Moshtagh Khorasani, Manouchehr (2015). Jāme al-Hadāyat fi Elm al-Romāyat [Complete Guide...

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Jāme alHadāyat fi Elm alRomāyat [CompleteGuide concerning the Science of Archery]

Jāme alHadāyatfi Elm alRomāyat[Complete Guideconcerning theScience ofArchery] byNezāmeldinAhmad ibnMohammad benAhmad ŠojāeldinDorudbāšiBeyhaqiManouchehrMoshtaghKhorasaniThis manuscriptconsist of 42

pages and is kept the Central Library of the University of Tehran. The author of themanuscript calls himself Hosseyn Nezāmeldin alQoreši Sāveji. Apparently, he wasthe father of Nezāmeldin Mohammad ben Kamālodin Hosseyn ben Nezāmeldin alQoreši Sāveji, and one of the friends of Šeyx Bahā’i, and he gave his son to ŠeyxBahā’i [for educational purposes]. The son was very well educated by his instructorand accompanied his master during different travels. After the death of Šeyx Bahā’i,he was one of the respected scholars in the court of Šāh Abbās. His son wrote thebook Nezām alAfvāl fi Ahvāl alRajāl in 10211022 Hegira (16121613 C.E.), andalso completed the comprehensive book Abbāsi of his master in 1032 Hegira (1622C.E.). Shortly after the death of Šāh Abbās in 1038 Hegira (1629 C.E.), the son diedat the age of fort. There is no more information about the author of the book himself. At the end of the Jāme alHadāyat fi Elm alRomāyat manuscript the date 982 Hegirais given, which equates to the year 1574 C.E. in the Gregorian calendar. A fulltranslation and annotation of the manuscript is provided in the book Persian Archeryand Swordsmanship: Historical Martial Arts of Iran. In the following someexperts of the text are given: Because the student learns a craft from his master, there is an obligation which iseven greater than the obligation towards the father and the mother. [Learning] thecraft for the student is like a tool where he can always benefit from and it will neverbe depleted. It is mandatory for the student to always keep his master in goodprayers so he will cherish the teaching. Thus, each person who begins [to learn] thescience and application of the archery should have always done the ritual cleaning

before. Like mystics,

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he says, "There is noGod but God andMohammad is hisMessenger"[1], "Godbless Mohammad andhis family"[2] and "Godis Great"[3] becausethis science does nothave any better meritsthan this. He does notforget the owner of thebook to benefit fromthe good deed ofsaying "God blessMohammad and hisfamily" and help him

with good prayers. This humble self has a master in Esfahān [Isfahan] whom I continuously send goodprayers on my lips on his behalf. Each morning and each evening, I am thankful andremember him, and he is a perfect master. He [had] a bow with seventy man[4][power] and placed targets far away and called for "straight shooting/precisionshooting"[5] so that during the night he could "steal the eyelash from the ant's eyewith an arrowhead"[6]. This humble self with his guidance and teaching shot attargets among archers in Iraq with a bow with seventy man power. In presence ofBāštin Beyhaq in visiting the Prince he shot hundred and fifty arrow shafts[7] and Ithink they were that many. For the purpose of confirming this information, I wrote thisbook and use this as evidence so that the masters of this craft will be willing to teachfrom this manuscript. When they find out the benefits of this book, they keep theauthor in their good prayers. Poem: The intention is to leave a trace from us As I do not see any endurance for this existence/life So that one day with mercy the knowledgeable Will pray for dervishes He should know that this book is divided in seventeen chapters and each chapter inits place is explained in verse and prose so that they will be [properly] understood. As it is indispensible this collection was named the Complete Guide of the Science ofArchery. Finally, for arranging, collecting oral accounts and writing, I would like askfor success and help from the Supreme God. This [my work] should be continuouslyaccepted [by God]. List of chaptersFirst chapter About the appearance of arrows and bowSecond chap The characteristics of male archersThird chapter Knowledge of arrows and bowFourth chapter Knowledge of the arrow and its fameFifth chapter Knowledge of the human and practice targetSixth chapter Knowledge of standing and sitting




