Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTE

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTE 48-JLS-0040 ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE MIDDLE EAST An Interactive Qualifying Project Report: Submitted to the Faculty Of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By John David Quartararo _______________________ Jon Mulla _______________________ Guin Petrousky _______________________ Eric Hall _______________________ Joseph Hsu _______________________ Date: Approved: Professor Jeffrey Forgeng Abstract This project was created with the Higgins Armory Museum in an effort to catalogue artifacts of Middle Eastern Arms & Armor, and to place the artifacts in a historical, cultural, and military context. Research papers outline the history, culture, weapons and arms from the lands of Turkey, North Africa, Persia, Arabia, as well as an overview of the advent of Islam. The artifacts have been photographed and catalogued, and all of this information is integrated into an interactive website. 2 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Islamic Overview ............................................................................................................................ 8 Arabia before Islam ..................................................................................................................... 8 The life of Muhammad ............................................................................................................... 9 The “Rightly Guided Caliphs” and the Umayyads ................................................................... 11 The Abbasids ............................................................................................................................ 12 The Fatimids ............................................................................................................................. 14 Turkish Expansion .................................................................................................................... 16 Later Expansion ........................................................................................................................ 18 The Koran ................................................................................................................................. 18 Traditions .................................................................................................................................. 20 Science and Technology ........................................................................................................... 22 Military Technology ................................................................................................................. 24 Arabic Military Treatises ...................................................................................................... 24 Archers .................................................................................................................................. 26 Cavalry .................................................................................................................................. 26 Artillery and Fortifications ................................................................................................... 27 Persia ............................................................................................................................................. 28 History....................................................................................................................................... 28 Persian Culture .......................................................................................................................... 37 Persian Battle Tactics ................................................................................................................ 40 Persian Arms ............................................................................................................................. 45 Swords................................................................................................................................... 47 Daggers ................................................................................................................................. 50 Guns ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Persian Armor ........................................................................................................................... 54 Arabia ............................................................................................................................................ 63 History....................................................................................................................................... 63 Islamic Era ............................................................................................................................ 67 Culture....................................................................................................................................... 75 Technology ............................................................................................................................... 77 Military ..................................................................................................................................... 80 Arms .......................................................................................................................................... 82 Armor ........................................................................................................................................ 83 Islamic North Africa ..................................................................................................................... 85 History of Egypt ........................................................................................................................ 85 History of Western North Africa (The Maghrib) ...................................................................... 94 Arms of Islamic North Africa ................................................................................................. 104 Blades .................................................................................................................................. 104 Jambiya ................................................................................................................................... 104 Physical Description ........................................................................................................... 105 3 Moroccan Jambiya.............................................................................................................. 