What is a Yataghan and how was it used?

Sources:
Bruno Mugnai, Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV: Volume 3 - The Armies of the Ottoman Empire 1645-1718 (Warwickshire: Helion and Company, 2020)
Gabor Agoston, Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Rhoads Murphey, Ottoman Warfare 1500-1700 (Abington: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2005)
Marey Sabre uncovered : Marey-Monge’s forgotten yet influential sword designs: hemamisfits.co...
Colonel Marey, Memoir on Swords, trans. By Lieut.-Col Henry Hamilton Maxwell, Bengal Artillery (London: Bradbury and Evans, 1860)
Music:
Kurdilihicazkar Pesrev (Tanburi Cemil Bey)
Hicazkar Pesrev (Tanburi Cemil Bey)
Nikriz Sirto (Tanburi Cemil Bey)
Hicazkar Saz Semai (Tanburi Cemil Bey)

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

This sword looks very halal. Tengri bless this design.

[@YakupErcan-dy1kl]

who is tengri

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

@@YakupErcan-dy1kl Google is your friend.

[@afd1040]

What a dumbass statement

[@Paladin1976]

​@@YakupErcan-dy1klthe sky God of the early turkic tribes. Before islam. Mongols also had/have tongriem as a god.

[@YakupErcan-dy1kl]

@@Paladin1976 as crimean tatar i havent heard anything about that

[@svesnimajmun2731]

It has already been mentioned buy other blade enthusiast and experts that for a side arm a lack of a guard, especially when combined with a very ergonomic pommel, has the advantage of being very easy and quick at the draw, which should be obvious why it's rather nifty

[@nathanruben-tv5lf]

Personal guards of the sultan used yatagan. It is not long, very very light 500-600gr. at most, very very quick to draw and engage. These guards always keep one hand on yatagan handle based on which side of sultan they are. They draw and swing at the same time in one motion, from down to up. They have combination of attack to prevent anything coming to Sultan, the quickly divert the attack while taking out a limb, usually hand or arm of attacker. They were trained to do that. Yatagan excels at chopping. Yatagan handle is also usefull to give support to thrust yatagan againts enemy especially enemy is armored with some sort of light armor. The ears at the back of the handle are adjusted to owner of the yatagan.

[@ZS-rw4qq]

00:48 Apparently during the Serbian uprisings (1804-1817) Ottomans would grab them like this in battle. So Karađorđe ordered all of them to cut their traditionally long hair

[@thepalindromeadept9596]

This video was pleasantly enjoyable

[@thepalindromeadept9596]

I think the next step would be to include videos aswell and slightly lower the music volume

[@ZS-rw4qq]

10:00 Dude you nailed that Paja Jovanović pronunciation! However mač/meč is a common Slavic word for sword - a far more likely connection

[@okloshbrokla8154]

He was albanian

[@ZS-rw4qq]

@@okloshbrokla8154 Paja Jovanović is a pretty Serb sounding name

[@vicnighthorse]

I am happy with my frugal and fairly low income life but beautiful swords are the one luxury I envy the wealthy over. That sword and scabbard at 9:13 is so beautiful that I imagine I 'd never get tired of looking at and holding. I spent a large portion (probably all) of my yearly discretionary funds (for a couple years) on a couple swords I had custom made and after 10 years I have never had a moment of buyers remorse over them.

[@GrantMarcoux]

Good choices!

[@Lonewolf-wx8wk]

I remember the first time I saw a yataghan sword was on assasins creed revelation

[@aniquinstark4347]

Mine was Battlefield 1

[@alexanderrahl7034]

Empire Total War. Wielded by Bashi Bazouks

[@egeyaln8223]

Getting into etymology a bit, kılıç probably comes from kıl- "to create, to render, to make" with the +Iç diminutive suffix. "altun kurugsakımın kılıçın kesipen" ("cutting open my golden stomach with a sword" from Orkhun inscriptions, 735 AD) is the first account for the word. Yatağan on the other hand comes from yat- (to lie, to recline) and the +gAn present participle suffix, referencing the blade structure. It might've been first accounted in Chagatai from "Dictionnaire Turc Oriental" Lastly, the most common Turkish word for weapon (and consequently, swords) before the 17th-18th century was "yaraq". From yara- (to be of use) and the gerund suffix +Ak basically meaning tool. First accounted in Uyghur texts before the 11th century. Now the unfortunate part with that word is that today it's the worst way to say penis in Turkey, especially if you emphasise the R. The meaning of weapon survives in Azerbaijani and Turkmen but not in Turkey, where it only means penis. It's always kinda funny when I'm readin old texts and read "erler yaraqlandı" (soldiers took arms) Lastly, this is Suleiman the Magnificent's yatagan with golden inlays showing a dragon and simurg fighting. It's just beautiful: twitter.com/Trapezuntios/status/1726508938709885113?t=usLduVMYBBUTnqYYDKwfSg&s=19

[@keithlocke2205]

Fascinating stuff!! Thank you very much!

[@ajithsidhu7183]

Please do more shamshir and yagatan turotial

[@deathwatch0099]

it looks like it could be used for chopping better than cutting similar to the kukri knife based off of the recurve but i can also see where it could cut better

[@garynaccarato4606]

It looks a bit like a longer, skinnier and stretched out version of the kukri.

[@jellekastelein7316]

It seems likely that both are descended from the kopis / falcata / machaira.

[@silafuyang8675]

Very informative video.

[@D3ltus]

I don't know much theory nor history about weapons, I've only weilded some, but that pommel makes it look very safe to draw quickly, and swing wide and strong without much fear of it slipping on impact. Some look very ornamented though, and from the little I know you'd be either very rich to use these on combat, or they'd be used for cerimonies/as part of a cerimonial outfit, for example, like the khopesh Then again if most were not ornamented it's a weapon I could see being used for self defense/as a sefondary weapon.

[@irrelevantfish1978]

Actually, there's not a good correlation between ornamentation and ceremonial use, particularly in societies/cultures with a "warrior elite" (ie, where the upper class is expected to participate in warfare). It might seem bonkers to us, but historically, it wasn't all that uncommon for the wealthy to head into battle with gilt, etched, and generally blinged-up equipment. In many cultures, displays of wealth were thought to be intimidating, or a kind of insurance policy to encourage the enemy to capture a defeated combatant for ransom rather than kill them or leave them to die of their wounds.

[@JustinHight-py2sw]

You should smell the classic cologne called Yataghan by Caron. (1978) They still sell it today and its one of the most manly fragrances you will ever smell . Like a pine Forrest after the rain

[@braddbradd5671]

The ones with no guards are probably for display or ceremonial purposes because in a battle your hand will be full of sweat one thrust with one of those will cut your hands to pieces look at the real rapier which is meant for thrusting huge gard

[@avdohodzic775]

Yataghan was in old times like today backup gun. Smaller weapon then the sward or saber !

[@bakters]

Miecz is a very old Slavic word for a sword. While such obvious similarities can be deceiving, and words can have twisted histories, "metch" does sound almost exactly the same. Also, palash seems to come from Hungarian language. Also koncerz (a hussar estock) likely has Slavic roots and it was borrowed into Turkish at some point. So if they borrowed miecz too, it wouldn't be an exception.

[@raphlvlogs271]

was the Yataghan also used as a tool just like the machete?

[@Tartarus34]

I don't think so because turkey does not have thick vegetation that requires a machete. It was a infantry/civilian sidearm only

[@yusufekici8483]

hello, yatagan swords, also called Decapitation scissors, are designed for internal layout and spare use, the reason you say this is because they are carried and used in pairs, they work like scissors when two yatagans are put together and a longitudinal move is made. there are also ways to use this sword, designed for comfortable use in a chest-to-chest collision with the thick reverse of the yatagan, to move the enemy's sword and break the mouth of the other side's sword, effective in tight spaces. it is still highly respected and used by us as an accessory. i hope I was able to help with this information

[@thfkmnIII]

It's most closest to an elongated falcata and all other comparisons aint close

[@greggpennington966]

Hack, Slash, Stab!

[@kespec]

looks like arwen's sword from lotr

[@garynaccarato4606]

It looks like a longer,skinnier and stretched out version of the kukri.

[@allanpatterson6741]

Makes me think they're Ottoman versions of a Seax

[@Shqiptari3]

Balkan peoples favorite toy

[@jcee2259]

It was cold steel that lacked liberty to do anything. Be careful for what is wished..

[@mhdfrb9971]

It's basically a falcata, but much better

[@ChaosUnleashed265]

Well it looks like a 1 edge sword so educated guess here it operated like a falchion or katana.

[@alexanderrahl7034]

Except both those swords are curved in the other direction. The only other blades like this I can think of are the Kukri, and to a lesser extent, the Falx

[@thfkmnIII]

@@alexanderrahl7034 nah way closer to a falcata

[@alexanderrahl7034]

@@thfkmnIII Ooo the Falcata, yeah. That's a better one

[@mustafakutlu1650]

The Sharp side of the Yatağan sword has an angle called the Turkish curve Turkish angle.

[@mustafakutlu1650]

The reason why the back side was not sharp is that the backside was used to break the shoulder and arm collarbones of the one who asked for mercy when he was about to be killed on the battlefield, and he would not be killed himself.

[@ajithsidhu7183]

Step by step

[@GreaterAfghanistanMovement]

Its basically a modern day Kopis. Don't know why people won't admit that.

[@ArdaSReal]

Lol cope

[@giraysoganc7479]

I am sorry but this video is not even Yatagan sword, its use, black smitting. This is just a gethering of unrelated words.

[@allengordon6929]

He did say that his sources are limited.