Seventh chapter Knowledge of grasping the bowEight chapter Knowledge of nockingNinth chapter Knowledge of locking the thumbTenth chapter Knowledge of the science of aimingEleventh chapter Knowledge of releasing the thumbTwelfth chapter Knowledge of bracing the bowThirteenth chapter Knowledge of training menFourteenth chapter Knowledge of judging the distanceFifteenth chapter Facts regarding the behavior of the arrowSixteenth chapter Knowledge of flight shootingSeventeenth chapter Knowledge of the science of carving First chapter: About the appearance of arrows and bowIt is said that one day Adam, greetings upon him, was restless in Paradise and didnot know the reason why. Gabriel, greetings be upon him, came. Adam, greetingsbe upon him, asked, "What happened to me?". Gabriel said, "Yourmanliness/strength has increased. You should shoot with a bow." He went to thetreasury[8] of the throne of God and brought a bow with three arrows. The "ears"[9]of that bow were made of red ruby[10], the "arms"[11] from green emerald[12], the"handle"[13] of pearl[14], three arrows [shafts] of emerald and the arrowheads[15] ofred ruby. Then Gabriel braced the bow and gave it to Adam and taught him holdingand nocking the arrow[16] and drawing[17] and releasing[18] [the bow]. The firstarrow shot by Adam missed its target. Gabriel was happy and Adam said, "Mymissing has made you happy?" Gabriel said,"If the first shot was right, none of yourchildren could be educated and they would fight and defeat each other." Becauseyour first shot missed [its target], his children could learn from the consequences[19]. Then he shot another one [arrow] and hit a raven. Because this bird is never caughtby surprise, it said, " I have never found safety from Adam in Paradise, how can I findsafety from his children in this world". If they ask when Adam did not know how toshoot with a bow, where did the knowledge come from, we say, Gabriel looked at the"Book of Destinies"[20] and learned archery from there. Then he taught Adam. This[practice] is right for the honor of the humanity. Another account has it that when Adam was thrown out of Paradise, he worked on afarm everyday and a bird came and kept destroying his field. When Adam chased itfrom one side, it flew to the other side and sat down. Adam was in a predicament. Then Adam prayed and said, "Guide me to chase this bird out of my field". Gabrielbrought a bow and arrows and braced the bow in front of Adam and taught Adamhow to place the arrow on the bow and how to release. When he shot the first[arrow] at the bird, he missed and with the second one he hit the bird.

[1] This phrase is called šahādat شهادت.[2] This phrase is called salavāt صلوات.[3] This phrase is called takbir تكبير.[4] Man من is a weight system.[5] This technique was called rāstandāzi راستاندازى means straight shooting orshooting with precision in accordance with the practice of the Sassanian king BahrāmGur.



[6] peykāne tir az moĵe az češm robudan پيكانتيرازمژهازچشمربودن.[7] gaze tir گزتير.[8] xazāne خزانه.[9] guše گوشه.[10] yāqut ياقوت.[11] The text uses the term xān خان for xāne خانه, which means "bow limb". Thebending or flexible section on the The ear has already been subtracted. Althoughxāne can mean the whole of the bow limb, it is often used in the sense of part of thebow limb that bends as opposed to the rigid parts like the ears and the grip if the earsare mentioned. However, this is a matter of context and whether the arm is the entiresection of bow from the grip to the tip or only from the grip to the base of the eardepends on the surrounding text. The generic Arabic word used in the same contextis bayt, بيت , which has the same root meaning as xāne. Dustār (دستار) is used byṬaybughā lAshrafī lBaklamishī lYūnānī in the same context (see the SaracenArchery). Latham believed that it derived from a Persian verb with the initial syllable“an” dropped as sometimes happened in transitions between Persian and Arabic.[12] zebarjad زبرجد.[13] qabze قبضه. This is a very important term because this word has moreconnotations than the simple description of the handle of a bow. It can also refer tothe act of grasping a bow and also to the mystical link between ancient masters andthe current generation of practitioners in a Sufi sense. There are several relatedmeanings in Arabic as well: the bow hand, the fist (as a measurement), etc.[14] morvārid مرواريد.[15] peykān پيكان.[16] peyvastane tir پيوستنتير.[17] kešidan كشيدن.[18] gošādan گشادن.[19] The idea is that if the first shot had been successful, Adam would never havelearned from his experiences, particularly his failures; this would have continued tohis children cursing them with the arrogance that would prevent them from learning.[20] lohe mahfuz لوحمحفوظ.

