Islamic bow for I.D. and comment

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Colin Henshaw,
You have introduced a great subject... I Quote https://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/gr...carchery.shtml "From medieval times through the nineteenth century, archers of the Islamic crescent, stretching from Turkey eastward to India, were renowned for both their exceptional skills and superior weapons. As a necessary means of advancing the spread of Islam, weapons traditionally held a religious association in Muslim cultures. The bow and arrow, which are extolled in many sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, held a special place above all others. Training in archery was seen as a religious duty and a sign of status, and the craftmanship of archery equipment was highly esteemed. The legacy of Islamic archery is exemplified by the archery traditions and equipment of Ottoman Turkey (1453–1922), of Iran during the Safavid–Qajar periods (1502–1925), and of the Indian subcontinent throughout the Mughal era (1526–1857), which blended Islamic and Hindu cultural elements"Unquote.


Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Below Jarmakee ...The peculiar position for firing at targets directly below...from a fort wall.

The archer in blue on a black horse is Ottoman firing directly behind him.

See https://www.google.com/search?q=turk...M361TX6vGa6hM:

The bigger picture shows a mounted Mongolian Archer...

The Indo Persian bow picture and write up can be seen at https://www.pinterest.com/pin/363243526177126131/

Hi Ibrahiim

Thanks for your input. Yes, I think I will make a study of Asian & Islamic archery, it seems interesting. Was the bow and arrow ever used in Arabia ?

Regards

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Was the bow and arrow ever used in Arabia ?

Regards

Colin, check out this link. https://www.archerylibrary.com/books.../arab-archery/
Downloadable PDF http://www.freepdf.info/index.php?post/Arab-Archery



Authors : Faris Nabih Amin - Elmer Robert Potter
Title : Arab Archery An Arabic manuscript of about A.D. 1500 “Book on the Excellence of the Bow and Arrow” and the Description thereof.

Introduction. This unique manuscript, discovered in the Garrett Collection of Arabic Manuscripts at Princeton University Library, is the only known treatise available in English on the archery of the medieval Orient. It is considered by Dr. Faris and Dr. Elmer as equal in merit to the nearly contemporary Toxophilus, or the Schole of Shootynge, the chief source of detailed knowledge of early English archery. The manuscript could be used today as a textbook on archery, and is valuable to all students of Arab history and culture and to philologists in a number of fields. One of its most unusual contributions is its resurrection of an ancient system of finger-reckoning—the ancient Arabic system of conveying numerical values by a highly developed sign language involving the use of only a single hand. Though scholars have suspected that such a medium once existed, its details were completely lost. By its delicate and accurately formed manual postures it is sharply differentiated from the crude gestures which indicate "the nine digits" and some of their more simple combinations by holding up an equal number of fingers. Each of these rediscovered combinations, used to represent draws of the bow, is illustrated by a sketch. Another interesting contribution is the solution of the "double nock" problem which has hitherto been one of the most controversial puzzles in archery.






I am not sure how accurate this image is but it appears to be an Arabian archer.

THE VINKHUIJZEN COLLECTION OF MILITARY UNIFORMS
Spain, 1213-1488, Moros Alfaraces... ([Año] 1410).

[estcrh]

Treaty of the military art Mamelouk, containing the schools of platoon, rider, infantryman, archer and crossbowman. A large number of colored and rather well-drawn figures are inserted in the text. Like all Arab works on the same subject, this treatise contains a large number of technical terms and terms of command.

Beginning: الحمد لله ذى العظمة المتعالى بالقدرة عن الصفات و الامثال. This ms. Was executed in 875 of the Hegira (1470 AD), for a great personage of the court of the Sultans Mameluk, whose name was carefully removed from the frontispiece, which is very ornate. However, the last words contained in the central medallion, namely: عزه الله تعالى, which indicates that the last name was that of a sultan. Gold, The ruler of Egypt at that time was Qaitbai. Between the folios currently rated 1 and 2, several sheets are missing.

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Treaty of the military art Mamelouk, containing the schools of platoon, rider, infantryman, archer and crossbowman. A large number of colored and rather well-drawn figures are inserted in the text. Like all Arab works on the same subject, this treatise contains a large number of technical terms and terms of command.

Beginning: الحمد لله ذى العظمة المتعالى بالقدرة عن الصفات و الامثال. This ms. Was executed in 875 of the Hegira (1470 AD), for a great personage of the court of the Sultans Mameluk, whose name was carefully removed from the frontispiece, which is very ornate. However, the last words contained in the central medallion, namely: عزه الله تعالى, which indicates that the last name was that of a sultan. Gold, The ruler of Egypt at that time was Qaitbai. Between the folios currently rated 1 and 2, several sheets are missing.

Some years ago I read a fascinating book called The Knights of Islam, The Wars of the Mamluks (2007) by James Waterson which may be of interest.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Victrix

Some years ago I read a fascinating book called The Knights of Islam, The Wars of the Mamluks (2007) by James Waterson which may be of interest.