105 Nimcha .................................................................................................................................... 106 Physical Description ........................................................................................................... 107 Kaskara ................................................................................................................................... 107 Physical Description ........................................................................................................... 108 Takouba....................................................................................................................................... 109 Physical Description ........................................................................................................... 110 Armor ...................................................................................................................................... 113 Mail ......................................................................................................................................... 113 Limb Armor ............................................................................................................................ 113 Helmets ................................................................................................................................... 113 Shields ..................................................................................................................................... 114 The Ottoman Empire................................................................................................................... 115 Ottoman History...................................................................................................................... 115 Ottoman Culture ...................................................................................................................... 122 Military Culture in the Ottoman Empire ................................................................................. 125 Arms and Armor ..................................................................................................................... 128 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 132 Website Documentation .............................................................................................................. 134 The “Musket Rollover” interactive exhibit ................................................................................. 140 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • The Rise and Fall of the Early ʿabbāsid Political and Military Elite
    Hugh Kennedy The Rise and Fall of the Early ʿAbbāsid Political and MilitaryElite Abstract: This paper explores the composition and role of the military and polit- ical elite of the early ʿ Abbāsid caliphate (750 –809) whose support enabled the caliphs to maintain sovereignty over theirfar-flungdomains. It considers the im- portance of different groups,includingmembers of the ʿAbb āsid family, military commanders from Khurāsānand members of powerful and wealthyfamilies like the Muhallabī sand the Shaybāni tribal chiefs.The paper concludes with adis- cussion of the reasons for the disappearance and effective extinction of this elite in the yearsafter the great civil warthat followed Hā rūnal-Rashīd’s death in 809. Keywords: Caliphs; armies; political power;Syria; Khurāsān The governance of the early ʿAbb āsid caliphate was aremarkable political and organizational achievement.For half acentury, between the establishment of the dynasty in 132H/750 CE and the death of Hārūna l-Rashīdin193 H/809 CE, the area from Tunisia in the west to Sind and Central Asia in the east was governedeffectively and largely peacefullyfrom Iraq. From 145H/762 CE, the city of Baghdad served as the administrativecapital, though the distances which separated it from the far-flungprovinces wereenormous: it is over 2,000 kilometres from Baghdad to Merv,the political centre of the great province of Khurāsān, and 1,500 kilometres from the capital to the HolyCity of Mecca. The barīd postal system inherited from the Umayyads and Sasanians was surprisingly effective at communicatingurgent messages over these huge distan- ces.¹ When the caliph al-Rashīdd ied in the year 809 at Ṭūs( near Mashhad in north-east Iran) amessenger broughtthe news to Baghdadintwelvedays, trav- eling 1,900 kilometres at an averagespeed of 150 kilometres per day.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dredgings August 2021
    August,2021 Volume 32,Issue 10AS LVI Being the Voiceofthe Barony ofLochmere in the KingdomofAtlantia, SCA,Inc. Inside thisissue ArtsandSciences .........................3 Foodfor Thought.........................5 Composerʼs Corner.....................7 HistoryHighlights.........................9 Table of Contents Their Excellencies..............................2 Lochmere Calendar of Events........2 Atlantia Calendar of Events ............2 Information on the Dredgings.......2 Attention Lochmere Officers..........2 This Month in History .......................3 Arts and Sciences...............................3 Their Excellencies Populace Meeting Minutes..............3 New Member Information ...............4 Baronial Reoccurring Activities ....4 Food for Thought...............................5 Greetings Lochmere, Composersʼ Corner...........................7 History Highlights..............................9 Lochmere Officers Listing............10 Lochmere Baronial Champions ..10 We are pleased to start seeing people in person again at practices, although summer is truly here and in full swing of hot! We urge Information of the Dredgings The Dredgings is a publication of everyone to stay hydrated! the Barony of Lochmere of the Society of Creative Anachronism, Inc. The Dredgings is a free Tuesdays Armor, Fencing, Art days have turned into quite the place publication and is available electronically. You may request a to be! copy from the Barony of Lochmere Chronicler at lochmere.chronicler @gmail.com This newsletter is not a corporate We also hear that archery practice is happening although it seems that publication of the Society of a bout of poorly timed rain has dampened that a few times. Creative Anachronism, Inc., and does not delineate SCA policies. ©2021, Society of Creative Anachronism, Inc We joined in on Eilionora’s online scriptorium, which is happening . every other week and were delighted to see faces from other kingdoms. For information on reprinting letter and artwork from this We were very impressed with everyone's talents and had a great time.
