The Archers of Islam Author(s): W. F. Paterson Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 9, No. 1/2 (Nov., 1966), pp. 69-87 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3596173 . Accessed: 23/05/2011 05:45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp.. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap.. . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
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THE ARCHERSOF ARCHERSOF ISLAM BY
W. F. PATERSON
i. Introduction
'...archery is dependent on five articles: the bow, the string, the arrow, the thumb guard and the archer'. Taybughi al-Ashrafi1)
Though the bow is one of the most importantearly importantearlyweapons weapons devised by man and its impact on history has been considerable, t has rarely been given the detailedattention detailed attention that it deserves.It deserves. It merits study as it has a degree of complexity which can only be appreciatedby appreciatedby actual use and an understandingof its basic mechanics.One may add to this an understandingof the vocabulary and technical terms, as and when they may appear, and fuller appreciationof the actions of archers miniature paintings. Success with the bow results from hard work and regularpractice, regularpractice, for only by these meanscan means can a degree of masterybe achieved, enabling the archerto archerto drawto draw to the limit of his strength and yet shoot underfull under full control. If one watchesan watches an experiencedarcher,his actionsappear mooth and effortless,which is as it should be, but to the onlooker this can give a false impression, as the considerableeffort considerableeffort needed needed to draw a bow is hidden by skill and training. While the history of the old English longbow representsthe finest tactical use of this weapon in defensive role, the composite bow in the Middle East was of no lesser merit in the hands of the mounted archerswhen archerswhen used as weapon of offence. 2. The CompositeBow Bow
The composite bow, as used by the Islamic horse-archers, epresents one of the most efficient forms of this weapon ever devised and its I) British Museum MS Additional 23489, fo. I9b.
W. F. PATERSON
70
construction worthyof detailedconsideration. he most important sourceof information MustafaKani,Telchis esail r-Rumat,stanbul, A.D. I847, with JoachimHein's dissertationon this work in Der
Islam, xiv (1925),
pp. 289-360, on which P. E. Klopsteg based his
translation nd commentary TurkishArchery nd heCompositeow, whichappeared s private dition n 1934 witha revisionand reprint in 1947. This work is mainlyconcernedwith the flight bow of the OttomanTurks,which s a specialisedormof this weapondevised or sportingpurposes.Flightshootingwas favoritepastime mongmost
archers n the Middle East, and its sole object is to achieve maximum
distancewithoutregard accuracy.The techniquesnvolvedrequire specialskill, and exponentsof this art among the Turks, whereit reachedts highestperfection, ouldsendtheir ight anddelicate ittle arrowsover 6oo yards. However, neitherthe bows nor the arrows usedwith themweresuitableor war,thoughthismethodof shooting hasan obviousapplicationn the long-rangebarrage gainst massed targetup to limiting angeof about400 yards. Valuablecontributions ave also been made by Henry Balfour and CommanderH. S. Hamlin,Jr. 2). Their publishedworks give
very complete picture of the internal structureof the Eastern bows. During recent years painstakingand carefuldissection of numberof Oriental composite bows have been made by Edward McEwen to determine the exact details of their construction, followed by the making of replicas,using the original materials, prove the accuracy of his observations. Discussions with him have added considerably to our knowledge of the finer points in the art of the craftsmenwho made these weapons. With reference to fig. the construction of typical bow was as follows. The craftsman tartedwith wood core, the main requirement
of whichwasthat shouldabsorb luewell.Varieties f maple, ornus, x)Journalof the Anthropologicalnstitute,XIX, 1890, pp. 22zz9-244 nd JRAI, LI,
1921,
pp. 289-306.
"A Study of Composite Bows", Archery(magazine), April, May, June, July, and 1948. Palm Desert, Calif. 2)
THE ARCHERS
SIYAK
OF ISLAM
wvH TEM•'oRARYoCK
Ha'RN•/
1'A
71
SIYAH
•:,s,\,
1T SINEW
?•,•
CORD
It ,,,,
p1=
IB7FAN3AQ
PERSIAN
Sii Fig1 Fig.
