Mughal weapons

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Mughal Weapons, The Military of the Mughal Empire used a variety of weapons in their conquests throughout the centuries. various types of: swords, bow (weapon) & arrows, horses, camels, elephants, various types of cannons (some of them the worlds largest), muskets and Flintlock Blunderbuss. Mughal weapons were greatly evolved during the ruling periods of Babur, Akbar and Aurangzeb.

Weapons used in Mughal Warfare

Mughal Shield

Mughals were of Turkic-Mongol origin from Central Asia, they used gunpowder. Among the commonly used weapons are the sword and dagger, guns and cannon, archery and the extensive use of cavalry and infantry during war.

Talwar

Talwar with a wootz blade and silver koftigari decoration to hilt and blade forte. The Talwar was the most widely used weapon during Mughal times.

A major change was brought about in the shape and quality of swords since after the advent of the Mughal rule. They curved sword, as opposed to the heavy straight swords with rounded ends as was in use at the time. These were sleek, sharp. Curved and made of a superior alloy of iron. The most superior quality blades were made of crucible steel which gave it a crystalline appearance was capable of cutting deep into the armour and bodies of their adversaries. The ruler always carried with him a sword enclosed in a red sheath. The `Indo-Muslim` hilt, with its typical dish-shaped pommel, seems to have been introduced by the Mughals, and spread throughout India together with the curved-blade, or Talwar. The Mughals and their successors continued to patronize this tradition through royal workshops or Karkhana, and some of the most exquisite items still in existence came from this source

The finest among the swords was considered to be the Shamsher. It was a curved sword with a sharp edge that was primarily used as a cutting weapon. This type of sword was of great value and in fact later went on to become one of the most preferred swords and part of the couture of the Hindu warriors, called the Khanda.

Daggers

A dagger from the Mughal Empire with hilt in jade, gold, rubies and emeralds. Blade of damascened steel inlaid with gold.

Apart from swords, the Mughal armies also used the dagger for purposes of warfare. This was a sharp two-edged instrument that was kept hidden in the boot of the horseman (Khuff).This was used as a secondary weapon. A very famous weapon that the Mughal warrior used was the Katara (dagger).

Archery

Early Mughal archers used a smaller bow suitable for horse archery. (Akbarnama)

The use of bows and arrows, after its skilled usage in the hands of, continued to be practiced by the Mughals. The Bow, typically double- curved, was carried in a container known as the Qirban whereas arrows were carried in quivers called Tarkash. The Mughals were quite skilled in archery and have even been known to poison the tip of the arrows to incapacitate the enemy. Special care was taken even in the manufacturing of these weapons. Bow-makers were sent to special training centres in Damascus and then only the best were allowed to manufacture the same for the purpose of warfare.

Gunpowder and Cannons

Cannons

Mughal artillerymen under the command of Siraj-ud-Daula during the Battle of Plassey.

The Mughals introduced in India the system of gunfire shot from cannons. This was a very effective ploy in the art of war as apart from the damage on impact, the explosion served to disorient and frighten the horses and elephants. This allowed the cavalry to charge in and prevent the enemies from forming strategies and countering the attack. Cannons, though extremely effective, were quite problematic to transport because of their size and weight. The cannon balls themselves were five hundred forty pounds and the cannon had to be matched accordingly to bear this weight.

Mughal Iron cannons were most often produced in the casting pits of Jaigarh Fort, Bronze cannons however produced in Agra Fort. It is believed that Mughal cannon production reached its zenith during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, in fact one of the most impressive Mughal cannons is known as the Zafarbaksh, which is a very rare composite cannon, that required skills in both wrought iron forge welding and bronze casting technologies. The Zafarbaksh Cannon was produced during the reign of Aurangzeb^[1]. Another famous Mughal cannon is the Jaivana, which is the world's largest cannon on wheels, it was cast during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah by his Qiladar Jai Singh II.

Muskets

Early matchlocks as illustrated in the Baburnama (16th century)

Mughal Aristocracy Hunting a Blackbuck alongside an Asiatic Cheetah.

From the late fifteenth century there was widespread use of firearms-cannons, muskets and mortars. They were considerably improved and extensively used during the reign of Akbar. In fact the emperor himself had an impressive collection of arms categorized according to weight, make etc. were a large number of musketeers in the Mughal army as muskets tended to overheat and were slow to reload, Seopys who employed the Musket were given the title Barkandaz.

Mughal Matchlocks were made of Damascus Steel.

Rocket

Mysorean rockets were upgraded versions of Mughal rockets, these rockets were utilized effectively during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, and were later updated by the British and successively employed during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar was the first to initiate and utilize metal cylinder rockets known as bans particularly against War elephants, during the Battle of Sanbal.^[2]

In the year 1657, the Mughal Army under the command of Prince Aurangzeb is known to have utilized Rockets during the Siege of Bidar, in order to annex the Adil Shahi dynasty and its lieutenant Sidi Marjan.^[3] Prince Aurangzeb's forces were also known to have discharged rockets and grenades while scaling the walls. Sidi Marjan himself was mortally wounded after a rocket struck his large gunpowder depot and after twenty-seven day's of hard fighting Bidar was captured by the victorious Mughals.^[3]

Later onward's the Mysorean rockets were upgraded versions of Mughal rockets utilized during the Siege of Jinji by the progeny of the Nawab of Arcot. Hyder Ali's father Fatah Muhammad the constable at Budikote, commanded a corps consisting of 50 rocketmen (Cushoon) for the Nawab of Arcot. Hyder Ali realized the importance of rockets and introduced advanced versions of metal cylinder rockets. These rockets turned fortunes in favor of the Sultanate of Mysore during the Second Anglo-Mysore War particularly during the Battle of Pollilur.^[4]

Other weapons

Mughal artillerymen during the reign of Akbar the Great.

other weapons used by the Mughals include maces (Gada), with a dome shaped head and a handle and knob at the end, Piyazi and Garguz shaped like an onion and a flower with eight petals respectively. In order to break the helmet and armour of the enemy soldiers, Shapshar and Amud were used. War axes were great favourites of the infantry as were the Jaghnol-a sharp blade fitted with a spike at the back to pierce through the armour. The tiger claw or Bagh Nakh was another lethal weapon used to disembowel an enemy. This was often used for the purpose of political assassination

Types of Mughal army unit

Cavalry

Sowar

Sowar's attack.

