Battles & Wars › Ancient world › Bow and arrow
Composite bow
by c. 2000 BC (steppe and Near East)· Invention or discovery· Weapons, armor & warships
Mostly agreedGood evidence; some details, dates or numbers uncertain.
A bow built from layers of wood, horn and sinew glued together, giving more power from a shorter bow.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Horn on the belly resists compression and sinew on the back resists stretching, so a short bow stores far more energy than a plain wooden bow of the same size. Short bows suited chariots and, later, horseback. Making one took skill and months of drying the glue. Composite bows appear on the Eurasian steppe and in the Near East by about 2000 BC; Tutankhamun's tomb held dozens. Scythians, Huns, Mongols, Ottomans and Koreans all relied on them.
Why it matters
With chariots and then horse archers, it gave steppe peoples and Asian empires their deadliest striking power for some 3,500 years, until firearms.
How we know
Surviving bows from Egyptian tombs such as Tutankhamun's and from steppe burials, Assyrian reliefs, Chinese and Persian records, and shooting tests with modern replicas.
Still debated
Where and when it was invented is unclear; some scholars see one on Naram-Sin's victory stele around 2250 BC, others doubt it.
Connections (5)
▸Ahmose I expels the Hyksos made Egypt adopt the Composite bowDebated
The connection
The composite bow seems to arrive in Egypt during the Hyksos period, along with the chariot. After Ahmose's war, New Kingdom chariot archers made it their main weapon. Tradition credits the Hyksos with bringing it; it may instead have arrived gradually through Near Eastern trade and mercenaries.
When and how
Egypt, about 1650–1500 BC; well established in the 18th Dynasty.
How sure are we?
Bows in New Kingdom tombs, including Tutankhamun's, and reliefs of chariot archers; earlier Egyptian bows were simple wooden ones.
Debates and open questions
Exactly when, and through whom, Egypt adopted the composite bow is debated; the Hyksos may get credit they do not deserve.
▸Battle of Carrhae was won by Parthian archers with the Composite bowWell documented
The connection
The Parthian composite bow, built of horn, wood and sinew, was short enough to shoot from horseback yet strong enough to pierce Roman shields and armor at range. With camels bringing fresh arrows, Surena's archers could keep shooting all day, while the Romans, unable to close with them, took steady losses.
When and how
Carrhae, near Harran in southeastern Turkey, 53 BC; about 9,000 Parthian horse archers under Surena.
How we know
Plutarch and Cassius Dio describe the archery and the arrow resupply; Parthian art and finds of bow fittings confirm the type of weapon.
Debates and open questions
Whether the bows alone won, or Crassus's poor choices, such as his route across open plains and lack of cavalry, mattered as much, is debated.
▸Battle of Yehuling (Badger's Mouth) was won by horse archers with the Composite bowMostly agreed
The connection
Mongol horsemen carried powerful composite bows and two or three quivers of arrows, and could shoot accurately from the saddle at speed. At Yehuling, once the Jin line broke, mounted archers pursued and kept shooting into the retreating army, turning a defeat into a rout through the Badger's Mouth pass.
When and how
Yehuling and the Badger's Mouth pass, near Zhangjiakou in northern China, autumn 1211.
How sure are we?
Chinese sources describe the charge and pursuit; the composite bow as the Mongols' main weapon is well documented by John of Plano Carpini and others.
Debates and open questions
The sources stress a cavalry charge under Muqali more than archery, so how much arrows rather than shock attack decided the battle is unclear.
▸Bow and arrow was refined into the Composite bowMostly agreed
The connection
A plain bow is cut from one piece of wood, so its power depends on its length and the wood. Bowyers learned to glue horn to the inside and sinew to the outside of a wooden core, making shorter bows with much more power, ideal for chariots and riders.
When and how
The Eurasian steppe and the Near East by about 2000 BC, possibly earlier.
How sure are we?
Surviving bows, depictions in Near Eastern and Egyptian art, and mechanical tests on replicas comparing power and range.
Debates and open questions
Who first made composite bows, and whether the idea spread from one place or arose several times, is unknown.
▸Composite bow armed the archers of the War chariotWell documented
The connection
A chariot was a moving firing platform: a driver steered while an archer shot. The short, powerful composite bow suited the cramped car and let archers hit enemies at range while racing past. The pairing dominated battlefields from Egypt to China between about 1700 and 1100 BC.
When and how
Steppe and Near East from about 2000 BC; at Megiddo (about 1457 BC) and Kadesh (1274 BC); in Shang China by about 1200 BC.
How we know
Egyptian and Assyrian reliefs, bows and chariots in Tutankhamun's tomb, and Chinese chariot burials with archery gear.
Debates and open questions
How chariots were used in battle, in massed charges or as skirmishing archer platforms, is debated.