Because of his physical nature, human has
always been in a tough struggle to survive.
Of course his greatest struggle
was not against nature.
He had to develop various
new tools to be sheltered,
protected from his enemies
and to be feed.
And certainly the most important
of these tools were the bow and arrow
which have
completely changed their destiny!
The bow and arrow gave
humans a chance of hunting animals
which were faster than him, and then
the ability to fight in groups from a distance
The target of the arrow had also determined
the direction of humanity from a distance
Many civilisations that
recognised the power of this weapon
got in a race
to perfect it for survival.
But the bow and arrow became
splendid in the hands of Turks,
the powerful warriors of the steppe.
If you live in the middle of
a cruel steppe,
your existence depends on catching
the opportunities instantly.
The most important
thing is it is flexibility.
Aah! I can’t feel my hands.
We are ready to measure.
We have to remove
the tendon from the leg.
Let’s start then.
In our documentary, we will witness the age-old
journey of this weapon with mankind,
and we will trace the magnificent Turkish Archers
from Middle Asia to Europe.
Aah! It hurts me to even think
that something like that
has been removed from my body.
And of course we will explore
the power of this weapon
through the amazing
experiments prepared by the expert team.
The arrow is already
off the bow!
Get ready!
The Journey of Turkish Archery
The Chinese Empire
One of the oldest civilizations
which has 4000 years of recorded history.
The Roman Empire
They have ruled over most of
the known world for centuries.
But these two well-established
states had a common problem
they had
trouble to deal with.
Imagine the regions
where these two states ruled.
One of them is in the east
of Asia and the other in Europe
It is rare in history that states
which have thousands of kilometers
of distance between them,
suffered from the same problems, even
in different time periods.
Those who achieved
this were Hun warriors.
A Hun Turk who lived three
thousand years ago
did not have the luxury to miss
his target with such a bad shot.
Because it meant that he would
go hungry,
and that he could not defend himself from his
enemies or even entertain himself.
There was no option
for the Huns.
You had no choice but to
adapt yourself to survive
in the tough
conditions of Central Asia.
So there was only one concept that the
Hun children couldn't get out of their minds;
to be a good mounted archer.
To achieve this, they had to
train on the sheep's back.
If they failed, their dream of
being a mounted archer would disappear.
There are some nations
that get their power from the location they live in.
In a place with difficult
living conditions such as Central Asia
the Turks had become
excellent warriors.
By 220 B.C., the Huns would
determine their own destiny
under the leadership of Touman.
In a short time, Touman
managed to gather all Hun tribes
under a single flag.
With his cavalry that ran like
the wind, he quickly expanded his territory
and established
the first Turkish state
that would shape
the history of the world.
Of course, the reason behind
Touman's success was the Hun bows
which his cavalry
had made part of their lives.
So, what were the innovations
the Huns brought to bow technology?
Janbi and İbrahim will show
us the answers to these questions.
Hun bows are composite bows,
ranging in length from 105 to 140 centimeters.
Their grip were straight, their limb tips
were long and sharply curving inwards.
These bows were
quite taut and strong.
It seems that the Huns
had brought many structural innovations
to the composite bows
and developed the legacy of Scythians.
The most important of this
was that they made the bows longer
changing the form of
the Scythians’ M-shaped bow.
Was the difference in form of
these two bows an advantage?
Of course it is an advantage
When we look at the Scythian bow,
the energy was collected in the
limb, while all the energy in the Hun bow
was collected in the grip.
For this reason, it produces a
lot more reflexes than that Scythian bow.
So, were there materials
used to make these bows different?
The same materials are used to
make these two kind of bows.
Horn, wood, glue and tendon
We’re going to get the nerves
out of here, in other words
Just like the Huns did.
I’ll show you one of the ancient
secrets of the Hun bows practically.
But first, we have to
remove the tendon from the leg.
Let’s start then.
İbrahim starts by cutting
the animal tendon,
which is the trademark of the Hun bow.