APPARENTLY THERE IS A FREE DOWNLOAD...CHECKING.. WRITE UP STATES~

The Mamluks were, at one distinct point in history, the greatest body of fighting men in the world and the quintessence of the mounted warrior. They were slave soldiers, imported as boys into the Islamic Empire from the pagan Steppes, but they became its savior, bringing defeat to the Mongols and forming the machine of jihad that ultimately destroyed the Crusader Kingdoms of Palestine and Syria. They entered the Islamic world as unlettered automatons and through a total application to the craft of the warrior they became more than soldiers. After a bloody seizure of power from their masters, the descendants of Saladin, they developed a martial code and an honor system based on barracks brotherhood, a sophisticated military society that harnessed the state's energies for total war and produced a series of treatises on warfare that more than compare to SunZi's Art of War in their complexity, beauty of language and comprehensive coverage of the bloody business of war. Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military endeavor. The Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of World Dominion, Tamerlane the Scourge of God and the rise of the Ottoman Empire whose new slave soldiers, the Janissaries, would be the Mamluks' final nemesis.

Another review says~ In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Quote"
Reviewed by
John Dunn
The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks. By James Waterson. St.Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-85367-734-2.

"Slave-soldiers?" " Owned Men?" However you translate Mamluk, James Waterson's account of their long history deserves your consideration. He takes you from their beginnings, when Arab leaders purchased Central Asian boys for conversion, both to Islam and as bodyguards, all the way to the end of their story – early 19th Century Egypt. During the 1000 plus years separating these events, Mamluks not only play a critical role in domestic politics, but also figure prominently in thwarting both European Crusaders and several Mongol invasions of the Middle East.
These latter events show the Mamluks at their best, when their tremendous skills as horsemen and warriors allowed for history-altering victories like Ayn Jalut (1260), or the fall of Acre (1291). Waterson shows how Mamluk armies, almost exclusively cavalry, managed to be both good horse archers, and excellent shock troops. He also illustrates their significant skills at siege warfare, and use of "catapults."
Even after their apogee in the 1200s, Mamluks figure prominently in the military affairs of North East Africa and the Near East. The Knights of Islam details this, especially the 1300s-1500s, when Mamluk armies, though in decline, were still capable of defeating the Ottoman Empire when directed by smart leaders like Kayitbay. Waterson continues their story, even after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1516, for Mamluks influenced that nation's history into the 1800s, while they also influenced Ottoman military culture.
Although wars and battles figure prominently, as they should in any account of Mamluks, Waterson does not leave out politics, economic matters, recruitment, or training. This reader liked his explanation of Furusiyya – a set of training lessons that began when Mamluks reached [End Page 227] 13/14, and included horsemanship plus weapons handling. He also makes very clear the most serious flaw within this system – internal rivalries between household forces of rival Mamluk leaders, often so intense that they played into the hands of foreign enemies.
These details and many more, are well covered in The Knights of Islam. Waterson's clear writing is enhanced by a strong command of the secondary literature, and good use of translated primary sources. His text is nicely organized, supported by a glossary, maps, a time-line, plus a first-rate collection of color photos, and a useful bibliography.
Specialists may argue on a few issues, pointing out that Egypt's Muhammad Ali can not be shortened to "Ali," or asking the photo editor to reconsider plate 37, which is dated to the "1880s," even though the British soldiers clearly have Wolseley pattern sun helmets. Most readers, however, should find the Knights of Islam interesting. It could benefit parties focused on Medieval, Islamic, Egyptian, or military history." Unquote.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

The Mamluks were, at one distinct point in history, the greatest body of fighting men in the world and the quintessence of the mounted warrior............... the Ottoman Empire whose new slave soldiers, the Janissaries, would be the Mamluks' final nemesis.

Actually I believe it was not the Janissaries that finally defeated the Mamluks, it was Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Ottoman Albanian general who defeated the Egyptian Mamluks in the early 1800s. After the withdrawal of the French occupiers of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha devised a plan to murder the whole remaining lot of them by luring Mamluk leaders to a celebration and ambushing them, the rest were eventually hunted down and killed, supposedly very few got away. Muhammad Ali Pasha declared himself the "khedive" of Egypt and interesting enough it was Europeans who controlled Egypt until the early 1900s.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Actually I believe it was not the Janissaries that finally defeated the Mamluks, it was Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Ottoman Albanian general who defeated the Egyptian Mamluks in the early 1800s. After the withdrawal of the French occupiers of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha devised a plan to murder the whole remaining lot of them by luring Mamluk leaders to a celebration and ambushing them, the rest were eventually hunted down and killed, supposedly very few got away. Muhammad Ali Pasha declared himself the "khedive" of Egypt and interesting enough it was Europeans who controlled Egypt until the early 1900s.

Yes correct but he used his Janissaries to do the deed ...The Mamluks were surrounded and shot to pieces. Only one got away and of the few others that were not at that wipe out... They were mostly hunted down and killed.

