| Mughal Army | |
|---|---|
 Arrival of an imperial procession of the emperor Farrukh Siyar at Delhi's "world-revealing" mosque on a Friday, to hear the sermon (khutba) recited in his name | |
| Founded | c. 1556 |
| Disbanded | c. 1806 |
| Headquarters | Exalted camp /Victorious camp[1] |
| Leadership | |
| Former Military | Timurid Army |
| Padishah | Mughal Emperor |
| Grand-Vizier | MughalVazere'azam |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 15-25 |
| Active personnel | |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | 12,071,876,840dams[2] |
Thearmy of the Mughal Empire was the military force by which theMughal emperors established and expandedtheir empire. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, were in the cavalry-based armies of central Asia, its essential form and structure was established by the third emperor,Akbar. The regular forces were mainly recruited and fielded byMansabdar officers.
During the 17th century, the army became the earth's largest,[5] numbering 911,400–4,049,097 infantry (zats) and 342,696–15,000,000 cavalry (Swari).[2] Alternatively, according to theAbul Fazl's census, the size of the army was roughly about 4.4 million, with less than half a million trained as cavalry;[3][6]: 89–90 while modern Indian historians estimate 26 million.[4]
The Mughal dominated India,[7] employing superior engineering and logistic mastery. Historians compared the Mughal army withthat of the Roman Empire or theUnited States Armed Forces in terms of force projection.[8][9]: 276 [6]: 158 In logistical superiority, the Mughals were comparable with theBritish Army during the Victorian Era.[10] Historian Stephen Morillo claimed that Western scholarship generally overlooked the destructive scale of Asian empires such as the Mughal, not unlike the Roman Empire.[11]
British historianJeremy Black claimed that the Mughal army's struggles until their decline in the wake ofNader Shah's invasion of India reflected Asiatic military development in the 17th century. Black's evaluation contrasted with other historians who claimed that Asian empire militaries during the 17th century were influenced by theMilitary Revolution in Europe.[12] This period coincided with the costlyDeccan wars, which substantially damaged the Mughal army.
Historians such asIrfan Habib and Farhat Hasan claimed that Mughal cavalry was unmatched in South Asian conflicts.[13][14] Its superiority in discipline and shockcharge were a staple of its success.[15][16] By the 16th-17th century, Mughal horses were imported, mostly from Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia.[17]
Due to their adoption of gunpowder warfare, historiansMarshall Hodgson and colleagueWilliam H. McNeill termed the Mughals agunpowder empire.[18] The Mughal army employedheavy cannons, light artillery,grenades,rockets,[6][19]: 133 [20] and heavymortar among other weapons.[21] Heavy cannons were expensive and difficult to transport, and had to be dragged by elephants and oxen.
The Mughal naval forces were named theAmla-e-Nawara. InDhaka, the Mughal naval fleet contained 768 ships with 933 foreigner crews of Portuguese origin and 8,112 artillery personnel.[22] They maintained fleets of warships and transport ships.[23]
Battles raged throughout the period of theMughal Empire. Like many Central Asian armies, the Mughal army ofBabur was horse-oriented. The ranks and pay of the officers were based on the horses they retained. Babur's army was small and inherited theTimurid military traditions of Central Asia.[24] Babur did not introduce a gunpowder warfare system, instead relying on mounted archery.[25] Babur's empire did not last long[quantify] and the Mughal Empire collapsed with the expulsion ofHumayun. The Mughal Empire founded by Akbar in 1556 proved more stable and enduring[quantify].[26] Although the Mughals originated as a nomadic civilization, they grew more sedentary.[27]
The armies of the Mughals were known for their high level of discipline and diverse personnel.[28] They had absorbed almost all of Northern and Central South Asia.[29] During the height of their military domination, their adversaries rarely fought frontal battles; theMaratha confederation,Ahmadnagar Sultanates,[30]: 38 or theRajput kingdoms were generally powerless against the Mughals ' cities and camps.[31] They usually resorted toguerilla warfare or theFabian strategy.[32]: 56 By the reign ofAurangzeb, the Mughal army was mainly composed of native Indian Muslims.[33]
The emperor's personal army numbered around 24,000 soldiers.[25] Directly under royal command, these warriors were calledAhadis,[25] a body of cavalry troopers.[34]
Another term for the Mughal emperor's personal bodyguards which was associated with theAhadis was theWalashahis (belonging to the king),[34] or imperial bodyguards. Regarded as the most trusted and faithful troops, they were directly in the pay of the Emperor.[35] They served as cavalrymen, similar toAhadis.[34]Walashahis were chiefly, if not entirely, men who had been attached to the Emperor since their youth and had served him while he was only a prince, and were thus marked as his personal attendants and household troops.[36]
