An ancient design, emerging from Central Asia in the second millennium B.C., the composite bow was adopted by a staggering variety of cultures, from nomadic tribal peoples such as the Huns, Turks, and Mongols, to mighty empires such as the Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, and Chinese. Offering high power and portability, the composite bow was an ideal cavalry weapon, though it was also used by infantry in open battle, and as a siege weapon. In this important study, an expert on Eastern military technology tells the story of this extraordinary piece of military hardware: how it was made...

This magnificent book tells the story of the evolution of swords, how they were made, how they were used, and the people that used them. It doesn't claim to give comprehensive coverage but instead takes certain surviving examples as landmarks on a fascinating journey through the history of swords. Each is selected because it can be linked to a specific individual, thus telling their story too and giving a human interest. So the journey starts with the sword of Tutankhamun and ends with the swords of J E B Stuart and George Custer. Along the way we take in Henry V, Cromwell and Uesugi Kenshin,...

War bows were a mainstay of armies throughout the world from the earliest recorded battles over three thousand years ago to the 16th century, when firearms finally came of age. Even then, in some cultures, the bow remained in use by elite warriors. The bow gave combatants the ability to fight at distance and it played an important role in some of the most famous battles in human history.