Abstract
The concept of furūsīya is widely known, and discussed, among scholars and laymen alike. It encompasses a variety of meanings, from the strictest definition of horsemanship to military arts and even what we may call chivalry , invoking the image of the noble fāris (knight) of ancient times. Furūsīya literature is considered a genre in its own right, and the study of this literature is a growing field. This thesis is a philological study of one such work of literature; the Nihāyat al-suʾl wal-umnīya fī taʿlīm aʿmāl al-furūsīya, attributed to Muḥammad b. ʿIsā al-Ḥanafī al-Aqsarāʾī (d. 1348). This is a comprehensive handbook for the cavalry, compiled in the Bahri era of the Mamluk dynasty. Much of the text is based on older pre-Mamluk sources, and the importance of this work lies for the most part in its transmission of texts whose original sources are probably lost. The thesis gives a brief introduction to the field of furūsīya literature, and a look at different definitions of the term furūsīya suitable for the topic at hand. The main part is a translation of an excerpt of the text (ca. 30 pages in Arabic), on the topic of the lance and manoeuvres for lancers to be performed in the hippodrome. The goal has been to create a target text that closely follows the source text, but is still readily accessible for the interested reader. Technical terms are marked with footnotes and will be found in a glossary in the back. The source text is included for convenience. After the translation, most of the technical terms found in the text are listed in an extended glossary, where the most important ones and/or the ones that presented the most difficulties are discussed. What became apparent in the process of translating and writing, is that careful reading and translation of treatises such as this one can at least add something new to the understanding of archaic technical terms. As for Nihāyat al-suʾl, the lack of a complete critical edition based on all he available manuscripts is an issue that should be addressed before advancing any further in the process of translating it and making it accessible to the public.