Arab archery

Arab archery is the traditional style of archery practiced by the Arab peoples of the Middle East and North Africa from ancient to modern times.

Release Style

The style of Arab archery described in the extant texts (all of which date long after the Mongol conquests and the widespread use of Turkish Mamluk slaves as soldiers) is similar to the styles used by Mongol and Turkish archers, drawing with a thumb draw and using a thumb ring to protect the right thumb.

Arab Archery History

Arab archers used composite bows from foot, horse, and camel, to good effect from the 7th century.

Archery in Islam

Muhammad was quite good with a bow, and appreciated the benefits of archery in sports and warfare. A recurved bow made of bamboo, and ascribed to Muhammad, is held in the Sacred Relics (Topkapı Palace) in the Chamber of the Sacred Relics in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.

There are several comments by Mohammad concerning archery in the Hadith. Umm Salama told of Muhammed coming upon two groups practicing archery, and he praised them.

Malik ibn Anas spoke about when at the battle of Uhud, the troops left Muhammad behind, where the archer, Abu Talhah, remained behind and protected the Prophet with his shield.

Uqbah ibn Amir relates how Muhammad said that archery shooting was more dear to him than riding.

Arab Archery Today

There are a number of Arab Archery clubs and societies today. Some practice the traditional Arab archery, while others use Western styles of archery in sport competition and hunting. The main organization is FATA, or the "Fédération Arabe de Tir a L'Arc" of Lebanon, a member of the World Archery Federation. The Pan Arab Games usually have an archery competition, and the 12th Arab Games in Qatar held in 2011 had 60 archers from nine Arab countries compete. The Tuba Archery Club tries to recreate or reenact the traditional archery of the East, which includes traditional Arab archery.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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.
• The Art of Shooting a Short Reflexed Bow with a Thumb Ring. 2012. By Adam Swoboda. Gdynia Press.
• A treatise on Arab archery is by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr (1292AD-1350AD) and comes from the 14th century.

See also

• Chinese archery
• Kyūdō
• Turkish archery
• English longbow

• Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīyah, Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr. kitab ʻuniyat al-ṭullāb fī maʻrifat al-rāmī bil-nushshāb. [Cairo?]: [s.n.], 1932. OCLC: 643468400.