Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 179 h Archaeological Evidence for Mamlūk Archery 42. Even though the arrowheads found in a late Mamlūk context in the Citadel of Da- mascus vary considerably in details of design, they generally lack the broad bladed, chisel headed and certainly the double-pointed forms popular amongst steppe nomadic peoples. On the other hand, illustrated and written sources make it clear that such cutting rather than merely piercing styles were both known and used in the Mamlūk Sultanate, as they had been in previous centuries and dynasties. In general terms it is probably safe to con- clude that the arrowheads found in the Citadel of Damascus were strictly military. Some are long and slender while remaining substantial, suggesting an armour-piercing purpose. Indeed, military arrows in the Islamic Middle East generally became longer, more slen- der, and of a four-sided diamond or almost square section — again suggesting an armour or shield penetrating function. (Syrian Department of Antiquities; author’s photograph). 43 . Drawings of the original shapes of otherwise corroded late Mamlūk arrowheads from the Citadel of Damascus (CD5). The Typology is that used in D. Nicolle. Mamlūk Military Equipment. Collection Travaux et Études de la Mission Archéologique Syro- Française, Citadelle de Damas (1999–2006): Vol. III. Damascus, 2011: a-h Type 1.