Alexander, D.G. - Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor I. the Turban Helmet and II. Watered Steel...

7/30/2019 Alexander, D.G. - Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor I. the Turban Helmet and II. Watered Steel and the Wate

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T w o A s p e c t s o f I s la m i c A r m s a n d A r m o rD. G. ALEXANDERResearchAssociate,Departmentof Armsand Armor,TheMetropolitanMuseumof Art

I. The TurbanHelmetTURBAN HELMETS, SOcalled because of their over-sized bulbous shape, and the armor and shields towhich they can be related have long been a problem-atic group in the study of Islamic arms and armor.They have been described as everything from Mon-gol to Mamluk,' and dated from as early as the four-teenth to as late as the seventeenth century. As a classof objects they differ greatly among themselves, andthe group can be divided into a number of subgroups.Nevertheless, the features they share indicate that al-though they do not have a common provenance theyare at least the products of a continuing tradition.This study of eight such helmets is intended toillustrate the complexity of the problem of theirprovenance, and to demonstrate that they were pro-duced over a long period of time and in a number ofcenters. One should regard this study as a first stepin solving a problem whose unraveling will be com-pleted only when the hundreds of such objects inIstanbul have been fully analyzed and grouped ac-cording to their type and epigraphical content.2The earliestsurvivinghelmet of this type was foundin Bursa, where it may have been made. It is in-scribed: "Let the government and sovereignty of theEmir Sultan Orhan be permanent" (Figure 1).3 Or-han, the son of the Emir Othman, was born in 1288and ruled from 1326 to 1360. He is credited withhaving strengthened and expanded the Ottomanarmyand with the founding of the Janissarycorps. In 1326he conquered Bursa, which became his capital, andshortly afterwards the ancient city of Nicaea (now Iz-nik). With the capture of Gallipoli in 1354 he ex-tended Ottoman power into Europe. The inscriptionon the helmet includes the title "sultan,"not gener-

ally used by the Ottomans at this time, and thus pro-vides a reason for assuming that the helmet may havebeen made as a commemorativepiece at a slightlylaterdate. Nevertheless it establishes the fact that helmetsof this type were worn in Anatolia during the earlyOttoman period.Like almost all turban helmets, the "Orhan hel-met" has a fluted bowl and a flattened conical finial,below which is a cubo-octahedralplug drilledwith fourholes. Although the helmet is badly preserved, onecan assume that it was also cusped and reinforcedacross the brow in order to provide extra protectionfor the eyes, and that it had a movable nasal guard.4

1. M. H. Lavoix, "La Collection Goupil," Gazettedes Beaux-Arts, 2nd ser., 32 (1885) p. 300, where they are called Mongol;E. Lenz, Collection d'armesde l'Ermitage mperial(St. Petersburg,1908) pl. vi, where they are called Ottomanof the 16th and17th centuries; H. R. Robinson, OrientalArmour London, 1967)p. 62, where the better-lookingexamples are called Mamluk.Helmets of a derivativetypeoccur in the HoughtonShah-namehof ca. 1525, e.g., fols. lo4r and 204v (MMA acc. nos. 1970.301.15,1970.301.31). Either these depictions are based on a lost Safavidtype,or the artistswerecopyingearlier models.2. The inscriptionspresentextraordinary pigraphicalprob-lems and are being studiedat present by Dr.LudvikKalus.Dr.Kalusandthe authorplana collaborativeworkon the weapons,includingthe helmets, in the Topkapl Sarayiand Askeri Mu-seums in Istanbul.3. The helmet and inscriptionare publishedin the Guide otheAskeriMiize (Istanbul, n.d.). For Orhan see F. Babinger,"Orkhan,"in Encyclopaediaof IslamIII (London, 1936) pp. 999-1001.4. The topof the nasalusually unctioned asa tu or standard.Suchemblemswereoften used atopbannersor flags(alam).Theword alam s sometimesused in the sense of badgeor standard;see E. W. Lane, Arabic-EnglishLexicon (London, 1863) bk. i, pt.5, P. 2139.