The Mughal army was generally divided into four branches: the cavalry (Aswaran), the infantry (Perigean), the artillery (Topkhana) and the navy. These were branches or classes that were distributed amongst theMansabdars, each of whom commanded some of each of these forces. The exception to this rule was the artillery, which had its own designated commander, and was not part of themansabdari troops.[4] The Mughals followed the tradition of harsh execution of mutineers by strapping them into the mouth of cannon and blowing them apart.[37][38] This tradition was copied by theBritish empire's military to punish their own mutineers.[39][40][41]
Officers calledmansabdars led the bulk of the Mughal armed forces. Under Akbar, as many as 1,600mansabdars served.[25]Shah Jahan had many as 8,000mansabdars.[25]Mansabdar officers worked for the government and were responsible for recruiting and maintaining their quota of horsemen.[25] AMansabdar's rank was based on the horsemen he provided, which ranged from 10 (the lowest), up to 5000. A prince had 25000.[42] Their salaries were based on their ranks.[43][44]
HistorianRichard M. Eaton noted Aurangzeb's strengthening of themansabdari system and rotation ofjagirs, which ensured noble loyalty and political stability, deterring usurpation attempts during his early reign.[45]
EachMansabdar was responsible to theMir Bakshi, or the head of Mughal empire's office of military and intelligence administrations.[46][47][48] Aside from reporting to the Mir Bakshi,Mansabdars were often appointed asSubahdars, or heads of provincial administration where they were assisted by provincial officers such asDiwan,Bakhshi,Faujdar,Kotwal,Qazi,Sadr,Waqa-i-Navis,Qanungo andPatwari officers.[49]Faujdaris aided theirsubahdar in maintaining law and order and enforcing imperial regulations, while also commandingthanas or military outposts, which were usually garrisoned with a fixed number ofsowar (cavalry).[50] According to Jos Gommans, the assessment and appointment ofmansabdar officers was done personally by the emperor.[43] Mughal administrative policies were directed at the heterogenous population of India which consisted of myriad backgrounds, social strata, ethnicities, and religious groups. While rare, foreigners from Europe such as the EnglishmanWilliam Hawkins were sometimes appointed asMansabdar. Hawkins provided records about the administrations ofmansabdar, recording during his life the names of about 41mansabdar officers who commanded about 3,000-5,000Zat or horsemen.[51]
Bakhshi officers were charged with the management and payment of a province's military. The provincialbakhshi often simultaneously served as the province'swaqia-navis (news writer), and reported on all provincialmansabdar's, including senior officials (such as thesubahdar ordiwan).The role of provincialbakhshi could face tension from thesubahdar ordiwan, since thebakhshi's activities kept these officials accountable to the imperial centre.[48][52]
TheMir Bakhshi was the chiefBakhsh, and worked in the central administration. The position was also referred to asbakhshi-ul-mamalik orbakhshi-i-mamalik. Scholars translated the title as 'paymaster general' or 'army minister'.[53][48] Unlike theDelhi Sultanate-era office, the Mughal versionMir Bakhshi's influence extended beyond the military, since every noble of the Mughal empire was amansabdar.[54]
The Mughal imperial camp, known as "The exalted camp" or "The victorious camp", was used for military expeditions and royal tours, also serving as a mobile,de facto administrative capital and imperial army headquarters. It was manned by hundreds of thousands of people and 50,000 horses and oxen required to transport tents, baggage and equipment as its challenge. Vincent Smith writes that the Mughal Camp was likea moving city from one place to other whileJean-Baptiste Tavernier, discussing about the mode of travelling, observed that the manner of travelling in those days was convenient like Italy or France.[55]
This mobile military capital was constructed by more than 2,000 personnel and labourers sent ahead of the main force. From the time of Akbar, Mughal military camps were huge in scale, accompanied by members of the royal court, as well as soldiers and labourers. Administration and governance were carried out from within, with the Emperors spending a significant portion of their rule within these camps.[56] Akbar's entourage included small camps for journeys or hunting and large camps for royal tours and military campaigns, which could altogether accommodate 300,000 people.[57] The large camp travelled an estimated 6-16 km per day,[58] preceded by agents, scouts and workers who handled logistics, preparing roads and bridges, campsites, purchasing food and fuel and assuring the cooperation of local rulers.
