Ethnological Treasure - Dalmatian Dark-Hilted Yatagan M

Yatagan, as a cold weapon of oriental origin, was commonly used among all peoples in the Balkans, and especially in Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Boka, Albania and other. It came to the Balkans via the Ottoman Empire, and each yatagan is handmade and thus unique. They are usually divided into dark and white-hilted ones by the color of a horn or bone handle.

The Dalmatian yatagan M 1869 is a unique model of the world's cold weapon, since these are no longer unique but semi-industrially or semi-manufactory made pieces which involve serial production of identical pieces in terms of their dimensions, appearance and weight, and serial number and unit designations. Also, the handle is made of man-made bakelite derivatives, so it is unique and avant-garde in this respect as well. All known pieces of yataghan M 1869 have an army inventory stamp consisting of the name of the battalion and the number of weapons in the unit, and some of these figures are high and it can be inferred that all the domobrans were armed with such weapons. The image of the Austro-Hungarian military painter Julius von Blaas depicting the attack of the 79th Battalion (led by a local resident) on Livno during the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 testifies to this.

(Manuel Martinović)