97? The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1984METROPOLITANUSEUMJOURNAL8


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1. Helmet inscribed with the name of Sultan Orhan(ruled 1326-60). Steel, decorated with silver. Istan-bul, Askeri Museum, no. 15723 (photo: courtesy Lt.Col. Necat Erlap)

It is also set, around the base, with a series of hooksfrom which the aventail was hung.Its decoration can be divided into a number ofzones: the lowest is smooth, rises vertically, and, as onmost helmets of this type, is the area containing themain inscription; the central section is fluted and inthis instance undecorated; the top section is smoothand tapers sharply towards the apex. Helmets of thistype typically contain a subsidiary inscription in theuppermost zone. The treatment of the inscriptions onthe Orhan helmet is unique in that they are confinedto two horizontal registers framed by narrow borderscontaining arabesques; most other helmets have in-scriptions contained within lobed or knot-patternframes. The Orhan helmet could also be regarded asan early example of what has been called the "plainstyle,"5 as its restrained decoration is in marked con-98

trast to the plethora of design elements usually foundon turban helmets.Chronologically,the next datable helmets are fromthe Ak-Koyunlu period (White Sheep Turkman pe-riod).This dynastywasoriginallya federationof tribe

from the region of Diyarbakir in central Anatoliawhich rose to power in the fourteenth century underKara Yoluk (Black Leech) Uthman. Under UzunHasan (ruled 1466-78) their rule was extended fromeastern Anatolia to Herat and Baghdad. The dynastywas crushed by the Safavids at the battle of Sharur in1502.6 The helmet illustrated in Figure 2 is inscribednot only with the series of royal titles usually foundon these objects, but also with the name of UzunHasan's son Ya'qub(ruled 1478-90). The inscriptionreads: "Glory to our lord the greatest sultan, themighty Khaqan, master of the necks of nations, thelord of the kings of the Arabs and Persians, the sul-tan Ya'qub."7Because of its rather inelegant decora-tion and clumsyinscription,it was probablynot craftedin the capital at Tabriz but rather in a provinciaworkshop, possibly that at the Ak-Koyunlu militarybase at Erzerum in Anatolia.8

Another helmet (Figure 3) dating from the Ak-Koyunlu period is possibly inscribed with the name

5. The "plainstyle"refers to the unadornedmetalworkpopular n the Ottomanempire duringthe 16th and 17th centuriesseeJ. RabyandJ. Allan,Tulips,ArabesquesndTurbansLondon1982).6. See V. Minorsky,"Ak-Koyunlu,"n Encyclopaediaf Islamnew ed., I (London, 1960) pp. 311-312. A historyof the dynastyhas been writtenbyJ. E. Woods,TheAqquyunlulan,Confederation, mpireChicago,1976).7. Ya'qub,which should be written s, appearson thehelmet as . This kind of sloppiness s not unusualon turbanhelmet inscriptionsand also occurson the lead seal of a maishirt in Leningrad:Lenz, Collection'armes, l. Iv, no. j. 535where the y and j arejoined exactlyas on the helmet. Theinscriptionwastranslatedby Florence E. Dayin 1954.8. Erzerumwas an important Ak-Koyunlubase, and it wahere in 1829 that the Russianscaptured many helmets of thitype;see Lenz,Collection'armes, l. vi. Manyof these helmetand relatedarmors must have been taken as booty by the Ottomansat the battle of OtlukBeli in 1473, when the entire AkKoyunlubaggage train was captured and sent to Constantnople alongwithnumerouscraftsmen;see F.Babinger,MehmtheConquerornd His Time Princeton,1978)pp. 302-328, espp. 315. Manyof theseobjectsenteredEuropeancollections fte1839,when the new sultan,AbdulMecid,ordered the clearinof the St. Irene Arsenal;see a letter from RobertCurzon,attache to the British Embassy n Constantinople,quoted by JHewitt,OfficialCataloguef the TowerArmouriesLondon, 1859pp. 116-117.