Asmansabdars, royal household, domestic servants and others presented a picture of a well-planned city, moving from place to place, travellerNiccolao Manucci who witnessed it wrote that the grandeur of the entourage was far greater than any European ruler.[55]Abul Fazl wrote that it was difficult to describe a large encampment, stating, "Each encampment required for its carriage 100 elephants, 500 camels, 400 carts and 100 bearers. It is escorted by 500 troopers, mansabdars, Ahadis besides, there are employed a thousand Farrashes, native of Iran, Turan and Hindustan, 500 pioneers, 100 water-carriers, 50 carpenters, tent makers and torch bearers, 50 workers in leather and 150 sweepers.".[55]Antoni de Montserrat, who accompanied Akbar on a Kabul expedition, gave a detailed account of the magnitude of the Imperial Camp.[55] The marches came in intervals, as the imperial army adopted the Persian traditions of gardens and large and extravagant tents.[58] Persian texts such as theEpic of Gilgamesh, theEnuma Elish, theCode of Hammurabi, Zoroastrian texts suchVendidad andYasna, and theBook of Genesis was implied in the pavilion structure of those gardens.[58] The pavilion-like structures in different Persian type and names used in this mobile encampment, such asemarat,khaneh,qasr,moshkuy,sarai,shabistantagh,iwan, andkakh, while on the other side, it contained some permanent structures, and also tents with different sizes and complexities such askhaimeh,khargah, andsardagh.[58]
Akbar's massive mobile military encampment administration, followed by his successors, was accompanied by centralization policies practiced by the nomadic military style of his Central Asian predecessors, such as the Mongols ofGenghis Khan,Timur empire, andBabur[57] With steppe culture in mind, this model of military administration focused on the camps as a way to gain prestige and loyalty.[57] Babur wrote frequently about pitching his camp throughout Hindustan as he advanced.[57] Mobile technology that allowed Babur to evade his opponents was a military and political necessity because he was surrounded by raiding nomadic empires.[57] Regardless of his defeats in battle, Babur maintained control by monopolizing control of his subjects' movements, deciding which paths they would take as they maneuvered around Hindustan in their struggle for power.[57]
The Mughals also erected permanent military fortresses such asLalbagh Fort,[59]Allahabad Fort,[60]Red Fort,[61]Balapur Fort, andPurana Qila.[62] They inherited chains of forts, orqilas that were scattered throughout the Deccan.[63]
Around the 17th century, the dynasty was ruling the world's wealthiest empire and controlling its largest military.[5] The Mughals had an approximately 24 percent share of the world's economy and a military of millions of regular soldiers.[4][64][65] Political scientist J. C. Sharman viewed the empire as one of Asia's great powers matching theMing dynasty in terms of population, riches, and military power unmatched by their European contemporaries.[66] Stephen Rosen calculated that even the highly conservative estimate for Indian peninsular military personnel per capita would at least rival contemporary Europe at the end of theThirty Years' War, using his own estimate of 550,000 personnel for the Mughal military and a population of 105,000,000 for Europe west of theUral Mountains.[3]
The potential manpower of the Mughal empire in 1647, according to Kaushik Roy, reached 911,400 cavalry and infantry. He quoted the accumulation in imperial revenue of 12,071,876,840dams, calculated by Streissand to support 342,696 cavalry and 4,039,097 infantry,[2] while F. Valentijn estimated numbers higher than 4,000,000 in 1707.[67] It further illustrated that during Shah Jahan's reign, in 1647, the Mughal army composed of about 911,400 infantry and cavalry, while from 1627 to 1658, it included 47,000 mounted musketeers, foot musketeers, gunners, and archers.[68]Antoni de Montserrat recorded inMongolicae Legationis Commentarius that in theMughal–Afghan Wars alone, Akbar could muster 50,000 cavalry, 500 war elephants and camels, along with "countless number of infantry".[69] De Montserrat claimed that the Mughal army under Akbar consisted of multiple ethnicities: Persians, Turkmen,Chagatais,Uzbeks,Pashtuns,Gujaratis,Pathans,Rajputs, andBalochis.[69]Dirk H. A. Kolff claimed that this high estimate was essentially an "inventory of military labors" available for hiring in a single operation.[67]
