Thejezail[1][2][3] (orjezzail),[4] also spelledjuzail (orjuzzail),[3] is a long-barrelled weapon used inCentral Asia,British India, and parts ofMiddle East.[4][5] A person operating it is calledjazailchi.[6][2][7]
Jezails were used by the elite jazayerchi troops ofSafavid andAfsharid Iran, notably during theNaderian Wars. It was the main weapon used by the various ethnic tribesmen of Afghanistan in the 19th-century,[8] who deposedShah Shuja[9] and fought in theFirst andSecond Anglo-Afghan Wars.
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Jezails (in Afghanistan) were often handmade weapons. That means, unlike other weapons of the time which were plain and utilitarian, jezails were tended to be well-crafted, personal, and each varied widely in their construction (and decoration).[4]
Jezails have very long barrels,[10] which is uncommon in European counterparts (aside from the Spanishespingarda [es] of the 15th century), but were common in the American rifles, such as theKentucky rifle.[11] These American rifles were of a smaller caliber (typically .35 to .45 inches (8.9 to 11.4 mm)) as their primary use was hunting, while jezails had a caliber of .50 to .75 inches (13 to 19 mm) and larger, making them suitable for warfare. Having a long length, jezail was heavier (typically 12 to 14 pounds (5.4 to 6.4 kg)) than typicalmuskets of the time (typically 9 to 10 pounds (4.1 to 4.5 kg)). This allowed the use of larger calibers. The heavy weight of the jezail also reducedrecoil.[4][12] Jezail has a relatively long range of 457 metres (1,499 ft),[13] In comparison, a Brown Bess had an effective range of 150 yards (140 m) and accurate range of 50 yards (46 m).[12] According to some British soldiers, jezail fired a ball three times larger than that of a musket ball, with accurate range of 400 yards (370 m).[12]
The main weakness of jezail was low rate of fire: it fired one shot each two or three minutes, in comparison to two or three shot per minute by a musket. This made it unsuitable during offensive action, while a deadly weapon as a sniper weapon in the mountains, as well as against advancing forces in open battlefield.[12] In an attack, a soldier carried two or three jezails on his horse and after shooting with them, would return to a safe distance to reload, or proceed withhand-to-hand combat.[12][8]
Although jezails were mostlysmoothbore weapons, some had their barrelsrifled, which, combined with the barrel's long length, made it a very accurate weapon for its time.[4]
Thelock andtrigger mechanism was either amatchlock or aflintlock. Due to the complexity of the latter and difficulty of manufacture, many jezails used the lock mechanism from captured or brokenBrown Bess muskets.[4][13]
A unique feature of the jezail was the handmade stock, which had a distinctive curve and was intricately decorated.[14] The role of the curve is debated. It may have made the stock lighter while still being able to be fired from the shoulder safely. It also allows firing by grasping the weapon near the trigger, like apistol, while the curved portion is tucked under the forearm (as opposed to being held to the shoulder), allowing firing with one hand while mounted. In this case theflash pan is dangerously too close to the face and the aiming would also be more difficult, therefore this method was probably used only while mounted. The weapon could otherwise be fired from a forked A-shaped rest (which is common in Central Asia),[15] a horn, or a metalbipod,[4][13] which further improved accuracy.[16]
Thejazayer (Persian:جزایرjazāyer orPersian:جزائرjazā'er) was the primary weapon of the elite military unitjazayerchi (جزایرچیjazāyerchī) introduced by the SafavidShah Abbas II. Due to its heavy weight, it was fired on a tripod.[17]
The Safavid generalNader Shah, who later founded theAfsharid dynasty, also maintained and trained an elitejazayerchi troops, which he used inhis Wars with great effect.[18]
During this period, the jezail was the primary weapon used by thePashtuns and was used with great effect during theFirst Anglo-Afghan War.[19] The range and accuracy of jezail, combined with the sniping tactics of the Afghans, made it superior to the BritishBrown Bess smoothbore muskets.[20] The latter was effective at no more than 150 yards, and unable to be consistently accurate beyond 50 yards. Because of their advantage in range, Pashtun marksmen typically used the jezail from the tops of cliffs along valleys anddefiles during ambushes.[12]Sir Charles Napier claims that jezail was overall the superior weapon.[8] The jezailchees repeatedly inflicted heavy casualties on the British during their1842 retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad.
