Archaeological Analysis of Cold Arms with a Short blade (Dagger, Knife and Pish Qabz) in the Qajar Period

After developments in military technologies in Qajard period, the importance of warm weapons was added and cold weapons found less use in wars, but their production continued in limitted quantity because of other side applications. During this period, various kinds of cold weapons were used in battlefields, such as bladed weapons, knockers and pounders, throwing wapons, and some tools for capturing castles. The focus of research is on daggers, knives and PishQabzes which all of them have sharped bladed but short ones. The main purpose of this article is investigating features of the daggers, knives and PishQabzes, and function of these weapons, the possible relationship between their decorations and their warlike or ceremonial functions, in order to have better understanding and recognition all of these weapons and their evolutions during Qajar period. In this regard, answering these questions was considered: what are the characteristics of forms; motifs, themes and techniques decorations in the daggers, knives and PishQabsez in Qajar period? How is the relationship between the quality and quantity of decorations with the function of those weapons? This research was conducted by a historical-descriptive and analytical approach; and the founding methodology based on library resources and field studies on 17daggers, 17knives and 3PishQabzes Which are mainly from museums inside and outside of country. The results of research show that these weapons vary by scales and levels of curvature of blades. The various parts of these weapons are decorated with vegetal-geometrical, human-animal and inscriptive motifs, and decorated mostly by gilded and metal emboss working and enamel techniques. Vegetable-geometrica and human-animal motifs have feast and party themes and inscriptive motifs have religious, diatribe, charm and literary themes.The execution of decorations motifs mostly by costly and magnificent techniques such as enameling or inlaying on daggars and knives(which didn’t use these techniques on PishQabzes) suggests that these two weapons were used mostly for decoration and not for real use on battlefields in Qajar period.