Interesting Kaskara from the Askeri Museum

Edster · 16th August 2025, 01:35 AM

Information on the arm of Nubians from Burckhardt "Travels in Nubia" 1819. P.254 total or p.142 of narrative.
His trip was made about 1814. Quote" The Nubians seldom go unarmed ; as soon as a boy grows up,
his first endeavour is to purchase a short, crooked knife, which
the men wear tied over the left elbow, imder their shirt, and
which they draw upon each other on the shghtest quarrel. When
a Nubian goes from one village to another, he either carries a
long heavy stick (c^jj) covered with iron at one of its extremities,
or his lance and target. The lance is about five feet in length,
including the iron point ; the targets are of various sizes ; some
are round, with a boss in the centre; others resemble the ancient
Macedonian shield, being of an oblong form, four feet in length,
with and curved edges, covering almost the whole body. These
targets, which are sold by the Sheygya Arabs, are made of the
skin of the hippopotamus, and are proof against the thrust of a
lance, or the blow of a sabre. Those who can afford it, possess also
a sword, resembling in shape the swords worn by the knights of the
middle ages, a long straight blade, about two inches in breadth,
with a handle in the form of a cross; the scabbard, for fashion
sake, is broader near the point, than at the top. These swords are
of German manufacture, and are sold to the Nubians by the merchants of Egypt, at from four to eight dollars apiece. Fire-arms
are not common ; the richer classes possess match-locks. End Quote.

This suggests that the swords were ready-made and not just imported blades with locally affixed handles.

Ed

Jim McDougall · 16th August 2025, 07:11 PM

Outstanding Ed! super slueth.........Ive been distracted and not yet well into the rabbit hole. So it appears that the swords, clearly imported , were coming into the North African trade centers as early as 1814 (suggesting of course that the situation was extant likely for some time.
I had read it seems somewhere that old swords in considerable numbers had been circulated through various channels into Malta, where many ended up with trade networks and into North African entrepots, most notably Egypt.

From here it seems that the simple cross guard broadsword was established in these regions long before the 'kaskara' form as we know it had become a recognized indiginous form in the Sudan. Very important is the note of the broadened scabbard tip which appears to be of course a fashion or symbolic element.

This begs the question, what does this significant 'flare' mean? did it indeed come from some iconographuc source with origins in Meroe, as has been suggested? must find my old notes.

While the Mamluks in Egypt certainly maintained the use of these kinds of simple guard broadswords in their conservative manner, how would this correspond more generally with fully mounted broadswords of mostly German make? There are of course the swords of much earlier, and the Crusades which were in Alexandria, and removed to Istanbul, I think in 16th c.

Now well into the rabbit hole............I think I see your light ahead....its dark in here!

Edster · 20th August 2025, 05:30 PM

More info from Burkhardt's Travels in Nubia. as referenced by post #16 above.This time it's p.407 of book & p. 303 of narritive. He is discribing items sold at the market in Shendy, one of the largest towns and markets on the Nile. He says, Quote"Sword-blades, of the kind, which I have already
described, and which are in common use all over the Black countries to the east of the Fezzan trade. They come from Sohlingen in
Germany ; about three thousand of them are annually sold at Cairo to the southern traders." end of quote.

This suggests that just the blades are imported and sold in Shendy unlike the complete swords suggested as trafficed also from Cairo in Dongola as referenced in Post #16 above. "Curiouser and curiouser!"

Best,
Ed

TVV · 20th August 2025, 06:10 PM

I am almost certain that the swords were not produced fully assembled in Germany, but only blank blades which were exported all over the place, from the Sahel through Sudan to Oman and even further. If there were completed swords produced in Germany, we would be seeing much more uniformity in hilt design and materials.

Instead, given the diversity in hilt styles and coverings, it appears that this was done more locally. I guess the question really is how much of it was done in Sudan and how much of it was done in workshops in Cairo.

