Mughal weapons

Ain-i Akbari weaponry

Mughal weapons significantly evolved during the ruling periods of Babur, Akbar, Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. During its conquests throughout the centuries, the military of the Mughal Empire used a variety of weapons including swords, bows and arrows, horses, camels, elephants, some of the world's largest cannons, muskets and flintlock blunderbusses.

Equipment

Offensive arms

Short arms

Zulfikar, a Mughal sword

Most cavalrymen relied on the kotah-yaraq (short arms) to be used at close quarters. They grouped into five classes: swords and shields, maces, battle-axes, spears, and daggers. Weapons used for more distant attack were the bow and arrow (Kaman & Tir), the matchlock (Banduq or Tufanq), and the pistol. Rockets were also used by the artillerymen (Topkanah).

No single man carried all these weapons at one time, but in a large army all of them were to be found in use by someone or other. The great number of weapons that a man carried is graphically described by Fitzclarence in the case of a petty officer of the Nizam's service, who commended his escort:

"Two very handsome horses with superb caparisons belong to this jamadar, who is himself dressed in a vest of green English broad cloth laced with gold, and very rich embroidered belts. A shield of buffalo hide with gilt bosses is hung over his back. His arms are two swords and a dagger, a brace of English pistols(revolver), and he has his matchlock carried before him by a servant."
Swords

Sword-belts were in general broad and handsomely embroidered. On horseback they were worn on a belt hanging over the shoulder. Otherwise a man carried his sword by three straps hanging from a waist-belt. The generic name for a sword was tegh (Arabic), shamsher (Persian), or talwar (Hindi). The Arabic word saif was also used occasionally. One kind of short sword was called the nimchah-shamsher.

The names of the various parts of the sword were, teghah (blade), nabah (furrows on blade), qabzah (hilt), jaenarela, sarnal or muhnal, and tahnal (metal mountings of scabbard), kamrsal (the belt?) bandtar. The quality or temper of a blade was its ab (water) or jauhar (lustre). The belt was termed a hamalat.

Types of blades

Name Type Description Origin Place of usage Material
Shamsher Scimitar A curved weapon similar to a scimitar. Purely a cutting weapon due to its shape and the small size of the grip. Oriental Steel
Dhup Straight sword Adopted from the Dakhin, this straight sword had a broad blade four feet long and a cross hilt. Considered an emblem of sovereignty and high dignity, it was displayed on state occasions carried in a velvet wrapping by a man who held it upright before his master. It also lay on the great man's pillow when he was seated at a darbar, a public transaction of business. This kind of sword was conferred as a distinction on successful soldiers, great nobles, and court favourites. Deccan Deccan and Hindustan Steel
Khanda Straight sword Apparently identical with the dhup.
Sirohi Scimitar Whoever was struck on the head by these Indian blades was cleft to the waist, or if the cut were on the body, he was divided into two parts. This sword had a slightly curved blade, shaped like a Damascus blade, slightly lighter and narrower than the ordinary talwar. They were made in Sirohi Damascus Rajasthan Damascus steel
Pata Gauntlet-rapier A narrow-bladed, straight rapier with a gauntlet hilt, seen now chiefly when twirled about vigorously by the performers in a Muharrara procession. Muharrara procession Maharashtra Steel
Gupti Straight sword A straight sword concealed in the sheath of a walking stick . The head or handle and a fakir's crutch were closely allied in appearance with the crutch of dagger length and the weapon appearing like a short crooked staff about three feet long. Used by persons of rank as an emblem of humility Steel
Shields

A shield always accompanied a sword as part of the swordsman's equipment. Carried on the left arm, or when out of use, slung over the shoulder, shields were made of steel or hide and were generally from 17 to 24 inches (430 to 610 mm) in diameter. If made of steel they were often highly ornamented with patterns in gold damascening while hide shields bore silver or gold bosses, crescents, or stars. Shields were made of sambar deer, buffalo, nilgau, elephant, or rhinoceros hide, the last being the most highly prized. Brahmans, who objected to leather, had shields made from forty or fifty folds of silk painted red and ornamented. The curious snakeskin (nagphanl) shield is not a Mughal weapon.

Mace

The mace (gurj), a short-handled club with three large round balls at the end, usually formed part of the weaponry of any Mughul warrior of considerable rank. Another variety, the shashbur, or "lung-tearer", had a single round-shaped head while similar weapons included the dhara, gargaj and khandli phansi. The 2 feet (0.61 m) long dhara had a six-bladed head and octagonal steel shaft and came from Kolhapur. The garguz had eight-bladed heads and basket hilts or was seven-bladed with a basket hilt. Its length varied from 2.4 to 2.10 inches (61 to 53 mm). The khundli phansi was 1 inch (25 mm) long and had a head of open scroll work.

