Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 193 h Archaeological Evidence for Mamlūk Archery 75–76. This crossbow from southern Spain is likely to have dated from the 14th or 15th centuries. Though decorated, it was probably a relatively basic issue or mu- nitions weapon. Yet the similarity between the form, size and composite structure of its bowstaves is so close to those of staves from the Syrian Euphrates hoard that this seems to go beyond a mere sharing of a military technology. Might such sophisticated weapons have been traded between the medieval Islamic heartland of the Middle East and the westernmost fringes of the medieval Islamic world? Even if such a suggestion is a step too far, I believe that the basic form, spanning stirrup, trigger and release mecha- nisms of the stock are likely to have been basically the same as those of the stocks which would have been attached to Mamlūk or earlier crossbow staves from the Middle East. Such an interpretation is also supported by the albeit very stylized illustrations of crossbows in Mamlūk art. (G. Jenkinson collection; A. Credland photographs).