Notes on the bow in al­-Andalus and its ideological historical context. ­ادلة الرمي بالقوس في الاندلس MANQUSO 5, December 2016, pg 91-95. (original) (raw)

Mounted Archery and Firearms Late Medieval Muslim Military Technology Reconsidered

David Ayalon's classic and highly influential 1956 study of Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom left some surprising questions unexamined. He attributed Ottoman victory primarily to Ottoman firearms, while Mamluks stubbornly clung to the arms of the mounted archer. But despite the technological underpinnings of his thesis, Ayalon discussed the technology of neither the traditional warfare of mounted archery nor the newfangled warfare of gunpowder weapons. Was Mamluk mounted archery actually inferior to Ottoman firearms? This essay addresses the technical basis both for the mounted archery central to Mamluk military prowess and the characteristics of late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth century firearms adopted by the Ottomans, both in the context of the social technology of Muslim military slavery. By opening the black box of Mamluk and Ottoman military technology, this essay seeks to show more precisely in what ways military technology did and did not shape the outcome of the struggle. Keywords Mamluk-Ottoman conflict – mounted archery – gunpowder weapons – military slavery David Ayalon's classic and highly influential 1956 study of Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom left some surprising questions unexamined. He attributed Ottoman victory primarily to Mamluk rejection and Ottoman acceptance of gunpowder weapons. But despite the technological underpinnings of his thesis, Ayalon discussed the technology of neither the traditional warfare of

Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr and Bede Dwyer (2016). A Persian Archery Manual by Mohammad Zamān, RAMA: Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, Vol. 11, No 1, pp. 45-65.

Persian archery manuals provide lots of useful information on shooting with a Persian composite bow. The main aim of this article is to provide, for the first time, a full annotated translation of an undated Persian archery manual written by Mohammad Zamān known as Čerāq Beg from the family of Kāmrān Beg Qarānāj. The manual is handwritten and consists of twenty four pages which include twelve chapters. Despite the occasional confusion, the obscure vocabulary, and the odd clumsy description, the text is a mine of information. It shows the continuity of the Persian archery tradition at least to the end of the eighteenth century and increases our knowledge of some of the details once commonplace that are now obscure. The gradual increase in our knowledge of Persian archery is progressing through the discovery and translation of works like this one of Mohammad Zamān. Such manuals introduce new techniques and also confirm the pervasiveness of the basic forms of this ancient art.

The bow as an insignia of power in the art of ancient Iran

Historia i Świat, 2021

This article presents the iconographic concept of the bow as an insignia in ancient Iran of the imperial era. The primary source of the bow’s association with the depiction of royal power is Mesopotamian iconography, where the bow is shown in the hands of kings without any connection to the act of shooting itself. The model of depicting a ruler with a bow resting on his foot, developed in the Neo-Assyrian period, was entirely adopted by imperial Achaemenid iconography. Another aspect expressing the association of the bow with royal power is the habit of depicting, in the Mesopotamian tradition, shooting kings without quivers. Iranian art of the Parthian and Sasanid periods, on the other hand, adopted the quiver as a sign of status from the nomadic steppe tradition, but one can nevertheless see in Sasanid iconography relics of the functioning of the bow as an insignia in the Mesopotamian sense.

An Analysis of a Persian Archery manuscript written by Kapur Čand

The present article deals with an analysis of an undated Persian archery manuscript titled Resāle­ye Kamāndāri [Archery Manuscript] written by Kapur Čand. It is written in Persian and judging by the style it should have been written by a Persian. Persian archery manuscripts provide useful information on the usage of a contemporary Persian composite bow. First the article describes where the archery manuscript was found and collected. Then it describes the qualities of an archer in ten points. The next part of the article presents the characteristics of a Persian composite bow as described in the manuscript. Then the article discusses the suggested materials for making a bowstring. The next part of the manuscript deals with the materials used for making an arrow and useful information in the manuscript for bracing a Persian bow. The final part of the article explains different shooting techniques that can be used in shooting with a Persian composite bow.

Farrokh, K., Khorasani, M. M., & Dwyer, B. (2018). Depictions of archery in Sassanian silver plates and their relationship to warfare, RAMA (Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas). Volumen 13 (2), Julio-Diciembre, pp. 82-113.

Depictions of archery in Sassanian silver plates and their relationship to warfare, 2018

This article provides an examination of archery techniques, such as drawing techniques of the bowstring, the method of grasping the bow grip and placing the arrow, and their relationship to warfare as depicted on 22 Sassanian and early post-Sassanian silver plates. These plates provide useful information on Sassanian archery equipment and techniques. These plates can be categorized into the following categories: (a) foot archery, (b) horse archery, c) dromedary archery and (d) elephant archery. All plates examined in this study depicting these categories are in a hunting milieu. The largest proportion of plates pertain to horse archery which in turn can be classified into four combat subsets: forward-facing horse archery, the backward-firing Parthian shot, horse archery with stirrups, and horse archery while appearing to ride backwards.

Traditional Archery: A new concept that connects us to our past and other cultures

WTAF International Academic Seminar Book, 2011

Using bow and arrow for htınting and self-defending was a revaluation of mankind. Shooting an enemy from safe distance brought a huge advantage. Combination of horse domestication and archery brought many advantages for communities against the people who lived around them. So this people improved to states from tribes in the Asia. Thus tribes and states towards Asia also has improved by the means of war and occupations that allowed the cultures be spread among them. Archery with no doubt was the modest one in this spread made contribution for the development of humanity.

Farrokh, Kaveh, Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr and Bede Dwyer (2018). Depictions of archery in Sassanian silver plates and their relationship to warfare, RAMA (Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas). Volumen 13 (2), Julio-Diciembre 2018, pp. 82-113.

This article provides an examination of archery techniques, such as drawing techniques of the bowstring, the method of grasping the bow grip and placing the arrow, and their relationship to warfare as depicted on 22 Sassanian and early post-Sassanian silver plates. These plates provide useful information on Sassanian archery equipment and techniques. These plates can be categorized into the following categories: (a) foot archery, (b) horse archery, c) dromedary archery and (d) elephant archery. All plates examined in this study depicting these categories are in a hunting milieu. The largest proportion of plates pertain to horse archery which in turn can be classified into four combat subsets: forward-facing horse archery, the backward-firing Parthian shot, horse archery with stirrups, and horse archery while appearing to ride backwards.

The Reign of Bahram V Gur: The Revitalization of the Empire through Mounted Archery by Dr. Ilkka Syvanne (Syvänne/Syvaenne)

The article in Historia-i-Swiat (final version available online at http://www.ihism.uph.edu.pl/historia-i-swiat) reconstructs the military history of Persia under Bahram V Gur and points out the historical significance of his reign, campaigns as well as the importance of his military reforms – in particular the adoption of the new style of archery and cavalry tactics. It also includes material which is of interest to those who are interested in the history of late Rome, religion (Christianity, Jewish religion, paganism, Zoroastrians, Muslims), commerce between east and west, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, naval history, Huns, Middle East, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, East Africa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Central Asia, India and China. The article includes also material related to Roman history which will appear in a slightly different and longer form in the vols. 3-4 of my forthcoming A Military History of Late Rome due to be published by Pen & Sword Publishing. The article included here is an earlier version which has a couple of mistakes left (affiliation after the name, illustration shown ‘between’ the pages so that it is not visible and some verbs missing) that have been corrected in the final version which is available online but it should not have any mistakes in the content but if there are those are my mistakes. The final version available online at: http://www.ihism.uph.edu.pl/historia-i-swiat/ Keywords: Sasanian Warfare, Military History, Sasanian Army, Late Antiquity, Archery