I know in the Balkans manufacturing activity was organized in esnafs, with division of labor and meticulous records for taxation purposes. While there are probably no written records for Sudan proper, there could be historic records on the workshops in Cairo and Alexandria such as the names and ages of the craftsmen at various times and the levels of their production. This would require a deep dive into archives from Ottoman times and from Muhammad Ali's reign, and that can probably only be accomplished by an Egyptian academician.

Jim McDougall · 20th August 2025, 08:03 PM

I agree Teodor, it was the blades that were arriving in volume through the various centers at the ports, then into the trade networks. While there may have been incidental arrival of fully assembled swords from Europe, typically it was the blades which were in demand and for local hilting.

The fully assembled swords were those circulating among the Mamluks during their rule in Egypt, and the subsequent upheavals and relocation which were the strongest influence on the development of Sudanese kaskara hilts, as well described in Ed's excellent work.
As noted, only a VERY tenacious researcher in Egypt and other Ottoman resources would be able to find records of these matters.

Kinda wonder where Burckhardt got those statistical numbers.

WAY curiouser and curiouser!!

Edster · 21st August 2025, 05:28 PM

TVV, Jim, Good observations.

It could be that the "kaskara" began to get its distinctive style via the relative flat ends of the Sennariya cross guard. Likely made in Sennar by local blacksmiths and distributed to the markets and fitted say at Shendy market to the imported blades. Then distributed throughout the area as complete swords as many caravans, including to Dongola, came through Shendy. It's not as complex to forge as the perhaps later developed lozenge style Sammaniya we normally recognise.

See discussion of the Sennariya guard from Page 9 of my Kaskara Crossguards paper and Figs. 8 & 9. (I can't extract the figures to illustrate.)

Best,
Ed

Pertinax · 21st August 2025, 07:17 PM

A very interesting and confusing topic about the import of blades from Europe to Africa.

The funniest thing is that I am currently studying and trying to figure out the import of blades to Central Africa, I will not “clutter” this topic, if I achieve any results I will create a new publication.

The question arises, can old sources be trusted unconditionally?

Burckhardt reports:
- blades are brought from Solingen in Germany; about three thousand of them are sold annually in Cairo to southern traders.

Jim reasonably asks the question - where do these statistics come from?

Further in the text - these swords are of German manufacture and are sold to the Nubians by Egyptian merchants at a price of four to eight dollars apiece.

Probably, he meant some “Spanish dollars”, in any case, be it Spanish, English, French or other European currency, this is a very serious amount even for Europe at that time, not to mention Africa.

For example, when H. Barth received 2 Spanish dollars in a letter in 1851 while in Gummel, it was a very significant sum for him.

That is why Burckhardt writes that those who can afford it own a sword.
The question arises - how many remained in Sudan?

Most travelers of that time in Africa write about blades from Solingen. In my opinion, this is a generalized concept of blades from Europe.

Directly for Solingen, we managed to find out:
1846 - Population census, 6,127 people live in Solingen.
1853 - The "first" industrial steam engine in Solingen was installed at the Henckels plant.

I was unable to find out how many blades Solingen manufactories could produce in the first half of the 19th century.

But not all products were sold to Africa, there were large orders from Europe.

In general, questions, questions, questions.

Jim McDougall · 22nd August 2025, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edster

TVV, Jim, Good observations.

It could be that the "kaskara" began to get its distinctive style via the relative flat ends of the Sennariya cross guard. Likely made in Sennar by local blacksmiths and distributed to the markets and fitted say at Shendy market to the imported blades. Then distributed throughout the area as complete swords as many caravans, including to Dongola, came through Shendy. It's not as complex to forge as the perhaps later developed lozenge style Sammaniya we normally recognise.

See discussion of the Sennariya guard from Page 9 of my Kaskara Crossguards paper and Figs. 8 & 9. (I can't extract the figures to illustrate.)

Best,
Ed

It seems quite likely that may be the case. There is an illustration of a Funj sultan holding kaskara with notably flared quillon terminals, which I am trying to locate. Years ago I was communicating with Timothy Kendall, a noted archaeologist specializing on Sudan, and he had a huge collection of Mahdist period items including weapons, which was on tour at the time. I still have the manuscript for the collection and in our discussions he expressed his ideas that the flared scabbard tip came from Meriotic iconography, and felt the exaggerated flare on the quillons was of Funj origin.