72
W. F. PATERSON
mulberryandsimilar ypes areamong the betterwoods for this purpose, and dissectedbows often show differentwoods were used for different sections of the core. This is usually in five sections, two siyahs, wo dustdrsand the grip. The siyahsprovide the relatively thick and unbending ends to the bow, whose purpose will be discussed below, while the dustdrs re thin and flexible, as all the bending when the bow is drawn takes place in this section. The parts were then glued together with fishtail splices about 34 inches in length. In this way the actual handle, or grip, of the bow is about inches long, but about I2 inches with its splices at eitherend. The form of the wood core determines he final shape of the bow and the curve of the siyah relation to the dustdr. n the case of Persian and Turkish bows-using this latter adjective in its wider sense-the siyah smoothly curved over its length through about 600, while the Indo-Persianones have more sharply curved knee near the base of the siyahwhere it joins the dustdrgiving curve in the siyah hrough about 900 or, in the case of the so-called 'crab' bow from India of as much as 1200 (see Plate III). To achieve this amount of curve the siyah madein two partssplicedtogether as otherwise weaknesswould result due to there being no continuous run in the grain of the wood. Craftsmenappear to have preferred splicing to increasing the curve of the wood by heat or of going to the trouble to find a naturalgrowth of approximatelythe right shape. The s~yah t this stage was made longer than the finalform, as shown in the top left-hand drawing, to allow temporarynock to be cut on the 'wrong' side and, as will be explained,this was used to control the shape of the bow during manufacture.The siyah, hough carvedfrom single piece of wood, is in two sections. There is the end which is usually oval or triangular section and is to inches in length and then the ridged part which in section is like trianglewith two concave sides thatextendto the point of the splice(see fig. 2). In designing any good bow there are two important features that must be avoided. One is that there must be no bend in the grip when the bow is drawn. If there is, the bow kicksin the hand when it is shot,
73
THE ARCHERS OF ISLAM TIP
$JEA
SYAH
GRI'P
rUSTXRL
a)
?+
b ) 95~
?r
c)
-?
fl~ Fig. )Prin ?:
WOD
b
uoPrin
S/CW
uks
it is unpleasantto use and it is almost certain to be inaccurate.The second is related to the pull on the string, which the archer calls the weightof the bow. This, naturally, increases as the string is drawn furtherand further back, but if the weight increases rapidly towards the end of the draw it will again result in inaccurate shooting as fractionalvariationin draw length will have a more markedeffect on the range attainedby the arrow than if the weight increases slowly at the end. In this way rapidbuild-up n the weight at the end of the draw magnifiesany error made by the archer,while slow build-up tends to eliminate it (see fig. 3). With the Orientalcomposite bow the design of the handle eliminates bending in the centre when the bow is drawn and the rigid siyahs, acting as levers during the latterhalf of the draw, effectivelyreducethe rate of increaseof the weight at this stage. These factors will be consideredin furtherdetailbelow. The next stage in the construction of the bow was to attach two
74
W. F. PATERSON
strips of horn to the belly, which is the side facing the archer as he shoots. That of long-horned cattle was most commonly used and the strips taper from the grip to the end of the splice where the sjyah fitted to the dustdr.At the centre of the limb they vary in thickness from about I/8th to 1/4 inch. Both the inside of the horn and the wood core of the dustdr,which is not usually flat, but slightly curved from side to side, were scored along their length to increasethe surfacearea exposed to the glue and thus give better adhesion. The horn was lightly bound to the core to avoid exuding too much of the glue and then left for, perhaps, two months to allow the glue to set. At this stage the bow was a flat 'U' in shape and it was held in this form by
cord tied between the tips of the two siyahs.The curve of the bow was reflex, that is to say the opposite way to which it would be bent for
stringing, and the cord that controlledthe amount of bend was firmly seated the temporarynocks cut in the 'wrong' side of the tips. With existing Persian bows the horn on each limb is not a single piece but numberof stripsglued together and held in position with binding of fine sinew 1). This practice seems to have been peculiarto the Persiansand arose from the design of the limbs which were usually much wider than those of any of the other Middle Eastern bows. Becauseof this feature single piece of horn could not be obtainedthat was flat enough andwide enough to fit the belly. It is of interestto note that a similarwidth is favoured in modern bow design as this helps to avoid any lateral wisting in the limb as the bow is drawn. This glueing process took place in the winter, when the cooler and slow more humid conditions slowed the setting .rateof the glue 2). setting rate gives superioradhesion. When the glue had set, the next stage was to apply sinew to the back of the bow, which is the side away from the archeras he shoots. Leg
tendon of cattle or deer answers well. Payne-Gallwey I) This may be seen in
Museum, No. o.7649.
