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Re: Re: Dismounted Mongols

Dear Steve B
I think Stephen Turnbull is used to the level of documentation associated with Japanese history and very adept with Japanese language sources so turning to the Mongols would be more difficult as there has to be much more guess work. The alternative to guess work would be anthropological study and many of the revisions of our understanding of the Mongols are based on that.
Raschid al-Din was the author of the Jami al-Tawarikh but the illustrations and calligraphy would have been done in a workshop. Their accuracy would be a little like European illuminated manuscripts of the same time. I think from a modeller's point of view you either accept it or don't. I personally feel there isn't any right or wrong. For example the archers in the illustrations are drawing to the upper sternum (Manubrium)and modern Mongol archers would say this is wrong. Does that mean the rest is inaccurate, well some of the illustrations of Hulagu look good enough to be portraits. Likewise with 13th/14th c European manuscripts, the way weapon handling is depicted is often wrong but other things are surprisingly accurate.
For fear of repetition where there is no definitive authority ( true also of European armies at this time) then it seems sensible to offer the modeller a choice.
BTW looking at the Persian manuscript it would nice to have some Abbasid troops. The Mongol army at this time had sizeable Chinese elements as well as Turks Persians, Christian (Georgians) and so on.



David