"A Mogul Trooper" (James S. Virtue Co., London, 1858)

The word Sowar means 'The one who rides' in Persian, was originally a rank during the Mughal period. The term had been used to define a horse-soldier belonging to the cavalry troops of the Mughal armies in South Asia. It is also used more specifically of a mounted orderly, escort or guard. It was also the rank held by ordinary cavalry troopers, equivalent to Sepoy in the infantry.

Zamburak

A type of Zamburak which were in use by the Mughal Empire.

The Zamburak was a specialized form of camel cavalry and mobile artillery from the Muslim World after the 16th century, consisted of a soldier on a camel with a mounted swivel gun (a small falconet), which was hinged on a metal fork-rest protruding from the saddle of the animal. In order to fire the cannon, the camel would be put on its knees. The name may be derived from Arabic zambūr, hornet (possibly in reference to the sound earlier camel-mounted crossbows made). The mobility of the camel combined with the flexibility and heavy firepower of the swivel gun to make an intimidating military unit.

The soldier type was probably introduced by Egyptian Mamluk warriors who originally mounted large crossbows on the camels, the Zamburak was rapidly adopted, especially by the Persian Safavid armies, the Zamburak was introduced into the Mughal Empire by Mughal Emperor Humayun, Zamburak were used against the invading British in the Anglo-Afghan Wars.

War elephants

Mughal War Elephants in battle.

The elephant had a ceremonial and almost power status in the traditional Mughal court. It did have a primary role on the battlefield in early Mughal armies but was supplanted by the faster horse archer. Despite this there were often several thousands, if not tens of thousands of elephants in the Mughal army. The elephant could serve the role of a command platform to keep the general above the crowd of the battle, although it also meant that if the soldiers saw an empty seat on top of an elephant that they may think that the general was dead and flee. l seat Elephants were also kept in the reserve to move in as a very obvious block or counter penetration force if the Mughal battle line was broken. As gunpowder weapons became more prevalent on the Indian battlefield the elephant lost its place even more. It was relegated to being a beast of burden to move weapons and supplies to the front line. It did however maintain the besieging role to pull down fortifications.^[5]

The elephant was as much a victim of gunpowder as was the European knight. Unlike the knight however, the elephant did not evolve on the battlefield to a new role but disappeared from the front lines and was pushed further back.

Sepoy

A Mughal Infantryman

The word sepoy is a disambiguation of the word Persian word Sipahi, the word was commonly used by Mughals and Safavids to describe individual infantry soldiers, the Ottoman Turks used the word to describe the elite Cavalry Sipahi.

The Sipahi were native Mughal musketeer units in the Mughal Empires basic military units, most of them carried Talwars and Sheilds, a special class known as the Atishbaz carried Mughal guns such as Muskets, the Atishbaz served under a Mir Atish (Mir of gunpowder weaponry).

Aurangzeb introduced battalions of of Mughal Sepoys armed with Matchlocks, Rockets, and even Grenades these troops were successfully deployed in siege warfare particularly during Siege warfare and during the Siege of Bidar, Siege of Bijapur and Siege of Golconda.

Mahout

Akbar on a Mahout elephant

Transport

Howdah

A panorama in 12 folds showing the procession of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to celebrate the feast of the Eid ul-Fitr in 1843.

A howdah, or houdah, also known as Hathi Howdah, a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, used most often in the past to carry wealthy people or for use in hunting or warfare. It was also a symbol of wealth for the owner, and as a result was decorated with expensive gems.

Most notable are the Golden Howdah, used traditionally during the Jamboo Savari (Elephant Procession) of the famous Mysore Dasara. The Museum at Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan has a gallery of royal Howdahs.

Mughal Navy

1565-Battle Scene with Boats on the Ganges-Akbarnama

The Mughals also maintained various river fleets of Dhows, which transported soldiers over rivers and fought rebels, members of the Mughal navy were almost entirely armed with Matchlocks ever since the days of Akbar and Gunboats were also introduced during the reign of Aurangzeb. Among the notable Mughal admirals were Yahya Saleh, Munnawar Khan, Sidi Yaqub, and Muhammad Saleh Kamboh. The Mughals also protected the Siddis of Janjira and the ports of Thatta. Its sailors were renowned and often voyaged to China and the East African Swahili Coast, together with some Mughal subjects carrying out private-sector trade.

During the height of the Child's War, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb dispatched a strong Mughal fleet from Janjira commanded by the Sidi Yaqub and manned by Mappila and Abyssinians firmly blockaded Bombay in 1689^[6].

Once again the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb dispatched Daud Khan the Mughal Empire's local Subedar of the Carnatic in the year 1702, to besieged and blockaded Fort St. George for more than three months^[7], the blockade included a naval one. The governor of the fort Thomas Pitt was instructed by the British East India Company to vie for peace.

In the year 1763, Hyder Ali had established a formidable fleet in the Indian Ocean consisting of 10 dhows and 30 larger ketch's under the admiral Ali Raja Kunhi Amsa II, who attempts to conquer Indian Ocean islands that had withstood the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb^[8]. Later onward's both Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan maintained formidable fleets that skirmished against those of the British East India Company.

References