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2. Helmet inscribed with the name of Sultan Ya'qub(ruled 1478-90). Steel, decorated with silver, H. o1in. (25.4 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art,Rogers Fund, 04.3.211

of Farrukh-Siar, the ruler of Shirvan (Shirvanshah)from 1464 to 1501.9 It seems likely that this helmetwas produced in a Caucasian workshop, for the Cau-casus-and especially such centers as Shamakhi (thecapital of Shirvan) and Kubachi-had long been animportant metalworking area.'0 The Venetian am-bassador to the court of Uzun Hasan, Giosafat Bar-baro, noted that the Ak-Koyunlu obtained much oftheir armor from this region; it was, he said, "of iron

9. Shirvanwas a client state of the Ak-Koyunlu,with whomit had closeand friendlyties. In 1479,for instance,Ya'qubmar-ried Farrukh-Siar's aughter. The Shirvanshahswere devoutSunnis,and when Farrukh-Siar askilled nbattlebyShahIsma'ilSafavi heir rule wasabolished;see Woods,Aqquyunlu,sp. pp.147and 279 n. 34. The helmet has been published n the mostrecent (undated) publicitybrochure of the Askeri Museum,Istanbul.However,the inscriptionon this helmet and similarinscriptionson two others (Askeri Museum, nos. 163, 9488)presentan as yet unsolvedproblem.Dr. Kalus n a letter datedFeb.28, 1982,provisionally eads the crucialphraseas J,L t ,"pleinde bonheur," nd the name in the relatedinscriptionsas

3. Helmet inscribed with the name of the Shirvanshah,Farruhk-Siar(ruled 1464-1501). Steel, decorated withsilver. Istanbul, Askeri Museum, no. 5911 (photo:courtesy L. Kalus)

in little squares and wrought with gold and silver,tacked together with small mail," and was "madein Beshkand," which, according to Minorsky, is Ku-bachi."1

These two helmets differ in that the former has amore elegant inscription, especially in its upper band,and smaller, more carefully proportioned flutings,whereas the latter has wider, diagonal flutings and isdecorated in its central zone with a vegetal design.

"SiyarSah fils du sultan Halil.""Siyargah"appearsto be anunrecordedruler; however, he name SultanHalil is recordedamong both the Ak-Koyunluand the Shirvanshah.Conse-quently, generalAk-Koyunlu/Shirvanittributionemainsikely.lo. J. Allan, PersianMetalTechnologyOxford, 1979) p. 69.Allan notes that Mas'udiand al-Jahizmention the Caucasusasa center for the manufactureof arms and armor.11.JosafaBarbaroand AmbrogioContarini,TravelsoTanaandPersia, rans. W Thomas and S. Roy,ed. Lord StanleyofAlderley,HakluytSociety,ist ser., XLIX (London, 1873;repr.New York,1963)with notes by V.Minorsky,p. 66. Barbarowaswith the Ak-Koyunlu rom 1474to 1478.

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4. Helmet, late 15thcentury.Steel, decoratedwith sil-ver.PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art, KienbuschCollec-tion, no. 207 (photo: PhiladelphiaMuseum)

Both, however, have a bulbous quality which con-trastswith the longer finial and the tapering form ofthe Orhan helmet (Figure i).A number of helmets can, on stylistic grounds, beassigned to the Ak-Koyunlu/Shirvani group. Onewould include here most of the helmets that bulge intheir centers-rather than taper as does the early Ot-toman example-and are inlaid in their central zoneswith foliate arabesques characterized by long, wavyfloral forms. This type of design, which occurs on theFarrukh-Siar helmet, is also present on a helmet in

5. Helmet, late i5th century.Steel, decorated with sil-ver, H. 12 in. (30.5 cm.). The Metropolitan Museumof Art, Purchase,AnonymousGift,50.87

the KienbuschCollection(Figure 4) and on one in theMetropolitan Museum (Figure 5).The Kienbusch helmet is inscribed with a protocolalmost identical to that bearing the name of Ya'qub(Figure 2). It reads: "Made at the order of the great-est sultan, the mightiest khagan, the master of thenecks of nations, the lord of the kings of the Arabsand Persians, the shadow of Allah on the continentsand.... "12The inclusion of the title "the shadow ofAllah on the continents" indicates a claim to the "cal-iphate," and it was often used by the Timurids and

12. Kretzschmar von Kienbusch, The Kretzschmarvon Kien-busch Collection(Princeton, 1963) pp. 15-1 16. The inscriptionwas translated by D. S. Rice.100


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6. Leg guard, probably Timurid, mid-15th century.Steel, decorated with silver on a gilded ground, L.17 in. (43.2 cm.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art,Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935, 36.25.458

Ak-Koyunlu, and after about 1526 by the Ottomans.It was used only rarely by the Mamluks,13 and itspresence here probably excludes a Mamluk prove-nance. The decoration on this helmet and on that inthe Metropolitan Museum provides, in addition totheir shape and their inscriptions, further reason foran Ak-Koyunlu/Shirvani origin.Foliate designs of similar type are found in Timu-rid art.14 They differ, however, in that the Timuridexamples are usually more carefully executed and

more regular in design. None of the surviving turbanhelmets is decorated in this typical Timurid style, al-though there does exist a leg guard in the Metropol-itan Museum that must be either from a Timuridworkshop or from one working directly from Timu-rid prototypes (Figure 6).

