Mughal artillery
In the opening lines of Abul Fazl's famous text Ain-i-Akbari, he claims that "except for the Mediterranean/Ottoman territories (Rumistan), in no other place was gunpowder artillery available in such abundance as in the Mughal Empire.
During the reign of the first three Timurid rulers of India—Babur, Humayun, and Akbar—gunpowder artillery had "emerged as an important equipage of war, contributing significantly to the establishment of a highly centralized state structure under Akbar and to the consolidation of Mughal rule in the conquered territories.
"[1] Mughal commanders such as Mir Jumla II was noted for their shared traits of Asian lords for their fondness for cannon artilleries, and how he is willing to employ European engineers such as crews of a vessel named Ter Schelling.
[13] Later emperors paid less attention to the technical aspects of artillery, allowing the Mughal Empire to gradually fall behind in weapon technology,[14] although the degree to which this decline affected military operations is debated.
By the 18th century, the bronze guns of the declining empire were unable to compete with the standardized production of European cast-iron weapons[11] and performed poorly against colonial forces, such as Jean Law de Lauriston's French troops.
[20] Some devices to support the maintenance also developed, such as and A machine invented by Mughal officer, Fathullah Shirazi, known as "Yarghu" which could clean sixteen gun barrels simultaneously and was operated by a cow.
[24] Despite these innovations, most soldiers used bows and arrows, the quality of sword manufacture was so poor that they preferred to use ones imported from England, and the operation of the cannons was entrusted not to Mughals but to European gunners.
[25] 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 ft (4.3 m), once described as the "largest piece of ordnance in the world.
Humayun did not field such massive artillery at the Battle of Kannauj in 1540, but still had heavy cannons, capable of firing 46 pound lead balls at a distance of one farsakh.
[29] These large weapons were often given heroic names, such as Tiger Mouth (Sher Dahan), Lord Champion (Ghazi Khan), or Conqueror of the Army (Fath-i-Lashkar),[26][30] and inscriptions, sometimes in verse.
Rugged passes and water crossings were insurmountable barriers,[26] and even when they could be moved, it was a slow process requiring sixteen[29] or twenty oxen for relatively moderate cannons such as Humayun's.
[37]: 48 [38]: 133 Under Akbar's reign, Mughal rockets began to use metal casing, which made them more weatherproof and allowed a larger amount of gunpowder, increasing their destructive power.
[37]: 48 Mughal ban iron rockets were described by European visitors, including François Bernier who witnessed the 1658 Battle of Samugarh fought between brothers Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh.
But although emperor Akbar personally used to design gun carriages to improve the accuracy of his cannons, the Mughal artillery was most effective by scaring the opponent's elephants off the battlefield.
