Leg over Leg: Volumes One and Two

2.1.7

ʿarrādāt,

“ʿarrādah [singular] is a thing smaller than a manjanīq”

or dabbābāt,

“the dabbābah [singular] is an engine of war that is pushed to the base of the [besieged] fortress, after which the men inside make a breach”

or darrājāt,

“a dabbābah made for siege warfare, which men get underneath”

or manjīqāt,

“the manjanīq is a machine with which stones are thrown; also spelled manjanūq—an Arabized word³⁸⁷—and manjalīq”

or naffāṭāt,

“the naffāṭah [singular] is a copper device with which bitumen is thrown”

or the khaṭṭār,

“the khaṭṭār is the [same as the] manjanīq”; it also means “a man who thrusts much with his spear”

or sabaṭānāt,

“the sabaṭānah [singular] is a hollow reed through which projectiles are blown”

or the ḍabr,

“the ḍabr is a leather-covered wooden structure containing men who approach fortresses in order to fight”

or the qafʿ,

“protective structures made of wood beneath which men get and which they move up to fortresses in war”

or julāhiq,

“balls that are thrown”; similar are barāqīl and banādiq

2.1.8

or ḥasak,

“devices of iron or reed for use in war that are thrown down around the soldiers and that work like common caltrops”³⁸⁸

or the qurdumānī,

“a padded outer garment used in war; also a weapon the Caesars kept in their storehouses; also thick shields”³⁸⁹

or the tijfāf,

“a device for war worn by horse and man alike”³⁹⁰

or yalab,

“shields and coats of armor made of leather”

or sard,

“a general term for armor”

or daraq,

“shields made of leather without wood or sinews; similar are ḥajaf”

or ḥarshaf,

“foot soldiers; ornaments for weapons”

or ʿatalāt,

“the ʿatalah [singular] is an enormous iron pole with a blunt head with which walls are demolished”

or minsafāt,

“the minsafah [singular] is an instrument for uprooting built structures”

or the falaq,

“the jailor’s pillory, consisting of a length of wood with holes the size of the shanks”

2.1.9

or khanāzir,

“the khanzarah [singular] is a large axe used for breaking stones”

or the ʿadhrāʾ,

“a thing made of iron with which people are tortured to make them confess, etc.”³⁹¹

or maqāṭir,

“the miqṭarah [singular] is a piece of wood with holes the size of the prisoners’ legs”

or marādīs,

“the mirdās [singular] is an instrument with which a wall, or the ground, is pummeled”

or the dahaq,

“two pieces of wood with which the shanks are squeezed”

or the ṣāqūr,

“a large axe”

or malāṭis,

“the milṭas [singular] is a large miʿwal”

or maqārīṣ,

“the miqrāṣ [singular] is a knife with a curved blade”

or malāwiẓ,

“the milwaẓ [singular] is a stick for beating”

2.1.10

or maqāmiʿ,

“the miqmaʿah [singular] is a piece of wood with which people are beaten on their heads”

or maqāfiʿ,

“the miqfaʿah [singular] is a piece of wood with which the fingers are beaten”

or the ḥadaʾah,

“a double-headed axe”

or the minqār,

“the metal blade of the axe”

or mahāmiz,

“the mihmazah [singular] is the same as the whip (miqraʿah) or the stick (ʿaṣā)”

or ʿarāfīṣ,

“the ʿirfāṣ [singular] is the whip with which the secular power metes out punishment”

or makhāfiq

“the mikhfaqah [singular] is the whip, or a lash made of wood”

or lacerating lances or severing swords or shooting shafts or bloodletting blades or stinging sticks or weakening whips or crucifying crosses or impaling posts or chinking chains or flaming fires or invasions or raids or murderous onslaughts or surprise attacks or looting or rapine or the bereavement of mothers or feuds or grudges or, last but not least, the rough treatment of women during intercourse.