After the scienceof the bow, themaking of thebowstring will beexplained. As weexplained the "bowwithout abowstring" is a"half dinār"[1] andthe bowstring isthe [other] halfdinār. Thus thebowstring of halfdinār is the half ofthe bow as aweapon. Thebowstring is very

strong and before a bowstring is torn, the bow breaks[2]. Archers should be able to




arrive at the battlefield[3] with their valuable bows strung in good condition[4]. Thusthey should respect the principles well. First the "twisted string"[5] should be clean,good, intact and strong so that it is not burnt. It releases it in a way that he takes asilk thread and pull it to find out whether it has power and so that it sticks [and in thiscase] it is strong and good[6]. He should remove twists from the string[7]. When hecompares the size of the bowstring to the bow, it [the bowstring] should be one andhalf fingers shorter than the bow size so that it is twisted and straightened[8]. Whenhe starts with the beginning of the string, he first closes the "raising of the bowstring"[9] and the twists are clean and strong. That is meant for the loop[10] which is alsogood for the bowstring. The loop should be tied very strongly so that both sides ofthe "tripleloop"[11] [knots] are springy and go in the loop[12]. When the knot is tied,the "loop of the twist"[13] is not out of the "middle of the knot"[14]. Because thering of one half [of the bowstring] is not shorter than the other half [of the bowstring]so that it does not turn/twist and it is placed on both sides [of the nocks] well[15]. The string should be twocolored[16] so that when the bowstring is tied on the bow,one can still twist it so that if it is short a bit the string could be placed in the "middleof the bow limb"[17] so that it is stable[18]. The silk [thread] is not extended here. The strike is on the loop in the middle of the bowstring. What is below the loopshould be twisted and finished first so that the heart is revealed. The end of thebowstring is tied to the ring if it is made from "untanned raw hide"[19] of an animal. Ifmade of silk[20] it is "doublelooped"[21], but it could also be "triplelooped". When itis triplelooped it is tied to the ring of the bowstring[22]. It should be smooth and round so that it easily passes through theopening[23] [of the nock][24]. In drawing and releasing, it [the bowstring] should bevery reliable and strong and be from the good hide of game[25] and ibex[26]. Whenthey want to twist the bowstring if the ends of the "wooden planks"[27] are torn/loose,he measures the string and place half of the wooden planks in the middle of thestring and twist them[28]. This is called "dear dove"[29] that is in front of the "middleof the bow limb"[30]. What is in front of the bow handle is called square[31]. Hedoes the upper bow arm with the side of the left arm and the "middle twist"[32] withthe right hand. They twist it from the top of the bowstring so that the "twist of thethumb ring"[33] is not folded upon the release[34]. The part of the bowstring thatgoes into the mouth/opening [of the nock] is called center[35]. In tying the bowstringone rubs a lot of wax[36] on it so that the bow and the arrow do not make noise[37]. If possible not rubbing it would be better[38]. As the bowstring absorbs the resin[39]and will get hard. The bowstring will be explained in another chapter and here thenames of [different parts of] the bowstring and bow will suffice. The bowstring of"twisted string/rope"[40] is the best type of bowstrings. If he follows theseprocedures, the bowstring will last a long time. Tearing the bow end loop is a bigdeficiency[41]. As we mentioned, an archer should have done ritual cleaning andsaid "There is no God but God, there is no Prophet but Mohammad"[42] beforeshooting and mentions the name of God as the master Tāher Balxi[43] said, rhyme: Never release the bow and the arrow without [having done] the ritual cleaning Never release the "falcon"[44] without the profession of fate This is because if an archer starts the archery [shooting] without having donethe ritual cleaning without doubt he will get problems and it is a great sin and either



the arrow or the bow will break. Because the bow was brought for the obedience itwas brought pure/clean. The composition of the bow is similar to a person with soul,movement and the ability to talk. When they draw the bowstring, it complains. Whenthey release the bowstring, it moves and goes back. Often it returns to the circularshape of its manufacture. The talking ability of a bow is that when they shoot anarrow, the sound of the bowstring starts and will reach faraway parts and until muchlater that sound will not leave the bow[45]. The other consists of the body parts ofanimals. First is the animal glue of the "fish head"[46] together with some otheranimals. The horn part is the principal and main part of the bow. The bow existsbecause of the horn and this is a part of an animal. The sinew part is also like that. [Regarding] the bowstring, the one which is made of untanned hide is the animal skinand the one which is made of silk and wax is the same and the arrow is used for thisimplement and fletched. Different types of feathers of animals [birds] can be placedon arrows. Thus one can expect the movement and the sound from the bow and thearrow[47]. This is a preferred and famous weapon. Fourth chapter: About the fame of the bow and arrow [in comparison] to otherweapons The science and application of bow and arrow and its teaching are more[complicated] than other weapons. The other thing is that Gabriel brought the arrowand the bow to Adam and taught him the "science of archery"[48] as his master in thescience of the arrow and the bow. Therefore, unless an archer does not have amaster it is not accepted in Arab Iraq[49]. At the archery range, they ask who hismaster is not who made his equipment. They also mention the speed of an archer['sshooting]. Aside from these two, nothing else matters; this is what creates one’sreputation in archery.