While I have had notions of strong Mamluk influence in Sudanese arms, it does not seem the profound presence was as prevalent as I thought. There can be no doubt that much earlier traditional Islamic swords were known in Egypt and of course Sudan, so some degree of those influences must have been at hand. It does seem that through the Funj prism, there was some measure of embellishment and exaggeration with elements as we have noted.

It has always been interesting that North African broadswords, with the takouba to the west in Sahara, west Africa had its own distinct styling ; while the kaskara, to the east, had its own.

In Burton, he shows the kaskara but refers to it as a Danakil sword, not at all associating it with the Baghirmi 'kaskara', and presumes the blade tip is flared or spatulate, probably by seeing the flared scabbard. It would appear the true kaskara was extremely little known in 1884, as Burton with renowned knowledge on swords has had these oversights.

21st August 2025, 05:28 PM	#6
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 437	TVV, Jim, Good observations. It could be that the "kaskara" began to get its distinctive style via the relative flat ends of the Sennariya cross guard. Likely made in Sennar by local blacksmiths and distributed to the markets and fitted say at Shendy market to the imported blades. Then distributed throughout the area as complete swords as many caravans, including to Dongola, came through Shendy. It's not as complex to forge as the perhaps later developed lozenge style Sammaniya we normally recognise. See discussion of the Sennariya guard from Page 9 of my Kaskara Crossguards paper and Figs. 8 & 9. (I can't extract the figures to illustrate.) Best, Ed Last edited by Edster; 21st August 2025 at 05:44 PM.

16th August 2025, 01:35 AM	#1
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 437	Information on the arm of Nubians from Burckhardt "Travels in Nubia" 1819. P.254 total or p.142 of narrative. His trip was made about 1814. Quote" The Nubians seldom go unarmed ; as soon as a boy grows up, his first endeavour is to purchase a short, crooked knife, which the men wear tied over the left elbow, imder their shirt, and which they draw upon each other on the shghtest quarrel. When a Nubian goes from one village to another, he either carries a long heavy stick (c^jj) covered with iron at one of its extremities, or his lance and target. The lance is about five feet in length, including the iron point ; the targets are of various sizes ; some are round, with a boss in the centre; others resemble the ancient Macedonian shield, being of an oblong form, four feet in length, with and curved edges, covering almost the whole body. These targets, which are sold by the Sheygya Arabs, are made of the skin of the hippopotamus, and are proof against the thrust of a lance, or the blow of a sabre. Those who can afford it, possess also a sword, resembling in shape the swords worn by the knights of the middle ages, a long straight blade, about two inches in breadth, with a handle in the form of a cross; the scabbard, for fashion sake, is broader near the point, than at the top. These swords are of German manufacture, and are sold to the Nubians by the merchants of Egypt, at from four to eight dollars apiece. Fire-arms are not common ; the richer classes possess match-locks. End Quote. This suggests that the swords were ready-made and not just imported blades with locally affixed handles. Ed Last edited by Edster; 16th August 2025 at 01:53 AM. Reason: Added date of trip.

16th August 2025, 07:11 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,571	Outstanding Ed! super slueth.........Ive been distracted and not yet well into the rabbit hole. So it appears that the swords, clearly imported , were coming into the North African trade centers as early as 1814 (suggesting of course that the situation was extant likely for some time. I had read it seems somewhere that old swords in considerable numbers had been circulated through various channels into Malta, where many ended up with trade networks and into North African entrepots, most notably Egypt. From here it seems that the simple cross guard broadsword was established in these regions long before the 'kaskara' form as we know it had become a recognized indiginous form in the Sudan. Very important is the note of the broadened scabbard tip which appears to be of course a fashion or symbolic element. This begs the question, what does this significant 'flare' mean? did it indeed come from some iconographuc source with origins in Meroe, as has been suggested? must find my old notes. While the Mamluks in Egypt certainly maintained the use of these kinds of simple guard broadswords in their conservative manner, how would this correspond more generally with fully mounted broadswords of mostly German make? There are of course the swords of much earlier, and the Crusades which were in Alexandria, and removed to Istanbul, I think in 16th c. Now well into the rabbit hole............I think I see your light ahead....its dark in here!

