Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom : a challenge to a medieval Society

London England: Frank Cass and Co Limited, 1978. The introduction of firearms into the Muslim world is a subject which few scholars have ventured to scrutinise in detail. In this work, therefore Professor Ayalon has sought to fill this gap on the basis of material supplied by chroniclers of the Mamluk Kingdom. Having established the first certain date when the Mamluks used gunpowder, the author devotes some attention to fixing the meaning of technical terms. The main part of the work however, is dedicated to the fascinating study of the human aspect of the problem: how the highly organized and stylised world of Mamluk chivalry, displayed a bitter resentment towards the new weapon, which it so rightly saw as a threat to its whole way of life. Not only is this study an important contribution to the highly specialised field with which it deals , but for the less specialized historian the analysis of the role, which firearms play in establishing the destiny of the Middle East is full of interest. For the general reader, too, conscious of the unhappiness which the new and terrible weapons of our own time have sown among professional soldiers the world over, there are numerous fascinating parallels in the story, which Dr. Ayalon unfolds. 154pp inc index etc. A LOVELY COPY, FINE MEANS FINE! (Like NEW to the non bookseller!) .This book will be POSTED AT OUR STANDARD RATES FULLY INSURED (UK) ONLY . Please email for further details. Not Signed or Inscribed. This is the Second Edition 1978. Red Cloth. FINE ( NEW )/FINE ( NEW). Illus. by No Illustrations. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". HARDBACK.