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Ottoman bows – an assessment of draw weight, performance and tactical use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Adam Karpowicz
Adam Karpowicz*
Affiliation:
475 Queens Road, Sackville, New Brunswick, E4L 2C6, Canada (Email: akarpowicz@mta.ca)
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Extract

The Ottoman fighting bow emerged in Europe from a long eastern tradition of using high velocity projectiles to hunt and fight on horseback. The author compares its performance (favourably) with the longbow and explains how the tactics employed with this singular artefact accounted for Ottoman success in battle.

Keywords

Ottomanarrowbowequestriansfightinghunting
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 313 , 1 September 2007 , pp. 675 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2007

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