A large number of turban helmets are inscribedwith a style of writing called Eastern Kufic (see Fig-ure 7).15 The inscriptions are more ornate and lessregular than those found in Korans and in miniaturepainting, but they were probably based on thesemodels and likewise were probablycrafted in an Ira-nian center. To this group may be added helmetsdecorated in their central zones with a linear designof interlocking teardrop shapes with trefoil termi-nals, and also all armor decorated in this style (Fig-ure 8).If turban helmets of this type are accepted as beingof Ak-Koyunlu/Shirvani origin, then it becomes pos-sible not only to classifya large group of armor whoseprovenancehas been misunderstood,but also to makean attribution for an important group of miniaturepaintings that have been the subject of considerablecontroversy.16These paintings include one (Figure 9)

13. See L. A. Mayer,SaracenicHeraldryOxford, 1933) pp.106and 108, for an inscription akenfrom the doorway o thefortressat Kerak,whereBaybars 1223-77) is referred to as the"restorerof the August Chalifate,God'sshade on earth." t is,however, he caliphwho is referredto as the "Shadeof Allah"and not Baybars.14. Comparethe foliate forms in the TimuridKorans llus-trated in M. Lings, The QuaranicArt of Calligraphyand Illumina-tion Boulder,Colo., 1978)nos. 81, 82, andesp. no. 83, with thefloralforms on the leg guardin Figure6.15.Lings,Quaranic rt,p. 16,definesthis as a style hatavoids,except in a few instances,horizontal ines and relies instead on"diagonals nd lettersof triangular hape."EasternKufic s usedin Mamluk,Mongol,and TimuridKorans(see Lings, QuaranicArt,chaps.5 and 6) and is often found in inscriptionsn Turk-man and Timurid miniaturepainting;see, e.g., the followingarticles in The Artsof the Book in CentralAsia, ed. B. Gray (Boul-der, Colo., 1979):B. Gray,"TheSchoolof Shirazfrom 1392to1453,"pl. xxxv, painted n Yazd n 1407;E. Grubeand E.Sims,"The School of Herat, 1400-1450,"fig. 96, painted n Heratin1436;and M.Lukens-Swietochowski,The Schoolof Herat1450to 1506,"pl. LIX, paintedin Baghdadin 1461.16. These paintingsare included in the TopkaplSarayiAl-bums H. 2153, 2160. They have been publishedon numerousoccasions; ee, e.g., OktayAslanpa,MaxLoehr,and R. Etting-hausen in Ars Orientalis1 (1954) pp. 77-103; E. Grube, PersianPainting in the FourteenthCentury (Naples, 1978) sec. 2, esp. pp.49-52 (thepaintingn Figure9 belongs o thegroupthatGrube,

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10. Helmet inscribed with the name of Sultan Bayezid(ruled 1481-1512). Steel, decorated with gold. Paris,Musee de l'Armee, H. 445 (photo: Musee de L'Ar-mee)

11. Helmet (detail), 16thcentury,inscribed n the styleof Ahmet Karahisari (1469-1556). Steel, decoratedwith silver. Istanbul, Askeri Museum, no. 13581(photo:AskeriMuseum)

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depicting two mounted warriors wearing bulbousturban helmets of the squat variety typified by theYa'qubhelmet (Figure 2). Consequently, it must de-pict either Ak-Koyunlu or Shirvani warriors and wasprobably,although not necessarily,painted in an Ak-Koyunlu atelier.Turban helmets were probably produced through-out the fifteenth century in Ottoman Anatolia. It isnot possible at present to separate this productionfrom that of the Ak-Koyunlu and Shirvani work-shops, and one is left with a single Ottoman examplefrom the fourteenth century (Figure 1) and anotherfrom the last years of the fifteenth or the early six-teenth century. The latter, which was made for theOttoman Sultan Bayezid II (ruled 1481-1512), is one

p. 51, says is "the most difficult to place."The most comprehen-sive publication of these paintings is in E. Grube, Filez Qaqman,and Zeren Akalay, TopkapiSaray Collection:IslamicPainting (To-kyo, 1978).