3)
and F. E.
damaged bow, Ingo Simon collection, Manchester
Cf. C. Cahen, Bulletind'Itudes Orientales,XII, p. IZ9. Treatiseon Turkishand OtherOrientalBows, London 1907, p. 4. 3) 2)
THE ARCHERS
OF ISLAM
7J
Brown 1) both speak of neck sinew being used, but from practical trialsthis has proved useless. First, it will not beat out into fine fibres and secondly it is too elastic to provide the desired tension when the
bow is drawn. It is sometimes found, cut into thin strips, as additional packing in the region of the siyah,but this would appear be its only real use in the constructionof the bow. After the leg sinew has been cleaned and dried it can be beaten out into fine fibres, and it is in this form that it is impregnated with glue and fastened to the back of the bow.
Glue-soaked sinew cannot be effectively applied in cold weather as
it is then difficultto handle and the result will be
poor bow. It is by
far the most important component in the composite bow, and even if
inferior wood and horn are used such defects in materialscan, to large extent, be eliminated by the correct application of sinew. This
process was normally carried out on
warm spring day 2) and the sinew
could be laid on in one, two or even three layers.Two layers were used in making the flight bows of the Ottoma Turks 3) and in this case the reflex in the bow was slightly increased when the first layer was applied.
It is not known if the same practice was followed by craftsmenfrom other regions. When the final layer was applied the bow was reflexedinto a complete oval and a cord was led around the temporarynocks cut into the extended siyahsand down to the grip to hold it in this position until the
glue had set (see fig. i, bottom left-handdrawing).The object of this method of constructionwas to get the maximum ension into the sinew when the bow was later strung and drawn, as high efficiencycan only be achieved f the various components are adequately tressedwhen the bow is shot. However carefullythe two horn strips are butted against each other when appliedto the wood core, gap almost invariablyappearsbetween I) "A
Discovered Compound Bow", SeminariumKondakovianum,ol. 9,
'937, pp. I-1o. 2) Add. 23489, fo. zzb.
3) J. Hein, "Bogenhandwerkund Bogensport bei den Osmanen",Der Islam, 1925,
PP. 347-350.
76
W. F. PATERSON
them when the bow is fully reflexed. If this gap is not plugged unfair shearingstrainswill be thrown on to the bond between the wood core and the horn when the bow is shot, the slight reflexin the handle and the rigidity of the grip will be lost. This is the reason for the ibranjaq (Turkish: chelik) ound at the centre of the grip and fittedbetween the two horn strips. All existing bows that have been examinedhave this fitting made from bone or ivory, though in earlier days suitable hardwood seems to have been employed 1). Elmer suggested that it was a form of shock absorber 2), but he lacked practical experience in their construction.
