From the 8th century to
the 16th mamluks formed the core of most Muslim armies. The Arabic
word meant a soldier originally bought as a slave, educated and
trained and finally released as a full-time professional. Mamluk
tactics, organisation and weaponry were for the most part derived
from those of the Mongols. The armies that took on the Crusaders
were generally more effective, and better disciplined and organised
than their European opponents. These qualities owed much to deep
study and understanding of military theory and technique. The
practical manuals that were required reading for mamluk soldiers in
training came out of a long tradition of military writing amongst
the Arabs and the Persians.Complete Instructions in the Practices
of the Military Art, in Arabic Nihayat al-Su'l wa'l Umniyaya fi
Ta'lim A'mal al-Furusiyya, is one of the best known works of
furusiyya cavalry training from the Islamic Middle East. It was
compiled between 1250 and 1500 during the period of the Mamluk
Sultanate, which was born out of the political concentration of
mamluk military and administrative power. However, most of the book
consists of material from earlier works. Some date back to the time
of the 'Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad in the 9th or even late 8th
century, though the chapter translated here seems to have been
written in the later 13th or early 14th century. The Nihayat al-Su'l
itself was compiled following an attack upon Alexandria by Crusader
pirates operating from Cyprus in 1365. By that time, however, the
Crusaders were a secondary threat as far as the Mamluks were
concerned. The Mongols who occupied most of Asia beyond the
Euphrates were much more serious.
Traditionally the Nihayat al-Su'l is attributed to Muhammad ibn 'Isa
al-Hanafi al-Aqsara'i who is said to have died in Damascus in 1348
after spending most of his life in Syria. According to this version
al-Aqsara'i checked his book with the best Mamluk military
specialists in the Damascus Citadel garrison. As was usual in almost
all Arab-Islamic technical books, a chain of authority was also
provided from master to student and so on. In this case the chain
went back through Najm al-Din al-Rammah al-Ahdab, a renowned Master
of the Lance from the Crusader period who died in 1294. Most of
Chapter Two of Lesson Seven of the Nihayat al-Su'l consists of
original Mamluk military writing. It deals with the way these
soldiers were trained to use, wear and maintain their arms, armour
and harness. Chapter Two has seven Parts and extracts from the first
four are translated into English for the first time here. The
remaining three Parts will be included in a future article; they
cover the drills for carrying weapons not in immediate use, and the
techniques of river crossing and lassoo fighting.
The detail and the systematic thoroughness of the writing give a
striking sense of the qualities that made the mamluks such a
formidable elite and at the same time give vivid glimpses of the
experience of battle in this fascinating era.
Chapter Two: From the Seventh Lesson, Containing Seven
Parts
Part One: the weapons which separate a man from his soul
Question What weapons does a man use in enemy territory
or when face to face with his enemy?
Answer When you are visible keep your sword drawn at your
right side, hilt downwards. Carry the mace or the dagger in the same
way but not more than one weapon at a time.
Note A cavalryman is implied throughout the text unless
specifically stated otherwise.
Question What should be done if his sword is still
sheathed?
Answer It would then be on his left side and beneath his
tassets. Turn to the hilt and withdraw it. In the same way take the
mace from its holder and the dagger from its sheath.
Note The tassets are the lower fringe of the lamellar
cuirass or jawshan and may also mean the hem of a coat.
Question What should be done if the sword is resting?
Answer That will be dangerous. Take it in your hands and
unsheath it. As with the sword from its scabbard, so with the mace
and the dagger.
Note 'Resting' probably means that the weapon is in its
scabbard, holder or sheath but is not slung from a belt or otherwise
in its proper place.
Question What should be done with the lance?
Answer This should be resting in your right arm, if it is
not already held erect. Unless it is grasped firmly it will wobble,
and that would be a disgrace. It is said that if the guard is
sleeping it will be possible to steal anything from beneath him
without his even knowing.
Question What is to be done with the shield?
Answer This is held on the left side. If it is put down on
the ground it is vital that its grip is uppermost so that it can be
picked up instantly if needed.
Note Further questions and answers deal in similar
prescriptive detail with the bow and arrows and are followed by
meticulous instructions for laying out personal and horse armour etc
to be ready to respond to a sudden attack, even in the dark, more
likely when at war with the Mongols than Crusaders.
Question What is the best way to overcome fear at night?
Answer Keep your trousers on, and your coat and boots, and your
sword girded on, and your horse saddled.
Part Two: War apparel, in twelve questions
Question How does an infantryman put on a mail hauberk?
Answer First he puts his hands into the sleeves of his
hauberk, then grasps the edges of the garment with his fingers. Next
he draws together the rest of the garment into his arms and pulls it
over himself. Then he girds up his loins with the leather belt
before tightening the neck. To avoid the weight of the hauberk on
his chest, the soldier should carry it until it is needed.
Question: How does an infantryman remove his mail
hauberk?
Answer He grasps the opposite thighs and lifts them away
from himself, then slides his head into the hauberk, lifts up the
back part and pushes the garment away from himself.
Note There may be an element of stating the obvious in the
above, but the mail shirt would have been heavy and awkward to
handle. The following instructions are more challenging and give an
idea of the horsemanship of a mamluk cavalryman.
Question How does a horseman put on a mail hauberk when
his horse is moving fast?
Answer First he puts his hand into one of the two sleeves
and holds the edge of the garment's sleeve with his fingers. Next
with the same hand he lifts both the breast and the lowest hem, and
raises them up on to himself. Then he grasps the reins and the
armour with this hand and slides the other hand into the other
sleeve, grasping the edge of the sleeve as before.
Question How does a horseman take off his mail hauberk
while his horse is in motion?
Answer First he must take his helmet off his head. Next he
gathers up the two front hems and folds them together in a bunch.
Next he suspends these from his sword or his saddle-bow. In the
latter case they should be smoothed down across the saddle. Next he
unfastens his belt and extracts the sword, if the first system is
being used, and puts it back into its holder, then puts the belt
across the front or rear of the saddle. Then he grasps the rear hem
of the hauberk and holds it away from himself. With the helmet or
mail coif or turban taken off his head, he pulls up the rear of the
hauberk, leans his head forward, and draws the garment over his
head.
Note The word translated as 'holder'is normally used for a
form of quiver. It might indicate a holder for the scabbard, or part
of the scabbard hanging system, or an alternative place for keeping
the sword, perhaps beneath the saddle-flap where a second
'saddle-sword' was sometimes carried.
Question How does one put on the arm defences when the
sound of battle is near?
Answer Start with the left one, and once this is put on do
the same with the right, just as one puts on the leg defences. Once
both arm defences are on, one is protected on both sides. The first
concern is to stop the attacker from striking off a limb and the
second to provide extra protection and cover for the face and head
and even the rest of the body without the risk of losing a limb
when, intentionally or not, one parries a blow with it.
Question What shows that the owner of a jawshan has the
mastery of its use and other such skills?
Answer A man must dedicate himself to putting on his
jawshan by himself, even if the sleeves and lower part are separate,
until he can do this rapidly on his own.
Note The flap-like sleeves of the jawshan (lamellar
cuirass) hung from the shoulder but did not go fully around beneath
the arm, nor did they cover the armpit. Instead they were normally
secured by a strap around the arm above the elbow. The lower part of
the jawshan, below the waist, normally consisted of two or more
flaps, which protected the upper legs and buttocks like larger
versions of the tassets and cullet, which formed part of
14th-century and later European armour.
Question What else should the owner of a jawshan know
about it?
Answer He should know how the cuirass is made, and how it
is laced together in case part of it is cut off; also how it hangs
and how to stop it getting punctured.
Question What shows that a man is not prepared?
Answer First look at the leather of his saddle-strapping,
next see if the silk cords of his jawshan are rotted or if the edges
of his weapons are not sharpened. Finally, see if any part of his
jawshan is torn with a hole in it or hanging loose.
Question What shows that a man is accustomed to his his
jawshan?
Answer Every day he must train himself to dismount
elegantly so that he does not break or damage it, and he must keep
practising and improving this skill. If, during the winter, the
cuirass gets wet or damp from rain, he must examine its leather
straps and its connections carefully and wipe off any dampness or
mud from its individual pieces and any wetness from its cords. If he
fails to do this, the inside of it will rot and it will become out
of shape. Such rotting shows negligence and carelessness.
Note The emphasis here as elsewhere is on readiness for
battle and care of valuable life-saving equipment.
Question How does the owner of a jawshan shoot with the
bow?