    [Show full text]
  • Christians and Jews in Muslim Societies
    Arabic and its Alternatives Christians and Jews in Muslim Societies Editorial Board Phillip Ackerman-Lieberman (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA) Bernard Heyberger (EHESS, Paris, France) VOLUME 5 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/cjms Arabic and its Alternatives Religious Minorities and Their Languages in the Emerging Nation States of the Middle East (1920–1950) Edited by Heleen Murre-van den Berg Karène Sanchez Summerer Tijmen C. Baarda LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Assyrian School of Mosul, 1920s–1930s; courtesy Dr. Robin Beth Shamuel, Iraq. This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided no alterations are made and the original author(s) and source are credited. Further information and the complete license text can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The terms of the CC license apply only to the original material. The use of material from other sources (indicated by a reference) such as diagrams, illustrations, photos and text samples may require further permission from the respective copyright holder. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Murre-van den Berg, H. L. (Hendrika Lena), 1964– illustrator. | Sanchez-Summerer, Karene, editor. | Baarda, Tijmen C., editor. Title: Arabic and its alternatives : religious minorities and their languages in the emerging nation states of the Middle East (1920–1950) / edited by Heleen Murre-van den Berg, Karène Sanchez, Tijmen C. Baarda. Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2020. | Series: Christians and Jews in Muslim societies, 2212–5523 ; vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia
    Pre-Islamic Arabia The Nomadic Tribes of Arabia The nomadic pastoralist Bedouin tribes inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam around 700 CE. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the societal structure of tribes in Arabia KEY TAKEAWAYS Key Points Nomadic Bedouin tribes dominated the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam. Family groups called clans formed larger tribal units, which reinforced family cooperation in the difficult living conditions on the Arabian peninsula and protected its members against other tribes. The Bedouin tribes were nomadic pastoralists who relied on their herds of goats, sheep, and camels for meat, milk, cheese, blood, fur/wool, and other sustenance. The pre-Islamic Bedouins also hunted, served as bodyguards, escorted caravans, worked as mercenaries, and traded or raided to gain animals, women, gold, fabric, and other luxury items. Arab tribes begin to appear in the south Syrian deserts and southern Jordan around 200 CE, but spread from the central Arabian Peninsula after the rise of Islam in the 630s CE. Key Terms Nabatean: an ancient Semitic people who inhabited northern Arabia and Southern Levant, ca. 37–100 CE. Bedouin: a predominantly desert-dwelling Arabian ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans. Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabian Peninsula prior to the rise of Islam in the 630s. Some of the settled communities in the Arabian Peninsula developed into distinctive civilizations. Sources for these civilizations are not extensive, and are limited to archaeological evidence, accounts written outside of Arabia, and Arab oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars. Among the most prominent civilizations were Thamud, which arose around 3000 BCE and lasted to about 300 CE, and Dilmun, which arose around the end of the fourth millennium and lasted to about 600 CE.
    [Show full text]
  • Greening the Agriculture System: Morocco's Political Failure In
    Greening the Agriculture System: Morocco’s Political Failure in Building a Sustainable Model for Development By Jihane Benamar Mentored by Dr. Harry Verhoeven A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Honors in International Politics, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Spring 2018. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 2 • THE MOROCCAN PUZZLE .................................................................................................... 5 • WHY IS AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANT FOR MOROCCO? .............................. 7 • WHY THE PLAN MAROC VERT? .......................................................................................... 8 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 13 • A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR “DEVELOPMENT”....................................................... 14 • ROSTOW, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS (SAPS) & THE OLD DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE ......................................................................................................................... 19 • THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN DEVELOPMENT .............................................................. 24 • SUSTAINABILITY AND THE DISCOURSE ON DEVELOPMENT & AGRICULTURE ................
    [Show full text]
  • The Muslim Caliphates Ringmar, Erik
    The Muslim Caliphates Ringmar, Erik Published in: History of International Relations 2016 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Ringmar, E. (Accepted/In press). The Muslim Caliphates. In History of International Relations Open Book Publishers. Total number of authors: 1 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 Dear reader, This is a first draft of the chapter on the Muslim caliphates for the textbook on the history of international relations that I'm working on. Chapters on the Mongol empire, India, Africa and the Americas will follow. Since this is a draft I'm very keen to hear your comments. Get in touch: [email protected] The book will be published by Open Book Publishers, out of Cambridge, hopefully next year.