12. Calligraphic inscription by Ahmet Karahisari,ca.1540-50. Istanbul, Museum of Turkish and IslamicArts, no. 1443 (photo: Museumof Turkishand Is-lamicArts)103


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of the most beautiful of the entire group (Figure o1).It is inscribed:Oh God, I am the head-piecefor the head of the valiantimam,the bold sultan,the emperorof the world,givingvictoryto Islam, possessingGod'shelp and support,al-Malikal-NaSirSultanBayazidson of SultanMuhummadKhan, may God make his adherents and his followersglorious.17

The helmet differs from all other turban helmetsin that its flutings are decorated with a cloud-banddesign and it is without eye cusps. The use of the term"imam" n the inscription may reflect Bayezid'scloseconnection with the Khalaveti order of Dervishes andprobably implies a claim to the "caliphate."In thissense it is a unique historical document.18That helmets of this type continued to be made inthe Ottoman empire well into the sixteenth centuryis shown by the existence of a helmet that bears aninscription (Figure 11) in the style of the Ottoman

calligrapher Ahmet Karahisari (1469-1556) (Figure12). Calligraphers tend to be the innovators whosescripts are later used in other fields, such as metal-work. Consequently, it is unlikely that this helmet isearlier than the mid-sixteenth century.In sum, turban helmets do not come from a singleworkshopbut, on the contrary,were produced in bothPersia and Turkey. One is dealing here with cross-cultural influences, and in many cases probably withmigratory craftsmen, who either gravitated to theimperial center of Constantinople during the latefifteenth and early sixteenth centuries or were cap-tured after one of the Ottoman campaigns in Anato-lia or Persia.

17. The inscriptionis translated in Artsof Islam,exh. cat.(London: Hayward Gallery, 1976) no. 299, p. 197.18. H.J. Kissling,"Ausder Geschichte esChalvetijji-Ordens,"Zeitschrifterdeutschenmorgenliindischenesellschaft03 (1953)pp.245-251. For the post-13th-century nterpretationof the ca-liphatesee Woods,Aqquyunlu,p. 117-118.

II. Watered Steel and the Watersof ParadiseTHE PERSIAN WORDfor water, ab, can also refer towatered steel in the sense of the "waterof a blade."lWater, especially in Islam, connotes life, and in theKoran the incorruptible river Kawthar is used as akey image in describing the beauties of Paradise. Todrink from these waters is to enjoy everlasting life.To drink the water of a blade is to die. Persian andOttoman poets of the fifteenth to the eighteenth cen-turies frequently used the punning ambiguity inher-ent in the word to create verses that play on the rela-tionship of water to life and death. Verses of this typewere often writtenspecifically o be placed upon swordand dagger blades; four such blades are in the collec-tion of the Metropolitan Museum. The verses areeither of a religious nature, stressing the nobility ofdeath in the service of God and the concomitant re-wards of Paradise; or they are secular, courtly, andsometimes frankly erotic.The reward of Paradise is promised to all thefaithful, and especially to those who die in the service

of Allah. As described in the Koran, Paradise is abeautiful garden, temperate in climate and full ofshady trees, luxurious couches, delicious fruit, andbashful virgins, which is watered by flowing springs.

i. Watered steel is produced by combining different types ofiron, which are cast in an ingot, slowly cooled, and then ham-mered out to create an object-usually a blade; see James Allan,PersianMetal Technology 00-I300 A.D. (London, 1979) pp. 76-82. Allan uses the term "damascened" instead of "watered"steel,and refers to the patterns that can be made by the process asjawhar or firind. Many of these patterns were described by al-Kindi in the 9th century; see A. R. Zaki, ed., Al suyufwaajnasuha(Cairo, 1952). Al-Kindi uses the wordfirind for the patterns andnotes that they are brought out during the quenching, or water-ing, of the blade. From at least the late 15th century the Per-sians seem to have used the term "watered" for steel of this kind,perhaps because many of the patterns are reminiscent of water.The term is preferable to "damascened," which has other mean-ings and further raises an unwarranted association with the cityof Damascus. I use "damascened" to describe a surface decora-tion-in gold or silver-applied to an object, and follow thePersian example in calling the metal watered steel.

