Hi mates, here with you Khaled, your Algerian (France based) blacksmith, and collector to serve you (you probably read me before about bousaadi khodmi). Please pardon my poor english
Everyday, since maybe a year, I tell to myself that I have to make a REAL post about Algerian swords, and history (I'm also wtritting a book about that subject, but its a deep a long work, I hope to share with you soon.
Well, havent read everything, but I HAVE to add some details first, then I'll read the rest
WHAT ABOUT ALGIERS ??
As reminder, Algiers, was like TORTUGA in the famous movie.. For centuries (dont know really when it begun, but it ends with french colonisation in 1830), Algiers was one (may be THE) of the most feared, and protected area of all mediteranean see. Many famous "barbary" pirates, were europeans that flew to africa to escape a judgement in europe. One of them was "jack Asfour", "Asfour" mean "bird" in arabic... yeah, the same guy that inspired the fictionnal movie, in caribean see. I let you google that (I think this one was mostly based in morroco).
Well, just to notice, that for centuries (long time before ottoman period), Algiers was the principal port, from where goes many attack to europe, and where was based one of the most (and again, probably THE MOST, depending to the period) fleet of all mediteranean see. That lead to many things... Algerian weapons, are STRONGLY in relation with that. I'm not gonna talk about Flissa, that's very particular. But the ALGERIAN NIMCHA is an object that you can easily trace the origin, it you know what to look.
1/ THE HILT : a nimcha isn't a particular sword, this is just a name given (by europeans collectors, locals generaly call that "saif", that mean saber, and some rare models with a FLISSA sword confirm that use) to those kind of swords, showing that "arabic" hilt. However the origin of the hilt shape, the algerian model is truely different. Most of them show those "TWO SPINES" on the bottom, giving another shaper of pommel than morrocan, or other coutnry models.
The shape is close to the ZANZIBAR model, but straight, not a "falling pommel". Of course they are not on all algerian nimcha, but when you see one, it is certainly one.
3/ WIDE BLADE : The shape of the sword is probably the most effective difference between algerian, and other country (especially morroco, or tunisia) nimcha. What the culture took as "tipical pirate sword", is also mostly influenced by this period, when algerian was terrorizing the see, and the near coasts (many exemple of "razzia", and attack on european coasts, Corsica, Italy, Spain, France , etcc even in the north of europe, all of this, still before ottoman period of algeria). So what they was...? PIRATES AT BOATS, so their swords has to give the effeciency, for naval fights. A WIDE and CURVED sword, that gives the iconography of the "cimetar" in the modern folklore. As a comparaison, a morrocan nimcha is usually a straight sword, thiner but longer, more used for cavalery.
4/ BLADE ORIGIN : As you know, a nimcha isnt (in the most examples..) a full local craft. This is a foreign sword, adapted to an a local hilt and guard made for the occasion. First, there is many reason for that.
---> lot of war stock... Every ennemy boat beaten, and every coast ravaged, gives to algerian a lot of weapon, so why the algerian craftsman should forge, what their neighbour bring by the see everyday... Adding to that the commercial counter
(dont know the exact word) of Genovese, Venitian and other commercial kingddom, on the algerian coast. They trade with algerian for centuries, even when their country was in war. That big trade gives a lot of consequancies in algerian and north african crafts, as the well known morrocan JENOUI, or algerian AJENOUI (other name for a flissa in Kabyle), that refers in the acient time to the origin of the STEEL of the sword, and NOT the shape of it (sorry I talk too much
) .
----> Sword quality : Even if the algerian craftsman still do swords, we are in an era (ottoman period) when europeans forge great quality swords, in bulk, when algerian only craft by command, by piece (as for a flissa), not the same that the emerging industry in europe. So, of course, a european sword is at this era, a more qualititative, and less expensive solution, to algerian swords.
SOOOOOO, if you're still with me, you can have a good indication about how to know the origin of a nimcha, by the origin of it sword. For exemple, an italian sword, or a "SARDAIGNE" sword, has all the chance to define an algerian nimcha, more than any other. With the time, you will also notice some ottoman swords mounted on nimcha hilts (mostly in algerian, where was the ottoman..), some kilij swords for exemple. In that period, not only "nimcha" type hilt was used, but also some models more "persian", as for a shamshir handle.
Well, I hope those details will help to know a bit more about that great period of algerian history, and all the influences in relation with it.