Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 3rd March 2016, 03:50 AM

There is a long ( and often pretty vicious) argument about the origins of shashka. The blade is relatively simple: early Circassian blades were mostly European, very light, but later Daghestani ones could be quite heavy.
But the origin of the eared guard-less handle is still a mystery.
My guess is that it stems from the Turkish yataghan ( pure IMHO)

If so, re-fitting Caucasian shashka with an Ottoman crossguard might not have been such an unnatural idea for the owner and exiled Circassians ( muhadjirs) seem to be a natural group for the mix of an old and the new traditions.

3rd March 2016, 03:50 AM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	There is a long ( and often pretty vicious) argument about the origins of shashka. The blade is relatively simple: early Circassian blades were mostly European, very light, but later Daghestani ones could be quite heavy. But the origin of the eared guard-less handle is still a mystery. My guess is that it stems from the Turkish yataghan ( pure IMHO) If so, re-fitting Caucasian shashka with an Ottoman crossguard might not have been such an unnatural idea for the owner and exiled Circassians ( muhadjirs) seem to be a natural group for the mix of an old and the new traditions.