Arab archery

Style of archery

Arab archery is the traditional style of archery practiced by the Arab people of West Asia and North Africa.

## Release style

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Arab archery described in surviving texts is similar to that used by Mongol and Turkish archers, with the use of a thumb draw and a thumb ring to protect the right thumb.[1][2] Medieval Muslim writers have noted differences between Arab archery and Turkish and Iranian styles, claiming that the bow used by Hejazi Arabs was superior.[3] From the 7th century onward, Arab archers used composite bows while shooting from foot, horseback, and camelback. They also utilized a variety of arrows, arrowheads, and shafts.[4][5]

## Camel archers

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Camels were sometimes used in combat because they were taller and more resilient in desert warfare than horses. However, this was often more for transport rather than as a platform for shooting. Camel archery is also documented among non-Arab peoples. A biblical story describes how the religious figure Joshua fought the Amalekites at Rephidim, who used camels for their archers.[6]

## Arab archery today

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Today, several Arab archery clubs and societies exist. The main organization is FATA, or the "Fédération Arabe de Tir à L'Arc" of Lebanon, which is a member of the World Archery Federation. Archery competitions are also a feature of the Pan Arab Games, including the 12th Arab Games held in Qatar in 2011, where 60 archers from nine Arab countries competed.[7]

## List of Arabic works on archery

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* al-Sarakhsi al-Harawi, Kitab fada'il al-ramy fi sabil Allah, a collection of 38 hadiths on archery[8]
* Mardi ibn Ali al-Tarsusi, Tabsirat arbab al-albab fi kayfiyyat al-najat fi al-hurub, a general treatise on arms and armour that gives pride of place to the bow (c. 1174)[8]
* Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari, Kirab al-wadih fi ma'rifat 'ilm al-ramy (bef. 1295)[9]
* al-Yunini, Kitab fi ma'rifat 'ilm ramy al-siham (c. 1317–1324)[10]
* Taybugha al-Baklamishi, Ghunyat al-tullab fi ma'rifat al-ramy bi-l-nushshab (1368/9)[11]
* Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a treatise on Arab archery (14th century)[12]
* Anonymous, A Book on the Excellence of the Bow and Arrow, from Morocco (c. 1350–1400)[13]

## See also

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* Chinese archery
* Kyūdō
* Turkish archery
* English longbow

## References

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1. ^ Paterson, W. F. 1966. "The Archers of Islam." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. Vol. 9, No. 1/2 (Nov., 1966), pp. 69-87.
2. ^ Marcelo Muller (15 September 2012). "XLII. On thumb-tips and the various kind thereof, from: Arab Archery, by N.A. Faris and R.P. Elmer, 1945". archerylibrary.com.
3. ^ "Arab Archery". www.archerylibrary.com. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
4. ^ KUNSELMAN, DAVID E. 2007. ARAB-BYZANTINE WAR, 629-644 AD. Page 53.
5. ^ Soar, Hugh. 2018. "The Incendiary Arrow." Primitive Archer. Volume 26 (1), pages 18-20.
6. ^ Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General. By Richard A. Gabriel. 2012. University of Oklahoma Press. Page 34.
7. ^ http://www.worldarchery.org/OTHEREVENTS/Others/2011/Doha-ArabGames/TabId/1124/ArtMID/1567/ArticleID/470/Successful-Archery-Competition-at-the-12th-Arab-Games-.aspx [dead link]
8. ^ a b Jallon 1980, p. 25.
9. ^ Jallon 1980, p. 31.
10. ^ Jallon 1980.
11. ^ Translated in Latham and Pateson 1970.
12. ^ Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah, Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr. kitab ʻuniyat al-ṭullāb fī maʻrifat al-rāmī bil-nushshāb. [Cairo?]: [s.n.], 1932. OCLC: 643468400.
13. ^ Translated in Faris and Elmer 1945.

## Bibliography

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* Boit, Bernard A. 1991. THE FRUITS OF ADVERSITY: TECHNICAL REFINEMENTS, OF THE TURKISH COMPOSITE BOW DURING THE CRUSADING ERA. (PDF) A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University by Lt. Bernard A. Boit, USAF.
* Faris, Nabih Amin, and Robert Potter Elmer. Arab Archery: An Arabic Manuscript of About A.D. 1500, "A Book on the Excellence of the Bow & Arrow" and the Description Thereof. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1986. 182 pages. Translation of "Kitāb fī bayān fadl al-qaws w-al-sahm wa-awsāfihima," no. 793 in Descriptive catalog of the Garrett collection of Arabic manuscripts in the Princeton University library.
* Jallon, Adnan Darwish (1980). Kitāb fī maʿrifat ʿilm ramy al-sihām: A Treatise on Archery by Ḥusayn b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh al-Yūnīnī [AH 647 (?) – 724 / AD 1249–50 (?) – 1324]. A Critical Edition of the Arabic Text together with a Study of the Work in English (PhD diss.). Victoria University of Manchester.
* 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). (PDF) London: Holland P., 1970.
* McLeod, Wallace E. 1962. "Egyptian Composite Bows in New York." American Journal of Archaeology. Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 1962), pp. 13–19
* Paterson, W. F. 1966. "The Archers of Islam." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. Vol. 9, No. 1/2 (Nov., 1966), pp. 69–87.
* Sukenik, Yigael. 1947. "The Composite Bow of the Canaanite Goddess Anath." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. No. 107 (Oct., 1947), pp. 11–15.

## External links

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* The Art of Shooting a Short Reflexed Bow with a Thumb Ring. 2012\. By Adam Swoboda. Gdynia Press.