Especially at this point,
he must be very careful.
It’s very important for the tendon
to remain in one piece without breaking off.
Because the material needed to
cover the bows,
that can be up to 140 centimeters long,
will be obtained from this tendon.
Yes, the points that the
two ends of the tendon are attached
to the animals‘ hooves is that
It can be longer if needed.
Which gives us a big advantage
in laying out the bow’s belly.
When we keep the tendon
in a cool place for 15 days,
it becomes like this.
It turns into the
shape of a dried tendon.
We will lay this on the belly of
the bow with glue after we
hammered and scribbled it.
İbrahim first stretches the
dried tendons with hammer blows.
Then he makes it ready by
scribbling it to lay on the surface of the bow.
However, since the organic glue
used for this process is flammable
it is very important to melt it
in a container filled with hot water
and check it constantly.
After being sure of the
consistency of the glue,
Ibrahim will make tendons
softer by using water
and will start applying it on the
body of the bow by using glue.
After the tendons are glued,
it will be kept for a while to dry.
It is very important that
the glue is thoroughly dried
and the tendon is firmly
attached to the body of the bow.
In this way, we will obtain the
most powerful bow of the period.
The bow masters spent a long
time developing this weapon.
Because it takes a year for
a bow to be ready for use.
That meant long
trial and error periods.
In our first episode, we observed
that Scythian bows
could resist a force of 35 kilograms.
The Huns, on the other hand,
in order to have stronger bows
made some modifications
to the composite bows.
I wonder if these innovations they
brought made their bow better.
Janbi and İbrahim will try to find
answers to these questions
by measuring the
strength of the Hun bow.
I am starting.
According to the test results,
the Hun bow can resist 45 kilograms of power.
That’s really good power, so
let’s see the most powerful bow
of the period while shooting.
Ferhat is about to finish the
preparations with his team
to determine how the Hun bow
will fair against the Scythian bow.
We will compare the Hun
box with the Scythian bow.
So, Janbi, will be using the Hun bow,
and İbrahim, using the Scythian bow
will shoot from the same distance
to the targets of the same characteristics.
So we will be able to observe how much the Huns
have developed the composite bow.
Janbi and İbrahim will shoot
at a ballistic gel dressed in Chinese armor
from a
distance of about 20 meters.
The most important parameters
to be measured in this test
will be speed and impact power.
Both arrows hit the bull’s-eye.
Can we see it in slow motion?
We can see the movement of
the arrow came from the bow
rotating in the air in
slow motion after the shot.
No Hun or Scythian in history
had the chance to see
the movement of the arrow in slow motion.
Mustafa, can you show
me the results of both shots?
Janbi, your shot from 20
meters reached a speed of 196 km/hr
and generated an
impact power of 44.5 Joules.
İbrahim, your Scythian bow has
reached a speed of 180 km/hr
Impact power is 37.5 Joules
That means, scientific data
clearly shows that the Hun bow
is more powerful
than the Scythian bow.
My shot looked more stable
while watching the replays.
However, Janbi, made
good use of the Hun bow’s advantage
and managed
to make a difference.
The tension force it created when
I started to draw the Hun bow was exciting.
It’s not a surprise that
the results are like that.
The mounted archers, equipped
with these magnificent Hun bows,
became one of the most dangerous
armies of Central Asia
when they were
under the leadership of Touman.
Of course, it was the southern
neighbor most affected by this situation.
The weaknesses of the Chinese
Empire’s army,
who are equipped with leather
armor from head to toe,
began to appear one by one against
the Turkish calvary with strong bows.
The Huns carried their ancestral
legacy to a higher level.
The advantage that the Turks
had gained was so great
that their enemies had began to call
the Hun bows “magic weapons”.
There was a group of
soldiers in the Turkish army
who used these magic
weapons so well that the Great Hun Empire
had succeeded in becoming
a rare destructive force in history.
The Eagle Warriors
were absolutely perfect.
