Can anyone read this(maybe Turkish or Georgian)

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 26 Dec 2005 05:11

It may be upside down

This is not for school or anything,It is on an antique Sword i found

So here it is flipped over

Thank You for any assistance
Alan

mansio · Post by **mansio** » 26 Dec 2005 10:59

The bottom picture is the right one. It's Arabic script but it may be an other language than Arabic.

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 26 Dec 2005 21:18

I think

mansio · Post by **mansio** » 26 Dec 2005 21:46

It's so badly written that one needs an Arab person to have a first look at it. There's a nice Syrian on the French forum called Damas.

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 28 Dec 2005 15:11

I do not know how to read french, but Thank you

mansio · Post by **mansio** » 28 Dec 2005 20:22

Don't worry, you are on a language forum, nearly everybody speaks English.

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 29 Dec 2005 03:36

Ok thanks again

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 04 Jan 2006 04:03

Could it be a name "Mata" or maybe a phrase "Be Dead"?

A local store owner gave me these possibilities.
He said He could read Urdu and Arabic,but I just don't know still.

mansio · Post by **mansio** » 04 Jan 2006 23:08

Alan

Did you ask Damas for help?
From right to left I read the following: maa (double vowel means long vowel) laa mataa illaa ... That looks like: what not kills or killed but...

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 05 Jan 2006 03:51

Mansio
Yes I did ask Damas and he was not sure and was going to ask some friends.

What you said 'What not kills or killed but..." is along the same lines as what the store owner told me "Maata" Possibly a name or phrase( Be Dead)

Maybe we are getting close to solving this one (I Hope)

Thank you for your assistance
Alan

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 05 Jan 2006 15:17

Someone at a sword forum said

" But I think it says "La fata illa 'Ali, la seyf illa Zhu-l-feqqar".

"There is no youth but (or greater than) 'Ali and no sword but Zhu-l-Feqqar" "

Does this offer any clues to you folks in this forum?

mansio · Post by **mansio** » 05 Jan 2006 22:10

Alan

Owing to your clue I realised that the "maa" at the beginning of the sentence (right of the picture) is part of the handle of a sword and not a word. The picture is too short on the right.
So the upper line goes like this:
laa fataa (the "m" of mataa is actually a "f" because of the point on it) illaa `Alii laa syf (that word is hard to distinguish but it may well correspond to syf which is the Arabic sayf for sword).
I don't know the word fataa as I am only starting Arabic, but if it says youth then why not.
As for the lower line I don't see anything that looks like "but Zhu l-Feqqar".

Alan62 · Post by **Alan62** » 06 Jan 2006 05:15

Thank You again Mansio
Your help is greatly appreciated

LokaNova et Freelang

Can anyone read this(maybe Turkish or Georgian)

Can anyone read this(maybe Turkish or Georgian)

Could be Armenian /Turkish