Editing Composite bow

{{Short description|Bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
[[File:KaiyuanBowStrung.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Reconstruction of a [[Ming dynasty]] Kaiyuan horn, bamboo, and sinew composite bow by Chinese bowyer Gao Xiang]]
[[File:Master Heon Kim.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A Korean master archer using a modern Korean composite bow]]
A '''composite bow''' is a traditional [[bow (weapon)|bow]] made from [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]], [[wood]], and [[sinew]] [[Lamination|laminated]] together, a form of [[laminated bow]]. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stretched on the outside) and horn (compressed on the inside) store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. The strength can be made similar to that of [[Self bow|all-wood "self" bows]], with similar draw-length and therefore a similar amount of energy delivered to the arrow from a much shorter bow. However, making a composite bow requires more varieties of material than a self bow, its construction takes much more time, and the finished bow is more sensitive to moisture.

Archaeological finds and art indicate composite bows have existed since the second millennium BCE, but their history is not well recorded, being developed by cultures without a written tradition. They originated among Asiatic [[Pastoralism|pastoralists]] who used them as daily necessities, classically for [[mounted archery]], although they can also be used on foot. Such bows spread among the military (and hunters) of civilizations that came into contact with nomad tribes; composite bows have been used across [[Asia]] from [[Korea]] to the Atlantic coasts of [[Europe]] and [[North Africa]], and southwards in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and in [[India]]. The use of horn in a bow was even remarked on in [[Homer]]'s epic ''[[The Odyssey]]'', believed to have been written in the 8th century BCE.

The details of manufacture varied between the various cultures that used them. Initially, the tips of the limbs were made to bend when the bow was drawn. Later, the tips were stiffened with bone or antler laths; post-classical bows usually have stiff tips, known as ''siyahs'', which are made as an integral part of the wooden core of the bow.

Like other bows, they lost importance with the introduction and increasing accuracy of guns. In some areas, composite bows were still used and were further developed for leisure purposes. Early modern Turkish bows were specialized for flight archery (shooting for distance). Composite bows are still made and used in Korea and in China, and the tradition has been revived elsewhere. Modern replicas are available, often made with fiberglass bellies and backs with a natural or man-made core.

==Construction and materials==
The wooden core gives the bow its shape and dimensional stability. It is often made of multiple pieces, joined with animal glue in V-splices, so the wood must accept glue well. Pieced construction allows the sharp bends that many designs require, and the use of woods with different mechanical properties for the bending and nonbending sections.

The wood of the bending part of the limb (''"dustar"'') must endure intense shearing stress, and denser woods such as hard maples are normally used in Turkish bows.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com">{{cite book |url=http://www.ottoman-turkish-bows.com/ |title=Ottoman Turkish bows, manufacture & design. |first=Adam |last=Karpowicz. |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9811372-0-9 |access-date=26 October 2009 |archive-date=9 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809171014/http://www.ottoman-turkish-bows.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bamboo, and wood of the [[mulberry|mulberry family]], are traditional in China. Some composite bows have nonbending tips (''"siyahs"''), which need to be stiff and light; they may be made of woods such as [[Sitka spruce]].<ref name=TBB>* (1992) ''The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1''. The Lyons Press. {{ISBN|1-58574-085-3}}
* (1992) ''The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2''. The Lyons Press. {{ISBN|1-58574-086-1}}
* (1994) ''The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 3''. The Lyons Press. {{ISBN|1-58574-087-X}}</ref>

A thin layer of [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]] is glued onto what will be the belly of the bow, the side facing the archer. [[Domestic Asian Water Buffalo|Water buffalo]] horn is very suitable, as is horn of several antelopes such as [[gemsbok]], [[oryx]], [[ibex]], and that of [[Hungarian grey cattle]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.atarn.org/magyar/magyar_1.htm |title=A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF HUNGARIAN ARCHERY, PART I. Chris Szabó |access-date=1 April 2008 |archive-date=9 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509154945/http://www.atarn.org/magyar/magyar_1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Goat and sheep horn can also be used. Most forms of cow horn are not suitable, as they soon delaminate with use. The horn can store more energy than wood in compression.<ref name=TBB/>

The [[sinew]], soaked in [[animal glue]], is then laid in layers on the back of the bow; the strands of sinew are oriented along the length of the bow. The [[sinew]] is normally obtained from the lower legs and back of wild deer or domestic [[ungulate]]s. Traditionally, ox tendons are considered inferior to wild-game sinews since they have a higher fat content, leading to spoilage.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com"/> Sinew has greater elastic tension properties than wood, again increasing the amount of energy that can be stored in the bow stave.

[[Hide glue]] or [[Isinglass|gelatin made from fish]] [[gas bladder]]s is used to attach layers of sinew to the back of the bow, and to attach the horn belly to the wooden core.<ref name=TBB/>

Stiffening laths, if used, are attached. Both horn and laths may be bound and glued with further lengths of sinew. After months of drying, the bow is ready for use. Further finishing may include thin leather or waterproof bark, to protect the bow from moisture, and recent Turkish bows were often highly decorated with colourful paints and gold leaf.

