SudanKaskara from Sudan, Africa. Collected by H. L. Chittenden. Given to the Museum in 1907.

The kaskara was an essential possession of most older men in central and eastern Sudan until relatively recently. Most surviving kaskara date from the 19th century and this is probably true of this example.

The cruciform hilt and almost parallel edges liken it to European broadswords of the medieval period. Whilst it is possible that it is a throwback to presence of knights in the Sahara during the Crusades, it is more likely to derive from an ancient Arabian sword form. Although many blades were etched with inscriptions from the Koran, the pattern on this blade is in fact just an abstract pattern that resembles Arabic script.