Silently, proudly speaking, Glittering with naked sabers, Arapov goes a long line …
("Ruslan and Lyudmila" by A. Pushkin)
The interest shown by VO readers to the material about the edged weapons of the East is quite understandable - it is very beautiful, but at the same time deadly, despite all its beauty. It's a bit surprising, however, that all these curiosities are in the funds of the Metropolitan Museum in the United States, but there's nothing you can do about it. Remember Wilkie Collins' novel "The Moonstone" … After all, it adorned the hilt of a dagger of a certain Muslim ruler, although it was originally on the forehead of the Hindu God of the Moon. That is, it was possible to plunder the temple of one god and use his riches to decorate … a knife! Well, and then the British plundered the treasures of this Muslim ruler and away we go. Then the mined was sold, then … resold. So, in the end, through the purchase and donation - yes, many of the wonderful items in the collections of this museum are a gift - the Metropolitan Museum just received its treasures. Today, there are thousands of items in its collections, and all these are mostly unique antiques and examples of the skill of ancient artisans.
Well, today we will continue our acquaintance with samples of daggers from his funds, and daggers with a curved blade will be taken as a basis. The fact is that the traditional public opinion in Russia since the time of A. S. Pushkin is as follows: since the East, then the dagger is crooked, and the saber must be crooked, and the sword … also … "crooked." However, in reality, it was not at all like that! It is incorrect to think that only European two-handed swords had a serrated blade, as well as blades with a wavy blade. No, they were also in the Turkish sabers of the Shemshirs, and in the Indian daggers!
A dagger from North India, a pes-kabz with a T-shaped blade, was used to pierce chain mail, 17th century. Metal - Indian crucible damask (wutz). Ivory handle. Length 38.4 cm.; blade length 26, 7 cm; weight 558, 5 g. Metropolitan Museum.
At the time of Vladimir, the Red Sun (and, accordingly, Ruslan and Lyudmila), the "araps", that is, the Arabs did not use any sabers - it was exclusively a weapon of the Turks - steppe nomads from Central Asia and it had just penetrated into Europe! "Araps" fought with straight swords, although not the same as in Europe. They also had daggers with straight blades to pierce chain mail from opponents who were defeated to the ground, but sabers appeared and spread in the East much later.
Truly amazing is the love of Indian armourers for the bow guards. They even supplied maces with them, not to mention swords and sabers. But the daggers also got them! For example, the Indian dagger Chilanum is a traditionally Indian dagger, distributed from Punjab and Nepal to the south of India, in the 17th century. Length 27 cm.; blade length 19, 1 cm; weight 229, 6 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Eastern blades differed not only in weight, decoration, shape of the crosshair, but also instructions on the technique of sword fighting in the East had their own. For example, the Arab warriors were advised to first strike the enemy's sword with a sword in such a way as to chop off his … index finger! But what does this mean? That he was lying on the crosshair. This means that the blade of the sword itself was narrower than that of the European, and the sword itself was more maneuverable! Then, when the enemy was forced to drop the sword, it was necessary to contrive and chop off his head with the second blow!
That is, we note that among all the other methods of using a sword, the first place among the Arabs was the felling, not the prick! The famous Arab warrior and writer of the 12th century, a participant in many battles with the crusaders, Osama ibn Munkyz, in his autobiographical chronicle "Book of Edifications" told about an interesting incident that happened to him in his youth, when he was returning from a trip to Sheizar castle. He was unexpectedly attacked by an assassin - a member of the sect of assassins-Hashye-eaters, armed with a dagger: “I grappled with the assassin … a small notch. The blacksmith in my city said he could remove it, but I told him to leave it as it is, as this is the best mark for my sword. And this mark has been preserved to this day. " That is, Osama ibn Munkyz, sitting astride a horse, cut both the blade of the dagger with one blow (naturally, the blow fell on his blade, and not across the blade) and … the hand that held it!
At that time, craftsmen often bought weapon parts from each other. Someone made blades, someone handles …
Here is a 19th century Moroccan jambia, in a scabbard. Steel, silver … glass! Length 41, 8 cm.; blade length 24, 1 cm; weight 263, 7 g; the weight of the scabbard is 292 g, since they are metal. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
And without them.