[[Bow string|Strings]] and [[arrow]]s are essential parts of the weapon system, but no type of either is specifically associated with composite bows throughout their history.

==Advantages and disadvantages of composite construction==

===Advantages===
The main advantage of composite bows over [[self bow]]s (made from a single piece of wood) is their combination of smaller size with high power. They are therefore more convenient than self bows when the archer is mobile, as from horseback, or from a chariot. Almost all composite bows are also [[recurve bow]]s as the shape curves away from the archer; this design gives higher draw-weight in the early stages of the archer's draw, storing somewhat more total energy for a given final draw-weight. It would be possible to make a wooden bow that has the same shape, length, and draw-weight as a traditional composite bow, but it could not store the energy, and would break before full draw.<ref name=TBB/>

For most practical non-mounted archery purposes, composite construction offers no advantage; "the initial velocity is about the same for all types of bow... within certain limits, the design parameters... appear to be less important than is often claimed." However, they are superior for horsemen and in the specialized art of flight archery: "A combination of many technical factors made the composite flight bow better for flight shooting."<ref name=Kooi>{{cite journal |url=http://www.bio.vu.nl/thb/users/kooi/kobe97.pdf |title=An Approach to the Study of Ancient Archery using Mathematical Modelling. |first1=B.W. |last1=Kooi |first2=C.A. |last2=Bergman |journal=Antiquity |volume=71:(271) |pages=124–134 |year=1997 |issue=271 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00084611 |s2cid=36104959 |access-date=28 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121144334/http://www.bio.vu.nl/thb/users/kooi/kobe97.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The higher arrow velocity is only for well-designed composite bows of high draw-weight. At the weights more usual for modern amateurs, the greater density of horn and sinew compared with wood usually cancels any advantage.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com"/>

===Disadvantages===
Constructing composite bows requires much more time and a greater variety of materials than self bows, and the [[animal glue]] used can lose strength in humid conditions; the 6th-century [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] military manual, the ''[[Strategikon of Maurice|Strategikon]]'', advised the cavalry of the [[Byzantine army]], many of whom were armed with composite bows, to keep their bows in leather cases to keep them dry. Karpowicz suggests that crafting a composite bow may take a week's work, excluding drying time (months) and gathering materials, while a self bow can be made in a day and dried in a week.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com"/> Peoples living in humid or rainy regions historically have favoured self bows, while those living in temperate, dry, or arid regions have favoured composite bows. 

[[Medieval European History|Medieval Europeans]] favoured [[self bow]]s as hand bows, but they made composite [[Crossbow#Construction|prods]] for crossbows. The prods were usually well protected from rain and humidity, which are prevalent in parts of Europe. Ancient Mediterranean civilizations, influenced by Eastern Archery, preferred composite recurve bows, and the Romans manufactured and used them as far north as [[Roman Britain|Britannia]].<ref>Coulston, J.C. "Roman Archery Equipment. The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment". Ed. M.C. Bishop. Oxford: B.A.R. International Series, 1985. pp. 202-366.</ref>

The civilizations of [[India]] used both self bows and composite bows. The Mughals were especially known for their composite bows due to their Turko-Mongol roots. Waterproofing and proper storage of composite bows were essential due to India's extremely wet and humid subtropical climate and plentiful rainfall today (which averages {{convert|38|-|58|in|mm|abbr=in|order=flip|disp=or}} in most of the country, and exceeds well over {{convert|100|in|mm|abbr=in|order=flip|disp=or}} per year in the wettest areas due to monsoons).<ref name="eldoradoweather.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.eldoradoweather.com/climate/world-maps/world-annual-precip-map.html|title=World Average Yearly Annual Precipitation|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401150157/https://www.eldoradoweather.com/climate/world-maps/world-annual-precip-map.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The civilizations of [[China]] also used a combination of self bows, composite recurve bows, and laminated reflex bows. Self bows and laminated bows were preferred in southern China in earlier periods of history due to the region's extremely wet, humid, and rainy subtropical climate. The average rainfall in southern China exceeds {{convert|38|in|mm|abbr=in|order=flip}}, averaging {{convert|58|-|97|in|mm|abbr=in|order=flip}} in many areas today.<ref name="eldoradoweather.com"/>

==Origins and use==

Composite construction may have become common in the third or fourth millennium BCE, in [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Elam]] (South-West [[Iran]]).<ref>Origins and Comparative Performance of the Composite Bow. Karl Chandler Randall IV. PhD thesis, Classical Studies, University of South Africa, February 2016. Promoters: Doctor Martine De Marre and Doctor Barry Molloy. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79170491.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225112241/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79170491.pdf |date=25 February 2021 }} Retrieved 1 December 2019</ref>

===Associated with charioteers===
[[File:Andronovo culture.png|thumb|left|Early Bronze Age cultures in the Asian steppe]]

