Iranian Jezail Muzzle-Loading Rifle

Having full length of approximately 65", & stamped "Tower" to lock plate. Purchased in the mid-1960s by a U.S. Air Force Colonel in Iran. Some condition issues, please note photographs carefully. The jezail (sometimes "jezzail" from the Pashto language) was a simple, cost-efficient and often handmade muzzle-loading long arm commonly used in British India, Central Asia, & parts of the Middle East in the past. Jezails were generally handmade weapons, and consequently they widely varied in their construction. Jezails were seen as very personal weapons, and unlike the typical military weapons of the time which were very plain and utilitarian, jezails tended to be well crafted and were usually intricately decorated. Jezails tended to have very long barrels. These long weapons were never common in Europe (with the exception of the Spanish "espingarda" circa 15th century), and were otherwise seen in American rifles like the Kentucky Rifle. The American rifles were used for hunting, and tended to be of a smaller caliber (.35 to .45 or so being typical). Jezails were usually designed for warfare, and therefore tended to be of larger calibers than the American