History of Turkish Archery in Ottoman Period
Archery was for centuries Turkey’s traditional sport, and also played a central role in Islamic culture. The use of the bow and arrow as a weapon by the Turkish horsemen of Central Asia goes back far into the mists of time. Only after the invention of firearms did the bow and arrow gradually lose its importance as a weapon, instead being practiced increasingly as a sport.
Research suggests that archery among the Turks goes back to 5000 BC, but the first written rules for archery date from the Oguz Turks around the 7th century. After the conversion of the Oguz to Islam, archery developed still further, reaching its zenith under the Ottoman Empire. The importance of archery in early warfare is reflected in the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, who was himself an archer (archery in Islam). Among the references to archery in the Traditions are, ‘Teach even the slave in your house to shoot arrows,’ and, ‘Just as they are our rights, so it is the right of our children that we teach them to write and to shoot arrows, and leave them their rightful inheritance.'
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When Kemankes Kara Mustafa Pasa became grand vezir he issued an imperial edict (ferman) on the subject of archery, which is the first known law concerning a sport. |
Although archery competitions were held under earlier Ottoman rulers, it was Sultan Mehmet II (1451-1481) who set up detailed rules for archery as a competitive sport and established special archery fields. Immediately after the conquest of Istanbul the Ok Meydani (Archery Field), of which only a small part remains today, was set up in the district of Kasimpasa on the north shore of the Golden Horn. Mehmet’s successors enlarged this field and added new facilities, as well as establishing similar archery fields in other cities. Mehmet’s son Sultan Bayezit II (1481-1512) granted special privileges to archers and to the artisans who produced archery equipment. He arranged for most of these craftsmen to settle in Istanbul and gave them workshops in the Archers Bazaar built behind Bayezit Mosque. In the 15th and 16th centuries there were an estimated 500 makers of bows and arrows in Istanbul, and schools specifically for training archers. Most of the Ottoman sultans and grand vezirs were noted archers, and grand vezir Kemankes Kara Mustafa Pasa (1592-1644) was a bow maker by trade, as the cognomen Kemankes indicates. When he became grand vezir he issued an imperial edict (ferman) on the subject of archery, which is the first known law concerning a sport. This document has been preserved, and is in the archive of Topkapi Palace Museum. Historical documents record the names of many famous archers, such as Tozkoparan Ismail and Bursali Süca. Traditional Turkish bows were crossbows of the type known as composite, made of layers of horn, sinew and wood, which enabled them to shoot arrows extraordinary distances. Even today, authorities on archery around the world are astonished by the distances shot using the old Turkish bows, whose records of 800 to 900 meters are still beyond the reach of modern crossbows. |
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Information taken from The President of Turkish Archery Federation Dr.Ugur Erdener |