Answer When shooting, he wears a small cuirass. The straps
and individual pieces of this special jawshan do not damage the bow
or snag the bowstring. Sometimes the hanging parts [of the cuirass]
can be taken off without harming it. A superior type has crossing
strings that secure the tops of the individual lamellae on the
outside and no laces hanging off it. This type, however, is not so
strong. It may be laced to the top of the arm protector or untied to
hang down loose if one wishes to shoot. One can undo this sleeve and
let it hang down on its straps as far as the hand and, once the
shooting is over, it can be refastened. Alternatively a false sleeve
made of silk brocade or soft leather or a mixture of both can be
worn, fixed securely at both ends to the sleeve of the cuirass and
the arm protector.
Note The 'false sleeve' sounds like a form of smooth
covering worn over armour to prevent it snagging the bowstring. The
attention given to the particular requirements of armour for bowmen
reflects the importance of archery in the mamluk's repertoire of
military skills. He was expected to be able to hit a one metre (3.25
ft) target at a range of 75 metres (246 ft) and to loose three aimed
shots in one and a half seconds, a much faster rate than achieved by
the longbowmen of England. Mamluk tactics included the arrow shower,
as the Crusaders learned to their cost at Gaza in 1244.
Question What possesses even greater protective
qualities than the jawshan?
Answer A padded garment can be worn beneath the jawshan, as
the Europeans wear beneath their iron cuirasses. This is the qarqal.
It will protect the wearer from both heat and cold, and from the
blows of maces and kafir kubat which soften the flesh and weaken the
bones. If a mail hauberk is worn beneath it, then both protection
and safety are found.
Note The kafir kubat (literally 'infidel pestle') was
another form of mace. A weapon with this name was reportedly used by
a rebel leader in AD 685, and it is also mentioned in the hands of
Arab-Khurasani troops in the ninth century. It is probable that this
kind of mace was thought to be similar in shape to the uncircumcised
male organs of non-Muslims.
Part Three: in which are the pairing of weapons, and all
that concerns them, containing eight parts
Question What weapon should a soldier carry with him at
all times?
Answer The khanjar should never be left behind, neither in
war nor in peace. It has many advantages and can be used with all
other weapons. It is useful with lances and with arrows, with swords
and maces, and with javelins, and with all these together. So learn
all there is to know about it.
Note The khanjar was a large dagger or dirk, similar to the
European hanger, very much an all-purpose weapon….
Question What are the qualities of the khanjar?
Answer One can strike with it as one does with the sword or
dagger, thrust with it as one does with a spear, throw it like a
javelin, or hurl it as far as an arrow, a sling-shot or a
hand-thrown stone. All these things a warrior should be able to do.
Question What other weapons should you have if you are
already carrying a sword?
Answer Either a weapon that thrusts from a distance like a
spear or at close quarters like a khanjar, or which is hurled like
both types of arrow, a javelin or a sling-shot, or a combination of
these.
Note The two types of arrow were light for long range or
heavy for maximum penetration.
Question What should be used with the spear?
Answer Use something which strikes at close quarters, like
the sword or mace, or that pierces at close quarters like the
khanjar, or which is shot from afar like both sorts of arrow, the
javelin or the hand-stone.
Question What should be used with the javelin?
Answer Take something which pierces at close quarters like
the khanjar or which strikes from close quarters like the sword or
mace, or which is thrown at close range like the hand-stone.
Question What should be used with the mace?
Answer Preferably a weapon that pierces from a distance
like the spear or at close quarters like the khanjar, or what is
shot from afar like the arrows or sling-shot, or is thrown at close
range like the hand-stone.
Part Four: concerning watchfulness and stopping an enemy
attack, in eighteen parts
Question What should a horseman use when attacking
infantry?
Answer It is best for a horseman to use a spear, javelin or
arrows, and not to try to attack infantry armed with swords if he
only carries a mace or large dagger.
Question What should he use if he is among enemy
infantry and separated from his fellow horsemen?
Answer He should not get among the infantry in the first
place unless he is armed with arrows, spear or javelin, and if he
does he is likely to get killed.
Question What is the best way for infantry to stop
horsemen from getting amongst them, and to stampede the horses?
Answer It is best for them to be armed with arrows, spears
or javelins to stop sword-armed cavalry from entering their ranks.
And to stampede the horses they should use maces or khanjars.
Question What kind of infantry is best for attacking
horsemen?
Answer Infantry armed with mace or sword. One cannot
stampede horses with arrows, javelins or spears. Rather one should
try to get close to them and among them.
Question Which is superior, cavalry or infantry?
