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Arab archery is the traditional style of archery practiced by the Arab people of the West Asia and North Africa regions from ancient to modern times.
The style of Arab archery described in surviving texts is similar to that used by Mongol and Turkish archers, featuring the use of a thumb draw and a thumb ring to protect the right thumb. [1] [2] However, some 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]
A headstone of a Syrian archer was found along Hadrian's Wall and dates back to the 2nd century Common Era when 200 Syrian archers were sent to reinforce the 8,000 Roman soldiers. The tombstone is now displayed at the Great North Museum: Hancock. [4]
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. [5] [6]
Muhammad is said to have been proficient with a bow and appreciated the benefits of archery in both sports and warfare. A recurved bow made of bamboo, attributed to Muhammad, is preserved in the Chamber of the Sacred Relics at the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. [7]
There are several comments by Muhammad concerning archery in the Hadith. Umm Salama told of Muhammed coming upon two groups practicing archery and praising them. [8]
Malik ibn Anas spoke about the Battle of Uhud, where the troops abandoned Muhammad. However, the archer Talhah remained to protect him with his shield. Uqbah ibn Amir also revealed that Muhammad once said he preferred archery over riding. [9] [10]
Muhammad owned six bows: az-Zawra’, ar-Rauha’, as-Safra’, al-Bayda’, and al-Katum. Al-Katum was broken during the battle of Battle of Uhud, and was taken by Qatadah bin an-Nu’man and as-Saddad. He had a quiver called al-Kafur and a strap for it made from tanned skin, as well as three silver circular rings, a buckle, and an edge made of silver. According to a medieval Sunni scholar, "we should mention that Ibn Taymiyyah said that there are no authentic narrations that the Prophet ever wore a strap around his waist." [11]
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. An account describes an Arab archer dismounting from his camel, emptying his quiver on the ground, and kneeling to shoot. [12] [13]
Camel archery is also documented among non-Arab peoples. The Old Testament recounts how Joshua fought the Amalekites at Rephidim, who used camels for their archers. Similarly, Gideon fought against the Midianites and their camel-mounted archers during the time of the Judges. [14]
Today, several Arab archery clubs and societies exist, some of which practice traditional Arab archery while others use Western styles in sport competitions and hunting. 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. [15]
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who practices archery is typically called an archer, bowman, or toxophilite.
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-‘Abbās al-Ṣūlī was a Turkic scholar and a court companion of three Abbāsid caliphs: al-Muktafī, his successor al-Muqtadir, and later, al-Radi, whom he also tutored. He was a bibliophile, wrote letters, editor-poet, chronicler, and a shatranj (chess) player. His contemporary biographer Isḥāq al-Nadīm tells us he was “of manly bearing.” He wrote many books, the most famous of which are Kitāb Al-Awrāq and Kitāb al-Shiṭranj.
Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Basri, commonly known as al-Jahiz, was an Arabic polymath and author of works of literature, theology, zoology, philosophy, grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, philology, linguistics, and politico-religious polemics. His extensive zoological work has been credited with describing principles related to natural selection, ethology, and the functions of an ecosystem.
A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew and horn store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. The strength can be made similar to that of all-wood "self" bows, with similar draw-length and therefore a similar amount of energy delivered to the arrow from a much shorter bow. However, making a composite bow requires more varieties of material than a self bow, its construction takes much more time, and the finished bow is more sensitive to moisture.
Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among al-ʿashara al-mubashshara. He played an important role in the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Camel, in which he died. According to Sunnis, he was given the title "the Generous" by Muhammad.
The Mongol bow is a type of recurved composite bow historically used in Mongolia, and by the horse archers of the Mongol Empire. "Mongol bow" can refer to two types of bow. From the 17th century onward, most of the traditional bows in Mongolia were replaced with the similar Manchu bow which is primarily distinguished by larger siyahs and the presence of prominent string bridges.
A thumb ring is a ring meant to be worn on one's thumb. Most commonly, thumb rings are used as an archery equipment designed to protect the thumb pulp from the bowstring during a thumb draw, and are made of leather, stone, horn, wood, bone, antler, ivory, metal, ceramics, plastic or glass. It usually fits over the distal phalanx of the thumb, coming to rest at the distal edge of the interphalangeal joint. Typically a flange extends from the ring to cover the thumb pulp, and may be supplemented by a leather extension.
Turkish archery is a tradition of archery which became highly developed in the Ottoman Empire, although its origins date back to the Eurasian Steppe in the second millennium BC.
Archery, or the use of bow and arrows, was probably developed in Africa by the later Middle Stone Age. It is documented as part of warfare and hunting from the classical period until the end of the 19th century, when bow and arrows was made functionally obsolete by the invention and spread of repeating firearms.
The Rashidun army was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granting them successive victories in their various campaigns.
A bow draw in archery is the method or technique of pulling back the bowstring to store energy for the bow to shoot an arrow. The most common method in modern target archery is the Mediterranean draw, which has long been the usual method in European archery. Other methods include the pinch draw and the Mongolian or "thumb" draw. In traditional archery practice outside Western Europe the variations of the thumb draw are by far the most dominant draw types, with the Mediterranean draw restricted to the Olympic style of target archery.
Hashim ibn Utba ibn Abi Waqqas, was a Muslim army commander. He was Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas's nephew through his father, and was a companion of Muhammad. Hāshim participated in the Ridda wars to force rebellious Arab tribes to return to Islam after the death of Muhammad. He fought the Byzantines in the Battle of Yarmouk under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid. He played a vital role in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah that led to the conquest of Al-Mada'in by Muslims. He died in the Battle of Siffin fighting on the side of Ali.
Furūsiyya is an Arabic knightly discipline and ethical code developed in the Middle Ages. It was practised in the medieval Muslim world from Afghanistan to Muslim Spain, and particularly during the Crusades and the Mamluk period. The combat form uses martial arts and equestrianism as the foundation.
Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Abū ʿUmar al-Namarī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī al-Mālikī, commonly known as Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr was an eleventh-century Maliki scholar and Athari theologian who served as the Qadi of Lisbon. He died in December 2, 1071 (aged 93).
Abū Zayd Sa’īd ibn Aws al-Anṣārī was an Arab linguist and a reputable narrator of hadith. Sibawayh and al-Jāḥiẓ were among his pupils. His father was Aws ibn Thabit also a hadith narrator, while his grandfather Thabit ibn Bashir was one of the three scribes who wrote down the Qur'an during Muhammad's era.
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri was an Arab Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a close companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Abū Naṣr Alī ibn Hibat Allāh ibn Ja'far ibn Allakān ibn Muḥammad ibn Dulaf ibn Abī Dulaf al-Qāsim ibn ‘Īsā al-Ijlī, surnamed Sa’d al-Muluk and known as Ibn Mākūlā was a highly regarded Arab muḥaddith and historian who authored several works. His magnum opus was his biographical-genealogical history on etymology and orthography of Islamic names, Al-Ikmāl.
Abū Bakr az-Zubaydī, also known as Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Madḥīj al-Faqīh and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan az-Zubaydī al-Ishbīlī, held the title Akhbār al-fuquhā and wrote books on topics including philology, biography, history, philosophy, law, lexicology, and hadith.
The Kitāb fī maʿrifat ʿilm ramy al-sihām, called the Maʿrifa for short, is an Arabic treatise on archery written by Ḥusayn al-Yūnīnī around 1320. It was intended for those entering the archers' guild in the Mamluk Sultanate. It is preserved in three manuscripts.