The flail was a weapon that may be classed as a mace, along with the pusht-khar, or "back-scratcher", made of steel in the shape of a hand. The khar-i-mahi, or "fish backbone", had steel spikes projecting from each side of a straight head. The weapon called the gujbag was the common elephant goad or ankus.

Battle-axe

A (tahar) or battle-axe had a triangular blade with one broad cutting edge. If the head was pointed and had two cutting edges, the axe was called a zaghnol, or "crow's beak". A double headed axe with a broad blade on one side of the handle and a pointed one on the other was styled a tabar zaghnol. An axe with a longer handle, called tarangalah, was also used. The shafts of the tabar ranged from 17 to 23 inches (430 to 580 mm) in length with a head from 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm) one way and 3 to 5 inches (76 to 127 mm) the other. Some heads were crescent shaped with one of the shafts hollow for storage of a dagger. A 'Basolah' looked like a chisel while highly ornamented silver axes were carried by attendants for display in the audience hall.

Spears

The usual generic name used for spears of all kinds was sinan. The head or point was called the sunain and the butt the hunain. There were several varieties of this class of weapon. Cavalry troops generally used a lance (nezah) with other types of spear used by foot soldiers and guards surrounding the emperor's audience hall. There is also some evidence, particularly among the Marathas, for the use of a javelin or short spear, which was thrown.

Name Description Usage Material
Nezah A cavalry lance with a small steel head and a long bamboo shaft carried by nezah-bazan (lance-wielders), this weapon featured prominently in Maratha equipment with no enemy cavalry said to be able to withstand them. In battle some 20,000 to 30,000 lances were ranged against the enemy, packed closely together so as not to leave any space between the bearer's heads. If horsemen tried to ride the lance-wielders down, the points of their spears impacted with the oncoming riders, who were then unhorsed. When used during a cavalry charge, the nezah struck against the enemy's weapons, making so much noise that it frightened the opponents' horses such that they turned around and bolted. In normal use, a man on horseback held his spear above his head at the full length of his arm. Mainly used by cavalry Bamboo, steel
Barchhah A Mughal weapon also used by the Marathas. With a head and shaft made wholly of iron or steel, use of this heavy spear was confined to infantry as it would prove too heavy for men on horseback. Infantry Steel
Sang Made entirely of iron, this spear was much shorter than the barchhah although some exist that are 7.11 feet (2.17 m) long, of which the head accounting for 2.6 feet (0.79 m). The weapon possessed long, slender, three or four-sided heads, steel shafts, and had a grip covered with velvet. Iron
Sainthi The shaft was shorter than that of the sang.
Selarah A spear with a head and shaft longer than those of the sainthi but not so long as those of the sang.
Ballam A spear, pike, or lance with barbed heads and wooden shafts and a total length of 5.11 feet (1.56 m), of which the blade took up 18 inches (460 mm). The Ballam was a short spear with a broad head used by infantry. Infantry
Pandi-ballam A hog-spear with an iron leaf-shaped blade at the end of a bamboo shaft with a total length of 8.3 feet (2.5 m), of which the blade accounted for 2.3 feet (0.70 m). Bamboo and steel or iron
Panjmukh Five-headed spear used by the people of Gujarat Used in Gujarat
Lange A Mughal lance with a four-cornered iron head and a hollow shaft
Garhiya Pike, javelin, spear
Alam Spear (properly a standard or banner)
Kont Spear
Gandasa A kind of bill-hook or pole-axe with a steel chopper attached to a long pole. Used by the chaukidar or village watchmen
Daggers and knives

These were of various shapes and kinds, each with a separate name.

