The Crusades- Islamic Perspectives

by Carole Hillenbrand

  Figure 7.16 Bedouin lances, al-Hariri, al-Maqamat (‘The Assemblies’), c. 1230, Iraq

  Military Education and Equestrian Exercises in the Mamluk Period

  A great deal of scholarly work has been produced on the military education of the Mamluks.40 When the mamluk arrived as a young boy from the steppes of southern Russia or the Caucasus, he was housed in barracks in Cairo and given a rigorous education; his curriculum included the study of the Qur’an and the hadith, but, not surprisingly, the emphasis was also on the arts of war and especially equestrian skills. But the religious dimension of the military education of the mamluk was crucial. His identification with his new faith of Islam complemented his superb skills in the arts of war.41

  Figure 7.17 Polo players, enamelled and gilded glass beaker, c. 1260–70, Damascus, Syria

  Figure 7.18 Horseman, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 767/1366, Egypt

  The Role of the maydan

  From the Umayyad period onwards, horse-racing was a popular sport among the Muslim elite, and one in which the caliphs themselves participated.42 At the ‘Abbasid caliphal capital of Samarra there survives a clover-leaf racing track. The chronicles suggest that the role of the hippodrome (maydan) was particularly important in the time of Nur al-Din. He encouraged the construction of hippodromes in Aleppo, for example, so that his troops could be drilled there. In the new quarter of the city known as the ‘Turcomans’ quarter’, the Turcoman troops carried out their exercise drills on a nearby maydan.43

  This custom of drilling the troops on maydans was elaborated by the Mamluk rulers of Egypt into a major spectator sport. They took the training of their troops very seriously. Many of the maydans mentioned in the chronicles were constructed under the Mamluks, and Sultan Baybars, in particular, was keen to build maydans and to attend performances by the cavalry as an enthusiastic spectator. Special equestrian exercises were devised to produce the best possible cavalry troops. The maydans formed the focal point for the carrying out of these exercises as well as for playing sports such as polo or qabaq - a game which came originally from the steppes of Central Asia and involved shooting arrows from a moving horse at a gourd placed at the top of a high pole – and birjas, in which mounted horsemen threw palm staves. Other games were played with a mace and javelin. The importance of the maydan and its central role as a public manifestation of military strength and artistry are attested by the frequent presence of the sultan and his court in specially constructed pavilions around the maydan.44 From these pavilions the sultan could watch the entertainment and to them he could bring foreign dignitaries whom he wished to impress and intimidate. He could then show off his horses, a most prestigious possession, in the nearby stables.

  Figure 7.19 Knight with a deliberately ignited shield, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 767/1366, Egypt

  Figure 7.20 Mounted warrior, painted ivory box, twelfth century, Sicily

  Mamluk Military Arts

  Mamluk troops were trained to use two swords, one in each hand.45 The level of skill with the sword was very high; the Mamluk knight was trained to know exactly how much or how little harm to inflict on his enemy. The high level of sophistication of movements and skills achieved by Mamluk troops is demonstrated in several illustrated thirteenth-century manuscripts of the work of al-Aqsara’i (see figures on pp. 447, 449–51, 453, 455).46 The paintings which accompany these manuals show a wide range of equestrian and military expertise. One illustration depicts two riders bearing lances in a jousting exercise, passing at the gallop. Another painting shows an elaborate equestrian exercise in which four riders canter clockwise round the pool of the maydan in a formalised manner reminiscent of today’s synchronised swimming exercises (figure 7.24). Yet another drawing shows the riders cantering anti-clockwise round a circular pool in the maydan. There is a total symmetry in the spacing of the riders and their horses and even in the flowers and the ripples of the water. The illustrations show the riders performing exercises with weapons, on horseback, cantering or at the gallop. They carry a wide range of weapons – sword, lance, bow and arrows and, most frequently, a mace, often with a cubic head like a mallet. At least two types of shield are shown – the daraqa, made of hide, and the wooden or metal turs. Their horses are stocky, with rather short legs, a thick, strong body and quite a long neck and head. The saddle and bridles are painted mainly in gold; this is probably an artistic conceit, as gold would have been far too expensive. One of the illustrations shows an iron helmet.47 It is perched on top of the head and it does not cover the ears, nose, face or neck; it is debatable how realistic a depiction of a real helmet this may have been. Apart from this one illustration of a helmet, the horsemen generally have the same headgear: a cap, usually yellow or brown, with a white turban wound around it. Their long black hair hangs down the back in a pigtail.

  Figure 7.21 Combat scene, manuscript painting, seventeenth century, Iran

  Figure 7.22 Knight holding two swords, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 767/1366, Egypt

  Of course, these pictures are primarily works of art rather than practical diagrams. Nevertheless, their function is to illustrate a manual of warfare, so their practical intention is undoubted. Moreover, they do show us the horses and trappings of the Mamluk cavalry and what they wore and carried. It is clear from these illustrations that the Mamluks must have been superbly trained horsemen, adept at wielding several weapons at one and the same time, whilst staying on the horse and surviving the mêlée of battle. The activities which were carried out in the maydans of the Mamluk empire point to a society with a highly sophisticated militarised elite constantly poised for war. The favourite pastime of this elite was war games, which were viewed with great enthusiasm by all levels of society.