[Gonzalo G]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Actually I believe it was not the Janissaries that finally defeated the Mamluks, it was Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Ottoman Albanian general who defeated the Egyptian Mamluks in the early 1800s. After the withdrawal of the French occupiers of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha devised a plan to murder the whole remaining lot of them by luring Mamluk leaders to a celebration and ambushing them, the rest were eventually hunted down and killed, supposedly very few got away. Muhammad Ali Pasha declared himself the "khedive" of Egypt and interesting enough it was Europeans who controlled Egypt until the early 1900s.

I am sorry, estcrh, but the Mamluk Sultanate was defeated and destroyed as such by Selim I in 1516, beign the Mamluks no match for the Ottoman artillery and janissaries. Since then, the Mamluks were the already defeated and decadent subjects of the Ottoman Empire which, in the time of the French invassion, also was in decadence (as all empires will be, and vanish, sic transit gloria mundi). They were defeated on the battlefield by the Ottomans, and not by treason. Muhammad Ali Pasha only recovered Egypt. And since the Mamluks were already unruly and useless, he killed their leaders in an ambush. As many christian kings and princes did in their time in Europe. From then he was only nominal subordinate of the Ottomans, given the fact that the aforementioned empire was in total decadence, as said.

Regards

P.D. Already downloaded the book from the estcrh's link. It is the same. Thank you very much to both of you.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Hi Ibrahiim

Thanks for your input. Yes, I think I will make a study of Asian & Islamic archery, it seems interesting. Was the bow and arrow ever used in Arabia ?

Regards

Salaams Colin~ It would seem so. Here are some publications below. There aren't a lot of books on the subject in fact the blue book and the book with the Arab archer are the same with the latter being a reprint.

I put the European archery book in here for interest...

See here for a translation of the blue book https://www.archerylibrary.com/books.../arab-archery/

[Timo Nieminen]

A bibliography of Asian archery (books only).

Primary sources:

Faris & Elmer, "Arab Archery", noted and linked upthread

Latham, J. D., W. F. Paterson, and Ṭaybughā, "Saracen Archery: An English Version and Exposition of a Mameluke Work on Archery (Ca. A.D. 1368)", London: Holland P., 1970.
http://pgmagirlscouts.files.wordpres...en_archery.pdf

Jie Tian & Justin Ma, "The Way of Archery"
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Archery-C...dp/0764347918/

Stephen Selby, "Chinese Archery"
Not a single primary source, but a collection of a variety of sources. Gives the original and a translation in English, plus discussion.
https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Arche...dp/9622095011/

Joseph Needham & Robin D. S. Yates, "Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Part 6, Military Technology: Missiles and Sieges"
Not a single primary source, but a collection of a variety of sources.
https://www.amazon.com/Science-Civil...dp/052132727X/
https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAn...les_and_Sieges

Modern sources:

Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani, "Persian Archery and Swordsmanship"
http://www.freelanceacademypress.com...dsmanship.aspx

Paul Klopsteg, "Turkish Archery". Recently reprinted, and cheap!
https://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Arche...dp/1684220092/

Adam Karpowicz, "Ottoman Turkish bows"
https://www.amazon.com/Ottoman-Turki...dp/B013MCOYMW/

G.N. Pant, "Indian Archery"
https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Archer...dp/8173200149/

Charles E. Grayson, "Traditional Archery from Six Continents"
https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-A...dp/0826217516/

Stephen Selby, "Archery Traditions of Asia"
http://www.atarn.org/commercial/traditions.htm

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

PLEASE SEE ~
AND SIMPLY COPY THIS STRING INTO YOUR WEB SEARCH WINDOW

file:///C:/Users/Peeter/AppData/Local/Temp/Rar$DI00.156/Arab%20Archery.pdf

FOR AN EXCELLENT FULL AND FREE VERSION OF THE TRANSLATED ARAB ARCHERY BOOK

This entire book is out of copyright and free for anyone to download.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

PLEASE SEE ~
AND SIMPLY COPY THIS STRING INTO YOUR WEB SEARCH WINDOW

file:///C:/Users/Peeter/AppData/Local/Temp/Rar$DI00.156/Arab%20Archery.pdf

FOR AN EXCELLENT FULL AND FREE VERSION OF THE TRANSLATED ARAB ARCHERY BOOK

This entire book is out of copyright and free for anyone to download.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Ibrahimm, link not working...if it is for this book here is a link. Arab Archery An Arabic manuscript of about A.D. 1500 “Book on the Excellence of the Bow and Arrow” and the Description thereof.

http://www.freepdf.info/index.php?post/Arab-Archery

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Ibrahimm, link not working...if it is for this book here is a link. Arab Archery An Arabic manuscript of about A.D. 1500 “Book on the Excellence of the Bow and Arrow” and the Description thereof.

http://www.freepdf.info/index.php?post/Arab-Archery

It works for me... Just copy the string straight into your web search window... It should work... Shoot again !

There are quite a few ways into the document and heres another https://www.archerylibrary.com/books.../arab-archery/ where you simply go down the list and press on a link ... It also has other good archery links...

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

It works for me... Just copy the string straight into your web search window... It should work... Shoot again !

Try it, I think something is missing, your linkis for the same book I posted a link to.
file:///C:/Users/Peeter/AppData/Loca...%20Archery.pdf