When the glue had set after about another two months or so, the bow had to be adjusted so that both limbs curved equally and correctly when it was drawn. The excess was cut off the siyahsand the nocks for
the bowstring cut into the back. With Turkishand Persianbows a saw cut was made
to
inches in length and a slim wedge of horn inserted
to reinforce and strengthenthe tips of the bow. This featureis absent in bows from India and no mention of it has been found in any of the Arabic manuscripts hat have been examined,though this does not preclude the fitting as none of the works go into the finer details of construction.On the side of each nock toward the grip, after the tips of the siyahshad been fully shaped, sinew binding was applied to avoid any risk of the wood splitting underthe impactof the bowstring when the bow was shot. Where the horn insert was used it also held
this firmly in place. To string fully reflexedbow is not an easy task. After removing any surplusor exuded glue as well as any obvious irregularitieswith file, the bow would have been thoroughly warmed to make it more supple. The craftsman,probably with an assistant, would then have carefullyflexed both limbs together until string could be slipped into the nocks. The shape of the two limbs could then be studied and, after removing the string,any sectionof the limb not curvingenough would be filed away until the right shape was achieved. This process, known I) N. A. Faris and R. P. Elmer, Arab Archery,Princeton,
z) N. A. Faris
R.
Elmer, op. cit., p. I62.
5. 1945, P.
THE ARCHERS
77
OF ISLAM
as tillering, calls for much care and patience if a first class weapon is
to be produced. Having achieved the right shape when the bow was strung, the bow then needed to be partly drawnand studied again to see that the two limbs were still correctly balanced and, if they were not,
the file once more had to be applied. This process continued until the bow could be brought to full draw with both limbs achieving as perfect a curve as lay within the skill of the makerto produce. If the two limbs do not recoil exactlytogether when bow is shot, inaccuracy is the only resultandgood shooting characteristicsan only be achieved by the slow and careful process described. the sinew was covered with thin diagonal strips of bark or thin leather and varnished to make it waterproof. The reason for the
diagonal strips of bark is that this materialhas virtually no stretch. If they were placedalong the length of the limb they would breakas soon as the bow was drawn. The horn might also be covered as is invariably the case with existing Persian and Indian bows. Mamluk, Ottoman flight, Mongolian and Sino-Tatarbows, among others, left the horn exposed. The covering was then decorated and many of the designs that can still be seen show high standardof skill and artistry. Sir John Chardin,writing of his third visit to Persia, from which he returned in 1677, says: "The Persian Bows are the most valued of all the
East: The Matterwhereof they are made is Wood and Horn laid over one another, and covered with Sinews, and over that the skin of a tree very sleekand smooth; theypaintthem afterwards, ndVarnish hemso admirablywell, that one may see one's self in those Bows, and the colour of them is as bright as possible" 1).
3. TheMechanics TheBow It is clearthat making a bow in this mannerwas slow and expensive
process,whichcan,perhaps,be justifiedby studyof the advantages that it offered. bow is a simplemachine or storingenergyby the actionof the I) Sir John Chardin'sTravels n Persia, The Argonaut Press, London
I927,
p.
270.
78
W. F. PATERSON
archer drawingthe string. When he looses the string it is transferred in the form of kinetic energy to the arrow. No bow can be ioo% efficientas work must be done by the bow in carrying its own limbs forward with the string. This amount is lost as it cannot be transferred to the arrow. It follows that a bow with heavy limbs and, in particular, heavy tips wastes more energy than a bow with light limbs and tips. When the string is loosed not only has the bow to push the arrow forward but it must also carry itself forward and the concept of apparentlypropelling weight greaterthan that of the arrow has been dealt with by P. E. Klopsteg in his Theory of Virtual Mass 1). For convenience, this problemmay be considered two parts. First, how much energy can bow store and secondly, how much of the stored energy does it transfer o the arrow. The stored energy depends on number of factors. There is the physical strength of the archerand thus the weight of bow that he can handle, there is the length of his draw which is determined mainlyby the length of his arms and the width of his chest and lastly the characteristicsof the bow which determineshow the weight builds up as the bow is drawn. These characteristicsof bows may be compared by plotting them on force-drawcurve (fig. 3). This is obtainedby measuring he force needed to draw back the string at intervalsfrom rest to full draw and the areaunder the curve is measureof the energy put into the bow. The curves are those of an English longbow and Mongolian composite. Even cursory examination shows how much more energy the composite bow stores than the more simple wooden bow. With the composite the weight builds up quickly during the first half of the draw and, if it was not for the rigid siyahs, would continue to build up at much the same rate and thus prove too strong for the archerto handle. During the second half of the draw the lever action of the siyabscomes into play with the result that the increase in weight is I) American ournal of Physics, Vol. ii, No. 4, August 1943, pp. Smithsonian4565, Washington 1963, pp. 588-590.
