An unusual stiletto depicted in Indo-Persian miniatures.

[Turkoman.khan]

An unusual stiletto depicted in Indo-Persian miniatures.

Overall length: 340 mm
Handle diameter: 12 mm
Scabbard length: 385 mm

The blade bears the inscription: “Yadigar Muhammad Khan ibn Qasin Khan.”

Based on the name in the inscription, the weapon is attributed to Yadigar Muhammad, the last Khan of the Kazan Khanate. The title in the inscription dates it to 1552.

It is housed in the Royal Danish Kunstkamera (Museum of Ethnography), where it arrived as part of diplomatic gifts from the Russian Tsars to the Danish Kings in 1580 or 1622.

I would like to ask forum members interested in the edged weapons of the Indo-Persian region and Central Asia:
have you ever come across similar stilettos in private collections or museum holdings?

[Battara]

Great koftgari work! Many thanks for posting.

[Jim McDougall]

This is most intriguing! and certainly an anomaly so not surprising it is not well represented in miniatures, which seem to be virtually the only resource with which to identify many weapon forms and approximate period associated in study of these regions.

This narrow blade is of course contrary to the various knives and daggers of Central Asian regions which include, kard ; pesh kabz; khanjhar, karud and Qama, however on some the needle point is featured. Otherwise they are all full bladed.

What is unusual on this is that it seems almost a rapier blade, and almost as in the manner of a sword cane, or swagger stick with the weapon concealed. While that particular convention seems to have arisen in Europe possibly from colonial situations in India much later, it is tempting to consider the idea of a concealed weapon in Persian context with their innovations in weapons.

The stiletto dagger seems to have evolved in Italy in latter 16th century or slightly earlier, from the rondel daggers and misercordes, secondary weapons for knights. The misercorde was with thin blade to issue 'coup de grace' to fallen foes in armor, and could reach through separations in the plate etc.
It became a favored weapon of assassins for its deadly penetration and being easily concealed.

It would seem this example may have been intended as a concealed weapon as noted, in the context of a stick or such item carried by a person of status or courtly accoutrement.

In hoping to find something comparable I reached a colleague who is probably one of the most well versed in Islamic arms and of these contexts I know.
He noted from the photo that he would not have regarded this example quite as early as suggested by the date in the inscription.

He was not surprised that such an item was not well represented in the miniatures, as the estoc type Ottoman thrusting weapon known as the 'MEC' also is not seen represented in these.

The calligraphy is described as of early form but not particularly well executed, and overall the decoration not as refined as would be expected.

There was of course considerable diplomatic contact between Russia and these Khanates in the periods suggested from 16th c. so of course the connections are well established.

It would be tempting to consider this a European rapier blade, fashioned to be concealed in a 'stick' as earlier suggested, but unclear on the section of the blade, and whether the date stated (1552) would correspond to rapier blades in that time frame. Still the notion seemed worthy of note.

[ausjulius]

The Mongols, kipchaks and their ancestors had a number of armour piercing dagger like weapons. . Hence the word for a dagger in many middle eastern, arabic, , Slavic and such languages in based on the Mongol and Turkic word for a dagger. Khanjar, kinzhal, kinjal and so on. I
I'd imagine such or similar weapons were infact very common with these nomads in the mediaeval period but we simple don't see them often. Just like examples of their swords s are rare. Not because they didn't have them but because they didn't have a place to keep them for 800 years. Nomads C cultures isn't good with that.
Among the bulgar Tatars various armour piercing knives and daggers were produced and retained as status items up until the 18th -19th century as was the chechuga sabre which by the 1800 was a bit archaic in Russia.
You can also see quite a few sabres with armour piercing tips on the Mongols swords from the mediaeval period.
Id say these things were probably very common infact. Just as they were in mediaeval Europe considering how common armour was .
But we just don't get many surviving examples and I think those nomads got fast assimilated into whatever cultures they conquered pretty fast. And it was hardly like people collected and catalogued these things either.
In Europe we have had people making Museums since the mediaeval period and storing old weapons in them. So we have this insane array of items catalogued but no doubt in other cultures there wasa y interesting things that have just vanished that were probably once common

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you for your entry Ausjulius! You are an intrepid soul to venture into this complex and perplexing subject matter. For those of here in the west, these topics are daunting with the lack of resources in English, as well as the many misnomers, errors and presumptions issued by western writers in the recent centuries. These 'chestnuts' have become so entrenched in the literature that it is hard to pursue serious study on the ethnic and historical character of the many peoples actually involved.

For example the ethnonym Tatar, which is so broadly applied it has become almost cliche' in many cases. When trying to study the weapons used by these people, this factor presents many challenges.

The case of the needle point sabers we know in general as 'ordynka' or czeczuga are one such example. These are the sabers with the sharp point generally regarded as 'armor (Mail) piercing, and with the similar type point seen on pesh babz, and various of the other daggers in these contexts.

These needle points were obviously for thrusting, and deemed armor piercing as presumbably the narrow point would enter the mail in a link, spreading it to allow penetration. The thing is, while that effect with mail seems likely, even more so it was to penetrate the heavily padded garments which served not only against cold, but as formidable armor to guard against arrows and slashing cuts from swords.

Clearly the advantage to these edged weapons with these needle points was well known and existed broadly in the arms throughout Central Asia, and with these sabers in Poland and the Caucusus, with these ordynka sabers.

Getting to the situation with the needle point stiletto, this is a far different example than any of these needle point weapons well known as Central Asian as well as Caucasian and Polish as far as the sabers...with most of the daggers of this character more to Central Asia and India.

As far as I have discovered thus far, though the stiletto (needle point dagger) was developed in Italy in the early 16th century, the form was not known to be used as such in Central Asian contexts despite the obviously well known needle point edged weapons in other forms.

In "History of the Fighting Arts" , G.K.Panchenko, Moscow, 1997, Vol. 3, p.305 he notes that the 'czeczuga' comes from the Tatarian people Chechan that lived in the Caucusus". and notes the subgroup Adyghe Bzhedukh tribe, Charcheney.

Images of these needle points from "Weapons of the Caucasian Nations", Emma Astvatsaturyan show these as used from 14th into 17th c. and they certainly carried further well through 18th.

The single image is from
Bron i Uzbrujenie Tatarow (Arms and Armor of the Tatars)
J.Gutowski , and of c. 1600

The term ordynka= horde.....refers to the diffused Tatar tribes which were united into the Mongol hordes.

the term czeczuga = sturgeon, the fish hide used often on the hilts of these swords, as loosely explained.

Most of this I retrieved from a 2006 post here using 'search'.
These topics have been discussed many times over past two decades, and we have remarkable resources archived here which we can rely on.