A Comparative Study of Morphology of Persian and Ottoman Royal Swords

This article is a comparative study to investigate the morphology of Persian and Ottoman Royal swords during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Employing a descriptive-qualitative methodology and considering historical evidence, common and distinctive features of these swords in terms of their appearance, as well as their engraved patterns will be analyzed. After demonstrating the pictures of a number of swords belonging to either of the empires within the above mentioned centuries, followed by their morphological evaluation presented in analytical tables, this article will conclude that the state religions within each territory had a significant impact on both the theme of engraved wordings, and the decorations on swords, resulting in distinguishing characteristics. However, the exchange between weapon-making artisans and trading weaponry created common features of weapon production in both empires. Nevertheless, Persian tradition of simplicity in design versus Ottoman style with massive decoration all over the swords is considered a salient dissimilarity of Persian and Ottoman swords.