AD). Earlier analogues of the kopis, the sickle-shaped sword known as the khopesh, was known in Bronze Age Babylonia and Egypt (Maxwell-Hyslop 1946). Bronze swords of similar typology were also utilised by the Assyrian king Vul-nirari (ca. 800 BC) (Burton 1884: fig. 221). In the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the kopis is described by Herodotus as a weapon sometimes carried by cavalry (Farokh 2012: 3). Indeed, some scholars consider that this weapon originated in Persia, based on references in the Cyropedia of Xenophon (Qesada 1994: 80). However, even if the question of the ultimate origin of the blade remains a matter of debate, it is possible that its spread throughout the Near East was much stimulated by the conquests of Alexander the Great, whose army, for example, used such swords in the battle against Indian King Porus in 326 BC (Chugg 2009: 89). Typological and chronological parallels within Southeastern Arabia The distinctive appearance of sword DA40751 favours an opportunity for comparison of this weapon with similar swords from archaeological sites in Oman and UAE. The most obvious parallel is a sword from Samad grave S101125 (Yule: 2008: fig. 6). Similarly to DA40751, it has a long incurved blade trapped by corrosion in its iron scabbard, a double-locket suspension system (reflecting the way the sword was worn), and a hilt with a hooked butt. The bones from grave S101125 yielded a calibrated radiocarbon date of 437637 AD (Yule and Kazenwadel 1993: 256), which corresponds to the late Sasanian period. In contrast to Yule’s (2008: 7) claim that the sword dates to an earlier period, i.e., prior to the 1st century BC, Potts (1998: 197) expresses the opinion that the weapon is likely to have been a Sasanian import. Another Sasanian radiocarbon date, 474-479 AD (Yule, 1999: 142), based on analyses of collagen fraction from associated skeletal remains, was published for two swords and several accompanied iron weapons from tomb Fu19 of the cemetery Amla/Al-Fuwayda (Yule, 1999: 132; Yule, 2009, fig. 6). Yule, stating that C14 date is unreliable due to lack of organic material in analysed bone sample, dates Amla/AlFuwayda to late 1st millennium BC on the basis of parallels in accompanied pottery and stone vessels with Mleiha and Ed-Dur (Yule 1999: 142; Yule, 2009; 7). As regards one of the swords from Fu19, illustrated in (Yule 2009: 6), despite being only ca. 60 cm long (blade and grip), it is similar to the Sinaw sword in having incurved shape, being one-edged, having a wedge-type section (remotely resembling the T-shaped section of DA 40751), a hooked grip and remains of suspension system (although only one locket is seen in a given illustration). 197
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Another mismatch of a given Sasanian date, 540-641 AD (Yule and Kazenwadel 1993: 256) and the author’s later chronology (Yule 2016: fig. 32-31) is represented by a long sword from Samad grave S2615. The weapon, although typologically slightly different than the examples from Sinaw and Samad S101125 (as the curvature of the hilt’s hooked butt is less pronounced) is similarly entrapped in its iron scabbard and decorated with a drop-shaped tip. In contrast, if the published radiocarbon dates are correct, then continuity in fabrication and use of this sword type (characterized by an incurved blade, T-shaped crosssection and hooked-butt hilt) can be documented within Southeastern Arabia through the entire late preIslamic period, as such swords are also found in Mleiha (Mouton 2008: fig. 41; Yule 2009: fig. 6) and Ed-Dur (the sword is on display in the archaeological museum of Umm Al-Qaiwain). Regarding the two Sinaw daggers DA40752 and DA40753, their simple double-edged tanged typology does not support a refined discussion of their chronology. It is worth mentioning, however, that in contrast to some of the double-edged swords from Mleiha (Mouton 2008: fig. 22, fig. 40), Sinaw daggers DA40752 and DA40753 do not have a raised mid-rib. Conclusions Overall, sword DA40751 represents an elaborately made and likely an efficient slashing weapon. The use of several different materials such as copper/silver and ivory in the construction of the sword confirms that it most likely belonged to an elite person