[1] Note nimdinār نيمدينار means "half dinār". Dinār دينار was a currency and in thisphrase half a dinār means that the bow and the arrow only together complementeach other to build up a unit. According to the Digital Lexicon of Dehxodā, half dināralso refers to the lip of the beloved.[2] Bowstrings at that time were generally made four times stronger than the drawweight of the bow. For example, a hundred pound bow would require a bowstringthat could support four hundred pounds before breaking. This is to take into accountthat the force on the bowstring is very high just as the arrow is released. For flightshooting, where the mass of the string is reduced, three times the strength of the bowis sufficient since the number of shots is much lower.[3] mazrab مضرب.[4] This implies as is obvious from most paintings of horse archers in this period thatthe bow was carried strung to the battle and not strung just before the battle as it wasin the Sassanian times.[5] čelle چله. This term is used to refer to a bowstring. From the Saracen Archery andMustafa Kāni’s treatise, it is clear that the word čelle is specifically used for abowstring made of twisted silk threads. “Experience with bowstrings led to the use ofa string (watr) which was twisted lengthwise (musaddā) from new, wound silk of highquality. Our knowledge of this particular type we acquired from masters who camefrom Persia, and in Persian it is called ‘chillah’. For flight shooting it is unrivalled by



any other known type” (Latham & Patterson, 1970:20).[6] This appears to be an instruction to test the strength of the individual fibers thatmake up a silk bowstring. When making silk strings, one can test the breaking strainof the individual threads and calculate how many would be needed to make abowstring of appropriate strength.[7] Twisting the string has two purposes; to hold the fibers together and to shortenthe string. Removing the twists is to get the string back to its original length andreduce its stretch.[8] Here is another reference to bowstring length. However, here it might refer toestimating the stretch in a new string. One and a half finger widths are about thirtymillimeters of an average hand. A new string might stretch that much on the bow if ithad not been prestretched in construction.[9] safeye zeh صفهزه.[10] halqe حلقه.[11] sesar سهسر.[12] The separate ends of the string, tunc in Turkish, have to be tied tightly andevenly otherwise the knot will either lengthen the loop as the bow shoots from thesudden force at the release or the knot will be uneven and the string will not bepulling straight and cause a twist in the tip of the bow. The problem is that there aretwo rings or loops at each end of the bow. There is the small loop in the end of thebowstring core which the end piece of string is tied to and there is the loop created bytying the end piece onto the string. Distinguishing them in writing can becumbersome. Karpowicz explains the utility of end loops as being the part of thestring that is treated most violently by the bow and could need replacement. Thečelle bowstring probably had the loops knotted out of its own ends rather than beingtied on separately.[13] halqeye pič حلقهپيچ.[14] miyāne gereh ميانگره. Here a distinction is possibly being made that the loop atthe end of the bowstring core should be right in the middle of the knot formed with theend loop cord.[15] This is a reference to the fact that both loops should be the same length so thatthe bow limbs do not twist and become out of balance.[16] dorang دورنگ.[17] miyāne xāneye kamān ميانخانهكمان.[18] Possibly the author means the heart of the string, i.e. the core of the string,should be wound of two different colors of silk so that the degree of twist in the stringcan be easily judged. If the string is short and seen to be twisted, it can be untwistedto lengthen it.[19] xām خام.[20] abrišam ابريشم.[21] dosar دوسر.[22] Here we have a discussion of using different materials for the separate endloops. It is not unknown for the end loops of modern Mongolian bows to be made ofrawhide because of its superior wear resistance. The elasticity of the short pieces atthe ends of the string is not greatly apparent. However, it could also be a descriptionof a rawhide string being tied into selfknots to form the loops at the ends. In thiscase the following sentences describe the separate end loop strings as being eitherdouble or triple looped. A third possibility is that silk strings without separate endloops had their ends finished off into very small loops for neatness. This would mean