Fighting against them was not
something an ordinary army could do.
Compared to other armies,
they were so powerful that the
Chinese Emperor had no
choice but to rebuild his army.
The Eagle Warriors were
the rockstars of that time.
All the youth of the Huns dreamed
of joining this unit one day.
But achieving this was
not as easy as it seemed.
The difficulty level of their
training started from childhood
and increased as
they grew older
few managed to enter this elite unit.
Janbi will now try to follow
the footsteps of the Eagle Warriors
by racing on the special race track
prepared by Ercan Sipahi.
If you can complete these
levels which are harder than each other
you will have the right
to get eagle feather helmet.
In other words you will
join the elite of the Huns.
It's a rough track, but there's
an eagle feather at the end of it.
There is nothing left to say.
Then let’s start.
Young people of the Huns had
to go through a four-stage test
to become an Eagle warrior.
In the first stage, they had to
prove their ability go through a hurdle race
and long-distance horse riding.
In the second stage, an acrobatic
games stage,
they had to bend over from the sideward
of the horse’s saddle
and put the object they picked
up from the ground into a basket in front of them.
In the third stage, they had to
shoot arrow perfectly while riding a horse.
In the fourth and final stage,
they had to hit the bull’s eye
with a “parthian shot”.
If they failed even in one of
the four stages
they would certainly not be
able to join this elite unit.
Janbi has to pass this track
20 times and without slowing the tempo.
That means a total of 5 kilometers.
In addition to this he has
15 minutes to complete the track.
So he has to be
careful and he has to hurry.
Janbi started the track pretty fast.
His concentration is high for now.
But it is not easy for him to
keep up the pace for 20 laps.
This is 12th lap.
In order for Janbi to
complete the track successfully,
there are 8 more laps that
he needs to finish in 6 minutes.
It's inevitable that he'll get
tired over time and make mistakes.
Janbi and his horse got
tired as he completed this lap.
Compared to the first laps
it seems he is slower.
Janbi managed to complete this
difficult track exactly in 13 minutes and 52 seconds.
As he completed the track on
time, he has the right
to advance to the next stage.
The first rounds were very easy
for me but as time passed by it became tiring.
It’s hard to maintain the same
speed and performance for a long time.
For this you must have tough trainings.
Although I had some problems in
the final laps,
generally, I'm happy with my performance.
In the sources of that period
they drew particular attention
to the relations of
the Turks with their horses.
It is surprisingly mentioned that
the Huns sat on their horses
as though they were nailed.
In other words, it was no
surprise to be subjected such a test
to become an Eagle warrior.
Next one is another tough test that examines the candidates' maneuverability on horses.
Picking something off the ground
by leaning on the horse as it moves quickly.
This is a hard task.
You must have been training
for a long time to do this without falling down.
Like the Eagle warrior candidates,
Janbi will lean from the galloping horse
to pick
up an object from the ground
and throw it
into the basket ahead.
In this track there are 2 sandbags
placed at intervals of 25 metres
within a distance of 70 meters.
Janbi should be able to
throw them both in the baskets.
He has three chances to do this.
In his first attempt, Janbi missed
his targets with only a few split seconds.
But it was good
practice for him and his horse.
When he gets close to the
sandbags, it is very important
for him and his horse to be
at the correct speed and angle.
Because as soon as he gets
the sandbag,
he should be able to sit up and throw it into
the basket a few meters ahead.
This is his last chance.
If he fails to pick up both
sandbags from the ground
and throw them into baskets,
he will bid farewell
to the eagle feather adventure
earlier than he expected.
Janbi managed to pick up the two
sandbags on his last attempt
and throw them into baskets.
This time, he achieved a great timing,
from the start to the end of the track,
But more importantly
he was able to
straightened up on his horse
from leaning over
and get the sandbags!
That’s a maneuverability
that elite soldiers like Eagle Warriors should have.
