Origins of Kaskara

ariel · 17th May 2010, 12:11 PM

Finally, responses... :-)
Thanks to Jim and Lew.
The examples from Istanbul have original blades ( early Islamic to ~ 14-15 century), but most handles and crossguards were reworked by the new Ottoman owners. Thus, most have typical slender crossguards. But the original Mamluk examples have very much kaskara-like configuration. some with much shorter quillons.

Jim McDougall · 18th May 2010, 12:01 AM

Sorry to have taken so long to respond, but I wanted to see if anyone out there would 'pick up the gauntlet' as it were!!

It is an excellent topic and Im glad to see it posted.

There are two concurrent threads which correspond nicely, the very nice example of a 20th century Darfur type which Lew posted, which has the interesting 'lohr' type panel and crescent motif; and the well provenanced example posted by RDGAC.

It certainly does seem that Mamluk military tradition played a key role in the development of the kaskara, as well as the continued use of mail which has added to the medieval character of the Sudanese armoury.

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17th May 2010, 12:11 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Finally, responses... :-) Thanks to Jim and Lew. The examples from Istanbul have original blades ( early Islamic to ~ 14-15 century), but most handles and crossguards were reworked by the new Ottoman owners. Thus, most have typical slender crossguards. But the original Mamluk examples have very much kaskara-like configuration. some with much shorter quillons.

18th May 2010, 12:01 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,595	Sorry to have taken so long to respond, but I wanted to see if anyone out there would 'pick up the gauntlet' as it were!! It is an excellent topic and Im glad to see it posted. There are two concurrent threads which correspond nicely, the very nice example of a 20th century Darfur type which Lew posted, which has the interesting 'lohr' type panel and crescent motif; and the well provenanced example posted by RDGAC. It certainly does seem that Mamluk military tradition played a key role in the development of the kaskara, as well as the continued use of mail which has added to the medieval character of the Sudanese armoury.