two loops could be seen at the end of a double loop string; one was the loop put overthe end of the bow and the other was the loop that represented the end of the pieceof string it was made of. How this could happen is described as follows. In makingthe core of a bowstring at this time, a skein of thread was made between two pegsuntil the required thickness was achieved. The two ends of the thread were tiedtogether and thread was wrapped around the skeins where they passed around thepegs. Then thread was wrapped around the two sides of the skein pushing themtogether and this was carried up to the loop at the end. Both ends were treated thesame way. So far this is the same as making a modern “endless loop” bowstring.However, the loops on an old bowstring would not go directly over the end of thebow. They would have separate pieces tied to them to take the wear and tear ofcontact with the bow tips. The Turks did this with tunc made of silk or sinew set inglue and resin (see Karpowicz, 2008, Hein, 1925, etc.). In China, the ends were silkloops made like miniature versions of the string’s core. Dosar could be a descriptionof a string whose ends had been formed into small loops to clean up the ends of theendless loop and then the whole end section of the string tied into a knot to form aloop of its own substance. Thus three types of bow knot would be made. Single knotswould be made of strings that did not have integral end loops. Double knots would bemade from strings with nonfunctional integral end loops. Triple knots would be madewhen separate pieces were tied into the ends of the string through its integral loopsand the end pieces would have their own decorative integral loops.[23] forja فرجه.[24] Rawhide or gut strings would need to be smoothed and rounded to remove anyirregularities in their surfaces caused by the nature of their manufacture.[25] naxjir نخجير.[26] boze kuhi بزكوهى; here we are given the material a rawhid string should be madefrom. The implication is that wild animals produce better rawhide than domesticanimals.[27] taxt تخت.[28] This might be referring to a process in the manufacture of rawhide strings to twistand stretch them. It would be interesting to find some contemporary accounts ofrope making for comparison. In Mongolia wet rawhide is twisted while under tensionfrom a large rock tied to it[29] kabutarjān كبوترجان.[30] miyānxāne ميانخانه.[31] meydān ميدان. Perhaps the different parts of the string have their own names.Because the strings could be wrapped along their whole length or in sections withcolored thread, the names might refer to the soft (flexible) parts and the hard (morerigid from the wrapping with thread.[32] piče miyān پيچميان.[33] piče angoštvāne پيچانگشتوانه.[34] These sentences are confusing. The individual parts make some sense. Thetwist of the thumb ring is possible referring to process of turning the drawing hand onrelease to more quickly disengage the bowstring. This is farkah (فركه ) in Arabic whichis used in the form mafrūk and also written mefrūk in Ottoman Turkish. Theunderlying meaning is twisted and the concept is that a twisted release, turning thedrawing hand anticlockwise, removes the index finger from the path of the string.[35] noqtegāh نقطهگاه.[36] mum موم.



[37] The wax acts as a lubricant on the threads the string is made from and allowsthem to even out the tension during the making of the string. Afterwards it holds anyloose fibers down thus making a more compact and quieter string.[38] The wax adds weight and so makes the bowstring less efficient with light arrows.[39] anār عنار.[40] čelle چله.[41] It suggests either poor materials or a bad job of tying the knot. Both make thearcher look incompetent.[42] This phrase is called šāhādat شهادت and is the Muslim profession of fate..طاهربلخى[43][44] šahāne شهانه.[45] The bow makes some noise as it is being drawn, which is a moderate creaking. However, the main sound in shooting is the twang of the bowstring when it isreleased. Some gut strings made a sound like a musical instrument when the arrowwas released. Several manustricpts suggest that the quality of the sound is related tothe “soundness” of the bow: good sound means a good bow and a bad sound meansa bad bow.[46] sare māhi سرماهى.[47] This section neatly encapsulates the experience of using a composite bow. Theyfeel alive. When you take the bowstring off the bow, it visibly creeps back to its reflexshape in small increments like an animal. All archers love their bows, but it is aunique experience to use a well made composite bow.[48] elme tirandāzi علماندازى.[49] The words used were Arāqe Arab عراقعرب. This is the present Iraq. Inmediaeval times the western half of Iran was called Arāqe Ajami or the foreign Iraqand the current Iraq was called Arāqe Arab or Arab Iraq.Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani

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