“The
Earliest Turkish Archery Manual”
A 14th-Century
Archery Treatise in Mamluk-Kipchak: Kitab fi ‘Ilm an-Nushshab
Published
2002
Istanbul
The first or
the only language of most Mamluks was a middle Turkic dialect
commonly referred to as Mamluk-Kipchak. Because of the many Turkic-speaking
Mamluks in the ruling military elite, the Mamluk-Kipchak Turkic
language had an important role as a medium of communication among
them.
Military
exercises, systematic drills, and intensive training in the arts
of war were given a paramount importance during the Mamluk period,
which is reflected in their military prowess on the battlefield.
The reign of the Mamluks saw a revival of military literature
that was written in both Arabic and also in Mamluk-Kipchak Turkic.
This archery manual is one of such military works written in Turkish.
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