Taybogha al-Ashrafī al-Baklamishī al-Yūnānī: an important author of the Mamlūk martial art

The Mamlūk Sultanate (647–923 h./1250–1517) was established in the Near East. During the reign of this state, important works were written in Syria and Egypt. One of these works is Taybogha al-Ashrafī al-Baklamishī al-Yūnānī’s work called Bughyat al-marām wa ghāyat al-gharām fī ramy al-sihām. The treatise is the first original Mamlūk source written on archery. There is not much information in the sources about Taybogha, the author of the treatise. Taybogha mentions many topics such as bow types, arrow types, Damascus bow, archery shooting types, qabaq shooting, qighaj shooting, bow grip types, styles of looking at the target, crossbow types, and archery masters in his work Bughyat al-marām. This work is valuable not only for archery but also for the measurement units of length and weight used during the Mamlūk period, the presence of Turkish and Persian influences in Mamlūk geography, and cultural life. In the work, units such as qīrāt, dirham, and ritl are mentioned as measurements of length and weight. The source includes many Turkish and Persian words, such as jilla, amaj, fūlād, jarkh, kustabān, qabaq, and qighaj. Due to its value, the work was also used by the Ottomans and translated into Turkish. Bughyat al-marām provides us with valuable information about the Mamlūk period archery as it contains many important archery terms.