The Sword of Kanta, a Nimcha and Some Clues as to the Origins of Both

[Changdao]

Originally Posted by TVV

The Ottomans conquest of Egypt was happening at approximately the same time as Muhammed Kanta's rebellion against Songhai, and Ottoman expansion along the African Mediterranean cost over the next several decades was mostly due to the efforts of corsairs, who aligned themselves with the Sublime Porte. I am not aware of any evidence for direct interaction between Kebbi and Constantinople, but of course trade routes reached further than diplomacy.

Trying to study early swords is like trying to figure out the full picture of a puzzle consisting of a thousand pieces based on only a few pieces available. This is why I find the nimcha from the Gold and Damascus Steel exhibition exciting, as its hilt is the closest thing I have seen to the hilt on the "Sword of Kanta".

I tried to search for pictures of the "Sword of Kanta" online and only found the one below. Apparently all of the swords are part of the regalia at Argungu. The top one was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II. Then we have our sword, unfortunately still in its 19th century Bida sheath. The katana like thing is described as a judicial sword for executions in use for the last two centuries - if true, certainly an interesting story in itself. The bottom one reportedly belonged to Muhammadu Sama, who ruled in Argungu between 1920 and 1934 (courtesy of Wikipedia), with the scabbard reportedly having a 25% gold content.

Attachment 241523

Thanks for this new picture! This is a beautiful sword.

Regarding diplomatic contacts, I'm not aware of any directly (though I would not be surprised there were, given that Bornu was the main rival of Kebbi in the second half of the 1500's and the Bornu-Ottoman rivalry in the Fezzan), but it certainly saw Egyptian and North African trade directed through its land as master of the Hausalands. We know this trade happened in a very significative volume, and Kebbi collected important taxes from it.

Besides, contemporary Songhay people were making trips to Egypt all the time, from hajj to scholars going there to study. Askia al-hajj Muhammad went to Egypt in 1497-98 as part of a hajj and the Abbasid caliph bestowed him the title of khalifa and gifted him a sword, that became sword of state and was still around in the 1590's. One of his sons, also called Muhammad, did a hajj as well and later in the second half of the 1500's became Askia too. We know of many scholars of Timbuktu making the pilgrimage and stopping in Egypt for a time.

Given that Islam was growing steadily during the 1500's in the Hausalands, maybe something similar happened. Whatever the mechanism, Kebbi was known in the Mediterranean world. Giovanni Lorenzo d'Anania, in his L'Universale fabbrica del Mondo overo Cosmografia (1582) states:

"Then comes Borno on the banks of the River Negro (where there is a great lake, caused by aforesaid river), a very great city having much commerce. It has its own king. . .He is attended with a great group of eunuchs, and certain young girls, who are made sterile by certain potions, so that in our speech they would be called 'female mules'. The ancient Lydians did the same thing: Omphale became angry over the matter and made a bloody dispute over it. In writing to foreign princes, they use the Arabic language, as I am informed by Signor Giovanni di Vesti, a most honourable person. Among the Turks, where he was the slave of a great count, he himself saw a letter which he [the Mai of Bornu] wrote to the Bassa [Pasha] of Tripoli, with much eloquence and very great art. This prince is so powerful, that he has several times put into the field 100,000 men against the King of Cabi [Kebbi]. Because of his power, the Negroes deem him to be an emperor. They also have a great multitude of horses, which the Arabs bring in from their countries, selling them for at least 700 or 1000 scudi each. These do not live long, for, when the sun enters the Sign of the Lion, many die each year from the extreme heat. . .And from there set out each year merchants who carry such quantities of the best Cordovan [leather] that it is accounted a great thing in the Fizzan [sic], whence they return with infinite numbers of horses for their country, accompanying the caravans of Negro merchants."

I'm not sure if he talks later on in more detail about Kebbi, maybe he does, but in any case they were aware of the scope of its conflicts with Bornu for hegemony in the Hausalands.

So, we must not assume a delay in the dating for this sword. As soon as it appears in the Middle East, it should be available for Kebbi and co., especially in this case in which it is the ruler himself who would be buying it. I'm not sure about the Hausanlands in this era, but Leo Africanus certainly states that on the other side of the Niger Bend there was active trade with Europe through North African merchants. Likely the same was the case for Kebbi (and the Hausa in general) with Libya/Egipt:

The people of the land make considerable profit from the trade in cotton cloth which they carry on with the Barbary merchants. For their part, these merchants sell them many European cloths, copper, brass, and arms, such as gianettoni.