Bows of any kind seldom survive in the archaeological record. Composite bows may have been invented first by the [[nomad]]s of the Asiatic steppe, who may have based it on earlier [[North Asia|Northern Asian]] [[laminated bow]]s.<ref name="Insulander">{{cite journal |url=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/content/ct07yrml6fcbanuj |first=Ragnar |last=Insulander |title=The Two-Wood Bow |journal=Acta Borealia |year=2002 |volume=19 |pages=49–73 |doi=10.1080/08003830215543|s2cid=144012834 |url-access=subscription }}{{dead link|date=June 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [http://www.freebirdarchery.com/images/twowoodbow.pdf Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813182219/http://www.freebirdarchery.com/images/twowoodbow.pdf |date=13 August 2012 }}</ref> However, archaeological investigation of the [[Asian Steppe|Asiatic steppe]] is still limited and patchy; literary records of any kind are late and scanty and seldom mention details of bows.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com" /> There are arrowheads from the earliest [[chariot burial]]s at [[Krivoye Lake]], part of the [[Sintashta culture]] about 2100–1700&nbsp;BCE, but the bow that shot them has not survived. Other sites of the Sintashta culture have produced finds of horn and bone, interpreted as furniture (grips, arrow rests, bow ends, string loops) of bows; there is no indication that the bending parts of these bows included anything other than wood.<ref>THE SINTASHTA BOW OF THE BRONZE AGE OF THE SOUTH TRANS-URALS, RUSSIA. Andrey Bersenev, Andrey Epimakhov and Dmitry Zdanovich. Pages 175-186 in: Bronze Age Warfare:Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. Edited by Marianne Mödlinger Marion Uckelmann Steven Matthews BAR International Series 22552011. Published by Archaeopress, publishers of British Archaeological Reports, Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England, 2011. BAR S2255 Bronze Age Warfare: Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. {{ISBN|978 1 4073 0822 7}} https://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027141705/http://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA |date=27 October 2017 }} accessed 20 03 2016</ref> These finds are associated with short arrows, {{convert|50|-|70|cm|in|abbr=in}} long, and the bows themselves may have been correspondingly short.<ref>THE SINTASHTA BOW OF THE BRONZE AGE OF THE SOUTH TRANS-URALS, RUSSIA. Andrey Bersenev, Andrey Epimakhov and Dmitry Zdanovich. Pages 175-186 in: Bronze Age Warfare:Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. Edited by Marianne Mödlinger Marion Uckelmann Steven Matthews. BAR International Series 22552011. Published by Archaeopress, publishers of British Archaeological Reports, Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England, 2011. BAR S2255 Bronze Age Warfare: Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. {{ISBN|978 1 4073 0822 7}} https://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027141705/http://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA |date=27 October 2017 }} accessed 20 03 2016</ref> The [[Andronovo Culture]], descendant of the Sintashta culture, was the first to extend from the [[Ural Mountains]] to [[Tian Shan]],<ref>Archaeology, March/April 1995, 39. As quoted by Central Asia Images, {{cite web |url=http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/millwarj/website%20images/centralasiaimages.htm |title=Central Asia Images |access-date=2011-06-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709110150/http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/millwarj/website%20images/centralasiaimages.htm |archive-date=9 July 2011 }}</ref> and its successor cultures gave rise to the [[Indo-Aryan migration]]. It has been suggested that the [[Srubna culture]] (contemporaneous with, and a neighbour to, the Andronovo culture) used composite bows, but no archaeological evidence is known.<ref>Shishlina, N. I. 1990. O slozhnom luke srubnoikul’tury. In S. V. Studzitzkaya (ed.), Problemyarheologii Evrazii. Trudy Gosudarstven-nogo istoricheskogo muzeya. Vyp. 74. 23–37.Moscow, Gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii mu-zei. As reported on page 181 of THE SINTASHTA BOW OF THE BRONZE AGE OF THE SOUTH TRANS-URALS, RUSSIA. Andrey Bersenev, Andrey Epimakhov and Dmitry Zdanovich. Pages 175-186 in: Bronze Age Warfare:Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. Edited by Marianne Mödlinger Marion Uckelmann Steven Matthews BAR International Series 22552011. Published by Archaeopress, publishers of British Archaeological Reports, Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England, 2011. BAR S2255 Bronze Age Warfare: Manufacture and Use of Weaponry. {{ISBN|978 1 4073 0822 7}} https://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027141705/http://www.academia.edu/3187585/THE_SINTASHTA_BOW_OF_THE_BRONZE_AGE_OF_THE_SOUTH_TRANS-URALS_RUSSIA |date=27 October 2017 }} accessed 20 03 2016</ref>

[[File:Ramsés II en Qadesh, relieve de Abu Simbel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ramses II]] at the [[Battle of Kadesh]]]]
Composite bows were soon adopted and adapted by civilizations who came into contact with nomads, such as the [[Military history of China (pre-1911)|Chinese]], [[Assyria]]ns, and [[Military of Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]ians. Several composite bows were found in the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]], who died in 1324&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation. http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/135z.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205195616/http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/carter/135z.html |date=5 February 2013 }}</ref> Composite bows (and chariots) are known in [[China]] from at least the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1100&nbsp;BCE).<ref>Shang Civilization. Kwang-Chih Chang.{{ISBN|0-300-02885-7}}</ref> There are strong indications that [[Greek Bronze Age]] cultures were using composite bows on a large scale.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Composite Bows in Minoan And Mycenaean Warfare|last=Bakas|first=Spyros|publisher=Archaeological Journal "Syndesmoi", University of Catania, Sympozjum Egejskie. Proceedings of the 2nd Students' Conference in Aegean Archaeology: Methods – Researches – Perspective, Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland, 25 April 2014|year=2016|isbn=979-12-200-0472-5|location=Catania|pages=9–15}}</ref> By the 4th century BCE, chariotry had ceased to have military importance, replaced by [[cavalry]] everywhere (except in [[Britannia]], where charioteers are not recorded as using bows).