20th August 2025, 05:30 PM	#3
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 437	More info from Burkhardt's Travels in Nubia. as referenced by post #16 above.This time it's p.407 of book & p. 303 of narritive. He is discribing items sold at the market in Shendy, one of the largest towns and markets on the Nile. He says, Quote"Sword-blades, of the kind, which I have already described, and which are in common use all over the Black countries to the east of the Fezzan trade. They come from Sohlingen in Germany ; about three thousand of them are annually sold at Cairo to the southern traders." end of quote. This suggests that just the blades are imported and sold in Shendy unlike the complete swords suggested as trafficed also from Cairo in Dongola as referenced in Post #16 above. "Curiouser and curiouser!" Best, Ed

20th August 2025, 06:10 PM	#4
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,716	I am almost certain that the swords were not produced fully assembled in Germany, but only blank blades which were exported all over the place, from the Sahel through Sudan to Oman and even further. If there were completed swords produced in Germany, we would be seeing much more uniformity in hilt design and materials. Instead, given the diversity in hilt styles and coverings, it appears that this was done more locally. I guess the question really is how much of it was done in Sudan and how much of it was done in workshops in Cairo. I know in the Balkans manufacturing activity was organized in esnafs, with division of labor and meticulous records for taxation purposes. While there are probably no written records for Sudan proper, there could be historic records on the workshops in Cairo and Alexandria such as the names and ages of the craftsmen at various times and the levels of their production. This would require a deep dive into archives from Ottoman times and from Muhammad Ali's reign, and that can probably only be accomplished by an Egyptian academician.

20th August 2025, 08:03 PM	#5
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,571	I agree Teodor, it was the blades that were arriving in volume through the various centers at the ports, then into the trade networks. While there may have been incidental arrival of fully assembled swords from Europe, typically it was the blades which were in demand and for local hilting. The fully assembled swords were those circulating among the Mamluks during their rule in Egypt, and the subsequent upheavals and relocation which were the strongest influence on the development of Sudanese kaskara hilts, as well described in Ed's excellent work. As noted, only a VERY tenacious researcher in Egypt and other Ottoman resources would be able to find records of these matters. Kinda wonder where Burckhardt got those statistical numbers. WAY curiouser and curiouser!!

21st August 2025, 07:17 PM	#7
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 281	A very interesting and confusing topic about the import of blades from Europe to Africa. The funniest thing is that I am currently studying and trying to figure out the import of blades to Central Africa, I will not “clutter” this topic, if I achieve any results I will create a new publication. The question arises, can old sources be trusted unconditionally? Burckhardt reports: - blades are brought from Solingen in Germany; about three thousand of them are sold annually in Cairo to southern traders. Jim reasonably asks the question - where do these statistics come from? Further in the text - these swords are of German manufacture and are sold to the Nubians by Egyptian merchants at a price of four to eight dollars apiece. Probably, he meant some “Spanish dollars”, in any case, be it Spanish, English, French or other European currency, this is a very serious amount even for Europe at that time, not to mention Africa. For example, when H. Barth received 2 Spanish dollars in a letter in 1851 while in Gummel, it was a very significant sum for him. That is why Burckhardt writes that those who can afford it own a sword. The question arises - how many remained in Sudan? Most travelers of that time in Africa write about blades from Solingen. In my opinion, this is a generalized concept of blades from Europe. Directly for Solingen, we managed to find out: 1846 - Population census, 6,127 people live in Solingen. 1853 - The "first" industrial steam engine in Solingen was installed at the Henckels plant. I was unable to find out how many blades Solingen manufactories could produce in the first half of the 19th century. But not all products were sold to Africa, there were large orders from Europe. In general, questions, questions, questions.