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Composite Bow
The composite bow, layered from horn, sinew, and wood, stores greater elastic energy at the same limb length and was the core weapon of Eurasian moun…
Timeline
- c. 900–1120Central Asia and Anatolia · Central AsiaTurkic and Seljuk tribes inherited the steppe tradition of composite-bow mounted archery, shooting backward from horseback with short bows; their tactics emphasized mobility, volley fire, and feigned retreat to lure the enemy, laying the foundation for the military landscape of West Asia in the 1120s.
- c. 1121–1125Eastern Anatolia · AnatoliaSeljuk light cavalry unleashed dense arrow showers with composite bows at long range, combining feigned retreat tactics to wear down the charges of heavily armored crusader knights, repeatedly frustrating Frankish offensives with mounted archery superiority in the early 1120s.
- c. 1126–1130Mesopotamia and the Levant · West AsiaIn the late 1120s the composite bow was still in use among Byzantine archers, Arab light cavalry, and Jurchen mounted archers; each civilization made its own improvements in bow materials and shooting techniques, but mobile mounted archery tactics remained one of the mainstream approaches on Eurasian battlefields.
Sources
- The Composite Bow — Mike Loades (2016)
- Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050–1350 — David Nicolle (1999)