Answer In some ways cavalry is superior, in some ways
infantry, and in some ways they are equal. Each has weaknesses and
disadvantages. But for strength of weaponry, speed and striking
power, if not for care and caution in feigned retreat or in pursuit,
cavalry is more effective.
Question What should a small company, an advance guard,
a patrol, or a flying column do at night or how should it change its
actions when night falls?
Answer The men should kneel on the ground or lie on their
faces and have no fear they are separated from their own people and
do not know if they are facing cavalry or infantry. Or they may
probe carefully or withdraw stealthily without being seen.
Question How can one tell when danger is near if it is
dark or in cloudy mists and one cannot see properly?
Answer Take a quiver of the type in which the arrows-point
upwards, such as that used by the Georgians, and empty it. Place it
on the ground and lay your head against it, and thus you can hear
the sound of hooves or of feet, if the air is still. And even if
there is a wind you can still hear by turning the quiver into the
direction of the wind.
Note The type of quiver specified was presumably conical or
trumpet-shaped, like a megaphone, and the wider end would have been
placed on the ground or turned into the wind.
Question What causes most damage to the structure of a
wooden shield?
Answer: Exposure to fire, thrown stones or blows with the
mace.
Question: What are the uses of the wooden shield?
Answer: Protection from arrows of both kinds, and javelins
and spears.
Question What most injures a leather shield?
Answer Blows from swords or maces, thrown daggers and javelins, and
being hit by pieces of wood.
Question: What are the uses of the iron shield?
Answer: Against the sprayer of fire, blows of the mace and
sword, thrusts of lance or dagger, and javelins and both sorts of
arrow.
Note Iron shields did not appear in Europe until the 15th
century but were known in the Islamic world much earlier. The
remains of one made from riveted segments, perhaps originally with
wooden backing, were found in the 12th–13th-century ruins of
Beshtam-Kala in Transoxania. 'The sprayer of fire' used a
piston-action syphon to squirt Greek Fire or naft in a jet 'as long
as a lance'. Naft is generally believed to have dropped out of use
by the mid-14th century and meanwhile gunpowder firearms were coming
in. During these first decades the Arabic terminology for the new
weapons overlapped with that for Greek Fire. The ingredients for
Greek Fire included naphtha, burning pitch, sulphur, resin,
quicklime, bitumen and distilled petroleum.
Question How does the armed man protect himself from the
sprayer of fire?
Answer It is best to approach on foot, and attack with
maces, swords, spears or daggers, and to wear specially coated
clothing as protection from the terror and the burning of the fire
weapons. But do not use this if it has been split by either sort of
arrow or sling-shot. If you do not have this sort of protection,
then use a metal shield rather than a wooden or leather one.
Note Raw talc (mica or magnesium silicate) was used for
fire-proofing cloth and leather.
Question How should the sprayer of fire take precautions
against armed men?
Answer He should not get close to them on foot, and he must
beware of both types of arrow and javelins, and grenadiers. If they
try to reach him with these weapons he must move to where they
cannot reach him.
Note The word translated as 'grenadier' literally means 'thrower
of projectiles'. These could include clay or glass pots of naft.
Question Where is this method of fighting with fire used,
and where is it not used?
Answer It is used aboard ships, in towns and fortresses,
against strong-points and in forests. But it is not used when the
troops fight in organised ranks, nor in the middle of an army.
Fighters with fire fight in many places with good reputation, if God
wills it.
Note Since 'Greek Fire' had largely dropped out of use by
the mid-14th century, these questions reflect the military usage of
earlier Islamic armies, while the pious phrase at the end suggests
that the author is aware he is describing a tactic that is
sanctioned by tradition but no longer very relevant.
by
David Nicolle
Further reading
The great General:
Khalid bin
Walid
Ayalon, D., Studies in Mamluks of Egypt (London, 1977)
Ayalon, D., The Mamluk Military Society (London, 1979)
Glubb, J., Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamluks (Dorchester,
1988)
Humphreys, R. S., 'The Emergence of the Mamluk Army', Studia
Islamica XLV (1977) pp. 67—99, and 147—182
Irwin, R., The Middle East in the Middle Ages: The Early Mamluk
Sultanate 1250—1382 (London, 1986)
Nicolle, David,
Men-at Arms 259: The Mamluks 1250—1517
(Osprey, 1993)
Smith, J. M., 'Ayn Jalut: Mamluk Success or Mongol Failure?' Harvard
Journal of Asiatic Studies, XLIV (1984) pp. 304—347