===By mounted archers===
[[File:OttomanHorseArcher.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ottoman horse archer]]
The [[mounted archery|mounted archer]] became the archetypal warrior of the [[steppe]]s and the composite bow was his primary weapon, used to protect the herds, in steppe warfare, and for incursions into settled lands.

Classic tactics for horse-mounted archers included skirmishing: they would approach, shoot, and retreat before any effective response could be made.<ref>Maurice's Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. George T. Dennis (Translator) {{ISBN|978-0-8122-1772-8}}</ref> The term [[Parthian shot]] refers to the widespread horse-archer tactic of shooting backwards over the rear of their horses as they retreated. [[Parthia]]ns inflicted heavy [[Roman–Parthian Wars|defeats]] on [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], the first being the [[Battle of Carrhae]]. However, horse archers did not make an army invincible; [[Han dynasty|Han]] General [[Ban Chao]] led successful military expeditions in the late 1st century CE that conquered as far as Central Asia, and both [[Philip of Macedon]] and his son [[Alexander the Great]] defeated horse archer armies. Well-led Roman armies defeated Parthian armies on several occasions and twice [[Roman–Parthian Wars|took]] [[Ctesiphon|the Parthian capital]].

===By infantry===
Composite bows can be used without difficulty by infantry. The infantry archers of [[classical Greece]] and the [[Roman Empire]] used composite bows. The military of the [[Han dynasty]] (220 BCE–206 CE) utilized composite [[crossbow]]s, often in [[infantry square]] formations, in their many engagements against the [[Xiongnu]]. Until 1571, archers with composite bows were a main component of the forces of the [[Ottoman Empire]], but in the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in that year, they lost most of these troops and never replaced them.<ref name="WARKEEGAN" />

==Technical changes in classical times==
The details of bow construction changed somewhat with time. It is not clear that the various developments of the composite bow led to measurable improvements: "the development of archery equipment may not be a process involving progressive improvements in performance. Rather, each design type represents one solution to the problem of creating a mobile weapon system capable of hurling lightweight projectiles."<ref name=Kooi/>

===Scythian bows, bending tips===
{{See also|Gorytos}}
[[File:Scythians shooting with bows Kertch antique Panticapeum Ukrainia 4th century BCE.jpg|thumb|[[Scythians]] shooting with bows, [[Panticapaeum]] (known today as [[Kerch]], Crimea), 4th century BCE]] Variants of the [[Scythians|Scythian]] bow were the dominant form in Asia until approximately the first century BCE. These were short weapons—one was {{convert|119|cm|in|abbr=in}} long when strung, with arrows perhaps {{convert|50|-|60|cm|in|abbr=in}} long—with flexible, "working" tips; the wooden core was continuous from the centre to the tip.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atarn.org/chinese/scythian_bows.htm |title=Scythian-style bows discovered in Xinjiang: From the photographs and drawings of Stephen Selby |first=Bede |last=Dwyer |date=19 March 2004 |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518171656/http://atarn.org/chinese/scythian_bows.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Siyahs, stiff tips===
From about the 4th century BCE, the use of stiffened ends on composite bows became widespread. The stiffened end of the bow is a "siyah" (Arabic, Persian),<ref>In Arabic سِئَة ''siʾaḧ'', سِیَة ''siyaḧ'' (pl. سِیَات ''siyāt''), سَأَة ''saʾaḧ'' (or سَاءَة ''sāʾaḧ''), سُؤَة ''suʾaḧ''</ref> "szarv" (Hungarian), "sarvi" (Finnish; both 'sarvi' and 'szarv' mean 'horn') or "kasan" (Turkish); the bending section is a "dustar" (Arabic), "lapa" (Finnish) or "sal" (Turkish). For centuries, the stiffening was accomplished by attaching laths of bone or antler to the sides of the bow at its ends. The bone or antler strips are more likely to survive burial than the rest of the bow. The first bone strips suitable for this purpose come from "graves of the fourth or third centuries" BCE.<ref name=Maenchen-Helfen>{{cite book
  | last = Maenchen-Helfen
  | first =Otto
  | title =The World of the Huns
  | publisher =University of California Press
  | year =1973
  | page =222
  | url =https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CrUdgzSICxcC
  | isbn =978-0-520-01596-8}}</ref> These stiffeners are found associated with [[Eurasian nomads|nomad]]s of the time. [[Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen|Maenchen-Helfen]] states that they are not found in Achaemenid Persia, in early Imperial Rome, or in Han China. However, Coulston attributes Roman stiffeners to about or before 9 CE.<ref>At Oberaden in Free Germany, and Dangstetten in Germania Inferior. Coulston J.C., 'Roman Archery Equipment', in M.C. Bishop (ed.), The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment. Proceedings of the Second Roman Military Equipment Seminar, BAR International Series 275, Oxford, 1985, 220-366.</ref> He identifies a Steppe Tradition of Scythian bows with working tips, which lasted, in Europe, until the arrival of the Huns, and a Near East or Levantine tradition with siyahs, possibly introduced by the [[Parni]] as siyahs are found in [[Sassanid]] but not [[Achaemenid]] contexts. Siyahs have also been described on the Arabian peninsula.<ref name="doi.org">An De Waele. Composite bows at ed-Dur (Umm al-Qaiwain, U.A.E.) Arabian archaeology and epigraphy 2005: 16: 154–160 [https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0471.2005.00255.x] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030144340/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2005.00255.x|date=30 October 2021}},</ref> Composite bows were adopted by the Roman Empire and were made even in the cold and damp of Britannia.<ref>Coulston J, 'Roman Archery Equipment', in M.C. Bishop (ed.), The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment. Proceedings of the Second Roman Military Equipment Seminar, BAR International Series 275, Oxford, 1985, 220-366.</ref> They were the normal weapon of later Roman archers, both infantry and cavalry units (although [[Vegetius]] recommends training recruits ''"arcubus ligneis"'', with [[Longbow|wooden bows]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0189/_PG.HTM |author=Vegetius |title=Epitoma rei militaris |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-date=30 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130140804/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0189/_PG.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Laths stiffening the grip===
A new bow type, in which bone reinforcements cover the handle of the bow as well as the tips, may have developed in Central Asia during the 3rd to 2nd century BCE,<ref>Vadim V. Gorbunov, Aleksei A. Tishkin. "Weapons of the Gorny Altai Nomads in the Hunnu Age." ''[[Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia]]'' 4/28 (2006): 79–85.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | last1 = Hall | first1 = Andrew | year = 2006 | title = The development of the bone reinforced composite | journal = Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries | volume = 49 | pages = 65–77 }}</ref><ref>"New Evidence about Composite Bows and Their Arrows in Inner Asia".</ref> with earliest finds from the area of Lake Baikal. Fittings from this type of bow appear right across Asia<ref name="Coulston J.C. 1985">Coulston J.C., 'Roman Archery Equipment', in M.C. Bishop (ed.), The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment. Proceedings of the Second Roman Military Equipment Seminar, BAR International Series 275, Oxford, 1985, 220-366.</ref> from Korea to the Crimea. Such bows with reinforcement of both grip and siyahs have been called “[[Hun]],” "Hunnic", or “[[Hsiung-nu]]” composite bows.<ref name="doi.org"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> Huns did use such bows, but so did many other peoples; Rausing termed this type the 'Qum-Darya Bow' from the Han Chinese-type site at the frontier post of [[Loulan (town)|Loulan]], at the mouth of the Qum Darya river, dated by analogy between c. 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE.<ref name="Coulston J.C. 1985"/>

With the arrival of the Huns, this tradition of bows with stiffened grips came to Europe. "Alanic graves in the Volga region dating to the 3rd to 4th century CE signal the adoption of the Qum-Darya type by Sarmatian peoples from Hunnic groups advancing from the East. In general, Hunnic/Qum-Darya bows had two pairs of ear laths identical in every respect to those found on Roman [[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]] sites. The ear laths show only a greater proportion of longer laths (like those of Roman examples from Bar Hill and London). More distinctively, the grip of the bow was stiffened by three laths. On the sides were glued a pair of trapezoidal laths with their longest edges towards the back. On the belly was glued a third lath, varying in shape but often narrow with parallel sides and splayed ends. Therefore, each bow possessed seven grip and ear laths, compared with none on the Scythian and Sarmatian bows and four (ear) laths on the Yrzi bow."<ref name="Coulston J.C. 1985"/>

Such bows were often asymmetric, with lower limbs shorter than the upper.<ref name="Maenchen-Helfen"/><ref>Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome (Paperback). M.C. Bishop, J.C. Coulston. Oxbow Books 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-84217-159-2}}</ref><ref name=ArabArchery>{{cite book
  | last = Faris
  | first =Nabih
  |author2=Robert Potter
  | title =A BOOK ON THE EXCELLENCE OF THE BOW AND ARROW AND THE DESCRIPTION THEREOF
  | publisher =University of Princeton Press
  | year =1945
  | url =http://www.sacred-archery.com/arab%20archery%20anno%20domini%201500.pdf
  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090225181419/http://www.sacred-archery.com/arab%20archery%20anno%20domini%201500.pdf
  | archive-date =25 February 2009
  }}</ref>

The Huns and their successors greatly impressed their neighbours with their archery. Germanic tribes transmitted their respect orally for a millennium: in the Scandinavian [[Hervarar saga]], the Geatish king Gizur taunts the Huns and says, "Eigi gera Húnar oss felmtraða né hornbogar yðrir." (We fear neither the Huns nor their horn bows.) The Romans, as described in the [[Strategicon of Maurice|Strategikon]], [[Procopius]]'s histories, and other works, changed the entire emphasis of their army from heavy infantry to cavalry, many of them armed with bows. Maurikios's Strategikon describes the Byzantine cavalry as bow-armed ''cursores'' and lance-armed ''defensores''.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Charles C. |last=Petersen |title=The Strategikon: A Forgotten Military Classic |journal=Military Review |date=August 1992 |url=http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/strategikon/strategikon.htm |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722041418/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/strategikon/strategikon.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Additional stiffening laths===
The Qum-Darya bow was superseded in the modern area of Hungary by an [[Avars (Carpathians)|'Avar']] type, with more and differently-shaped laths. The grip laths stayed essentially the same except that a fourth piece was sometimes glued to the back of the handle, enclosing it with bone on all four faces. The belly lath was often parallel-sided with splayed ends. The siyah laths became much wider in profile above the nock and less rounded, giving a bulbous aspect. The nock was often further away from the upper end of the siyah than on Qum-Darya type examples. Additional laths were usually added to the belly and back of the siyah, thus enclosing both ends of the stave on four faces. This made a total of up to 12 laths on an asymmetrical bow with a stiff, set-back handle. Examples measured in situ suggest bow lengths of {{convert|120|-|140|cm|in|abbr=in}}. When unstrung, the siyahs reversed sharply forward at an angle of 50-60 degrees.<ref name="Coulston J.C. 1985"/>

==Post-classical development==
[[File:Harun Al-Rashid and the World of the Thousand and One Nights.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A [[Iran|Persian]] miniature representing a man with a composite bow]]

After the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]], armies of the [[Byzantine Empire]] maintained their tradition of horse archery for centuries. Byzantium finally [[Fall of Constantinople|fell to the Turks]] before the decline of military archery in favour of guns. Turkish armies included archers until about 1591 (they played a major role in the [[Battle of Lepanto (1571)]],<ref name="WARKEEGAN">{{cite book |title=[[A History of Warfare]] |last=Keegan |first=John | author-link=John Keegan |year=2004 |publisher=Pimlico |isbn=978-1-84413-749-7}}</ref> and flight archery remained a popular sport in [[Istanbul]] until the early 19th century.<ref name=Klopsteg>{{cite book |title=Turkish Archery and the Composite Bow |edition=second |last=Klopsteg |first=Paul | others=Illustrated by Carey Orr |publisher=Paul E. Klopsteg |location=Evanston, IL }}</ref> Most surviving documentation of the use and construction of composite bows comes from China and the Middle East; until reforms early in the 20th century, skill with the composite bow was an essential part of the qualification for officers in the Chinese Imperial army. 

[[File:Pier Francesco Mola - Oriental Warrior - WGA16087.jpg|thumb|right|upright| A [[Saracen]] pirate holding a bow of the then-popular short [[Kipchak people|Kipchak]] ([[Mamluk]]) design]]
The composite bow was adopted throughout the Arab world, even though some [[Bedu]] tribesmen in the [[Hijaz]] retained the use of simple [[self bow]]s.<ref name=ArabArchery/> Persian designs were used after the conquest of the [[Sassanid Empire]], and Turkish-type bows were widely used after the [[Turkic expansion]]s. Roughly speaking, Arabs favoured slightly shorter siyahs and broader limbs than the [[India|Indo]]-Persian designs. Sometimes, the protective cover on the back was painted with Arabic calligraphy or geometric patterns.<ref name=ArabArchery/> No design was standardized over the vast area of the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab conquest]]s. It was said that the best Arab composite bows were manufactured in [[Damascus]], Syria.

The first surviving treatise on composite bow construction and archery was written in Arabic under [[Bahri dynasty|Mamluk rule]] about 1368.<ref name=ArabArchery/><ref>{{cite book |title=Kitab ghunyat at-tullab fi marifat ramy an-mushshab |last= l-Ashrafi l-Maklamishi l-Yunani |first=Taybugha |year=1368 |language=ar |trans-title=Saracen Archery. An English Version and Exposition of a Mameluke Work on Archery (ca. A.D. 1368) With Introduction, Glossary, and Illustrations. Translated by J. D. Paterson, And Lt. CDR. W. F. Latham }}</ref> Fragments of bone laths from composite bows were found among grave goods in the [[United Arab Emirates]] dating from the period between 100 BCE and 150 CE.<ref>Waele, An De. 2005. "Composite Bows at Ed-Dur (Umm Al-Qaiwain, U.A.E.)". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 16, no. 2: 154-160. Abstract: This article discusses seven bone fragments excavated during the second Belgian archaeological campaign at ed-Dur (tomb G.3831, area N). Rather than weaving implements, these objects are identified as the reinforcing bone laths of composite bows. Information on the composite bow in general—origins, structural composition and technical advantages—will be given. Additionally, the question of which types of composite bows could have been present at ed-Dur and what role these weapons could have played at the site are discussed.</ref>

===Integral wooden siyahs===
Later developments in the composite bow included siyahs made of separate pieces of wood, attached with a [[V-splice]]<ref name=Yanghai>http://www.atarn.org/chinese/Yanghai/Scythian_bow_ATARN.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518165726/http://atarn.org/chinese/Yanghai/Scythian_bow_ATARN.pdf |date=18 May 2011 }}. SCYTHIAN BOW FROM XINJANG. Adam Karpowicz and Stephen Selby. (first published in the Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries, vol 53, 2010) Of a bow from the [[Yanghai Cemetery]] (1000-400BCE): "The splices were all scarf joints, not the common (or perhaps later) V-splice, often found in the composite bows. Since the V-splice requires a hand saw to cut the female part of the V, one can speculate the saws of sufficient quality were either unknown or not yet common in Central Asia at the time."</ref> to the wooden core of the bow, rather than strengthened by external reinforcement.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com"/> Medieval and modern bows generally have integral wooden siyahs and lack stiffening laths.

===String bridges===
A string "bridge" or "run" is an attachment of horn or wood, used to hold the string a little further apart from the bow's limbs at the base of the siyahs, as well as allowing the siyah to rest at an angle forward of the string. This attachment may add weight, but might give a small increase in the speed of the arrow by increasing the initial string angle and therefore the force of the draw in its early stages. Large string bridges are characteristic of [[Manchu people|Manchu]] ([[Qing dynasty]], 1644–1911) bows and late Mongolian bows, while small string bridges are characteristic of [[Gungdo|Korean]], Crimean Tatar, and some [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644) bows.<ref>Archery Traditions of Asia. Stephen Selby. Publisher: Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence 2003. {{ISBN|962-7039-47-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.atarn.org/chinese/wubeiyl.htm |title=Illustration from the Wu Bei Yao Lue ('Outline of Military Preparedness' : The Theory of Archery). Chen Zi-yi. 1638. Translated by Stephen Selby. |access-date=26 December 2010 |archive-date=17 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917223929/http://atarn.org/chinese/wubeiyl.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.turkishculture.org/military/weapons/inheritage-turkish-bowyer-829.htm |title=The Inheritance of a Turkish Bowyer: A Document from the Ottoman Archive. Şinasi Acar and Murat Özveri. |access-date=26 December 2010 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718192804/http://www.turkishculture.org/military/weapons/inheritage-turkish-bowyer-829.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> String bridges are not present in artwork in the time of [[Genghis Khan]] or before.

==Modern living traditions==
All Eurasian composite bows derive from the same nomad origins, but every culture that used them has made its own adaptations to the basic design. The Turkish, Mongolian, and Korean bows were standardized when archery lost its military function and became a popular sport.<ref name="KTA">{{cite book|title=Korean Traditional Archery |last=Duvernay |first=TA|author2=Duvernay NY |year=2007|publisher=Handong Global University}}</ref> Recent Turkish bows are optimized for flight shooting.

===Perso-Parthian bow===
The Perso-Parthian bow is a symmetric recurve under high tension when strung. The "arms" of the bow are supposed to [[reflex bow|reflex]] far enough to cross each other when the bow is unstrung. The finished bow is covered by bark, fine leather, or in some cases shark skin to keep out moisture.<ref name=TBB/>

Perso-Parthian bows were in use as late as the 1820s in [[Persia]] (ancient [[Iran]]). They were then replaced by [[muskets]].

===Turkish bow===
{{Main|Turkish bow}}
This is the Ottoman development of the composite bow, presumably brought from the steppes. Turkish bows evolved, after the decline of military archery, into probably the best traditional flight bows. Their decoration often included delicate and beautiful multicoloured designs with gold.<ref name="ottoman-turkish-bows.com"/><ref name=Klopsteg/>

===Chinese bow===
[[File:Zhangxian02.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Zhang Xian (deity)|Zhang Xian]] shooting a pebble bow at the ''[[tiangou]]'' causing an eclipse]]
{{Main|Chinese archery}}
For millennia, archery has played a pivotal role in Chinese history.<ref>{{cite book |title=Chinese Archery |last=Selby |first=Stephen |year=2000 |publisher=Hong Kong University |isbn=978-962-209-501-4}}</ref> Because the cultures associated with Chinese society spanned a wide geography and time range, the techniques and equipment associated with Chinese archery are diverse. Historical sources and archaeological evidence suggest that a variety of bow designs existed throughout Chinese history.<ref name="jcms">{{cite journal |last1=Selby |first1=Stephen |year=2010 |title=The Bows of China |journal=Journal of Chinese Martial Studies |volume=Winter |issue=2 |publisher=Three-In-One Press}}</ref> For much of the 20th century, only a few Chinese traditional bow and arrow-making workshops were active.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.juyuanhao.org/index1.html |title=History of Ju Yuan Hao |access-date=16 June 2011 |archive-date=6 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006190838/http://www.juyuanhao.org/index1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a revival in interest among craftsmen looking to construct bows and arrows in the traditional Chinese style.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinaarchery.org/archives/94 |title=2009 Chinese Traditional Archery Seminar |author=Sherman |date=1 November 2009 |publisher=Folk Archery Federation of the People's Republic of China |access-date=16 June 2011 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725164447/http://www.chinaarchery.org/archives/94 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mongol bow===
{{Main|Mongol bow}}
The Mongolian tradition of archery is attested by an inscription on a stone [[stele]] that was found near [[Nerchinsk]] in [[Siberia]]: "While [[Genghis Khan]] was holding an assembly of Mongolian dignitaries, after his conquest of Sartaul ([[Khwarezm]]), [[Yesüngge]] (the son of Genghis Khan's younger brother) shot a target at 335 [[Ald (unit)|alds]] (536 m)". The Mongol bowmaking tradition was lost under the Qing, who heavily restricted archery practice; only practice with blunt arrows at shorted distances was allowed while most other forms of practice, including mounted archery; was forbidden.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.mn/?p=29269&lang=en |title=MONGOLIAN ARCHERY IS AS OLD AS HISTORY |author=Chanrav Burenbayar |access-date=28 August 2023 |archive-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806163245/http://www.mfa.gov.mn/?p=29269&lang=en |url-status=deviated }}</ref> The present bowmaking tradition emerged after independence in 1921 and is based on Manchu types of bow.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atarn.org/mongolian/mn_nat_arch/mn_nat_arch.htm |title=Mongolian National Archery |author=Munkhtsetseg |date=18 July 2000 |work=INSTINCTIVE ARCHER MAGAZINE |access-date=16 June 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518170027/http://atarn.org/mongolian/mn_nat_arch/mn_nat_arch.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mounted archery]] had fallen into disuse and has been revived only in the 21st century.

Archery with composite bows is part of the annual festival of the three virile sports (wrestling, horseriding, archery), called "[[Naadam]]".

===Hungarian bow===
The Hungarian bow is a fairly long, approximately symmetrical composite [[reflex bow]] with bone stiffeners. Its shape is known from two graves in which the position of the bone plates could be reconstructed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atarn.org/magyar/magyar_2/bow.htm |title=Hungarian Traditional Archery |author=Csikos Balint |date=1 May 2000 |publisher=ATARN.org |access-date=15 June 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518172134/http://atarn.org/magyar/magyar_2/bow.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern Hungarians have attempted to reconstruct the composite bows of their ancestors and have revived [[mounted archery]] as a [[Lajos Kassai|competitive sport]].

===Korean bow===
{{Main|Korean bow}}
A traditional [[Korean bow]], or gakgung, is a small but very efficient horn-bamboo-sinew composite bow. Korean archers normally practice at a range of approximately 145 metres.<ref name="KTA"/>

===Japanese bow===
{{Main|Yumi}}
Yumi is made by laminating multiple pieces of bamboo and wood.

==Analogous New World bows, modern replicas, alternative materials==

===American sinew-backed bows===
When Europeans first contacted Native Americans, some bows, especially in the area that became California, already had sinew backing. After the introduction of domesticated horses, newly mounted groups rapidly developed shorter bows, which were often given sinew backing. The full three-layer composite bow with horn, wood, and sinew does not seem to be recorded in the Americas, and horn bows with sinew backing are not recorded before European contact.<ref>{{cite book |title=American Indian Archery |last=Laubin |first=Reginald |author2=Gladys Laubin |year=1980 |publisher=University of Oklahoma |isbn=978-0-8061-1467-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/americanindianar00regi }}</ref>

===Replicas made with modern materials===
Modern replicas of traditional composite bows are commercially available; they are usually made with fibreglass or carbon on both belly and back, easier to mass-produce and easier to take care of than traditional composite bows.

Other less satisfactory materials than horn have been used for the belly of the bow (the part facing the archer when shooting), including bone, antler, or compression-resistant woods such as [[Osage-orange|osage orange]], [[hornbeam]], or [[Taxus|yew]]. Materials that are strong under tension, such as [[silk]], or tough wood, like [[hickory]], have been used on the back of the bow (the part facing away from the archer when shooting).<ref name=TBB/>

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Crossbow]]
*[[English longbow]]
*[[Longbow]]
*[[Flatbow]]
*[[Archery]]
*[[Mounted archery]]
*[[Bow shape]]
}}

===Bow construction techniques===
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Self bow]]
*[[Compound bow]]
*[[Laminated bow]]
*[[Cable-backed bow]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.atarn.org The Asian Traditional Archery Research network]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060430062415/http://www.student.utwente.nl/~sagi/artikel/ancient_composites/ Ancient Composite Bows]
* [http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-composite_bow.html Making an Asiatic Composite Bow]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060823003915/http://www.ashmolean.org/gri/9bow.html Five composite bows from the tomb of Tutankhamun]

{{Archery}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Composite Bow}}
[[Category:Bows (archery)]]
[[Category:Human uses of horns]]