"Zeybek" is not an etnicity, it is an occupation, a job. It practically means outlaw or mountain men and usually bandit in 19th century rural Western Anatolia. Yorüks(nomadic Turks) of this region oftenly joined their ranks, so did fugitives from law, villagers that did not want to be drafted to army, dischaged soldiers(usually marines) etc. It is not so much different from a term like "cowboy" in western.
"Zeybek yataghan"s with T shaped hilts are very common in most of rural Turkey. Those were yataghanthat lost its function and becamne part of the costume for village elders and merchants. This T shape actually point to a decline in hiltmaking(and generally yataghan-making) in late 19th to first half of 20th centuries. It was just easier to give this simple shape instead of ears for a village blacksmith. Older, much higher quality yataghans also were rehilted in such fashion, when their original, much better grips fell victim to effects of time.
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10th November 2013, 04:07 PM
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