David Nicolle. The reality of Mamluk warfare: Weapons, armour and tactics
David Nicolle. The reality of Mamluk warfare: Weapons, armour and tactics // Al-Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean, 7:1, 77-110. 1994
The Nihayat al-Su'l wa I-Umniyya fi Acmäl al-Furusiyya, "The Complete Instructions in the Practices of the Military Art", is one of the best known works of furasiyya from the Mamluk period. This study and translation is based on an unpublished annotated edition by A.S.M. Lutful-Huq. Yet there is still debate about the authorship of the original text.
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Much of the Nihaynt al-Su'l was a compilation of earlier works on military tactics, organization and training, some perhaps dating back to Hellenistic Greece. Other parts of the work were, however, clearly written during the early eighth/fourteenth century Mamluk period, as shown by references to warfare against Mongol invaders along the Euphrates frontier.
Копье.
- Where should a lance be put if one wants to use the bow or other weapon?
- Whether the lance is heavy or hollow (of the light form) or of knotted cane, then, according to the experts, it should be hung from the belt or put on this right hand into its strap which is the usage of the Tatars of the east (Mongols). Always ensure that the lance is put in the same place, so that the lancers can always remember that it is in its correct place, if God wills.
Аркан.
The horsemen of Persia and the Turks use this, and each of their horsemen carries one and considers it the highpoint of furusiyya skills. They were also the first to use such a weapon in war, and to despise those whom they were able to catch with the lassoo.
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- How is the lassoo thrown, and what should its length be?
- Its length should be twenty cubits (approximately 10 metres). Thread the end of the rope though a ring in the lassoo until one third is (passed) through. Now hold a further third in the hand, letting the final third hang free. Take the loop in the right hand with the gathered together third, holding the rest of the lassoo in the left hand. Now spin it around your head, and this is the same for the horseman, infantry or anyone else.