I80-I.
Also
79
THE ARCHERS OF ISLAM
5~0
Uf)
A:3 30 ~ 20
p. I..
•DRAW
LENGTH
IN
INCHES
Fig. 3
relatively small. When shooting this bow it feels, as the shoulder and back muscles come into exerting their power, that the pull on the bowstring reduces,though this is not, in fact, the case. Sir John Chardinrecords: "The Goodness of Bow, as the Persians say, consists in this, viz. That Bow be hard to bend till the Arrow be
laid half over it, and then that it be soft and easy, .. ." 1).
Compared with this the longbow builds up more slowly at the beginning of the draw and more quickly towards the end. In consequence the archer feels that considerably more effort is needed to draw such a bow than in the case of the composite. The superior characteristics f the latter can thus be seen as, for a given maximum effortput into drawingthe bow, the composite storesmore energy. i) Sir John Chardin, op. cit., p. 270.
80
W. F. PATERSON
The next question is how much of this energy the bow transfers to the arrow. Here, practical performance and efficiency are two very different quantities. From purely mechanical considerations the highest efficiency is achieved with a very heavy arrow that will fully absorb all the thrust from the string. Such an arrow would not travel very far, though its impact at short range would be considerable and enableit to penetrateany armouror mail, if the arrowheadwas of the correct type. Against this light arrowis inefficientand, though it will be dischargedat higher velocity, it cannot fully absorbthe thrust of the string. There is an exception to this in the case of the flight arrows, but they arein specialcategory. An analogy may be taken by considering three balls, about the size of tennis ball, one made of lead, one made of rubber and one made of cotton wool. If thrown by hand could be well that the heavy ball and the light one would go about the same distance, while the rubber one go very much further. As regards the force with which they might hit an object the lead one, if within range, would obviously give the hardest impact, while that of cotton wool would have least effect. In this way compromise must be achieved to give the best performance the arrow when shot from a given bow and its weight must be relatedwithin certainpractical imits to the weight or
power of the bow 1).
If short stick is taken, one end held and the other bent and allowed to fly back, the speed of recovery when the end is releasedwill be higher than in the case of longer stick. In the same way short bow can impart higher velocity to an arrow than can longer bow, assumingthattheirconstruction s similar.Thus, for velocity one needs a short bow with lighter arrow, but for hitting power one needs longer bow with heavier arrow.It should also be noted that the short bow tends to be inaccurateas it is more difficult get the two limbs to move forward perfectly together due to its higher rate of recovery. Handbook, ortsmouth I1955, p. 15-17. i) W. F. Paterson,Bowman's
See also J. D. Lathamand W. F. Paterson, "An Analysis of Arrow-Weightsin an Islamic Military Manual",Journalof SemiticStudies,vol. X, No. 2, I965.
JESHO IX
PLATE
The Mongolian bow used to produce the curve in fig. 3. Top: Lower: A Sino-Tatarbow, similar that commented upon by Ingo Simon. Just in front of the grip, though difficultto see in this reproductionfrom the original in colour, are three thumb rings, two of jade and one of serpentine.
JESHO IX
PLATE
Left to right: i. Sind bow. Note the characteristicdouble angle in the siyabsand the marked reflex in the grip. ii. A Turkish bow of unknown origin. Its length suggests it is target or hunting bow. The back Is covered with bark strips and the horn of the belly Is left exposed. The grip lacks the hump on the back and is covered with leather. iii. An Indo-Persian bow. The design of the siyahsshows influence of the Sind bow. iv-vi. Ottoman Turk flight bows.
JESHO IX
PLATE III
Top and centre: Typical Indo-Persian bows. They are good examples of the type of bow carried by the mounted archers. Bottom: A 'crab' bow from Central India. Note the amount of recurve in the siyahs.
