Subject: beylerbey commander of sipahi knights

Culture: Ottoman Turk

Setting: imperial warfare, eastern Europe / Middle East 1514-1576

1. SJ Knives al-Ma'thur

This is a loose replica of al-Ma'thur, one of the swords attributed by tradition to Muhammad and presently displayed at the Topkapı Sarai. While many accept this attribution on faith, an objective assessment on the facts shows that the hilt and scabbard, at least, are certainly not that old.

These mounts exhibit a decorative style characteristic of the Ottoman empire and its immediate neighbors in the 16th and 17th centuries. It therefore makes sense to treat our replica, at least, as an Ottoman sword of this time period.

2. SJ Knives al-Qadib

This sword loosely replicates al-Qadib, another sword attributed to Muhammad and kept at Topkapı Sarai. As with the sword al-Ma'thur (see note 1 above), despite the traditional attribution, the physical evidence places this sword in the 16th-17thc Ottoman sphere.

The form of this sword is a type called 'estoc' in English -- a long, stiff, hilted blade used as a short lance, kept sheathed and tucked under the saddle. It was a standard piece of equipment for heavy cavalry in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia in the 16th-17th centuries, but not from the time of Muhammad. So once more, context insists we treat our replica not as one from an early Arab 'ansar, but an Ottoman sipahi.