Saber
hilt, Turkish or North African; blade, Iranian
Not on view
The blade is an example of sophisticated forging. The split tip alludes to Dhu'l- faqar, the sword of the Prophet (also known as the sword of 'Ali), which was believed to have had two points. Appropriately, the blade of this example is inscribed in Arabic: “There is no fata [heroic young man] like 'Ali and no sword like Dhu'l-faqar.”
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