JESHO IX
PLATE
fine example of the Ottoman Turk flight bow. The inscriptions on the siyahs show that it was made by Ibratum 69 A.H. The delicate little flight arrows are tipped with ivory.
THE ARCHERS
OF ISLAM
81
Length in a bow tends to give greater accuracy and steadiness in shooting. It also gives better thrustto a heavier arrow and for these reasonsthe longer bow is more suitable or warfare. The Mongolian bow, already mentioned, though accurate, s not good bow by composite standards,as it is too long. From nock to nock, measuredalong the side of the bow, it is 63 inches compared with about o50 nches recommended by Taybughi al-Ashrafi 1). Ottoman
flight bows, on the other hand, vary between about 40 to 42 inches. One result of the greater length is that the horn and sinew are insufficientlystressedwhen the bow is drawn and the speed of recovery of the is relativelyslow when the string is loosed. The accuracyof these bows is fully supportedby the late Ingo Simon, a noted archer and one of the greatest authorities on Orientalbows. He wrote: "In these latter years have taken to using mainly one big Chinese Tatar bow. find that at short range it is unsurpassed.The
arrows are too heavy for anything save short range work, but they rarely get broken and are easy to find [afterwards in the ground] on account of their size. Recently hit a matchbox at zo yards with four successive shots" 2) (see also Plate I). From these considerations the equipment used by an archer is usually compromise, depending on the purpose for which it is
so intended. For warfarehe should have bow that is not too that it will be reasonablyaccurateand reliable.He needs to use heavy arrow if he expects to penetrate armour or mail. However, for use on
horsebacka shorter bow is easier to handle, but this would require lighter arrow. With such conflicting requirements is easy to understand how designs have differed,depending on what given tribe or race considered were the most important factors, coupled with the skill of their craftsmenand the materials hat they had available. This last factor can be of the greatestimportance. The question is
sometimesasked,why was the compositebow not usedin the West, if it was suchan efficientweapon?The simpleanswer o this is that I) Add. 23489, ff.22b-23a. 2) The British Archer, (magazine) Vol. 8, No. 6, I9r7, p. 231. JESHO, IX
82
W. F. PATERSON
there were no long-horned cattle or goats in Europe from which suitablehorn could be obtained. The composite bow was used by the Venetians in their wars with the Ottoman Empire, though even if their own craftsmenmadethe bows feel sure that the horn must have been obtainedfrom the Middle East 1). The most efficient bows ever devised were the flight bows of the Ottoman Turks. They were so delicately made and the materials stressed so near breaking point at full draw that they needed to be warmed, or even heated, before being strung to increasetheir suppleness. Such bow would be uselessin war as an archercannot stop and warm his bow, if it happens to be unstrung, before going into battle. Also, highly stressedbow can easily be brokenandthe archer, war, needed sturdy and reliableweapon. Such then are the maintechnicalaspects to be taken into account in determining the design of bows. Climatic considerationsalso enter into the problem as modifications are particularly under extreme conditions, regarding the optimum proportions of sinew, wood and horn in the bow. Fig. shows three typical examples. Bows with a thin wood core, such as those found in India are more liable to distortion than those which have thicker core. Such defects are usuallyeasy to correct by heat treatment, but it is obviously better to have bow that is less likely to be found unfitfor use when it is needed.The Turkishdesign is superiorto the other two. 4. Accuracy nd Penetration The best equipment is of little use unless the archerhas achieved high standardof ability, neither can the archernormally do more than what he has trained to do. For this reason the various exercisesneed to be studied to assess what the archers might have been expected to achievein battle. The basic handling of the bow must be mastered on foot before I) Cf. G. Giorgetti, L'Arco, laBalestra le Macchine elliche,Milan, 1964, pp. 20-23.
THE
ARCHERS
83
OF ISLAM
attempting to use it on horseback. Target ranges appear to have reached up to about 280 yards on the long field (al-middnl-tawil), whose range was between 140 and 130 outstretched armspans 1). This compares with the range of 12 score paces, or 240 yards, used by the
old English longbowmen and this is near the limit of the war bow employing full length arrow with steel head. It must be emphasised that doubling the weight of
bow does not
double the rangeto which it will shoot an arrow. If, for instance, bow with a weight of 45 lbs. at full draw will shoot a given arrow 240 yards,
65 lbs. bow will only shoot the same arrow about 280 yards. The real that it enables a heavier arrow to be advantage used that will hit harder and achieve higher penetration.
