Mongol Composite Recurve Bow

Timeline

1. c. -1000–1200Eurasian Steppe · Eurasian SteppeFrom the Scythians and Xiongnu to the Turkic peoples, steppe horse archers were generally equipped with horn-wood-sinew composite recurve bows; the technique was passed down through generations of bowyers, providing a deep tradition for Mongol-era bow making.
2. c. 1206–1210Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauAfter Genghis Khan unified the Mongols, bowyers and bow materials were placed under centralized management; every soldier was required to supply a qualified war bow and quiver, and bow making had to pass draw-weight and accuracy inspections, so that the mounted-archery equipment of the imperial army tended toward uniform standards.
3. c. 1211–1300Mongol Empire campaign theaters · Central AsiaIn the 13th-century Mongol western and southern campaigns, the composite recurve bow as the cavalry's core weapon played a decisive role in long-range mounted archery and feigned-retreat tactics, and the technology spread with the armies to conquered regions.
4. c. 1300–1600Yuan dynasty and successor steppe regimes · Mongolian PlateauThe Yuan dynasty still valued mounted archery and bow making, but firearms gradually changed the battlefield from the 14th century onward; by the Ming and Northern Yuan periods, the composite bow still held an important place among steppe forces, though its strategic position steadily declined.