Özet:

Abstract enFlight or distance archery (menzil okçuluğu) is a sport that instructs the shooting of an arrow as far as possible. The records, that is the farthest shots achieved were meticulously registered and included in a small number of archery treatises. These documents provide information such as the name of the archer, the distance spanned by the arrow, and the date of the exercise. Besides treatises, certain registrations (menzilnâme) record shooting ranges of note. The present article aims to introduce a menzilnâme or flight archery record log-book for Istanbul. The document under study is unique in its physical quality and format, and completes details missing in other extant texts.  It is a paper scroll of 205 cm long and 9 cm width. The meticulously illuminated text is written and signed by the calligrapher Mehmed Naili Effendi in 1233 Hejirah (1817/18). As usual, the text contains data for the shooting ranges and the records of the time. It also covers all the ranges shot at Istanbul Okmeydan (Archery lane), listing the names of the ranges, the record shootings (in gez, an unit which measures 0,61 m), and the names of the archers, with their rankings at each particular shooting field. The right-left deviation (called salkı) of each shooting is also given. Additionally, the locations of each shooting range have been described in a marginal column called ayak taşı (foot stone), and by a main column called baş taşı (head stone). In the present the transcription of the original menzilnâme text, as well as an overview of aspects of Ottoman archery are given together in order to better the reading of the text.

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