The Wild West Meets the Wild East

[Alanus]

When I wrote The Demon's Door Bolt, I kept it historically grounded within the specific period of AD 499 to 500. The rest of the "tale" certainly hit some extremes, like gryphons flying in a classic World War I styled bombing raid, or Casca and his cronies killing an already-dead Caesar in deja vu all over again.

One of my characters carried a pair of akinaki, one strapped to each leg, in what I thought would be a take-off on the American Old West, sort of like Wild Bill Hickock or Wyatt Earp. I never figured a steppe warrior would have worn a set in that fashion. WRONG! :woot:

So here's an illustration from Waldemar Ginters' Das Schwert der Skythen und Sarmaten in Sudrussland; aka The Swords of the Skytians and Sarmatians in South Russia, (1928)


[attachment=6787]IllusfmGinters003.JPG[/attachment]

:evil: :whistle:

[quisslan]

I think that that goes to show that fighters can tend to think alike regardless of the era. Or maybe, what is cool is cool then or now.

[Alanus]

Right on!
A quick-draw artist is a quick-draw artist is a.... illy:

[john m roberts]

Alan,
Is there a date on that figure? I didn't know they had anime heroes way back then.

[Alanus]

John,

I think this Saka/Sarmatian guy fell out of Kitamura's film Azumi. ;-)

The "boak" is in German, so I really don't know the date, quite a bit before Colonal Klink. Strapping the akinakes to the outer thigh began in the 4th century BC in the Altai and Sayan regions, then moved just about everywhere... including Arabia. :dizzy:

I think we should have seen it in Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. illy:

[Michael Kerr]

Hi, here is a pic of a headless statue which is supposed to be of Kanishka who was a Kushan ruler of probable Yuezhi ethnicity who ruled from 78AD to 151AD but already I am thinking that's a long reign so maybe there were a couple of the same name however on this image he seems to have 2 longswords and scabbards and also a dagger or akinakes but just putting it up because of topic. I assume the sword he is resting his right hand on is some symbol of his kingship.
[attachment=6898]KanishkaKushanempire.jpg[/attachment]

Regards
Michael Kerr

[Alanus]

Michael & All,

It's known fact that Kanishka had very LARGE feet, so he had the ability to swing TWO swords at once, while tap-dancing the polka. An extremely talented and Dangerous king. :woot:

[daryush]

Hi, here is a pic of a headless statue which is supposed to be of Kanishka who was a Kushan ruler of probable Yuezhi ethnicity who ruled from 78AD to 151AD but already I am thinking that's a long reign so maybe there were a couple of the same name however on this image he seems to have 2 longswords and scabbards and also a dagger or akinakes but just putting it up because of topic. I assume the sword he is resting his right hand on is some symbol of his kingship.
[attachment=6898]KanishkaKushanempire.jpg[/attachment]

Regards
Michael Kerr

That other sword which is just held vertically has been elsewhere interpreted as a wooden mace or club. Unfortunately I have forgotten where.

There are other "ribbed" maces or clubs in Sasanian and Kushan iconography too, although this is by far the largest. So, you are correct in writing it's symbolic - I would certainly not like to wield a club that size in an actual battle, even with all my Pahlavani / Zurkhaneh training! (where we use a pair of clubs like, probably significantly heavier than that one, that in circular training motions)

[Sean Manning]

The "boak" is in German, so I really don't know the date, quite a bit before Colonal Klink. Strapping the akinakes to the outer thigh began in the 4th century BC in the Altai and Sayan regions, then moved just about everywhere... including Arabia. :dizzy:

Are you sure about the date and place? We see akinakai strapped to the thigh on the reliefs of Darius I at Behistun and Persepolis in the late 6th century BCE. I am told that pistol holsters strapped to the thigh were invented in Hollywood in the 1950s.

[Alanus]

Sean,

I was wrong on the date. It was the 6th century BC. Still the Altai, and obviously in other areas too... like Persia, as you mentioned. The old Tom Mix and Gene Autrey holsters weren't strapped to the thigh, so maybe the 1950s or 60s. I think it was termed a "buscadro" holster.

[Sean Manning]

Thanks Alan. You are the steppes expert on this forum, so I wanted to check. I do like the statue with two akinakes!

[john m roberts]

test

[john m roberts]

The earliest reference to a tied-down holster I know of is from Jack Schaeffer's 1949 novel, "Shane." I suspect that it originated in the western pulp magazines of the 30s-40s. The buscadero rig with its dropped holster worn on the thigh and tied down was invented by the late Arvo Ojala, who did a great deal of leather work for the movies and for the fast-draw craze of the 50s (Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis, Jr were Hollywood champs). At their most extreme, these holster-belt combos could only be used while standing upright. It was all but impossible to sit while wearing one, either in a chair or on a horse. Considering that most western gunfights started while sitting at a gambling table, they were pretty dysfunctional.

[Alanus]

John and Sean,

Yup, the buscadero holster was impractical-- which gives this Saka quick-draw expert all the more importance. We are looking at a talented dude. Too bad his head got lopped off. :dizzy: