yatagan
The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan (from Turkish yatağan), also called varsak, after the Turkish Varsak tribe, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th century. The yatagan was extensively used in Ottoman Turkey and in areas under immediate Ottoman influence, such as the Balkans, Caucasus, and North Africa.
Also recorded as yataghan
yatagan
Gryffindor · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Yatagan
- Field
- cold weapon · stabbing weapon
- Region
- Yatağan
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Documentary summary
The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan (from Turkish yatağan), also called varsak, after the Turkish Varsak tribe, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th century. The yatagan was extensively used in Ottoman Turkey and in areas under immediate Ottoman influence, such as the Balkans, Caucasus, and North Africa.
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wikidata · Q503292 · wikipedia · Yatagan
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Yatagan • Origin — Yatağan, Turkey • Type — Hewing knife/sabre • Is Bladed — no • Used By — Ottoman Empire • Wars — Ottoman wars • Weight — ~0.85 kg • Length — ~0.75 m • Part Length — ~0.60 m • Blade Type — Single-edged, curved forward • Hilt Type — Pronged sideways towards pommel, no guard; typically made from horn, bone, or metal (silver)
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Yataghan (on top) and kilij from Topkapı Palace Museum Imperial Armoury • Illustration — The Fencing Lesson by Paja Jovanović • Illustration — A yatagan held in Aleksinac Museum • Illustration — Yatagan with white bone handle and silver-plated wooden case from Athens War Museum
Description
Although weapons with features similar to yatagan were in use from the ancient times, its relation to them and its place of origin remains unknown. Robert Elgood suggests that the yatagan is not a weapon native to Central Asia or Persia and it was adopted by Ottomans through their conquests, probably in the Balkans. The yatagan consists of a single-edged blade with a marked forward curve and a hilt formed of two grip plaques attached through the tang, the end of the hilt being shaped like large ears. The gap between the grips is covered by a metal strap, which is often decorated. The yatagans (also called varsaks, named after the Varsak Turkomans) used by janissaries and other infantry soldiers were smaller and lighter than ordinary swords so as not to hinder them when carried at the waist on the march. The hilt has no guard; "bolsters" of metal connect the grips to the shoulder of the blade. The grip plaques are typically made from bone, ivory, horn, or silver, and spread out in two "wings" or "ears" to either side at the pommel (a feature which prevents the hilt slipping out of the hand when used for cutting). Regional variations in the hilts have been noted: Balkan yatagans tend to have larger ears, often made of bone or ivory, whilst Anatolian yatagans characteristically have smaller ears, more often made of horn or silver, while Ionian-coast Zeibeks carried T-Hilt Yataghans. Sophisticated artwork on both the hilt and the blade can be seen on many yatagans displayed today, indicating considerable symbolic value. Having no guard, the yatagan fitted closely into the top of the scabbard; this was customarily worn thrust into a waist sash, retained by a hook. The blade may have the Seal of Solomon motif pressed into the blade. Other popular imprints include the maker's signature symbol or a text from the Quran. Istanbul, Foça, and Prizren were the main centers of yatagan production in the Ottoman Empire.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.dicionario.priberam.org.
- 2.Armas Brancas- Lanças, Espadas, Maças e Flechas: Como Lutar Sem Pólvora Da Pré-História ao.
- 3.Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300–1774.
- 4.www.merriam-webster.com.
- 5.web.archive.org. 2016-05-30.
- 6.A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times.
- 7.Armas Brancas- Lanças, Espadas, Maças e Flechas: Como Lutar Sem Pólvora Da Pré-História ao.
- 8.www.antique-swords.com.
- 9.Lo yatagan, Rovereto.
- 10.Jatagane aus dem Historischen Museum von Kroatien in Zagreb (Agram).
- 11.web.archive.org. 2007-04-06.
- 12.web.archive.org. 2012-07-23.
- 13.Grassi, Giuseppe (1833), Dizionario militare italiano, 2. ed. ampliata dall'a., Torino, Società Tipografica Libraria, v. III-IV, p. 57 : SCIMITARRA. [...] Pare che quest'arma sia la stessa che i turchi chiamano Yattagan.
- 14.Ferro, oro, pietre preziose : le armi orientali dell'Armeria Reale di Torino,.
- 15.Steve Shackleford. Blade's Guide to Knives & Their Values. Krause Publications. 297–. 5 de Janeiro de 2010. 1-4402-1505-7.
- 16.Nick Evangelista. The Encyclopedia of the Sword. Greenwood Publishing Group. 635–. 1995. 978-0-313-27896-9.
- 17.Burton, Richard (1884), The Book of the Sword, Londra, Chatto & Windus, p. 164 : The absurd Yataghan-bayonet has only lately been banished from the French army, and retains its place in most Continental forces; Lathan, John (1862), The shape of sword blades, in Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, Londra, Mitchell & Son, a. 1863, v. VI, p. 419: The beautiful curved line of the yataghan, so accurately coinciding with the motion of the wrist in cutting, is completely lost, and it is applied to the worst possible use in being placed at the end of the gun, where the weight forward, which is so valuable in cutting by the hand, renders it, when placed upon the gun-top, heavy and unmanageable. It is very much inferior to the ordinary bayonet, and it has frequently caused surprise how it came to be adopted here.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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