The Huns regarded each stage of
the Eagle Warriors test as a minor battle practice.
The acrobatic movements on
the horse allowed the Hun soldiers
to defend themselves
especially during the chase.
That’s how they managed to
escape enemy arrows shot from behind.
Janbi has successfully completed
the hurdle race and long distance horse riding,
and acrobatics on horse stages.
But he still has two
more obstacles to overcome.
Let's see if he can pass these
stages and become the owner of the eagle feather.
Janbi, you have successfully
completed the two tests.
But you are at
the bottom of the ladder.
I think you have some
brilliant ideas for third stage too.
Now, on the next track, you will
encounter moving and fixed targets.
All you have to do is to shoot them
Let’s face it, Ercan, we
both know it’s not that easy.
Good luck!
In the third stage, Janbi
will shoot arrows at fixed and moving targets on the horse.
This time he has one chance,
he must not miss any target.
Janbi hit the fixed and
moving targets
and successfully completed the three stages
that Eagle warriors passed.
In order to get the Eagle feathered helmet,
there is only one obstacle left in front of him
the Parthian shot.
Turning their bodies back and
shooting on the saddle
was one of best skills
of the Hun warriors.
This style, called parthian shot,
was a method often used
to frustrate and trap
the enemy during the chase.
This shot was like
the signature of the Turks.
Today, Janbi is experiencing the challenges his ancestors experienced 2000 years ago.
If he successfully completes
the parthian shot test in the final stage,
he will be
eligible to become an Eagle warrior.
Although Janbi successfully passed
the first three stages
by showing all his skills on the
horse, he could not hit the target
in the parthian shot
and failed to complete the “Eagle warrior” test.
It’s really very hard to
shoot an arrow backwards
while moving
forward with the horse.
There are many parameters.
For this very reason it’s a
great privilege to be an Eagle Warrior.
The Hun archers were
famous for shooting their enemies
from long distances.
The possibility of the person to whom they aimed
their arrows at to survive was slim.
The Eagle warriors were
Touman's most trusted unit.
Thanks to the sharpshooting
skills of these elite soldiers,
he was placed psychological pressure
on the enemy in the battles against the Chinese.
These elite warriors, whose
numbers were not more than a few divisions
had never
been defeated by the Chinese.
According to some rumors,
the Great Wall of China
was built to prevent the raids
of these invincible warriors.
In a short time after the Great
Hun Empire was established,
they became the nightmare
of this deep-rooted civilisation.
But, the real disaster for
the Chinese was that Mete Khan,
Touman’s son,
came to the stage of history.
The Huns would grow
and strengthen with Mete Khan.
When Mete Khan ascended to the
throne in 209 BC,
the borders of the Hun Empire expanded
to the south of the Great Wall of China.
Of course, the
most important reason behind his success
was his reforms in the military field.
In addition to being a great
tactician, Mete Khan was taking
his real strength
from the perfect army order he established.
During his period, the Hun army was no longer composed of civilians gathered in time of war,
but of professional soldiers
who were constantly training and ready for battle.
Mete Khan had managed to
gather all the Asian tribes
that can draw bows and
shoot arrows under a single roof.
Sources say that
he had 300,000 archers.
Mete Khan had a simple
but brilliant idea to establish domination
on such a large
army and organise it during the war.
Thanks to the whistling arrows
he designed and developed,
he had almost perfected the organization
of one of the largest armies Asia had ever seen.
These arrows, which have
a very creative design,
are made by making
holes into its arrowhead.
When the arrow is shot,
the air passing through these holes
makes a
sound similar to whistling.
The whistling arrow that
Mete Khan invented was a phenomenon in history.
There are two reasons
why this arrow is made to whistle.
The first was to show the
archers the direction where to shoot
the second was to
put fear in the enemies’ hearts.
Janbi, our martial arts expert,
is now next to İbrahim in the workshop
to learn the secrets
of making this phenomenon weapon.
