The bow is a ranged weapon that consists of an elastic arc with a string attached at either end. It is held vertically and is designed to launch sharp projectiles called arrows, which are commonly carried in a portable container known as a quiver.[1][2][3] It is closely related to the crossbow.[4][5]
The bow and arrow has been ubiquitous across human cultures for thousands of years, serving as one of their most fundamental ranged weapons in hunting and warfare.[1][3][6][7][8] Individuals trained in its use are called archers, and they were a mainstay of armies everywhere prior to the development of firearms. In cities, archers would be assigned as sentries posted on rooftops, walls, and lookout towers to guard restricted areas from trespassers and the city itself from invaders.[6][7][9][10] The weapons could be quite effective at defending besieged walls because of their ability to pick off enemies at a distance.[11]
A team of Assassin archers
The Assassins used bows frequently, as they were silent, long-ranged weapons, and many individual members were known for their tremendous skill with them. The Assassin Qulan Gal helped to assassinateGenghis Khan by shooting his horse with a bow, and would later be commemorated in the Sanctuary beneath the Villa Auditore with the bow as his Assassin Seal.[12]Cipriano Enu, an Italian Assassins, was a exceptional marksman with the bow and was able to snipe targets from up to four rooftops away with a single arrow.[13]
Even after the bow had been phased out around the world by firearms, Assassins like the Kanien'kehá:kaRatonhnhaké:ton continued to use it for hunting and in hostile situations that required precision and stealth.[14] By 2016, Ratonhnhaké:ton's bow had been retrieved by Abstergo Industries and put on display at their facility in Madrid, where it was later retrieved by Callum Lynch, who used it to fend off several guards during his and the other prisoners' riot.[15]
In Assassin's Creed III, it is possible to kill two guards with a single arrow. At full drawpower and close-ranged, it may injure up to three enemies if in close file.