ed with horn, or of horn entirely, and even of ivory •, some being shaped like the common English bow, and others, particularly those used by riding nations, like the buffalo horn. There were various modes of bend- ing this instrument, by pressure of the knee, or by the fco1, treading the bow, or by setting one end against the foot, drawing the middle with the hand of the same tide toward the hip, and pushing the upper point for- ward with the same hand, till the thumb passed the
H
<y«I^
Oriental Implements of Archery. 1, 2, 3, 4, Bows; 5, Quiver; 6, Bow-case; 7, S, Arrows.
4. But the chief offensive weapon in Egypt, and, from the nature of the country, it may be inferred, in Palestine also, was the war-bow, niyj?, he'sheth ("bow"), the arrow being denominated j-'Pl, chets. From the simple implements used by the first hunters, consisting merely of an elastic reed, a branch of a tree, or rib of palm, the bow became in the course of time verv strong and tall, was made of brass, of wood back-
loop of the string beyond the nock. The horned bows of the cavalry, shaped like those of the Chinese, occur on monuments of antiquity. They cannot be bent from their form of a Roman C to that of what is termed a Cupid's bow ^/ — v — ^-^ but by placing one end under the thigh ; and as they are short, this operation is per- formed by Tatar riders while in the saddle. This was the Parthian bow, as is proved by several Persian bass-reliefs, and may. have been in use in the time of the Elamites, who were a mounted people. These bows were carried in cases to protect the string, which was composed of deer sinews, from injury, and were slung on the right hip of the rider, except when on the point of engaging. Then the string was often cast over the head, and the bow hung upon the breast, with the two nocks above each shoulder, like a pair of horns. See Bow ; Archer.
The arrows were likewise enclosed in a case or "quiver," "OFl, teW ', hung sometimes on the shoulder, at other times on the left side ; and six or eight flight-arrows were commonly stuck in the edge of the cap, ready to be pulled out and put to the string. The infantry always carried the arrows in a quiver on the right shoulder, and the bow was kept unbent until the mo- ment of action. On a march
Ancient Assyrian Bow, Arrow, and Quivers.
ARMOR
422
ARMOR
it was carried on the shield arm, where there was fre- j queiitly also a horn bracer secured below the elbow to receive the shock from the string when an arrow was discharged. The flight or long-range arrows were com- monly of reed, not always feathered, and mostly tipped with flint points; but the shot or aimed arrows, used [ for nearer purposes, were of wood tipped with metal, about thirty inches long, and winged with three lines of feathers, like those in modern use : they varied in length at different periods, and according to the sub- stance of the bows. See Arrow; Quiver; Shoot. 5. The last missile instrument to be mentioned is the "sling," rbp, ke'la (Job xli, 28), an improvement upon the simple act of throwing stones. It was the favorite weapon of the Benjamites, a small tribe, not making a great mass in an order of battle, but well com- posed for light troops. They could also boast of using the sling equally well with the left hand as with the
ways reckoned upon advancing in battle and recover- ing it without trouble when thrown ; whereas, if it had been hooked or hamate, they could not have wrenched it out of hostile shields or breast-plates without trouble and delay. See Weapon.
II. Defensive Arms. — 1. The most ancient pro- tective piece of armor was the Shield, buckler, roundel, or target, composed of a great variety of materials, very different in form and size, and therefore in all
Egyptian Slingers and Sling. From the Monuments.
right. The sling was made of jplaited thongs, some- what broad in the middle, to lodge the stone or leaden missile, and was twirled two or three times round be- fore the stone was allowed to take flight. Stones could not be cast above 400 feet, but leaden bullets could be thrown as far as 600 feet. The force as well as pre- cision of aim which might be attained in the use of this instrument was remarkably shown in the case of David; and several nations cf antiquity boasted of great skill in the practice of the sling. See Sling.
Ancient Assyrian Bowmen and Slingers. All these hand-weapons were in use at different pe- riods, not only among the Hebrews and Egyptians, but likewise in Assyria, Persia, Greeco, and Macedonia; in which last country the sarissa carried by the heavy infantry of the phalanx differed from the others onl'v Id the great length of the shaft. The Roman pilum ind <>f dart, distinguished from those of other nations chiefly by its weight, and the great proportion- al length of the metal or iron part, which constituted one half of the whole, or from two and a half to three feet. Much of this length was hollow, and received nearly twenty Inches of the shaft within it; the point was never hooked like that of common darts, because, the weapon being nearly indestructible, the soldiers al-