buried in Sinaw. Based on local typological parallels within Southeastern Arabia, the sword’s age lies within a long chronological range between 300 BC and 700 AD. Nevertheless, presence of double-locket suspension system in the construction of the scabbard, is regarded by some scholars (Potts 1998: 197) as an attribute of Sasanian period. Regarding the two accompanying daggers, DA40752 and DA40753, their unevenly bent shapes suggest that they either were bent during their use-life or were intentionally ‘killed’ by bending as a part of the burial ceremony of the nobleman. Metallographic analyses of daggers suggest that the metal used in DA40752 is largely soft, while the metal used in DA40753 ranges from soft to medium steel, which may imply poor control of ironmaking technology or high material/labour costs required for production of fully steel objects. While, metallographic analyses do not allow an assessment of the provenance of the metal used in any of the iron weapons from Sinaw, this goal will be pursued in the future studies. Acknowledgments I would like to thank first the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman for having permitted this study, with particular reference to H.E. Salim bin Mohammed Al-Mahrooqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, and Mr. Sultan bin Saif Al-Bakri, Director General for Archaeology. A special thanks to conservation team lead by Dr. Gianluca Regoli for their kind assistance with the sampling of the swords. Finally, my heartily gratitude to the late Prof. Maurizio Tosi for making possible present investigation of the Sinaw weapons. I would like to thank also Prof. Lloyd Weeks for significant edits of this text, major corrections of English and many useful comments.
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Bibliography AGRAWAL, O., H. Narain, J. Prakesh & S. Bhatia 1990. Lamination Technique in Iron Artifacts in Ancient India. Historical metallurgy 24: 12-26. BURTON, R. F. 1884. The Book of the Sword. London, Chatto and Windus. CHUGG, A. 2009. Alexander the Great in India. A Reconstruction of Cleitarchus. AMC Publications. FARROKH, K. 2012. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224–642. Bloomsbury Publishing. GERWIN, W. & R. Baumhauer 2000. Effect of soil parameters on the corrosion of archaeological metal finds. Geoderma 96: 63-80. MAXWELL-HYSLOP, R. 1946. Daggers and Swords in Western Asia. A Study from Prehistoric Times to 600 BC. Iraq 8: 1-65. MOUTON, M. 2008. La Péninsule d’Oman de la fin de l’Âge du Fer au début de la période sassanide, 250 av.-350 ap. JC. Oxford, Archaeopress. POTTS, D. T. 1998. Some issues in the study of the pre‐Islamic weaponry of southeastern Arabia. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 9: 182-208. QUESADA, F. 1994. Machaira, Kopis, Falcata. In J. de la Villa (ed.), Dona Ferentes. Homenaje a Francisco Torrent. Madrid, pp. 75-94. ROBERTSON, A. & M. Searle 1990. The northern Oman Tethyan continental margin: stratigraphy, structure, concepts and controversies. In A. Robertson, M. Searle & A. Ries (eds.), The Geology and Techtonics of the Oman region. London, Geological Society, Special Publications 49, pp. 3-25. SAHEB, M., Neff D., Dillmann P., Descostes M. & H. Matthiesen 2013. Long-term anoxic corrosion of iron. In P. Dillmann, D. Watkinson, E. Angelini & A. Adriaens (eds.), Corrosion and Conservation of Cultural Heritage Artefacts. Cambridge, Woodhead Publishing, pp. 260-284. YULE, P. A. & B. Kazenwadel 1993. Toward a Chronology of the Late Iron Age in the Sultanate of Oman. In U. Finkbeiner (ed.), Materialien zur Archäologie der Seleukiden- und Partherzeit im südlichen Babylonien und Golfgebiet. Tübingen, pp, 251-277. YULE, P. A. 1999. Amlah, al-Zahirah (Sultanat Oman) – Spateisenzeitliche Gräberfelder 1997. In Yule, P. A. (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of the Sultanate of Oman (Orient-Archäologie 2), Rahden/Westf, Marie Leidorf, pp. 119–186 YULE, P. A. 2009. Sasanian Presence and Late Iron Age Samad in Central Oman, some Corrections. In J. Schiettecatte & C. Robin (eds.), L’Arabie à la veille de l’Islam Bilan clinique. Paris, pp. 69-90. YULE, P. A. 2016. Valorising the Samad Late Iron Age. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 27: 31-71.
