hello this is Ipostswords and today I'm going to be talking to you about
this a zeybek yatagan from the late 18th century which features an ottoman blade
this example has a few features that are unique both among ottoman blades and
among specifically zeybek swords, but before we get into what makes this sword
unique, let's talk a little bit about its history and that requires starting with
who were the zeybeks? The zeybeks were an irregular militia force from the
Aegean region of Turkey which is on the western coast, in particular this one is
probably from around the region of the city of Ephesus. The zeybeks, being a
irregular force were mostly made out of infantrymen which explains why they used
a yatagan, which is primarily an infantry sword. Being an infantry sword
the yatagan is fairly short - this example is only 75 centimeters in
overall length, this is rather comparable to other infantry swords of the Ottoman
Empire at the time such as the venerable Pala. In a direct comparison to the Pala
that I own, it's only about three centimeters shorter in overall length
it is however also almost exactly the same weight - this yatagam weighs 670
grams whereas this pala weighs six hundred and seventy four grams. These blades are
also made of very comparable steels - this yatagan is made out of what is known
as Turkish twist pattern welded steel the Turkish ribbon twist that this one
uses is particularly fine being made out of very narrow bars of twisted steel
after being etched for contrast it is visible that this extends all the way to
the spine a fairly unusual feature among any yatagan - most of them have a mono
steel spine and a mono steel edge - this one only has a mono steel edge
indicating that this was crafted by someone who was particularly skillful in
the art of pattern welding the reason these swords maintained a mono steel
edge despite having a pattern welded body is because it allows for it to be
homogenous stronger and harder edge backed by a tougher non-homogeneous
material this blade as mentioned weighs almost exactly the same amount as the
pala but is however much narrower this is because this has a very thick blade
with minimal distal taper until the last half at the base of this blade it's
around 8 millimeters thick and it maintains that thickness all the way up
to the halfway point of the blade begins to transition down into a more
triangular section in the distal portion as a result this balances around 16
centimeters from the guard or rather the lack of a guard as yatagans do not have
a true guard, instead having a bolster. This has what is known as a t-shaped
hilt featuring a horn t-shaped pommel these are distinctive of the zeybeks and
differentiate them from Ottoman yatagans, however the decoration on the bolster
and here on the cladding of the tang indicate that this blade is of Ottoman
manufacturer rather than being specifically for a zeybek, as those are
typified by having extremely minimal decoration. The blade is also decorated
featuring an inlay on this side with animalistic motifs, featuring ram's
horns and also the name "Hussein" on the blade. On the obverse side we can see a
passage from the Quran, which names the Seven Sleepers of the cave of Ephesus
the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus hail from an old Syraic legend which has been
adopted by both Christianity and Islam being featured in their own chapter in
the Quran. the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus reportedly went into a cave around 250
CE and emerged 300 years later having
successfully escaped religious persecution - it's therefore a very
important bit of Mythology for the people of the Anatolian region where
Ephesus is located - which is both indicative of the production location of
this sword but also of the status that this sword may have enjoyed being
someone who was intimately connected to both the history of their region and to
their religion it also has one unmentioned extremely
unusual feature for a ottoman blade it is double fullered. I don't know how well
you can see it in the light but there are two fuller's with a central ridge on
this blade - a rather unusual feature to see on a yatagan, most of them will
have either a wedge cross-section this one instead features fullers, which further
allowed to be light and stiff. Most zeybek yatagans which have horn hilts
feature extremely dark buffalo horn but this one which I've determined with the
help of the people over the ethnographic arms forum is more likely made out of
boiled ram's horn - it was boiled in order to force the T-shape. The reason we
know it's not something like rhino horn - which also exhibits the distinctive
translucency that this horn does - is because it does not have the right sort
of structure, not being sufficiently fibrous. This ram's horn hilt echoes the
ram's horn decoration that can be seen inlaid in silver on the blade as I've
mentioned. This fulfills a very similar sort of role as the pala
another popular Ottoman sword. Both the yatagan and pala
are relatively light relatively short infantry weapons and this one is no
exception it falls right into the middle of the expected size and weight range
that you'd see for an ottoman yatagan or an ottoman pala, being similar in use
case they are also similar in form factor despite curving in the opposite
direction and one having a slightly broader blade, both feature reinforcing
t-shaped spines which help make the blades exceptionally stiff it also
allows them to be relatively light for their length. This sword lacks a guard
however these were of course sidearms convenience was sometimes more important
than hand protection. Despite being a mere sidearm this is a highly decorated
weapon being made to an extremely high grade of manufacturer, the twisted
pattern-welded blade, the decorated bolster, the decorated tang cover and the
use of a higher grade horn than is typical of these swords indicated this
would have been for relatively wealthy zeybek, perhaps an efe -
a chief amongst a zeybeks. The design philosophy of the yatagan is
indicative of the way they were used - by having a recurve blade you can
concentrate more force on the point of percussion. It also allows you to perform
a slight amount of a push and draw cut when doing a normal chop as the bodily
mechanics allow for the movement of the edge in the lateral direction as well as
perpendicular to the flesh. This blade was therefore made for use - it's design
and materials indicate that it was made capable of actually being used in battle
and as a result it is still actually very sharp - I have to be relatively
careful when handling it so not only is this a highly decorated and well-made
sword but it is also made with the intention of being used I would posit
that the large number of extra pins put into the hilt on this sword indicate
that it was in fact used over time and while the hand all shows evidence of
repair the edge liked any evidence of damage this may be due to resharpening
or it may have simply been worn on campaign for a large amount of time
without ever having been drawn in anger.
This has been a quick video on a Zeybek Yatagan
with an ottoman blade, I hope you've enjoyed the video because that's
all I've got for you today.
until next time stay sharp