ANCIENT WEAPONS OF OMAN. VOLUME 1 : edged weapons

Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recently. Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are still worn in social events. This book describes all the main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structure and accessories, with supporting illustrations and references to examples from museums and private collections. Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recent years. Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are still worn in social events. Thanks to its political independence, Oman developed unique types of weaponry like the saif sword, which descends from the swords used in the early Islamic period, and the kattara sword that was influenced by the swordsmanship tradition of East Africa. A central role is played by the curved dagger that, common throughout the region, has a special declination in the Omani khanjar. Traditional Omani weaponry includes also the characteristic round terrs shields and the small jertz and qaddum axes, used in the Musandam Peninsula and in the Wahiba sands. This book describes all these main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structure and accessories, with the support of a large amount of illustrations and constant reference to specimens from museums and private collections in Oman. The book includes also a long and detailed appendix about one of the most exciting discoveries by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the so-called Desert Lord of Sinaw, buried almost two thousand years ago with a long iron sword and two iron daggers. Vincenzo Clarizia is a collector of ancient weapons from all over the world. He started being interested in ancient weapons before he was twenty, studying, restoring and collecting edged weapons and firearms from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Since 1996, he approached the study of Japanese swords in both their technical and practical aspects. He is currently practicing Japanese sword martial arts Iaido, Battodo and Katori Shinto Ryu, and he restores and collects Japanese blades and armours. He was also consultant for the National Museum of Oman, for which he assessed, catalogued and described its large collections of edged weapons, firearms and cannons. Cover 1 Title page 3 Copyright information 4 Contents 5 List of illustrations and plates 7 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15 Chapter 1 Oman and the “Steel Road” 17 Chapter 2 Swords and Sabers 20 Chapter 3 Omani Swords 23 Chapter 4 Omani Shields 94 Chapter 5 Omani Daggers 100 Chapter 6 Omani Axes 123 Chapter 7 Omani Spears and Lances 131 Endnotes 136 Bibliography 139 Index 143 APPENDIX 1 THE DESERT LORD OF SINAWAND HIS IRON WEAPONRY 1 Authors contacts 148 The Discovery 151 A Historical Perspective 159 Anthropological Studies 165 Zooarchaeological Studies 172 Typological and Chronological Assessments 181 Conservation and Restoration 188 Metallographic Analyses 205 Experimental Replication 214 Social Media 219 Back cover 220 Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recent years.Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are stillworn in social events. Thanks to its political independence, Omandeveloped unique types of weaponry like the saif sword,which descends from the swords used in the early Islamic period,and the kattara sword that was influenced by theswordsmanship tradition of East Africa. A central role is played bythe curved dagger that, common throughout the region, has a specialdeclination in the Omani khanjar. Traditional Omaniweaponry includes also the characteristic round terrs shields andthe small jertz and qaddum axes, used in theMusandam Peninsula and in the Wahiba sands. This book describes allthese main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structureand accessories, with the support of a large amount ofillustrations and constant reference to specimens from museums andprivate collections in Oman. The book includes also a long anddetailed appendix about one of the most exciting discoveries by theMinistry of Heritage and Tourism, the so-called Desert Lord ofSinaw, buried almost two thousand years ago with a long ironsword and two iron daggers

Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recent years. Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are still worn in social events. Thanks to its political independence, Oman developed unique types of weaponry like the saif sword, which descends from the swords used in the early Islamic period, and the kattara sword that was influenced by the swordsmanship tradition of East Africa. A central role is played by the curved dagger that, common throughout the region, has a special declination in the Omani khanjar. Traditional Omani weaponry includes also the characteristic round terrs shields and the small jertz and qaddum axes, used in the Musandam Peninsula and in the Wahiba sands.This book describes all these main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structure and accessories, with the support of a large amount of illustrations and constant reference to specimens from museums and private collections in Oman. The book includes also a long and detailed appendix about one of the most exciting discoveries by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the so-called Desert Lord of Sinaw, buried almost two thousand years ago with a long iron sword and two iron daggers.

Omani men carried personal weapons until relatively recent years. Swords and daggers were part of daily life attire and are still worn in social events. Thanks to its political independence, Oman developed unique types of weaponry like the saif sword, which descends from the swords used in the early Islamic period, and the kattara sword that was influenced by the swordsmanship tradition of East Africa. A central role is played by the curved dagger that, common throughout the region, has a special declination in the Omani khanjar. Traditional Omani weaponry includes also the characteristic round terrs shields and the small jertz and qaddum axes, used in the Musandam Peninsula and in the Wahiba sands.0This book describes all these main types of Omani edged weapons, their origin, structure and accessories, with the support of a large amount of illustrations and constant reference to specimens from museums and private collections in Oman. The book includes also a long and detailed appendix about one of the most exciting discoveries by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the so-called Desert Lord of Sinaw, buried almost two thousand years ago with a long iron sword and two iron daggers.