Yusuf ibn Urunbugha al-Zaradkash

Yūsuf ibn Urunbughā (or Aranbughā) al-Zaradkāsh (fl. AH 867 / AD 1462–1463) was a Mamluk siege engineer^[1] who wrote a treatise in Arabic on the trebuchet, entitled Kitāb anīq fī al-manājanīq ('An Elegant Book on Trebuchets'), which is "the longest and most profusely illustrated work in any language dealing with the trebuchet".^[2] It was addressed to the Mamluk commander-in-chief (atabik) Manglī Bughā al-Shamsī.^[3][4] It contains a prologue and a series of lightly labelled illustrations on the construction and operation of different types of trebuchet.^[1][5] The illustrations go beyond just trebuchets and include other siege weapons, gunpowder weapons, projectiles and fortresses.^[1] In describing an arrow-shooting artillery piece mounted on a stand, Zaradkāsh gives the composition of gunpowder as 10 dirhams of potassium nitrate, 1.125 of sulphur and 2.5 of charcoal.^[3]

An illustration from al-Zaradkāsh

The Anīq is known from a single manuscript in Istanbul, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Yazma Eserler Kütüphanesi [fr], Ahmet III Collection, MS 3469/1.^[2] There are two copies of the work in the manuscript. A preliminary edition was published by Nabīl Muḥammad ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Aḥmad in 1981.^[4] A full edition was published by Iḥsān Hindī in 1985, reproducing the illustrations in black and white.^[1]

Editions

• Ibn Aranbughā Zaradkāsh (1981). Nabīl Muḥammad ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Aḥmad (ed.). al-Anīq fī al-manājanīq. Cairo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ibn Aranbughā Zaradkāsh (1985). Iḥsān Hindī [in Arabic] (ed.). al-Anīq fī al-manājanīq. Aleppo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)