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These springs are fed by the rivers of Paradise, theprimaryone of which is Kawthar,itself the subject ofa short sura: "We have given you abundance [Kaw-thar]. Prayto your Lord and sacrificeto him. He thathates you shall remain childless."2This sura has been the subject of numerous theo-logical exegeses and a considerable amount of po-etry. Al-Tabari (died A.D. 923), for example, re-garded Kawthar as being the quintessence of purityand wrote that its water is "whiter than snow andsweeter than honey."3Annemarie Schimmel, in dis-cussing the poetical allusions to the river,4quotes, forexample, Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-73), the founder ofthe Mevlani Dervish sect, who compared divine loveto the water of Kawthar;5and the Naqshbandi Der-vish Abdur Rahim Girhori (died 1778), whose com-mentaryon the sura contains a "Divine address to theProphet" in which God says:

So much gift did I not give to anyonebut you.You are the cupbearerof the fountain: carryon nowits distribution,0 braveone!6God continues to laud Muhammad and to describeKawthar as an ocean of divine love, which bringsknowledge, healing, and perfect bliss.A number of sword blades are inscribedwith versesthat refer to the waters of Paradise, usually in thecontext of the jihad, or Holy War, and the swordknown as dhu'I-fakar.This sword had belonged to theProphet and after his death became one of the "In-signia of the Caliphate." It was also intimately asso-ciated with the Prophet's son-in-law Ali and acquiredvarious chivalric, magical, and messianic connota-tions. The actual sword probably perished during thedestruction of Baghdad in 1258, but it lived on incountless reproductions as a symbol of authority andvictory. In Islamic theology and especially in Shiathought it was regarded as one of the essential attri-butes of the Mahdi, who will wield it in the final battlebetween Good and Evil.7 The Persian inscriptionsuniting the imagery of water to that of the dhu'I-fakdrusually read:

O sword, may the idolaters be diminished by youragency!Maythe Garden of Victoryflourishby your water!Your comrade will be the breath of the dhu 'I-fakdr.Everydaythe sun drawsa swordaround the hearts ofthe faithful.8

The pun on water is clearlyexpressed here and re-fers both to the watered-steel blade and to the riverKawthar.The reference to the river in this context,while it stresses the military virtue of battling the in-fidels in the Holy War, also has strong Shia over-tones. For although, as noted above, the Prophet Mu-hammad is sometimes regarded as the cupbearer ofthe waters of Paradise, in Shia tradition this role isgiven to Ali, and the associationof the dhu'l-fakerwithKawthar would indicate a Shia bias. D. S. Rice, not-ing Ali's role in this regard,9 connected the idea ofreceiving the waters of Paradise with death in battleor martyrdom by quoting from the Persian passionplays, in which the dying Husain is denied water byhis killers and given instead watered steel:I made many supplications to Himar, that ill-starredwretch,begginghim to poura fewdropsdownmythroat,butthatwicked villainrefused,and answered hat I mustdrinkwaterfrom the edge of the sword.Husain is then promised by the angel Gabriel that:Afterthismartyrdomhe willenterParadise,wherelovelyhouris awaithim, and where his father, Ali, is standingreadyto welcomehim witha crystal up full of cool waterfrom the riverKawthar.10

2. TheKoran, rans. N.J. Dawood (Harmondsworth,1964)sura 108,p. 28.3. D. S. Rice, "TwoUnusual MamlukMetalWorks," ulletinoftheSchool fOriental ndAfricanStudies 0 (1957) p. 493.4. AnnemarieSchimmel,As Through Veil:Mystical oetrynIslam NewYork,1982);idem, "TheCelestialGarden n Islam,"in The slamicGarden,DumbartonOaksColloquiumon the His-toryof LandscapeArchitecture V,ed. ElisabethB. MacDougalland RichardEttinghausen Washington,D.C., 1976)pp. 11-39,for a discussionof the Garden of Paradise.5. Schimmel,AsThrough Veil,p. 1o8.6. Ibid., p. 206.7. The dhu l-fakar nd itsrole in Islamic houghtis discussedin the writer'sPh.D. thesis, "The dhu'l-fakdr"New YorkUni-versity,1984).8. A largenumberof bladesbearingthisinscriptionhavesur-vived. Mostare decorated with a dragon and phoenix in com-

