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An arrow from a warrior
Shot at an unbeliever
Counts more than the endless prayers
Said by a pious hermit.
A passage from a Mamluk war manual capturing how successful jihad justified military government.
What was left of the Mongol army fled north to find sanctuary with the King of Armenia. Damascus, Hama and Aleppo were abandoned. Baybars chased the Mongols through the north of the country, and defeated a contingent of 2,000 troops that Hulegu had belatedly sent to Kit Buqa’s aid.
At Ayn Jalut there were two charges by the Mamluks under Qutuz but these were not planned and launched from a defensive position as at al-Mansura, but made in the heat of a fluid, fast-moving cavalry battle. Qutuz’s first charge was against a Mongol contingent that was flushed with its success in defeating the Mamluk left wing and was therefore vulnerable to a charge; his second charge was against Kit Buqa’s hastily-formed counter-attack. Both were timed to perfection. Mamluk battlefield communications were impressive for the period and they were guided by their banners and drums. At Ayn Jalut the Mamluks had no close-support infantry to cover them while they organised as European knights would, and certainly there was very little time for them to form up methodically. Their charges were organised literally on the hoof, and yet they were delivered to maximum effect. The battle was won by what had been instilled on the training ground, and the training ground and the hippodrome, or maydan, was where a Mamluk spent most of his life.
Captured as boys, shipped to Cairo by the Genoese commonly, and bought by an ustadh or master, and then manumitted, every Mamluk novice trained the same way. They learned how to make the ‘Falcon’s Talons’ to grip the bow and practised without arrows for several days. Novices then moved on to a featherless arrow that was shot over and over again at almost point-blank range at a cotton-filled leather tube called the buttiya. They would progress through five bows of increasing draw-weight. The final one was the qaws used for combat. Novices memorised a poem of 200 lines. Its recitation gave complete instructions for delivering the perfect archery shot right from setting the bow, the placement of the legs, nocking the arrow, aiming, through to execution of the shot.
Novices began learning horsemanship by mounting swiftly in full armour over and over, and the Furusiyya, or art of cavalry warfare, manuscripts prescribe drills such as removing armour whilst riding, making tight turns, jumping and standing upon the saddle and stirrups and the study of the health and illnesses of horses, as well as the care of their tack. Furusiyya writings were also very specific on how the reins should be held, but this also extended to every piece of battle equipment, and to their balance: lance and dagger, sword and sling-shot, mace and javelin.
Shooting from the saddle was drilled and celebrated, all shooting was at the gallop and 100 per cent execution was required if a novice was to achieve the status of Faris. Studying and training in the science and art of warfare was the raison d’etre of a Mamluk. Even entertainment was centred on horsemanship and the maydan. This army of automatons was growing quickly under a new Sultan, and it was going to push the Crusader kingdom into the sea.