Name Description Type Usage Material
Katara or Katari A lightweight thrusting knife similar to a poignard and peculiar to India. Made with a hilt whose two branches extended along the arm so as to protect the hand and part of the arm, this weapon had a thick blade with two cutting edges having a breadth of 3 inches (76 mm) at the hilt and a solid point 1 inch (25 mm) wide. The blade could not be bent and was so stiff that nothing but a cuirass could stop it. A katara's total length extended to 22 inches (560 mm), one half of this being the blade. The hilt had a cross-bar at right angles to the blade, by which the weapon was grasped such that it could only be used for a forward thrust. Some were slightly curved whilst others resembled a fork or were two-bladed. Blades were of various patterns with a length that varied from 9 to 17.5 inches (230 to 440 mm). Push dagger Deccan and Hindustan
Jamadhar This had the same handle as a katara but with a broad and straight blade, while the katara blade could be either straight or curved. The jamadhar katari had a straight blade and a handle held in the same way as a table-knife or sword. Straight blade
Khanjar A poignard type dagger with a hilt like a sword of which most had doubly curved blades and were about 12 inches (300 mm) long. The weapon originated among the Turks, who carried it upright and on the right side, but it was occasionally worn by both Persians and Indians, the latter wearing it inclined on the left side. They were four types: jamhak, jhambwah, bank, and narsingh moth. All four of these weapons appear to be of the same class as the khanjar, although they varied slightly in form. Dagger Mainly used by Turks, occasionally by both Persians and Indians
Bichuwa and Khapwah. Literally "scorpion", this type of knife had a wavy blade while the khapwah was also a type of dagger. It was almost identical with the jambwah. Dagger Marathas
Peshkaj A pointed Persian dagger generally with a thick straight back to the blade and a straight handle without a guard, though at times the blade was curved, or even double-curved. Some of the hilts had guards. Dagger
Karud Introduced by Afghans, this resembled a butcher's knife and was kept in a sheath. Karuds had a total length of 2.6 feet (0.79 m) with a blade 2 feet (0.61 m). The gupti-karud was inserted into a stick while the qamchi-karud was a whip-shaped knife. The chaqu was a clasp-knife. Combat knife Panjabis
Sailabah-i-Qalmaqi The name for a knife used by men from Kashghar. As long as a sword and with a handle made of fish-bone called sher-mahi (lion-fish), it was worn slung from an ashob or shoulder belt. Combat Knife Used by the men from Kashghar

Missiles

Bows and arrows, matchlocks, pistols and cannons made up the four categories of missile weapons. Cavalry were mainly equipped with the bow with Mughal horsemen noted for their archery. Legend told that the bow and arrow were brought down straight from Heaven and given to Adam by the archangel Gabriel. Personal weapons were ranked in the following order: the dagger, the sword, the spear and the soldier's with the top weapon the bow and arrow.

Despite the spread of firearms, use of the bow persisted throughout the 18th century due to its superior build quality and ease of handling. Bows were widely used by the rebels during the Indian rebellion of 1857.

The matchlock, a cumbrous and no doubt ineffective weapon, was left mainly to the infantry while pistols seem to have been rare.

Mughal field artillery, although expensive, proved an effective tool against hostile war elephants and its use led to several decisive victories. After Babur's artillery defeated the armies of Ibrahim Lodi in the 16th century, subsequent Mughal emperors considered field artillery the most important and prestigious type of weapon.[1]

Bows

Considered especially expert in the use of their weapons, Mughal horsemen armed with bows could shoot three times faster than musketeers. Archers were called tir-andaz (literally, arrow-throwers).

The standard Mughal kaman (bow) was about 4 feet (1.2 m) long and generally shaped in a double curve with a grip covered in velvet. Made of horn, wood, bamboo, ivory, and sometimes of steel, two of these steel bows, once in the Emperor of Russia's collection at the palace of Tsarskoye Selo, belonged to the emperor Bahadur Shah I (1708–1712). These bows bear verses in the Shah's honour and are covered with rich gold damascened work.

Several strings of thick catgut lined the Mughal bow on its concave side (convex when strung) to give it elasticity and force. The belly was made of finely polished buffalo or wild goats' horn in jet black. Glued to this was a thin slip of hard, tough wood. The ends were fashioned to represent snakes' heads with the horn left plain, while the wooden back was decorated with rich intermingled arabesques of gilded birds, flowers or fruit. Indian bows carried by travellers also served for show or amusement. These types were made of buffalo horn in two identically curved pieces curved, each with a wooden tip for receipt of the string. Their other ends were brought together and fastened to a strong piece of wood that served as a centre and was gripped in the left hand. After construction, they were covered with a size made of animal fibres then wrapped in a thin layer of fine tow before the application of a final coat of paint and varnish.