The famous English historian D. Nicole in a number of his works notes that Arab, Persian, Turkish and Indian blacksmiths produced swords of very high quality, and, yes, indeed, lighter than European ones. The blade of the galaya sword, for example, was about 5 centimeters wide and from 90 to 115 centimeters long, and the wider salmani was 7-8 and 90 centimeters, respectively. The saber that has come down to us from Nishapur in the 9th - 11th centuries. the width of the blade is 3.5 centimeters, and the length is 71.5 centimeters and it is almost straight. In his opinion, the later eastern blades had similar parameters, although their curvature gradually began to grow.
Indian dagger khanjar (khanjarli), 17th - 18th centuries He might not have had a guard. Steel, ivory, gold, rubies. Length 29, 2 cm.; weight 266, 5 g. Now imagine that the handle of this weapon is clamped in your hand and you have to wield it … Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Albanian jambiya of the 18th century Pay attention to the rib in the middle of the blade, which is characteristic of daggers of this type, and the double-edged sharpening. Undoubtedly, in capable hands it was a terrible weapon. Steel, wood, gold, bronze, copper, corals. Length 46, 7 cm.; blade length 42, 5 cm; weight 425, 2 g; scabbard weight 277, 8 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
But here's a dagger … over time, just like a pistol today, it became more and more a status weapon, hence the pronounced tendency to decorate them, sometimes bordering on bad taste. It is also known that military science does not tolerate inconvenience, but how then can one explain the presence of inconveniently inconvenient handles on blades? That is, what was more important in a number of cases? Blade or hilt? Of course, a handle that answered a certain style and tradition, but then what kind of weapon was it?
In addition, the very shape of the curved blade in short-bladed weapons raises many questions. Take a sword or saber in your hand and swing … A saber, especially with a yelman at the end of the blade, will lead your hand by itself, while with a sword, especially in the 15th century. with a blade sharply tapering to the point, "you have to work." The hand, on the other hand, easily makes a movement in a circle, and in the same way, the saber, an extension of the hand, easily delivers a strong securing blow. But try to take a "crooked dagger" in your hand and "stab" with it an ordinary mannequin. A dagger with a straight blade - as much as you like! I placed the flat blade horizontally so that it could easily enter between the ribs and … forward! It will be even easier with the stylet, but where and how to stick the curved blade? Moreover, when the enemy resists you. That is, a certain practice, skill will be needed here, and the more “crooked” the dagger is, the more difficult it will be to do it, although it won't be too much work to inflict a dangerous cut wound with one stroke!
Turkish broadsword with silver and niello trim 1650 - 1700, Length 102, 54 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
That is, such daggers most likely had a largely symbolic meaning. They say, this is a dangerous weapon, but … by and large not too lethal (if you do not attack, of course, from behind from behind, so as to immediately cut the enemy's throat!). But since I have it, it means that I am noble, rich, armed and have the appropriate skills to use it - look at me! It turns out that it was a kind of passport of an oriental person. We put on our passports dust jackets made of expensive Arabian leather. What for? Just to keep the cover from fraying? H-e-e-t! Show - "but I have." But you won't cut anyone with a passport, but here it is both pleasant and useful - and everything is in your belt!
It is interesting, however, that even the Turks - recognized masters of curved blades, both sabers and daggers, both produced and used straight blades. Moreover, in the sheath of such swords, they very often put a throwing dart. At the same time, one part of the crosshair had to be removed, but then the person acquired the opportunity to suddenly snatch the dart from the sword sheath and … unexpectedly throw it at the enemy! Well, if he also did it with his left hand, and, for sure, there were such masters, then the enemy had a hard time here, he did not expect such a thing! It is clear that a straight dart could not be hidden in the scabbard of a saber with a curved blade!
Indian kutar with … a curved blade of the 18th century. Weight 351, 5 g. Why does a butt dagger need a curved blade, albeit a small curvature? Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
But this kutar, too, is … no better than usual. But … done! "And we are!" XVIII-XIX centuries. Length 53.5 cm. Weight 657.7 g. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
So it is not without reason that they say that "the East is a delicate matter." There is much that seems to be in plain sight, but in fact there is something completely different.