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Experimental Replication Vincenzo Pastorelli
During the investigation carried out at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of Oman (now Heritage and Tourism) on May 7th and 8th 2016, I analyzed all details visible in the sword after the restoration work carried out by Gianluca Regoli and his team. Moreover, I acquired all reports and analyses carried out on the object in order to have a complete scenario of both the find and its discovery context. The sword has interesting details on the grip, where different materials were combined. The grip’s tang was forged on a narrow anvil with countermould. The middle section was about 7-8 mm. The edge was retorted perpendicularly in the two sides forming the classical H-shaped section obtained using a containment template. The external iron edge was coated with a silver foil 0.6 mm thick. The same foil, but 1.0 mm thick, closes the grip surrounding just before the guard. The grip’s lateral surfaces create a bicolor effect by alternating segments in ivory or camel bone with a dark wood. The assembly was secured by through iron rivets. The length of the rivets informed about the oval section of the grip. Measurements and visual examination allowed to draft the final shape of the wedge section iron blade with one cutting edge in the lower side. A second hypothesis to explore was the possible presence of a cutting edge extending also on part of the upper blade, which is presently aggregated to the scabbard and not visible. If confirmed, the presence of a second cutting edge would make this weapon indicated for being used by both the cavalry and the infantry as being effective not only with the cutting edge but also with the point. The scabbard had a wooden core and was covered with leather. It is suspected that this element is now mineralized and aggregated entirely to the blade. The iron protective chape followed the shape of the blade and the scabbard. The two iron rods with terminal rings, visible on the blade, possibly indicate the suspension system connected to leather straps to be worn over the shoulder. In absence of contemporaneous parallels, the reconstruction protocol foresees to follow the reconstructive archeology methods.
Figure 1. Grave 58 at Sinaw including the remains of an old man buried with his weaponry. 200
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Figure 2. Graphic representation of the Sinaw sword (DA40751) with indication of the dimensions and materials used (image by V. Pastorelli). 201
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Figure 3. Graphic representation of the Sinaw sword and its wooden scabbard with either leather or iron cover (images by V. Pastorelli). 202
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Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recent years. Swords and daggers were part of the daylife attire and are still worn in social events. Thanks to its political independence, Oman developed unique types of weaponry like the saif sword, which descends from the swords used in the early Islamic period, and the kattara sword that was influenced by the swordsmanship tradition of East Africa. A central role is played by the curved dagger that, common throughout the region, has a special declination in the Omani khanjar. Traditional Omani weaponry includes also the characteristic round terrs shields and the small jertz and qaddum axes, used in the Musandam Peninsula and in the Wahiba sands. This book describes all these main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structure and accessories, with the support of a large amount of illustrations and constant reference to specimens from museums and private collections in Oman. The book includes also a long and detailed appendix about one of the most exciting discoveries by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the so-called Desert Lord of Sinaw, buried almost two thousand years ago with a long iron sword and two iron daggers.
Vincenzo Clarizia is a collector of ancient weapons from all over the world. He started being interested in ancient weapons before he was twenty, studying, restoring and collecting edged weapons and firearms from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Since 1996, he approached the study of Japanese swords in both their technical and practical aspects. He is currently practicing Japanese sword martial arts Iaido, Battodo and Katori Shinto Ryu, and he restores and collects Japanese blades and armours. He was also consultant for the National Museum of Oman, for which he assessed, catalogued and described its large collections of edged weapons, firearms and cannons.
Archaeopress Archaeology www.archaeopress.com