Bawarij
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Bawarij were Indian corsairs that chased Arab shipping bound for India and China.[1] They are mentioned by Ma'sudi as frequenting the pirate den at Socotra and Marco Polo describes them as pirates of Gujarat.[1] Ibn Batuta describes them being warships with oars, fifty rowers, and fifty men-at-arms and wooden roofs to protect against arrows and stones. Tabari describes them in an attack upon Basra in 866 CE as having one pilot (istiyam), three fire-throwers (naffatun), a baker, a carpenter and thirty-nine rowers and fighters making up a complement of forty-five.[2]
These ships were unsuited for warlike maneuvers and lacked the sleek prows or ramming capabilities of other contemporary naval units, but were intended to provide for hand-to-hand battles for crew upon boarding.[1]
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[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- George F. Hourani, John Carswell, Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times, Princeton University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-691-00032-8
- Laurier Books Limited, Horatio John Suckling, Ceylon: A General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical, Asian Educational Services, 1994, ISBN 8-120-60934-4