İbrahim, we know that there
were many arrowheads
that were designed differently,
but Mete Khan commanded his army
of thousands of people
with the whistling sound of this arrowhead.
What can we say about its
structure if we compare it with ordinary arrowheads?
As you know, the difference
of this arrow from the other arrows
is that it makes
whistling sound as long as it is in the air.
The arrowheads of whistling
arrows were made in different sizes
with miscellaneous
dimensions and in different forms.
When it is made of iron in this way,
it will be heavier than the armour piercing arrowheads.
Doesn’t that make it harder to use?
Of course, in such a case,
both the body of the arrow and the bow
must be designed accordingly.
For this reason they used light
materials such as bone, ivory and horns.
If we consider that Hun commanders use this arrow
for communication rather than physical damage
it makes much more sense
to use light materials
For this reason I am
thinking of using horn
for the arrowheads of the
whistle arrows we will make soon.
The sectional piece taken from
the horn is first processed
and brought to the desired size.
Then, we make holes on it and
we shape it in order for the air
to enter into sound part.
The cross-sectional area of most
of the sounding arrowheads is round.
I'm making burrs.
Mete Khan was the first
person in Turkish history
to establish the regular army.
In this way, he created a
highly effective command system.
And the whistle arrow
was an important part of this command system.
The sound of the whistle
arrow was like an order coming
from Mete Khan's mouth.
So, was the whistle arrow
an effective invention
as it was mentioned?
Janbi and Ferhat will test
Mete Khan’s whistle arrow
and practically show
us whether it works.
We're going to use some
electronic equipment for this test.
Our sound engineer Cem Usalan
will help us with this test.
That way, we'll see what level
of sound Mete Khan's whistle arrow produces.
So how is the working principle?
How does the
arrow whistle in the air.
While the arrow floats, the
air enters from these holes
and makes a sound like whistle.
So let's try it then.
Let’s try it, now
We are ready to measure.
I could hear the sound
until the last fall point. Brilliant
Yes, Cem, can you tell us
about the results of your measurements?
Yes, today, as a result of the
measurements we made with a single arrow
in different parameters, we obtained
a sound pressure of 89 decibels.
It’s a sound that the
human ear can easily hear
So Mete Khan could really
have used this arrow to determine direction.
Besides, that’s just the
sound of a single whistle arrow.
Yes. The sound pressure we
measured with a few arrows is 95-96 decibels.
Just think about that an army
used 10,000 of these during a battle.…
If we calculate the average
sound of 10,000 arrows,
it will reach a sound
level between 130 and 150.
As you know, Beşiktaş, one
of our long-established clubs,
have a decibel record in the
Champions League,
which they have broken in their own stadium.
The measured value was
141 decibels in the stadium
And it’s not so hard to guess
the pressure that puts on the opposing team
So we can say that
This arrow's intended purpose
the first is finding direction
the second is
to create panic in enemy lines.
Absolutely
In 200 BC, Mete Khan was
ready for the Chinese expedition.
The Battle of Baideng would
be important to test the army
he established
against the Chinese.
The Hun Emperor’s soldiers were
accustomed to winter conditions.
For this reason, he wanted to
put the Chinese in a difficult position
by advancing
his army northward.
The cold weather had become
a more frightening factor
for enemy archers than the Huns.
Well, what was the purpose
of Mete Khan with this strategy?
This time Janbi will experience
the situation of Chinese
soldiers in harsh winter
conditions with the
extraordinary test
prepared by Ferhat.
Here we have 
a can of water with ice in it.
I want you to hold your hands
in this water can for a while,
take the bow and then
shoot as soon as possible.
Let's see the kind of situation
the Chinese soldiers faced.
Normally, I don’t like the cold
things, but I'll do it for you.
Good luck.
Janbi will try take his bow
and shoot an arrow immediately
after placing his hands in
the icy water for a minute.
Hypothermia begins when
body temperature of a human
drops below 35°C.
In this situation heat loss
mostly seen in the hands and feet.
