Whistling arrows – the weapon of the Turkic armies

The whistling arrows, which, according to legend, were invented by the founder of the Hun Empire, Mete Khan, were used in the armies of the Turkic Muslim states. It turned out that they are still used today.

The whistling arrow is a type of arrow used by the Turks. She was not meant to be killed. The head of the whistling arrow was made of bone or light metal. Holes were made in it through which air passed, therefore, in flight, the arrow made high-pitched whistling sounds, buzzing or hissing. During combat, it was used to indicate the direction of attack or fire for archers. Different sounds could mean certain commands. In cavalry and reconnaissance units, the whistling arrow was used as a signal arrow. Another use of such weapons was the demoralization of the enemy, a kind of psychic attack. If 1000 archers simultaneously fire with whistling arrows, then one can imagine that the noise produced could frighten not only animals, but also people.

According to Chinese sources, the inventor of the whistling arrow is personally Mode or Mete-khan (234-174 BC) – the founder of the Hunnu empire and its ruler (shanyu). It was first used in 209 BC, when Mete Khan began to create the first regular Turkic army. The need to train this army led to the appearance of whistling arrows – with their help to soldiersindicated the direction of attack and shooting, bringing this skill to automatism. According to legend, Mete Khan once shot at his beloved horse, then at his wife, and punished those soldiers who did not follow his example. Thus, he created a loyal and disciplined army. Orientalist and traveler, connoisseur of the Chinese language N.Ya. Bichurin (father Iakinf) in his “Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times” writes: “Mode himself put a whistle in his argamak. Some of the entourage did not dare to shoot, and Mode immediately cut off the heads of those who did not shoot at the argamak. After some time, Mode himself again let the whistle blow at his beloved wife, some of the confidants were horrified and did not dare to shoot. Mode also cut off their heads. Some time later, Mode went out hunting and blew a whistle into the Shanyu argamak. Those closest to them all shot arrows in the same direction. From this Mode saw that he could use his associates. Following his father, his shanyu Touman, on the hunt, he sent a whistle at Touman; those close to him also fired arrows at Shanyu Toumana. “

Subsequently, whistling arrows were used by the Chinese, Mongols and Japanese, as well as in the armies of the Turkic Muslim states, for example, among the Timurids. In the Turkish army, whistling arrows were most often used as signal arrows. Since only officers (chavushi) could use them , they were called “chavush oku”.

Whistling arrows were also used during hunting, as the sound they made made the animals stop and see where it was coming from. This gave the hunter time to release a second, already combat arrow.

Arrows whistling on the fly in ancient times made a great contribution to the development of military affairs in the East. They made it possible to show the target and, if necessary, quickly change the direction of the attack. Sports training whistling arrows are still used today. Now their tips are also made of plastic.

Islamosphere