“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.