So what Janbi will feel when
he takes his hands out of icy water
will be very
close to this situation.
Aaahhh! I give up.
My fingers still ache,
even though time has passed.
It is impossible to describe the
pain I felt when I started to draw the bow.
It's normal that Chinese
soldiers can't use the arrow in this situation.
It seems that Mete Khan
has achieved his goal.
During battles, climatic
conditions may not always be as desired.
The conditions at the Battle
of Baideng were a nightmare
for the Chinese soldiers.
Because they did not have
enough protection,
after a while their fingers froze and
they could not use their bows.
However, the Chinese
army was using a different
long-range weapon apart from the bow.
This long-range weapon is called
crossbow,
and it is made by mounting a flexible bow
on a piece of wood or metal called stock.
Short and thick arrows are
placed in the flight groove on the stock
and the bowstring is left with 
a trigger mechanism, not directly by hand.
Leg and back muscles
were used to draw this weapon.
In this way they were not using
their fingers and arms much.
Accordingly, the crossbow
soldiers in the Chinese army
were able to proceed without being affected
 much by the cold weather conditions.
Carrying and using this bow
was not more difficult
than carrying and using
infantry rifles recently used.
Unlike the traditional bow,
you can use it by lying face down or camouflaged.
Which makes it a
perfect assassination weapon.
Richard the Lionheart, King of
England, died during a castle siege
with a crossbow arrow.
What were the characteristics
of the crossbow that made it both easier to use
and a dangerous assassination weapon?
The crossbow was one of the first
mechanical weapons in history.
The convenience it provided
to the user was that it had a trigger mechanism.
In other words, imagine
that the bow turned into an automatic weapon.
It is quite short
compared to the bow.
And this makes it
easier to carry, right?
Certainly
To be a good archer,
you have to train for many years.
But the crossbow completely
eliminated this necessity.
All archers who draw
the bow are able to fire the arrow automatically.
That’s actually
a great advantage
Because it means that an
amateur soldier can shoot an arrow.
It is a very effective weapon
to establish a large army in a short time
Especially in the later years,
when they developed them
to shoot 15 arrows in series,
they turned into more dangerous weapons.
So, was the crossbow really
a powerful weapon
that is capable of coping with Hun
bows at the Battle of Baideng?
İbrahim and Janbi will shoot
their arrow at moving targets
one after another in a minute
and test which long-range weapon is better.
Janbi will take advantage of his
bow’s rate of fire while shooting.
On the other hand, İbrahim
may lose time while reloading the crossbow
but it
has an important advantage.
Hit rate…
Yes gentlemen, time is up.
You can leave your weapons.
How was it Janbi?
It was so much fun for me.
If you want we can do it again.
Ibrahim, what about you?
It was really hard for me.
Because reloading the crossbow
again and
again was very difficult
When we look at the arrows on
the target, the winner is Janbi.
He managed to hit 2
moving targets in a minute.
İbrahim you hit one.
It was something we expected
from you to shoot more arrows.
Although crossbow made more
accurate shots, shooting a
lot of arrows
made you take the lead.
In other words using a bow during
battle equals an arrow shower
Even though İbrahim could
aim better, Janbi’s aiming time
was much shorter than the
İbrahim’s crossbow reloading time
The time Janbi
gained increased his chances.
Mete created a lot of trouble
for the Chinese ruler Gaozu,
both with his own invention,
the whistling arrow, and with his military tactics.
The Chinese, who saw the
frightening power of the Huns
and the superiority of their
war strategy in the Battle of Baideng
could not dare to break the agreement
as long as Mete was alive.
The Hun composite bow
Fast and agile Asian horses
And perfect military discipline.
These three factors came
together in the heart of Central Asia
and the invincible Hun
mounted archers emerged.
The deadly form of military power
It was such a power that it
was heavily testing  the best
armies of the ancient world
June 451.
Catalaunian Plains
in northeastern France.