  Figure 7.23 Lance play, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 773/1371, Egypt

  Figure 7.24 Equestrian exercise in the maidan (hippodrome), al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (An End to Questioning’), 767/1366, Egypt

  The Arms and Armour of the Muslims

  As noted above, relevant surviving artefacts from twelfth- and thirteenth-century Palestine and even Syria are relatively rare, but even so they reveal details not to be found in the written sources. Thus it is all the more important for scholars to correlate the information in medieval historical sources with the evidence provided by sculpture, coins, metalwork and pottery. Enough horsemen are depicted on these objects to give some idea of their armament. Medieval knights on both sides of the conflict used a range of weapons and it will be convenient to discuss these in turn.48

  The Lance

  The lance made of steel, or wood with steel points,49 was a thrusting instrument, the main weapon of the medieval cavalryman. It allowed him to hit at a target as he passed within a range of a few yards. It is clear from Usama’s memoirs that the lance held a special place amongst the weaponry of the Arabs and there are many references and anecdotes in his book dealing with lances.50 The instrument also played a role in the fighting apparatus of the Arab infantryman.

  The lance was also very popular amongst the Turks, whose lance, according to al-Jahiz, who wrote in the ninth century, is short and hollow. He goes on to comment that: ‘The short, hollow weapons are more deadly in effect and lighter to carry.’51

  Figure 7.25 Spear of Governor of Rahba, al-Hariri, al-Maqamat (‘The Assemblies’), 634/1237, probably Baghdad, Iraq

  The importance of the lance was indisputable. ‘Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, writing in Saladin’s time, mentions a variety of lances – Yemeni, Indian, Yazanite and Rudayni.52

  Al-Tarsusi comments in his manual that the lance when used by a mounted warrior combines the force of both the horse and its rider.53 One way of using the lance was to thrust it with the brute strength of the arm; another way was for the knight to couch the lance under the arm, giving impetus to his thrust by the momentum of his charge. Usama mentions how he fell off his horse by maki
ng too vigorous a thrust.54 This suggests that he was not using stirrups, since these provided the best method of bracing oneself against the force of a jarring impact. Yet stirrups had been known in the early Islamic world since the early eighth century at least.55 Usama recommends that the best way of avoiding such a fall is the use of the Frankish method of ‘couching’ the lance under the arm.56

  Figure 7.26 Horsemen with lances, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 767/1366, Egypt

  In his first military encounter with the Franks in 513/1119 Usama struck a Frankish cavalier on a black horse with his lance. It pierced the knight and came out about a cubit from the front of his body. Usama pulled out the lance again, convinced that he had killed him. Later Usama found out that Philip the Knight, for such was his name, had survived the blow in spite of the fact that it had pierced two layers of links in his coat of mail. Usama reflects on this decree of fate, saying:

  He who is on the point of striking with his lance should hold his lance as tightly as possible with his hand and under his arm, close to his side, and should let his horse run and effect the required thrust; for if he should move his hand while holding the lance or stretch out his arm with the lance, then his thrust would have no effect whatsoever and would result in no harm.57

  Usama mentions one dramatic incident in which a horse tripped over its rider’s lance, which had been carried carelessly. The lance broke with a loud cracking noise and both the horse and rider fell to the ground.58 On another occasion, Usama singles out for comment an unusually heavy spear used by the people of Hims; it was around 30 feet long and was made from joining two lances together. ‘They had just developed the use of the compound lance, which was formed by attaching one lance to another until the weapon became twenty cubits or eighteen cubits in length.’59

  It is very hard to imagine how such a weapon could have been used effectively, given what is known of Muslim military tactics in the twelfth century. Such a weapon would have been uncomfortably heavy and would have required a strong man to use it, unless indeed both of its components were hollow; and it would have been unavoidably unwieldy. Very long pikes had been used to good effect in ancient and medieval times, but this implies a highly disciplined corps of spearmen trained to attack in unison. The sarissa used by the Macedonian phalanx under Alexander the Great is a good example.

  Usama is quite ready to praise the Franks’ use of the lance when appropriate:

  One of the terrible lance thrusts I witnessed was one administered by a Frankish knight (may Allah render them [the Franks] helpless!) to one of our cavaliers, named Sabah ibn-Qunayb of the Kilabi tribe, which cut three of his ribs on the left side, and hit with its sharp edge his elbow, cutting it in two just as the butcher cuts a joint. He died on the spot.60

  One of the most poignant tales related by Usama concerns a Muslim warrior, a Kurd named Mayyah who had just got married and went out to fight against the Franks:

  with full armor but wearing over his coat of mail a red garment of his bridal clothes, making himself especially conspicuous. A Frankish knight smote him with a lance and killed him (may Allah’s mercy rest upon his soul!).61

  The lance in general was not just used against a human enemy, of course. Usama gives a lively account of how he killed a lion by rushing at it with his lance.62

  In the Mamluk period, there might have been changes in the way in which the lance was deployed, but its popularity was uncontested,63 and training in its use was very important. The lance figures very prominently in the manual of al-Aqsara’i; perhaps the popularity of the lance is a reflection of the dramatic way in which it had to be used, its status as a ‘virile’, heroic weapon, as well as its key place in the tournaments and equestrian exercises in the maydan.64 In the popular imagination the lance could grow to gargantuan proportions. In one medieval epic, the amazon Fatima Dhat al-Himma points out that the lances of the Franks could ‘swell to monstrous size, with composite shafts built up of eighteen iron tubes’.65 One is reminded of Goliath, with his spear like a weaver’s beam, though Freudian interpretations also come to mind.