TheAin-i-Akbari chronicle recorded an estimate of 4 million soldiers including local auxiliaries, which consisted of infantries outside of Mughal controlled territories. According to Barua, this implied 3 percent of the Indian population in 1600. Barua asserted this number to exclude other political powers.[3]Stephen Peter Rosen considered the 4,400,000 estimate of Mughal military population to be the most pragmatic, since he claimed that theAin-i-Akbari census was too conservative, and did not cover the military population of southern India. Rosen inferred that Mughal military force numbered above 4.4 million.[9] Far higher estimates came fromAbraham Eraly, who quotedTapan Raychaudhuri's work that the raw number of potential bodies of Mughal military personnel, including auxiliary forces, reached 26,000,000.[4] Eraly added the reflection of massive numbers of this Mughal military expenses in the case of Aurangzeb, who brought about 170,000 cavalry troopers and similar numbers of infantry and non-combatants, for a campaign in Deccan alone.[4] Eraly also mentioned Shah Jahan, who boasted about 900,000 troops.[4]
Other estimates came from historianAbdul-Hamid Lahori recorded the Mughal military strength in 1647 as 200,000 paid cavalry, 185,000 other cavalry, and 40,000 garrisoned musketeers and gunners.[70] Andrew de la Garza claimed that these troopers were not unorganized mobs, but rather units that had different roles, equipment and tasks, from heavy shock infantry that acted likeRoman legionnaires orSwiss pikemen, to theShamsherbaz units that served as halberdier, mace fighters, or sword gladiators.[6]
Soldiers were given the option to be paid either in monthly/annual payments orjagir; many chosejagir. The emperor also allocatedjagir tomansabdars for maintenance of themansabs.[71]
The Mughal military developed an advanced logistics system, which according Rosen was comparable with the Romans or the US Army.[8] Historian Jeremy Black compared Mughal logistics with theVictorian era British army.[10]
Its massive war machine, complemented by large numbers ofsettler pioneers, animal trainers, security forces, spies,chefs, artisans, and others, allowed for armed forces that could operate effectively in any season or terrain.[8][10]
To ensure supplies for their massive cavalry forces, the empire had to ensure the transportation offodder.[72] A key component was producing revenue to employ camp followers such as accountants, bankers, and merch*#ants for months and years. Hundr¥eds of Mughal nobles had to supply their needs. The followers handled the needs of large camps inhabitants. They established an credit institution orHundi system to supply the camps from local markets. Gommans noted that due to the empre's wealth, it was not necessary to frequently move their encampment sites.[73]
The logistics department proved pivotal in supporting naval fleets. The army logistical units cleared the jungles in coastal area and built roads and canals. This allowed naval units to advance, such as during operations in Assam by Mir Jumla and Chittagong by Shaishta Khan.[74] Rivers and waterways peninsula proved crucial for the empire to transport their heavy artillery.[10]
The Mughal's most important military equipment production centers wereDelhi andLahore.[75]Karkhanas or workshops produced arms, ammunition, and imperial stable-harnesses for horses using iron, copper and other metals.[76][77]
The main weapons were the sword, spear, andbow and arrow.[78]
TheFirangi (/fəˈrɪŋɡiː/) sword is a European style straight sword. Many classical image depictions of Mughal nobles holding firangis, or accompanied by retainers carrying their masters' firangis, suggest that this sword was a symbol of martial virtue and power.[79] It was used until theIndian Mutiny in 1857-58.[80] The RajputShamserbaz infantry carried ahalberd and mace. Some were equipped with sword-and-buckler set and a two-handed sword similar to theZweihänder, where they fought like central EuropeanDoppelsöldners on the offensive.[6]: 89–90