bat, and it is likely that there was an identificationmade be-tween the symbolof the dragonand thatof the dhu l-fakdr;hisissue is discussed n the writer's hesis,"The dhu I-faktr,"hap.4. The inscriptionquoted above, from a blade in the Histo-rischesMuseum,Dresden, no. Y.30,is given inJ. Schobel,FineArms nd ArmourNew York,1975) pp. 229-230; Schobel doesnot name the translatorand callsthe Persian nscriptionArabic.9. Rice,"MetalWorks," p. 487-500.o1. Ibid.,p. 493.105


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1. Dagger,Ottoman,late 16thcentury,the guard 19thcentury.Hiltof green-dyedivory,blade of steel dam-ascened with gold, L. (blade): 71/2 n. (19.1 cm.). TheMetropolitanMuseum of Art, Bequestof George C.Stone, 1935, 36.25.670io6

A dagger in the Museum's collection (Figure 1) isinscribed with a couplet written by the Ottoman poetNeaati (died 1509), which is obviously based on theShia accounts of the death of Husain. The lines, inOttoman Turkish, are damascened in gold along oneside of the blade:

I besought a drink of water from your trenchantdagger,what if but once you should let me drink,what wouldyou lose?A second couplet in Persian, but possibly also by Ne-cati, is in the lower register:

If I thirst his dagger is not laid down [does notdescend];by my bloody desire no water will pass through histhroat."1The clarity found in the Shia version of Husain'sdeath is missing here, and in its place the victim asksnot for water to quench his thirst but instead for adrink of water from the dagger. He cravesnot a drinkbut death, and perversely the dagger answersthat hiswish will not be granted. Taken together these lines

playwith the Shia version of Husain'smartyrdom,andin so doing perhaps even subtly question the entireconcept that throughout the centuries has had suchan important role in the history of the Shia sect.The verse is typicallycourtlyin its sophisticationandcan be related to a number of others that describe avictimbegging to be stabbed. The best example of thisgenre is a poem inlaid on a saberblade probably givento Archduke Maximilian, Grand Master of the Teu-tonic Knights from 1590 to 1618. The hilt and scab-bard of this weapon are of gold, studded with rubiesand turquoise, and on the hilt is a fish constructedfrom turquoise chips. The use of this emblem meansthat the fittings and perhaps the verse originated inthe imperial ateliers in Constantinople.'2

11. The Ottomaninscriptionalso occurs on a 16th-centurblade in the RoyalScottishMuseum,Edinburgh,no. 1890-280and is translated n TheArtsof Islam,exh. cat. (London:Hayward Gallery,1967) p. 199, no. 232. The PersianinscriptiontranslatedbyCornellFleischer,1980.12. The saberis in the Treasuryof the TeutonicKnights nVienna,no. 179; see B. Dudik,Kleinodienesdeutschen itterodens Vienna,1865).The fish mark occurs on a number of Im-perial Ottoman sabers including the "swordof the Prophet,now in the TopkaplSarayiMuseum,which was refitted at theorder of Sultan Ahmet I (1603-17).


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The fish of the waterof yoursaberare on the dayof battle ike so manycrocodilehunters.You draw in anger againstme yourshiningsword;it is not necessary hatyou threatenme withit, becausefear alone alreadykills me.The bent lines of the water of your saber are not truedamascening,they are signs writtenon the water to kill me.Will t satisfy your sword to kill a man like me?If so, I will accept death with thanks,but then yoursword willbe stained withmy blood.I beg you, killme not with an arrow, nsteadshow methe graceto killme with a sword,becausethen I shall fall to the ground close to you.13The idea of death by the sword is treated with anemotional, almost loverlike overtone. The victim asksto be killed, not with an impersonal arrow,but by thesword, so that the moment of his death becomes anintimate moment for both killer and victim. Unfor-

tunately,the circumstancesunder which the poem waswritten are unknown. Was it merely selected from astock of similar verses, or was it composed especiallyfor the sultan'shereditary enemy Archduke Maximil-ian?The union between killer and victim is often ex-

pressed in a blatantly erotic fashion. Inscriptions inwhich this occurs are generally found on daggerblades, many of them beautifully decorated and per-haps made for women.'4A number of such verseshavebeen translated and published by Anatol Ivanov;15frequentlyencountered in them is the image of a crueland beautiful woman who, for unknown reasons, in-flicts pain and even death with her dagger. The pain,however, while real, is also sometimes described asbeing delightful, and it is this identification of painwith ecstasy that gives the verses their peculiar eroticcast.

The inscription on a second dagger blade in theMuseum's collection (Figure 2) does not reflect thecruel eroticism found in the verses quoted by Ivanov,

13. Translated from the Persian by Professor Fleischer, inDudik, Kleinodien, p. 48, and from the German by Dorte Alex-ander.

14. Ottoman women of the 17th century wearing daggers aredepicted in Alberto Arbasino, I turchi(Parma, 1971) p. 119.15. A. Ivanov, "A Group of Iranian Daggers of the Periodfrom the Fifteenth Century to the Beginning of the Seven-teenth, with Persian Inscriptions,"in R. Elgood, ed., IslamicArmsandArmour(London, 1979) pp. 74-75.

2. Dagger:hilt, European, 16th century;blade, Otto-man, mid-16th century.Blade of steel damascenedwith gold, L. overall: o103/ in. (26.4 cm.). The Met-ropolitanMuseumof Art, Giftof JeanJacquesReu-bell, in memory of his mother,Julia C. Coster,andof his wife, Adeline E. Post,both of New YorkCity,26.145.159107

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3. Spearhead, Persian, 16th century. Steel damascenedwith gold, L. 15 in. (38.1 cm.). The MetropolitanMuseum of Art, Bequest of George C. Stone, 1935,36.25.2087io8

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4. Dagger: blade, Persian,dated 1732/3; hilt, Indian,i9th century;scabbard,Ottoman,19thcentury.Bladeof steel,chiseledand inlaid in gold, L.: 185/8n. (47.3cm.). The MetropolitanMuseumof Art, BequestofGeorgeC. Stone, 1935, 36.25.994

but it does deal with matters of love, specificallywiththe fate of an unfaithful lover. The Persian inscrip-tion reads:It is a dagger since it attemptedthe life of the bloody-livered lover.MyTurk took it (in gold wrapped)and bound it to hissash.16Two final examples demonstrate the varietyof uses

poets were able to make of the ambiguity inherent inthe word for water. One employs the image to makea straightforward comment about the function of aweapon, in this case a spearhead (Figure 3). Al-though the words "drink, water, fountainhead"evoke,if not the Garden of Paradise, then at least a pleasant

and relaxed ambience, it comes as a shock to realizethat the poet is extolling the weapon's success in kill-ing. The Persian inscription damascened in gold onthe spearhead reads: "Constantlyit drinks the waterfrom the fountainhead of the heart."17In the other example, the image of water is used topraise the beauty of the watered-steel blade. Thiscurved, boldly chiseled blade (Figure 4) was made inShiraz in the year 1732/3 and bears a verse likeningit to a crescent moon of frozen water,which will sit inthe belt of the sun, that is, the ruler:

In the Time of the (eternally asting)rule of the ruler[khaqan]f devotion,thejust Shah, the monarchof Dara'svirtues,the world'ssoul, the locus of manifestation of Ali'skindness,the leader of the age, the king [Khidiv] f ocean andland,followingthat model of the skillful.Likea crescent from the waterof licitessence[?]for the sun a crescent in the belt.The pride of the master Nasi-iArdalanmade a prettydagger in Shiraz.'8

16.Trans.CornellFleischer,1980.17.Trans.CornellFleischer,1980.18. Trans.AnnemarieSchimmel, 1982. Dr. Schimmelnotesthat the inscription s partlyin verse and has rhymesbut thatthe meter and grammarare not alwayscorrect.The verse endswith a chronogramwhich is apparentlywithoutsense.109

Alexander, D.G. - Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor I. the Turban Helmet and II. Watered Steel...

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Transcript of Alexander, D.G. - Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor I. the Turban Helmet and II. Watered Steel...