Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Lierature on Arabic military culture? Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
N. Prauda




Location: Finland
Joined: 10 Jan 2008

Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sun 08 Mar, 2009 2:19 pm    Post subject: Lierature on Arabic military culture?         Reply with quote

Hello from a long time lurker.

For a while now I've been trying to find books or articles about the Moorish or Arabic military ways in the medieval times. Or even before that. English preferred, but I could probably make some sense of German or French writings leaning heavily on the dictionary. So far I've not had much luck, but could well be that I have not known where to look.

I would greatly appreciate any information on the subject.

Many thanks in advance,

-n.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Sam Barris




Location: San Diego, California
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Likes: 4 pages

Posts: 630

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 5:00 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I found a book on Amazon called Arab Historians of the Crusades; a compilation of several contemporary accounts (I personally always go to period histories first). There is also The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, which I found to be a bit... I guess fluffy might be the best word. The first one will no doubt give you a guide for further reading, since it's all lifted from original manuscripts. Speaking of original manuscripts, I once saw a series called Crusade Texts in Translation on a professor's bookshelf. At least one of them was Arab in origin, if I remember correctly.
Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
Werner Stiegler





Joined: 27 Feb 2007

Posts: 122

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 10:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

There's a translated mamluk military manual somewhere on the net. Pretty interesting, but I'll be damned if I could remember where I've seen it though.
View user's profile Send private message
Peter Lyon
Industry Professional



Location: New Zealand
Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Reading list: 39 books

Posts: 249

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 10:45 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Werner Stiegler wrote:
There's a translated mamluk military manual somewhere on the net. Pretty interesting, but I'll be damned if I could remember where I've seen it though.


That could be "Medieval Muslim Horsemanship" by G Rex Smith. A short but useful book.

Still hammering away
View user's profile Send private message
Adam Rose





Joined: 23 Aug 2003
Reading list: 17 books

Posts: 32

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 1:37 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Werner Stiegler wrote:
There's a translated mamluk military manual somewhere on the net. Pretty interesting, but I'll be damned if I could remember where I've seen it though.


De Re Militari?

A Muslim Manual of War from the Fourteenth Century: http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/muslimmanual.htm

The Skill of Archery from a 14th century Mamluk-Kipchak Military Treatise: http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/archery.htm
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Sa'ar Nudel




Location: Haifa, Israel
Joined: 02 Dec 2005
Likes: 16 pages

Posts: 361

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 2:35 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kitab al Furusiyyah wa al Manasib al Harbiyya ("On Horsemanship and Devices of War") of Hasan Al Rammah, from 1270. A translation (to French?) was published in 1998 but I don't know if it's available to the general public.

There is a book of post-medieval period (I think early 17th century) which is a martial manual of the Ottoman army, with many plates. This book of rather extra-large scale exists as a facsimile, unfortunately I cannot recall its name.

I also suggest to go through the vast bibliography of David Nicolle.

Curator of Beit Ussishkin, regional nature & history museum, Upper Galilee.
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Gavin Kisebach




Location: Lacey, Wa US
Joined: 01 Aug 2004

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 650

PostPosted: Mon 09 Mar, 2009 7:00 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

There is some interesting information here, including references to Hasan Al Rammah:

http://www.history-science-technology.com/Art...es%202.htm

There are only two kinds of scholars; those who love ideas and those who hate them. ~ Emile Chartier
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
Werner Stiegler





Joined: 27 Feb 2007

Posts: 122

PostPosted: Tue 10 Mar, 2009 7:00 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Found it. Keith Nelson, a Swordforum-user posted parts of the thesis: "A 14th Century Mamluk-Kipchak Military Treatise - Munyatu'I-Guzat"

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t...luk+manual

Sadly, the Pdf's not available online anymore. It was a most interesting manual dealing with riding, fighting with the lance and the bow mostly. The parts about swords dealt with typology and only offered minimal advice on how to actually use the weapon though.
View user's profile Send private message
N. Prauda




Location: Finland
Joined: 10 Jan 2008

Posts: 14

PostPosted: Wed 11 Mar, 2009 1:46 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thank you very much for all the answers.

I ordered "Arab Historians of the Crusades" from Amazon and am eagerly awaiting delivery. Period texts would be my first choice, as well.

Thanks again,
-n.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Lafayette C Curtis




Location: Indonesia
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
Reading list: 7 books

Posts: 2,698

PostPosted: Wed 18 Mar, 2009 7:46 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Kurtulus Oztopcu's translation of the Munyatu'l Ghuzat is still in print:

http://www.oztopcu.com/books/mamluk-kipchak-military.htm

http://en.eren.com.tr/goster/kitap/kisi.asp?C...3159166297
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Lierature on Arabic military culture?
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum