The Topkapi Dagger is an

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

-studded curved

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

, a

jambiya A jambiya, also spelled janbiya, jambya, jambia and janbia ( ar, جنۢبية ''janbīyah''), is a specific type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region of Yemen. They have spread all ov ...

, of mid-18th-century origin. It is preserved and publicly displayed at the treasury of the Topkapi Palace Museum in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey. One side of the handle of the dagger is set with three large Colombian

s whose size and prominence make it an outstanding and valuable object. It is also decorated with many small diamonds. The dagger was one of several valuable gifts that was carried by an embassy of Sultan Mahmud I (1730–54) to the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

but returned when the then Shah

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

was assassinated before it could be delivered. A fictional plot to steal the dagger became the theme of the 1964 film ''Topkapi''.

References

Daggers Turkish culture {{Turkey-stub