  Swords and Daggers

  Although the lance and the bow were probably the most effective weapons for an individual warrior, the sword enjoyed a high status in the Islamic world. As early as the ninth century, the Islamic philosopher al-Kindi (d. after 252/865) wrote two works on swords: one entitled Kinds of Swords and Iron and the other That with which Swords and Iron Are Treated so that the Edges Are Not Blunted and They Are Not Dulled.66 A copy of the first of these was apparently in Saladin’s possession.67

  Figure 7.27 Mamluk targets (casks) for lance and archery practice, furusiyya manuscript, c. 1500, Egypt

  There is frequent reference in the sources to the sword of ‘Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, which was called Dhu’l-Fiqar. The sword is the weapon par excellence that is mentioned metaphorically in the religious honorific titulature of Islam – titles such as ‘The Sword of the Faith (Sayf al-din) and ‘The Sword of the State’ (Sayf al-dawla) were bestowed by the caliph on military and political leaders and were very highly valued by the recipients. Not surprisingly, the sword was the proudest possession of a Muslim warrior. Usually, the sword used by Muslim warriors in the Crusading period was straight and made of iron or iron with a steel edge.68 Swords were identified by their place of origin, and those with blades that came from China and India were especially sought after. The famous Baptistère of St Louis depicts a number of different kinds of swords which were all, it seems, in use in Mamluk Egypt in the thirteenth century. The sheaths were also greatly praised; they were made of wood and covered with materials as diverse as velvet, damask, metal or fine shagreen. Abu Shama relates that the Muslims wore their swords at their waist but that Nur al-Din, having heard that the Prophet used to hang his sword from his shoulder with a baldric, adopted this custom for himself and for his army.69 This statement may well be part of the chronicler’s desire to highlight the piety of Nur al-Din; certainly the practice did not become widespread.

  Plate 7.1 Islamic swords, iron and steel, undated but late medieval, Egypt and Syria

  Figure 7.28 Sword play, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 773/1371, Egypt

  Usama relates a number of instances of blows administered by sharp swords and daggers. An extraordinary tale is that of Usama’s father who in anger struck his groom with his sword still in its sheath: ‘The sword cut through the outfit, the silver sandal, a mantle and a woolen shawl which the groom had on, and then cut through the bone of his elbow. The whole forearm fell off.’70

  Figure 7.29 Sword of Badr al-Din Lu’lu’ Kitab al-Aghani (‘The Book of Songs’), 614/1217–18, Mosul, Iraq

  Al-Qazwini, however, praises Frankish swords made in Europe: ‘They forge very sharp swords there, and the swords of Frank-land are keener than the swords of India.’71

  Figure 7.30 Horseman with sword, al-Aqsara’i, Nihayat al-Su’l (‘An End to Questioning’), 773/1371, Egypt

  Maces, Axes and Other Heavy Striking Instruments

  There was a range of heavy weapons which were designed for smiting the enemy in close combat. As al-Tarsusi so graphically puts it, they can be used in any way which ‘brings death and destruction’.72 He goes on to say that some such instruments are made exclusively of iron, others have an iron head and a wooden handle, while still others have a round head covered with large or small iron teeth.73 Two terms usually denoted the mace: dabbus and ‘amud. Al-Tarsusi describes the dabbus as being made entirely of iron – ‘It will immediately break every body it encounters, making clear the coming of death’74 – whilst the ‘amud had an iron head and a wooden handle. At the battle of Mansura in 1250, Ibn Wasil reports that ‘the Franks were massacred one and all with sword and club’.75

  The weapon known as the tabar was a large axe with a semicircular blade and a wooden or metal handle. In Mamluk times it was carried by a special corps, the tabardariyya (plate 7.2). The dagger (khanja
r) was also used in hand-to-hand fighting.

  Figure 7.31 Seljuq swords, probably thirteenth century, Turkey

  Bows

  Al-Tarsusi covers the terminology for different kinds of bows in some detail and he also describes how bows should be made.76 He mentions the leg bow (qaws al-rijl) which was the smallest and could be loaded by standing on the bow. Another larger portable bow was called the ‘aqqar. A third type was known as the grasshopper (husban); it had a tube through which short arrows, stones and bottles or breakable capsules (literally ‘eggs’) containing Greek fire (naft) were shot: ‘The bottle departs like an arrow with the force of propulsion and reaches its desired goal; its encounter with bodies breaks it and it sets alight everything with which it comes into contact.’77