The Hun Turks were against
the Roman army 600 years after Mete Khan
this time under the leadership
of another great leader, Attila.
However, Roman Empire had
an army, which was specialised in war strategies
fully equipped and well-disciplined.
The Romans had won their
glorious victories in history
thanks to their heavy
and tightly lined infantry.
When the Roman soldiers,
dressed in heavy armor,
put together their shields, it was
almost like an indestructible wall.
This shield wall, which they
named Testudo Formation (Tortoise),
inspired by
turtles, protected the Roman very well
against long-range weapons such as spears
and arrows until
the moment of close combat.
Testudo was a defensive
formation created by the Romans
inspired by turtles.
Just like the tortoise shell,
it provided effective protection
against external strikes.
Perhaps the reason why
it is called by this name
was because of their advancing
slowly but surely towards their enemies.
Absolutely. With this battle
formation of the Romans
had won many victories against
their enemies for centuries.
And today we have prepared
a series of tests to see
the advantages of
the Testudo formation.
With the help of our friends,
we will try to shoot the balloons
behind the shields
by shooting infantry arrows.
Let’s see how effectively
Testudo provides protection.
Janbi and Ferhat will try
to stop Testudo by shooting
balloons behind the shields
with a 10-man archery unit.
Ferhat, we failed to
overcome the Testudo with arrows.
Yes. Some of our arrows
managed to pass the shield
but failed to damage the targets.
In a situation like this during
the battle,
Testudo would probably
have come closer to us,
in other words we would be within spear range.
I think we should
try this test with spears.
Yes. I think we will manage
to pass the shield wall with these heavy spears.
Janbi and his team will try
to cross the shield wall,
which they could not cross with
arrows, by using heavy spears
this time from a closer distance.
Our team ran out of ammunition.
However, like arrow shots,
they failed to reach targets
behind the shields with spears.
This tactic provided the
Romans such a protection
that there was almost no
possibility of weakening their lines
by the attacks
from the front.
Even when they came into
close contact with the enemy,
they had very few casualties.
This way they were
winning the battles overwhelmingly.
Our team first tried to cross
the shields with infantry arrow shots.
When the light arrows were
not enough,
they tried to neutralise the Roman
defense with heavy spears,
but they were
not successful in this either.
So how did the Huns establish
superiority against this war machine army?
Janbi will now try to neutralise
the Roman infantry
by using the combat tactics used
by Attila’s mounted archers
during the Battle
of the Catalaunian Plains.
Janbi took advantage of
Testudo’s weaknesses
by using the attack tactic of the
Turkish archers on the horse
and managed to hit the balloons.
The Romans’ Testudo
Formation had two weaknesses.
The first is the left and right
sides and the second is the backside.
While the front and top
side were protected perfectly,
the two points I mentioned
were completely open.
These unprotected areas were
not a problem when fighting
against European tribes,
but this was a golden opportunity
for the dynamic
Turkish mounted archers.
When describing Turkish
horsemen, an eastern Roman historian
stated that
they could shop, eat, consult,
make important decisions
and even sleep on horseback.
In other words, the Romans
were against a type of soldier
they were surprised at
even when describing them,
and they had no tactics
developed against them.
At the Battle of the Catalaunian
Plains, the European Hun
Emperor Attila destroyed a large part of 
the invincible Roman army in just 24 hours.
The army of the Western Roman Empire
could not regain its former strength after the
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451.
This situation left them defenseless
against the attacks of European tribes,
and 26 years later the empire fell.
The Turks, who further developed
the composite bows they inherited
from their ancestors
in Central Asia, used it skillfully,
had turned from an individual
to a unit, to a professional army
from heroic warriors
under the leadership of Mete Khan.
Into an unstoppable army.
In our next episode, we will
travel to Anatolia
on the trail of the cruel warriors of
the steppes,
and witness the unstoppable rise of the arrow
and bow together with the Turks,
which also gained
a religious meaning with Islam.
