Another suggestion would be to show a calligrapher ... the average Muslim even Arabs can only read basic Arabic script ... calligraphers can unravel words better, because they use the rules of art to make certain characters fit in a limited space that would otherwise not be obvious to a person like me. Sort of only when it is made obvious to us we see it ... before that it is like a puzzle.
They can tell you for sure whether it is a symbol or a textual inscrption or if it is Arabic in the first place.
When I first started this research I thought the marking was a number and spent hours looking at coins from the region without success. I then decided to seek help from Arabic speakers, which brought me here : ) I think your suggestion to find a caligrapher is well thoughtout. If that does not help, I will need to spend time on symbolic markings in the region. I agree, I don't believe the mark was made at the birth of the sword, but was stamped when entering an armory. I have seen other swords with a stamp in the exact same location, but not the same marking. I'll continue with the research
When I first started this research I thought the marking was a number and spent hours looking at coins from the region without success. I then decided to seek help from Arabic speakers, which brought me here : ) I think your suggestion to find a caligrapher is well thoughtout. If that does not help, I will need to spend time on symbolic markings in the region. I agree, I don't believe the mark was made at the birth of the sword, but was stamped when entering an armory. I have seen other swords with a stamp in the exact same location, but not the same marking. I'll continue with the research
Since you have got our interest keep us updated ... and I'm sure if we find anything out we'll post it here so do keep coming by ...