ANCIENT WEAPONS OF OMAN. VOLUME 2 : firearms

This book presents a detailed overview of the firearms used in Oman over the last four centuries. Portable firearms, rifles and cannons are all discussed in detail with supporting illustrations. The weapons described in this book are mostly from the National Museum Oman and Bait al Zubair Museum in Muscat. This book presents a detailed overview of the firearms used in Oman over the last four centuries. Portable firearms were brought into the Arabian Gulf by the Portuguese, but there is no trace of these early weapons the region. In Oman, the typical matchlock guns with decorated Indian barrels were highly esteemed and they were passed from generation to generation as a family heritage. Matchlock guns were replaced only by breech-loading Martini Henry rifles at the end of the 19th century, when Muscat became the major firearms’ entrepot in the Arabian Gulf with hundreds of thousands of breech loading rifles re-exported throughout the whole region up to Afghanistan and Persia. The Martini Henry rifle and its variants were by far the most common weapon and Belgian made Martini Henry were specifically engraved for the Muscat market. Cannon entered the country in great number mostly as ordnances on Royal Navy ships and they are now kept in forts, towers and fortified buildings across the entire Oman. The weapons described in this book are mostly from the National Museum and Bait al Zubair Museum in Muscat. 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 17 Introduction 19 Chapter 1 Gunpowder 23 Chapter 2 Matchlock Guns 25 Chapter 3 Flintlock and Percussion Guns 54 Chapter 4 Introduction of Modern Rifles in Arabia 61 Chapter 5 Martini Henry Rifles 73 Chapter 6 Repeating Rifles 97 Chapter 7 Pistols 133 Chapter 8 Cannons 144 Endnotes 176 Bibliography 179 Index 185 Social Media 191 Back cover 192 Ce livre présente un aperçu détaillé des armes à feu utilisées à Oman au cours des quatre derniers siècles. Des armes à feu portatives ont été introduites dans le golfe Persique par les Portugais, mais il n'existe aucune trace de ces premières armes dans la région. À Oman, les fusils à mèche typiques avec des canons indiens décorés étaient très estimés et ils étaient transmis de génération en génération comme un héritage familial. Les fusils à mèche n'ont été remplacés par les fusils Martini Henry à chargement par la culasse qu'à la fin du XIXe siècle, lorsque Mascate est devenue le principal entrepôt d'armes à feu du golfe Persique, avec des centaines de milliers de fusils à chargement par la culasse réexportés dans toute la région jusqu'en Afghanistan et en Perse. Le fusil Martini Henry et ses variantes étaient de loin l'arme la plus courante et les Martini Henry de fabrication belge étaient spécifiquement gravés pour le marché de Mascate. Les canons sont entrés dans le pays en grand nombre, principalement comme pièces d'artillerie sur les navires de la Royal Navy, et ils sont maintenant conservés dans des forts, des tours et des bâtiments fortifiés dans tout le Sultanat d'Oman. Les armes décrites dans ce livre proviennent principalement du musée national et du musée Bait al Zubair de Mascate

This book presents a detailed overview of the firearms used in Oman over the last four centuries. Portable firearms were brought into the Arabian Gulf by the Portuguese, but there is no trace of these early weapons the region. In Oman, the typical matchlock guns with decorated Indian barrels were highly esteemed and they were passed from generation to generation as a family heritage. Matchlock guns were replaced only by breech-loading Martini Henry rifles at the end of the 19th century, when Muscat became the major firearms' entrepot in the Arabian Gulf with hundreds of thousands of breech loading rifles re-exported throughout the whole region up to Afghanistan and Persia. The Martini Henry rifle and its variants were by far the most common weapon and Belgian made Martini Henry were specifically engraved for the Muscat market. Cannon entered the country in great number mostly as ordnances on Royal Navy ships and they are now kept in forts, towers and fortified buildings across the entire Oman. The weapons described in this book are mostly from the National Museum and Bait al Zubair Museum in Muscat.

This text presents a detailed overview of the firearms used in Oman over the last four centuries. Portable firearms, rifles and cannons are all discussed in detail with supporting illustrations. The weapons described in this book are mostly from the National Museum Oman and Bait al Zubair Museum in Muscat