Encountering the Middle East: HONR 212B-01H

Yatagan under Süleyman the Magnificent Catalouge Entry

This item is a short sword, or yatagan. It is a guardless sword with a curved blade, a traditional weapon of the Ottoman Turks. It was also used in places under Ottoman control, such as the Balkans. This item in particular was made to be luxurious, including precious metals and gems. The hilt is carved out of a single piece of walrus ivory, and gold cloud bands lay flush against its surface.[1] The bottom of the hilt has gold foliate tendrils extending out and is set with turquoise and rubies. The blade is also highly decorated, with gold vegetation surrounding a battle between a dragon and what is seen as either a simurgh, a mythical Iranian bird, or phoenix. The dragon and simurgh are both made of gold and have ruby eyes, but the particular creatures do have their individual differences.[2] The dragon has teeth made of silver, and the simurgh has a seed pearl on top of its head. Along the blunt edge of the blade, there is an inscription in Persian, however it is now too worn out to understand. The yatagan incorporates Chinese motifs, specifically the cloud bands and the mythical creatures, most likely because of the Persian influence on Ottoman art.[3] 

This yatagan was made with several different techniques, which are evident due to the nature of its design. In typical yatagans, the handle, or hilt, is made of wood, bone, ivory, or metal. The hilt of this yatagan is made with a single piece of walrus ivory, and techniques were used to carve this single block of ivory into the yatagan’s characteristic shape. Another general technique used for yatagans was to make the pommel of the sword rounded, with two nodes typically called “ears” sticking out in order to provide hand support for fast slashing strikes. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s yatagan also has these ears, however they are made with precious material to fit the luxurious nature of the sword. This yatagan in particular also uses techniques dealing with gold in order to mount the ivory handle and have high relief decoration on the blade. The blade itself was made with the techniques used to make watered steel[4], which is now commonly known as damascus steel. While most of these techniques are specific to yatagans, the most defining characteristic of a yatagan is to make the blade curved. The curved blade provided more slashing power, and thus made the sword more functional. Some yatagans are curved more than others, but this yatagan only implements a minute curve.

Traditionally, the yatagan is a weapon, but the yatagan made for Süleyman was more ceremonial due to its decoration, hence the minute curve in the blade. The yatagan is part of a group of 3, all made by Ahmed Tekelu, the Ottoman court jeweler, most likely in Istanbul, Turkey. The extreme level of detail defined this item as a princely weapon and allowed it to act as a symbol of the ruler. The yatagan functioned in two ways for the Sultan, first as a demonstration of Ottoman power, and second as a demonstration of Ottoman wealth and therefore success. The janissary corps carried around simplified versions of the yatagan, and the Sultan carrying around this weapon establishes not only his prowess as a military leader, but also the overall uniformity and power of the Ottoman empire. On the more ceremonial side, the yatagan is described as a microcosm of the luxury arts produced under Süleymans rule.[5] This means that even though it is a single item, it was thought to be representative of the whole empire. Thus, the extreme luxury of the yatagan directly demonstrates the extreme luxury of the empire, showing how the yatagan acts as a symbol of Ottoman wealth and success.

To better understand why this yatagan was created to be so ornate, it is important to better understand the values of Süleyman the Magnificent. He was a man who placed extreme value on luxury, possibly because of his childhood training as a goldsmith. All of the Sultan’s items were luxurious, from his weapons and armor to his signature. Suleyman’s tugra, or signature, had swirls and squiggles with a tadpole centered in the tugra, with long tails drawn upward in an “S” shape. The whole tugra is surrounded with stylized flowers and leaves.[6] This goes to show that Süleyman’s things, no matter what they were, needed to be the peak of extravagance. Aside from wanting his personal items to be the best, he was a huge proprietor of the arts, and made sure that the Ottoman empire had only the best things as well. Under his rule, the Ottoman empire imported raw silk, precious gems, and Chinese porcelain.[7] His empire flourishing with luxury, Süleyman had to make sure he stood on top of it all, as to set an example. He bought a helmet made by Venetian goldsmiths, which had four tiers. It was almost like a crown, and it featured 50 diamonds, 47 rubies, 27 emeralds, a large turquoise, and 49 pearls which included large 12 carat pearls.[8] Similar to the yatagan, the level of luxury the helmet had allowed it to be fit for a sultan, and additionally the helmet and yatagan had the same purpose, demonstrating the power and wealth of both the Sultan and the Ottoman empire. The reason for exquisite detail on the yatagan is made clear by using this helmet as an example of the values of the Sultan. He wanted an item that stood at the peak of extravagance to attest to his own power, but would also display Ottoman success. The helmet’s luxury compares to the yatagans luxury in that they are both highly decorated and items of Süleyman, which by nature makes them elegant. Both the helmet and the yatagan reveal the dynamics of Ottoman culture, showing how a golden age that was focused on art, material wealth, and power was ushered in under Süleyman the Magnificent.

This yatagan is not the only sword of the time that was made to be so ornate. A saber made of steel, gold, wood, and fish skin was created likely for Suleyman the Magnificent, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful and well preserved Ottoman blades of all time. The blade, like the yatagan, is inlaid with gold, but the gold on the saber used to write Qur’anic inscriptions.[9] The yatagan compares this saber in terms of luxury and meaning. Both these swords have extremely ornate decorations made with precious materials. They differ mainly in the decoration of the blade and material of the hilt. While both of these items can be used as weapons, their main function was as a symbol of Ottoman power and success. Both the items being made for The Sultan and the extreme ornamentation demonstrate the resources of the empire, and the power of Suleyman. The saber is not the only item that compares to the yatagan in such a way, as evident with the Venetian helmet, there are several other pieces of arms and armor that share similar symbolic meaning.

Shirt of Mail and Plate of Emperor Shah Jahan

The yatagan is also compared to the shirt of mail and plate of Shah Jahan. The armor of Shah Jahan is made of steel, gold, iron, and leather. On the mail are armor plates covered in two-color gold with Quranic inscriptions entwined with vegetal ornamentation. Inscriptions show that Saif Khan, a Mughal prince, gave this as a gift to the Shah.[10] The luxury of this armor is apparent, and the luxury of the yatagan is further understood through comparison of both their ornamentation and importance to their time. The armor is ornamented with gold plating inscribed with Qur’anic verses, and the yatagan is ornamented with gold, and precious metals. The importance of the armor to its time was to demonstrate Mughal power and wealth, and the importance of the yatagan was to demonstrate Ottoman power and wealth. Through this comparison, the yatagan gains further understanding as a luxurious piece by setting it as an equal to the armor that is generally considered one of the most beautiful and luxurious pieces of Mughal armor. The yatagan is not only a match in ornamentation, but meaning as a symbol to its empire as well.

This yatagan relates to the theme of arms and armaments since it is a weapon. While being a weapon, thus part of arms and armaments, its main function is not as a weapon but as a symbol of Ottoman power and success. Having this symbolic function, however, does not mean it cannot be used as a weapon if needed. Even though the ornamentation takes away some of its functionality, it was still made with the same techniques to create traditional yatagans, thus is almost as effective. The yatagan relates to the theme of extravagance through its use of precious materials, and precise and extreme ornamentation. By having Süleyman the Magnificent, who was known for his demand for luxurious items, commission the sword, the yatagan gains another level of extravenge since if it was not the height of luxury, Süleyman would have not accepted it. The extravagance of the yatagan serves the purpose of demonstrating the power and wealth of both the Sultan and his empire. The yatagan's extravagance shows the values of Süleyman and the resources at his disposal, but also acts as a representation of the overall Ottoman empire, showing how not just Süleyman but the empire also had nothing but the best.