Damascus: Lance Makers

Arabic: Rammāḥīn

Date: Twelfth to sixteenth centuries

These artisans made lances for horsemen from pliant wood. They also made spears for war and for hunting. The rammāḥīn had a market and a mosque, though Nikita Elisséeff (d. 1997) records that he could not locate either. Information is drawn from the work of Ibn ʿAsakir (d. 1176), al-Nuʿaymi (d. 1521), al-Hadi (d. 1503), and al-Almawi (d. 1573). See also: Makers and merchants of weapons; Horseshoe makers, Sword makers; Cutlers.

Citation: Elisséeff, Nikita. “Corporations de Damas sous Nūr al-Dīn: Matériaux pour une topographie économique de Damas au XIIe siècle”, Arabica 3.1 (1956): p. 71.