    [Show full text]
  • Rules and Options
    Rules and Options The author has attempted to draw as much as possible from the guidelines provided in the 5th edition Players Handbooks and Dungeon Master's Guide. Statistics for weapons listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide were used to develop the damage scales used in this book. Interestingly, these scales correspond fairly well with the values listed in the d20 Modern books. Game masters should feel free to modify any of the statistics or optional rules in this book as necessary. It is important to remember that Dungeons and Dragons abstracts combat to a degree, and does so more than many other game systems, in the name of playability. For this reason, the subtle differences that exist between many firearms will often drop below what might be called a "horizon of granularity." In D&D, for example, two pistols that real world shooters could spend hours discussing, debating how a few extra ounces of weight or different barrel lengths might affect accuracy, or how different kinds of ammunition (soft-nosed, armor-piercing, etc.) might affect damage, may be, in game terms, almost identical. This is neither good nor bad; it is just the way Dungeons and Dragons handles such things. Who can use firearms? Firearms are assumed to be martial ranged weapons. Characters from worlds where firearms are common and who can use martial ranged weapons will be proficient in them. Anyone else will have to train to gain proficiency— the specifics are left to individual game masters. Optionally, the game master may also allow characters with individual weapon proficiencies to trade one proficiency for an equivalent one at the time of character creation (e.g., monks can trade shortswords for one specific martial melee weapon like a war scythe, rogues can trade hand crossbows for one kind of firearm like a Glock 17 pistol, etc.).
    [Show full text]
  • Archives in Medieval Islam by ERNST POSNER
    Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/35/3-4/291/2745727/aarc_35_3-4_x1546224w7621152.pdf by guest on 03 October 2021 Archives in Medieval Islam By ERNST POSNER N A CHAPTER of his Muqaddimah: An Introduction to His- tory, which deals with royalty and government, Ibn-Khaldun I (1332-1406) observes, "Royal authority requires soldiers, money, and the means to communicate with those who are absent. The ruler, therefore, needs persons to help him in the matters concerned with 'the sword,' 'the pen,' and finances; and among them the pen ranks high."1 It may have been thought to rank even higher than the sword and finances, for, according to Muslim tradition, the pen was the first object God created.2 Of its power and creativeness in Islamic culture there can be no doubt, and those who wielded the pen enjoyed great esteem. Poets and literati lent their talents to the business of government and, according to Ibn al-Sayrafl, achieved "with the pen what the sword and the lance over a long period of years had been unable to produce."3 Unfortunately, the use of the pen as an instrument of Muslim policy and the preservation of the products of the pen, namely offi- cial documents, have received too little attention so far. As a re- sult, archives-keeping in the Muslim states during the Middle Ages has not been fully recognized as a continuation of preceding prac- The author, Fellow and past president of the Society, continues with this essay his history of archives administration begun in Archives in the Ancient World [Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; xviii, 283 p., illus.; bibliography, index; $>io] pub- lished in May 1972.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MYTH of 'TERRIBLE TURK' and 'LUSTFUL TURK' Nevs
    THE WESTERN IMAGE OF TURKS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE 21ST CENTURY: THE MYTH OF ‘TERRIBLE TURK’ AND ‘LUSTFUL TURK’ Nevsal Olcen Tiryakioglu A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 Copyright Statement This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights. i Abstract The Western image of Turks is identified with two distinctive stereotypes: ‘Terrible Turk’ and ‘Lustful Turk.’ These stereotypical images are deeply rooted in the history of the Ottoman Empire and its encounters with Christian Europe. Because of their fear of being dominated by Islam, European Christians defined the Turks as the wicked ‘Other’ against their perfect ‘Self.’ Since the beginning of Crusades, the Western image of Turks is associated with cruelty, barbarity, murderousness, immorality, and sexual perversion. These characteristics still appear in cinematic representations of Turks. In Western films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Midnight Express, the portrayals of Turks echo the stereotypes of ‘terrible Turk’ and ‘lustful Turk.’ This thesis argues that these stereotypes have transformed into a myth and continued to exist uniformly in Western contemporary cinema. The thesis attempts to ascertain the uniformity and consistency of the cinematic image of Turks and determine the associations between this image and the myths of ‘terrible Turk’ and ‘lustful Turk.’ To achieve this goal, this thesis examines the trajectory of the Turkish image in Western discourse between the 11th and 21st centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian
    THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE White Paper The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE White Paper The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE Copyright © 2020 by The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought All rights reserved. No part of this document may be used or reproduced in any manner wthout the prior consent of the publisher. Cover Image: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem © Shutterstock Title Page Image: Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem © Shutterstock isbn 978–9957–635–47–3 Printed in Jordan by The National Press Third print run CONTENTS ABSTRACT 5 INTRODUCTION: THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 7 PART ONE: THE ARAB, JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND ISLAMIC HISTORY OF JERUSALEM IN BRIEF 9 PART TWO: THE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE ISLAMIC HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 23 I. The Religious Significance of Jerusalem and its Holy Sites to Muslims 25 II. What is Meant by the ‘Islamic Holy Sites’ of Jerusalem? 30 III. The Significance of the Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 32 IV. The History of the Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 33 V. The Functions of the Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 44 VI. Termination of the Islamic Custodianship 53 PART THREE: THE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 55 I. The Religious Significance of Jerusalem and its Holy Sites to Christians 57 II.