Special bows

Name of Bow Description Type Usage Material
Charkh Charkh has many meanings: among them "a wheel," "a cart," or "a crossbow" but in this usage means "crossbow". A Charkh-i-bakhshi led the charkh men. Cross bow Used by charkh men
Takhsh kaman A type of small bow.
Kaman-i-gurohah A pellet-bow, identical to the modern gulel, used by boys to scare birds away from ripening crops.
Gobhan Slings such as these were brought by the villagers who assembled in 1710 to aid in the defence of Jalalabad town against the Sikhs led by Bandah. Sling Mainly used by villagers
Kamthah, kamanth The long bow of the Bhils of Central India. This group held the bow with their feet, drawing the string (chillah) with the hands and able to shoot with enough power for their arrow to penetrate elephant's hide. The principal weapon of the Bhils was the kampti or bamboo bow, with a string made of a thin strip from the elastic bark of the bamboo. Bhils carried sixty barbed arrows each a yard long in their quiver, those intended for striking fish having heads which came off the shaft on striking the fish. A long line connected the head and the shaft, so that the shaft remained on the water's surface as a float. Long Bow Bhils Bamboo
Nawak A pipe through which an arrow was shot, the narak was used for shooting birds. This was either a cross-bow, or formed in some way as part of an ordinary bow. It was not a blow-pipe like those used by the Malays for their poisoned arrows. Specimens of the pipe are 6.6 to 7.6 feet (2.0 to 2.3 m) long and use foot-long arrows. Crossbow or pipe Shooting birds
Tufak-i-dahan A blow-pipe used as a tube for shooting clay balls by force of the breath. Blow pipe Shooting clay balls Pipe
Matchlock

Known as the tufang, Mughal Emperor Akbar introduced many improvements in the manufacture of the matchlock.[2] Nevertheless, up to the middle of the 18th century the weapon was looked on with less favour than the bow and arrow. The matchlock was left chiefly to the infantry, who occupied a much inferior position to that of the cavalry in the opinion of Mughul commanders. It was not until the middle of the 18th century, when the way had been shown by the French and the English, that efforts were made to improve the arms and discipline of the foot soldier.

The barrels of Akbar's matchlocks were of two lengths: 66 inches (1,700 mm) and 41 inches (1,000 mm). They were made of rolled strips of steel with the two edges welded together. In the Deccan Plateau the introduction of the flint-lock weapon, owing to intercourse with the French and English, may have been somewhat earlier.

Matchlock barrels, covered with elaborate damascened work, had their stocks adorned with embossed metal work or with various designs either in lacquer, paint, or inlays of different materials. The stocks were at times decorated with embossed and engraved mounts in gold, or the butt had an ivory or ebony cap. The barrel was generally attached to the stock by broad bands of metal or by wire made of steel, brass, silver or gold. The broad bands were sometimes of perforated design and chased. The stocks were of two designs, the first narrow, slightly sloped, and of the same width throughout and the second sharply curved and narrow at the grip, expanding to some breadth at the butt. When not in use, matchlocks were kept and carried about in covers made of scarlet or green broadcloth.

Pistols

This weapon was the tamanchah. The pistol was in use in India, to some extent at any rate, early in the 18th century. For instance, it was with a shot from a pistol that in October 1720 a young Sayyad, related to Husain Ali Khan, killed that nobleman's assassin. The pistol was confined to the higher ranks of the nobles, very few soldiers having European pistols and tabanchah.

Artillery
Bullocks dragging siege-guns up hill during Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort[3]
Main article: Mughal artillery

The Mughal military employed a broad array of gunpowder weapons larger than personal firearms, from rockets and mobile guns to an enormous cannon, over 14 feet (4.3 m) long, once described as the "largest piece of ordnance in the world."[4] This array of weapons was divided into heavy and light artillery.[5]

Possession of mobile field artillery is seen by some historians as the central military power of the Mughal Empire and distinguished its troops from most of their enemies. A status symbol for the emperor, pieces of artillery would always accompany the Mughal ruler on his journeys through the empire.[1] In battle the Mughals mainly used their artillery to counter hostile war elephants, which made frequent appearances in warfare on the Indian subcontinent. However, although emperor Akbar personally designed gun carriages to improve the accuracy of his cannons, Mughal artillery proved most effective in frightening the other side's elephants on the battlefield. The chaos that ensued in the opposing army's ranks allowed Mughal forces to overcome their enemy.[1] Animal-borne swivel guns became a feature of Mughal warfare with stocks often more than 6.7 feet (2.0 m) in length, which fired a projectile 3.9 to 4.7 inches (99 to 119 mm) in diameter[2]

Gallery

Notes

 This article incorporates text from The army of the Indian Moghuls: its organization and administration, by William Irvine, a publication from 1903 now in the public domain in the United States.

  1. 1 2 3 Rothermund, Dietmar (2014). "Akbar 'Der Große'" [Akbar 'The Great']. Damals (in German). Vol. 46 no. 1. pp. 24–29.
  2. 1 2 Richards 1995, p. 288.
  3. ↑ Unknown (1590–95). "Bullocks dragging siege-guns up hill during Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort". the Akbarnama.
  4. ↑ Irvine (1903): The army of the Indian Moghuls, 113–159.
  5. ↑ Gommans JJL. (2002). Mughal Warfare: Indian Frontiers and Highroads to Empire 1500–1700. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415239899.

References

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