At such rangesaccuracy relatively ow and good shot undercalm weatherconditions might be expected to hit a target the size of man on horsebackabout once in every four shots. However, the application of such long range shooting by group of archers against formed body of the enemy needs no amplification. An arrow will loose much of its velocity in travellingsuch distance and should be effectively stopped by good quality armour or mail.
During the Crusaders' coast march from Acre in
191,
which cul-
minated in the Battle of Arsiif, Beha ed-Din records that the Saracen archerscould do little againstthe armourof the Franks: "their infantry drawn up in front of the horsemen stood firm as wall, and every foot-soldier wore thick gambeson and hawberk, so dense and strong, thatour arrowstook no effect... saw soldierswith from one to ten arrows sticking in them, still marchingon" 2). Such evidence, no doubt, led R. C. Smallto say in Crusading Warfare, p. 81: 'The bow and arrow appear to have been light weapons. The arrows penetrated Frankisharmour, but often without wounding the body of the wearer'. What is more likely is that the Crusaders' rchers orced the Moslem cavalry to keep its distance at this stage of the engagement and shoot I) Add. 23489, fo. I27a.
2)
S. Lane-Poole, Saladin,London, 1898, p. 30o.
84
W. F. PATERSON
from long range. Coupled with this it may have been that the arrows were too light for such purpose or that too much use was being made of the light dartsshot with the aid of the arrow-guide majrd). Later, when the Saracens began to press home their attacks the Itinerariumecords: "That day our own losses and the sufferingsof our horses, who were
pierced through and through with arrows and darts...".
And again:
"With deadliest effect they kept launching forth their darts and
arrows" 1). Such statements suggest that with the reduced range the
arrows became effective due to the higher velocity on impact and supports the idea that the arrows were too light ratherthan the bows being too weak. In assessing the ability of an archer to shoot with adequate and consistantaccuracy,Taybughi requiredhim to shoot at target set up range of 6o bows *). This would have referred to the strung bow
at
and that specifiedby him would have measured45 inches, thus giving rangeof 75 yards.At this rangehe was expected to keep all his arrows within a circle feet in diameter,which is a good and practical tandard of accuracy, which an average man can achieve after a few years of regularpractice.From this evidence one may presumethat the trained archer,on foot, should hit man every time at about 60 yards. When mounted and at full gallop the problem is very different and
the ranges at which accurateshooting is possible is very much shorter. In qiqaj he target was basically mound of earth,or something similar, on the ground at which the archershot as he went by at full gallop and one might guess that the range was about io yards 3). The other form
of shooting was qabaqwhere gourd was hoistedto the top of mastand served as
target at which the archer shot as he rode beneath it 4). This
was one of the recognised urusijyaexercisesand obviously demanded very high standard of horsemanship as well as skill in archery 5).
S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 315 and p. 320. 2) Add. 23489, fo. iooa. 4) Ibid. 3) Add. 23489, ff.61b-74a. 5) D. Ayalon, "Notes on the FurdsiyyaExercises...," ScriptaHierosolymitana,X, Jerusalem 196I, pp. 55-56. Also, M. Reinaud,JournalAsiatique,Septembre 1848, i)
pp.
220-221.
THE ARCHERS
OF ISLAM
85J
Here, it should be mentioned that it is unlikely that an archer could shoot as strong bow on horseback as he could on foot. Though the main power comes from the shoulders and the back muscles, with the arms playing relatively minor part, when shooting powerful bow an
if the ground is slippery, he archernormallyneeds a firm footing may have difficulty controlling his bow. Some loss of such support would naturallyresultfrom shooting in the saddleso that the mounted
archer would probably have used than he could have used on foot.
slightly lighter bow on horseback
There is no doubt that the adepts at these exercises achieved remarkable degree of skill through hard and regular practice and there
are some interesting accountsin the pages of Hansard ). That author, however, was not very good at giving references to his sources of information so it has not yet proved possible to check all his stories.
