of goats, and such bows are rarely encountered outside the Ḥijāz; they are of little use elsewhere and possess no siyahs (stiffened limb-ends) and no handle.

– The second variety is the wāsiṭīya. It is fashioned from four materials: wood, sinew, horn, and glue; it has two siyahs and a grip. It was called wāsiṭīya because it occupies an intermediate position (1) between the Ḥijāzī and the Persian bows, not because it comes from the town of Wāsiṭ, for it existed before that city was built. The Arabs also call it al-munfaṣṣala (2) – “the separable one” – because its parts remain detached until they are assembled. It counts as one of their principal bows.

Beneath these two types are many further sub-types, more than ten in all.

Section

As for the Persian bow, it is the standard weapon of the Muslim armies of our time in Syria, Egypt, and the regions allied to them.

The Turkish bow is similar to the Persian, but thicker. Many of them – in fact, the majority – are fitted with a “lock and key,” the two pieces they call the “female” and the “male.” A stirrup is attached to the end of the bow’s channel; when an archer wishes to string it, he slips his foot into the stirrup and tensions the bow.