# Communities > Antique Arms & Armour Community > Middle-East, India & Africa (MEIA) >  Persian Inscription

## rand milam

More to pics to follow.....

rand

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## rand milam

Central part of Inscription

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## rand milam

Pics posted on this blog:

http://persiangoldinlayinscription.blogspot.com/

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

Sorry I have been extremely tied up and busy:

In Persian
āhan tan va ātash dēl va hastī kāh ast       sūzandē-yē jān-ē khasm shāhanshāh ast
The iron is like the body, the heart is like the fire, and life is like the straw
The burner [destroyer] of the enemys life is the king of kings

There is still one line in Persian, I will read that later for you.

In Arabic
Ma sha' allah, la hawl walla qowat ella billah
God does as he will, there is no strength or power except of God 

Kind regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

Manouchehr,

Thanks for the translations so far,  patiently awaiting the next section.

rand

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## rand milam

hey Manouchehr,

When you post the last section of translation could you also let me know what section of inscription go's with which translation?

Thanks again,

rand

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## rand milam

This makers signature stamped into metal....

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

Hi Rand,

THis one was tough.  I checked Dehkhoda and a number of leading lexicons.  I also confered with two Iranian scholars:


Isā-yē Arab kē zobdeyē ashbāh ast
Anis mūnes begāh-ē afrāh ast

The Arab Jesus who is the best [most benevolent] among the best [referring to the prophets]
Is the helper and the relief of pain through the time of suffering and pain
Please note that Isā refers to the prophet Jesus.  As you know in Islam both Prophet Moses and Prophet Jesus are holy as well.  This is a line to respect Prophet Jesus

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## Manouchehr M.

Ok Rand 

As promised each inscription with its related inscription.

In Persian
āhan tan va ātash dēl va hastī kāh ast sūzandē-yē jān-ē khasm shāhanshāh ast
The iron is like the body, the heart is like the fire, and life is like the straw
The burner [destroyer] of the enemys life is the king of kings

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## Manouchehr M.

Ma sha' allah, la hawl walla qowat ella billah Saneye 1235
God does as he will, there is no strength or power except of God, the year 1235

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## Manouchehr M.

> This makers signature stamped into metal....
> 
> rand


Rand

Could you please post a better picture of this inscription?

Kind regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

hello Manouchehr,

Thank you for the translation.  Will try to get a better photo of the armorer punch mark.

Can you tell me what the below inscription/translation means as a metaphor in Farsi?

"āhan tan va ātash dēl va hastī kāh ast sūzandē-yē jān-ē khasm shāhanshāh ast

The iron is like the body, the heart is like the fire, and life is like the straw
The burner [destroyer] of the enemys life is the king of kings "

Thanks again,

rand

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## rand milam

Hey Manouchehr,


Does the word burner {destroyer} also mean kills with lightning?

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

> hello Manouchehr,
> 
> Thank you for the translation.  Will try to get a better photo of the armorer punch mark.
> 
> Can you tell me what the below inscription/translation means as a metaphor in Farsi?
> 
> "āhan tan va ātash dēl va hastī kāh ast sūzandē-yē jān-ē khasm shāhanshāh ast
> 
> The iron is like the body, the heart is like the fire, and life is like the straw
> ...


Hi Rand,

Sorry for the late reply I am very busy at the moment.  This refers to a sentence that praises the warrior qualities of a king.  These verses are common on Persian arms and armor in Persian poems.  It means that the body of the king (and his followers) are as hard as iron, his heart is like fire (meaning fearless) and life is ephemeral (meaning one should not be afraid of death).  The king destroys the life of enemies.

Regards
Manouchehr

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## Manouchehr M.

> Hey Manouchehr,
> 
> 
> Does the word burner {destroyer} also mean kills with lightning?
> 
> rand


Hi Rand,

Yes in figurative sense it would.  You can use this with any type of weapon also with a sword strike etc.

Regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

New photo of punch mark in metal...  Let me know if this is readable,

Thanks,

rand

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## Shayan Q.

I can't make out the bottom line, but the top line says "Kuchak Ali" which means Little Ali, or Ali Junior.

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## Manouchehr M.

Excellent Shayan:

Amal-e Kuchak Ali bar Tofangiran

The work of Kuchak Ali for the musketeers/rifleholders

This is an inscription on a gun, am I correct?

KInd regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

Thank you Shayan and Manouchehr,

This armorers mark is indeed on a Northwest  Persian firearm.  Is the makers stamp wriiten in Farsi?   Does the phrase "for the musketeers/rifleholders" bear any  signifigance?  