Such tales usually concentrate on the rare feats, which may have been somewhat enhanced by the original writers and the legends that surround great archer, be he Odysseus or Bahrim Giir, Rustem or Robin Hood, do not enable one to judge what might have been within the ability of the average man. Accurate knowledge on the power, or weight, of Islamic bows is lacking though one might draw certain conjectural conclusions from Arab Archery (pp. 14-II5), where Thhir al-Balkhi is credited with
relating the weight of arrows needed with bows of various weights. The heaviestbow that he mentions is one hundredratlsand it could be assumedthat this was the most that an averagearchercould have been expected to handle. Tihir was one of the so-called Great Masters, but though he is mentioned in most works relating to archery, no biographical details have come to our notice in spite of careful search. He may have taught under the Samanidsor the Ghaznavidsand from such scanty informationDr. W. Hinz of Gottingen has kindly suggested that the Baghdad ratl of 406.25 grams might have been the unit that he used. I) G. A. Hansard, The Book of Archery, London 1840, pp. 34-36,
I20-125,
137-142.
86
W. F. PATERSON
This would give his bow of one hundred ratls weight of 88 lbs. which a man slightly above averagestrengthcould masterwith practice. With this as a basis and from practicalexperience shooting with the stronger bows it can be suggested that the majority would have used bows from 65-70 lbs weight. Such a bow should drive a war arrow
through any armouror mail up to range of about Ioo yardsgiven, in the case of armour, reasonablysquarehit on the surfaceof the plate. The surprisinglyhigh penetrationof arrows has been shown on many
occasions 1).
There remainsthe problem of the actual forms of the bows used by the Islamic archers. The majority of miniature paintings show two basic types. There are those with the relativelystraighttips and, from side view, such
shape is given by
Persian bow as shown in fig. I.
The other type has a strong recurve in the tip which suggests the Turkish design such as that shown in Plate II, ii 2). The length of such bows seems to have varied quite widely. In the Ingo SimonCollectionthereis Bashkiribow from the Siege of Vienna inches from (Manchester Museum No. 0.7633) and this measures 58 nock to nock along the side. This would appear to be about the longest of the Islamic war bows. Those from Persia are about 54 inches,
inches, while Indo-Persian bows Taybugha specifies one of about 5o vary between 44 to 48 inches. These are the shortest if the Ottoman flight bows--40 to 42 inches-are excluded on the grounds that they were not weapons of war. Detailed knowledge of many bows is lacking. What of the bows from the Kirghiz, Turkmen and Uzbek areas? Do any of the Mamliik bows still exist? Can the few remaining craftsmen believed to exist in
the Mongolian areabe contacted before the finer details of theirart is lost? Lettershave remainedunanswered,so may humblearchermake final plea to those who may have the fortune to come across such I) See C. J. Longman, Archery Badmington Series), London 1894; pp. 425-435; Saxton Pope, HuntingwiththeBowandArrow, New York 1923, pp. 46-49. 2)
See also, W. F. Paterson, "Persian Archery",Journalof the Societyof Archer-
Antiquaries, vol.
5,
1962, pp. 23-24, and vol. 6, 1963, pp. 20zo-z22
THE ARCHERS
OF ISLAM
87
items? Any details would be most gratefully received and preserved in the archives of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries. must gratefully acknowledge the work of Dr. J. D. Latham of ManchesterUniversity on an edited and annotated translationof the Kitabghunyat l-tulldb ma'rifatal-ramny 'l-nushshib Taybughi'lBaklamishial-Yiin~ni,to be publishedby the Holland Press, London, andfor his kind agreement use the few brief extracts hat appearhere. Referenceshould also be made to the section on archery rom an older general reatiseon armsto be publishedshortlyby Mr. Antoine BoudotLamotte (University of Bordeaux).