In theFirst Anglo-Afghan War the British established acantonment outside of Kabul with dirt walls approximately waist high. Surrounding the cantonment were several abandoned forts which, although out of range of British muskets, were close enough for jezail fire. Whenghazi and other Pashtuns forces besieged Kabul and the cantonment, they occupied the forts and used them to snipe at British forces from a safe range.[citation needed] The Pashtun marksmen typically fired jezail while entrenched in apushtah (individual rampart made of rocks).[21]
A description from theBritish Library dating to the First Anglo-Afghan War:
Afghan snipers were expert marksmen and their juzzails fired roughened bullets, long iron nails or even pebbles over a range of some 250 metres. The Afghans could fling the large rifles across their shoulders as if they were feathers and spring nimbly from rock to rock.[22]
At any rate, the British histories that focus on the claimed superiority of the jezail as weapon do not explain the failures of the jezailchis to haltBritish offensives in 1842.[16]
Jazail orJazair in India was aswivel gun falling between a firearm and an artillery, with a length of 7 to 8 feet (2.1 to 2.4 m).[23] The operator of the gun was calledjazā'il-andāz orjazā'ilchī inHindustani language.[24] Related words or spellings aregingall,janjal,ganjal,gazail.[25]
The jezail was still in use in Afghanistan in 20th century.[26] It was replaced by Martini-Henry and other domestic and foreign rifles.[8] Limited numbers were used byMujahideen rebels during theSoviet–Afghan War. Jezails can still be found in armsbazaars ofAfghanistan.[8]
Derivatives of the jezail, barely recognizable, and usually termed "country-made weapons", are in use in ruralIndia—especially in the state ofUttar Pradesh.[citation needed]
The jezail is the weapon which woundedDr. Watson—the fictional biographer of the fictional detectiveSherlock Holmes—in theBattle of Maiwand during his military service in Afghanistan. There are discrepancies regarding the location of the wound, though; inA Study in Scarlet, Watson mentions it to be in the shoulder,[27] while inThe Sign of the Four, he mentions his leg,[28] and in "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" he refers to the Jezail bullet being "in one of my limbs".[4]
The jezail is mentioned repeatedly in some ofWilbur Smith's books, notablyMonsoon. It was also mentioned in theGeorge MacDonald Fraser adventureFlashman, whose protagonist describes the slaughter by Afghan jezailchis during the1842 retreat from Kabul.[29]
The weapon appears inRudyard Kipling's 1886 poem "Arithmetic on the Frontier", where the low cost of the weapon is contrasted with the relatively expensive training and education of British officers:
In Kipling's novelThe Man Who Would Be King, the Kohat Jezail is mentioned along with the more advanced British riflesSnider andMartini.[30][4]
P. G. Wodehouse inJill the Reckless (1920) describes how the character Uncle Chris, in India during his first hill-campaign, would "walk up and down in front of his men under a desultory shower of jezail-bullets".[31]
The rifle is also mentioned byBrian Jacques in his adventure novel,Voyage of Slaves.
I have seen one, in a private collection, that was about seven feet lonng and of one inch bore.
They loved to decorate their rifles:Rattray writes of finding one adorned with human teeth.
— "Ko-i-staun foot soldiery in summer costume (lithograph, British Library)". Archived fromthe original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved2011-03-18.
At first it was well enough, and we were unmolested. It looked as though Akbar had his folk under control, and then suddenly the jezzails began to crack from the ledges, and men began to fall, and the army staggered blindly in the snow.
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