Looked through LA Mayers books on Islamic armorers and found no information on this maker, most of the armorers in that book are either canon or sword makers.

rand

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

> Thank you Shayan and Manouchehr,
> 
> This armorers mark is indeed on a Northwest  Persian firearm.  Is the makers stamp wriiten in Farsi?   Does the phrase "for the musketeers/rifleholders" bear any  signifigance?  
> 
> Looked through LA Mayers books on Islamic armorers and found no information on this maker, most of the armorers in that book are either canon or sword makers.
> 
> rand
> 
> rand


Rand,

You are very welcome.  At the moment I cannot tell you much.  In my first book I provide a list of swordmakers I mean I added to the list.  However, Iranian military museums have the best collection of Persian guns starting from the Safavid period up to the end of the Qajar.  This is one of my future projects so that researchers can make comparisons to that list as well.  Till that point I cannot add much.  The inscroption is in Persian.

Kind regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

There is very little published in English regarding Islamic armours marks.  There have been French articles (Gladius) and Russian books covering mostly Turkish arms but no English translatins available yet.

Have not seen any thorough study of Islamic Firearms, we have mostly the general history studies, probably because access to a complete collection has been unavailable.

Have ther book of " Arms and Armor from Iran " on order and am anxious to see it.  There cetainly are voids to fill in on what is known about the evolution, developement and dating of Islamic arms.

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

> There is very little published in English regarding Islamic armours marks.  There have been French articles (Gladius) and Russian books covering mostly Turkish arms but no English translatins available yet.
> 
> Have not seen any thorough study of Islamic Firearms, we have mostly the general history studies, probably because access to a complete collection has been unavailable.
> 
> Have ther book of " Arms and Armor from Iran " on order and am anxious to see it.  There cetainly are voids to fill in on what is known about the evolution, developement and dating of Islamic arms.
> 
> rand


Hi Rand,

You can find many Persian makers' mark in the museums of Iran. THey are 95 percent Persian as they are in their native country.  I am sure that in other Middle Eastern countries they should be other excellent museums as well, where one can fill the void on Middle Eastern arms and armor, I mean also Turkish and Arab weapons. 

The Iranian museums have magnificent guns and rifles, many from the Safavid period.  They are really nice.

Kind regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

> Ma sha' allah, la hawl walla qowat ella billah Saneye 1235
> God does as he will, there is no strength or power except of God, the year 1235


Hello Manouchehr,

Is the year 1235 according to the Persian Calendar which would be 1856-57 or is according hijera calendar which would be 1821?  How do we know to tell the two apart?

rand

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## Manouchehr M.

> Hello Manouchehr,
> 
> Is the year 1235 according to the Persian Calendar which would be 1856-57 or is according hijera calendar which would be 1821?  How do we know to tell the two apart?
> 
> rand


Hi Rand,

Excellent questions.  The pieces of arms and armor from the Timurid, Safavid, Afshar, Zand, and Qajar periods I have seen are all dated with hegira calendar.

Selected items are dated with Persian calendar but not arms and armor.  Nevertheless, I will bring up this point with other scholars in Iran and will let you know.  I would say it is hegira.

Kind regards
Manouchehr

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## rand milam

Hey Manouchehr,

Reguarding the term musketeers/rifleholders on the below translation....

"Amal-e Kuchak Ali bar Tofangiran

The work of Kuchak Ali for the musketeers/rifleholders"

Was the Tofangiran used for both an individual or a group?

In Farsi is there a seperate term for a rifled barrel long firearm (rifle) compared to the smooth bored long firearm (musket)?


Or did they use the same word for both firearms?  In Dr Khalil's collection he also has the rifle barreled long firearms labeled as muskets.

In European armies the rifle had a special status.
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was founded in 1755  is one example of the European  rifle regiment.

rand

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## Shayan Q.

tofangir just means rifleman (literally "rifle-holder"), the "an" at the end acts to pluralize it. tofangdar is another word for rifleman as well. tofang-chi is rifleman or watchman/sentry.

a rifle is just a tofang, while a smoothbore is a tofang bi-khan (literally "rifle without grooves")

hope this helps!

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## Shayan Q.

check new threads on this forum for a history of firearms in Iran

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## rand milam

The term rifle without grooves for a musket begs the question...  What did they call muskets before the rifled barrel came along?  Obviously they would not call it something that was not invented yet.

Knowing the history of something adds a loty of color to its understanding and value, especially at the time of use.  So the history of a word or phase adds a lot of dimension.

We lose a lot of the context of metaphors over time, for example, the phrase, "son of a gun", refers to a child born on board a frigate between two deck canons used for a tent frame.

In the book, "Art , Arms and Armor", they have an entire page of this type of metaphor relating to European arms.  It would be interesting to that same type of reference for Islamic arms.

My understanding is Persians used verses from poems quite often as metaphors, its the metaphors used often in inscriptions of arms and armor that would be good to compile.

Or am I off base thinking in this direction?

rand




rand

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