    [Show full text]
  • Theocracy Metin M. Coşgel Thomas J. Miceli
    Theocracy Metin M. Coşgel University of Connecticut Thomas J. Miceli University of Connecticut Working Paper 2013-29 November 2013 365 Fairfield Way, Unit 1063 Storrs, CT 06269-1063 Phone: (860) 486-3022 Fax: (860) 486-4463 http://www.econ.uconn.edu/ This working paper is indexed on RePEc, http://repec.org THEOCRACY by Metin Coşgel* and Thomas J. Miceli** Abstract: Throughout history, religious and political authorities have had a mysterious attraction to each other. Rulers have established state religions and adopted laws with religious origins, sometimes even claiming to have divine powers. We propose a political economy approach to theocracy, centered on the legitimizing relationship between religious and political authorities. Making standard assumptions about the motivations of these authorities, we identify the factors favoring the emergence of theocracy, such as the organization of the religion market, monotheism vs. polytheism, and strength of the ruler. We use two sets of data to test the implications of the model. We first use a unique data set that includes information on over three hundred polities that have been observed throughout history. We also use recently available cross-country data on the relationship between religious and political authorities to examine these issues in current societies. The results provide strong empirical support for our arguments about why in some states religious and political authorities have maintained independence, while in others they have integrated into a single entity. JEL codes: H10,
    [Show full text]
  • International Human Rights Instruments
    UNITED NATIONS HRI International Distr. GENERAL Human Rights HRI/CORE/1/Add.46 Instruments 8 June 1994 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH CORE DOCUMENT FORMING PART OF THE REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES TUNISIA [16 May 1994] TABLE OF CONTENTS Paragraphs Page I. LAND AND PEOPLE ................... 1- 46 2 A. Geographical and historical data......... 1- 23 2 B. Demographic and economic data .......... 24- 46 6 II. GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE ............. 47- 77 10 A. Overall political development .......... 47- 58 10 B. Current constitutional and legal framework.... 59- 77 11 III. GENERAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED .................... 78-106 17 A. Political and administrative organs competent in the field of human rights .......... 78- 80 17 B. The judicial bodies responsible for the protection of human rights............ 81- 93 17 C. Other institutions and organs responsible for monitoring respect for human rights ....... 94-103 19 D. Supremacy of international conventions over internal legislation and their direct enforcement in Tunisia.............. 104-106 21 IV. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY .............. 107-118 23 GE.94-17521 (E) HRI/CORE/1/Add.46 page 2 I. LAND AND PEOPLE A. Geographical and historical data 1. Tunisia occupies a privileged position at the heart of the Mediterranean. Its relief is varied, with snow-covered mountains in winter, a sandy desert in the south and several hundred kilometres of sandy beaches along its coast. It has a temperate climate. It is located in the extreme north-east of Africa, between 37 and 30 degrees north, and is 164,150 square kilometres in area. Its coasts, which are washed by the Mediterranean to the north and east, are over 1,300 km long.
    [Show full text]