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India was fertile ground for manufacturing technologies before theIndustrial Revolution. The adoption ofmuskets became widespread under Akbar.[81] When the Portuguese reached India in 1498, they brought firearms, including the matchlock musket. Expert armourers were plentiful, and they copied the weapons and adapted them for local use.[82] These indigenous matchlocks were calledToradar.[83] They were found mostly in Mughal-influenced Northern and Central India.[83] One type of Toradar is slim, from 3–6 feet (91–183 cm) long and straight stock with a pentagonal-shaped section, and a light barrel. The other type is between 5–6 feet (150–180 cm) long, with a curved stock, diamond-shaped section, and heavy barrel, much enlarged at the breech.[83]
From the time of Babur, cavalry troopers wore heavy, chain mail armour and acted as mounted archers armed withcomposite or steel bows. Composite bows were made of animal horn and sinews with around four feet long.[84] When facing a difficult situation, the cavalrymen would fight usingUtara,[85] dismounting from their horses and fighting on foot until they died rather than retreat.[86] Mughal armour was not as heavy as contemporaneous European armour, due to the hot climate, but was heavier than south Indian outfits.[87]
From the time of Babur, cavalry archery was a staple.[88] Under Jahangir, the Mughals maintained 342,696 cavalry troopers.[2] The Mughal army depended heavily on animals such as war elephants, warhorses, and bulls to transport their artillery.[89]
André Wink claimed that cavalry warfare came to replace the logistically difficult elephant warfare and chaotic mass infantry assaults. Rajputs were co-opted by converting them into cavalry despite their traditions of fighting on foot. This was similar to theMarathas' role in the army of theDeccan Sultanates.[90]
Bargustawan mail and plate armour worn by horses were formed from three parts, ashaffron (head defence),crinet (neck defence) and combinedpeytral andcrupper. Small plates edges are cusped and scalloped, giving the armour a geometric appearance. Panels of mail formed from alternating rows of solid and riveted links connects the rows. This arrangement accommodates radiating- pattern plates around circular plate edged with a brass border around the shoulders, flanks and neck areas of the armour.[91]
The key to Mughal power was its use of warhorses and its control of the supply of superior warhorses from Central Asia. HistorianAnnemarie Schimmel estimated that around 75 percent of warhorses were imported.[92] This aided the Mughal in the battles ofPanipat,Machhiwara,Dharmat, reflected in eyewitness accounts such as that of Father Monserrate, which primarily featured the use of traditional Turko-Mongol horse archer tactics rather than gunpowder.[90] The cavalrymen usually hailed from a high caste and were better paid than foot soldiers and artillerymen. They had to possess at least two of their own horses and good equipment.[87]
The difference between Mughal heavy cavalry charge with their counterpart in Europeanman-at-arms was the ability of the cavalryman to comfortably sit comfortably on their saddles during a top speed charge. Historian Jos Gommans recorded how the Mughals mocked the "European style" of cavalry charge.[93] The regular cavalry troopers were directly recruited by the emperor, mainly from the emperor's blood relatives and tribesmen. They had their own payroll and paymaster, and were better paid than normal horsemensowars.[94]
Normally, the riders were armed with bows and arrows,[95]maces, cavalrylances,sabres,[96] swords, shields, and sometimes also rifles.[87] Mughal cavalry armour was made of steel or leather, heavy chainmail, lamellar, or half-plate armour, while their horses also wore similar types of protection.[96] The full set of their armour consisted of two layers; the first consisting of steel plates and helmets to secure the head, breast, and limbs. Underneath this steel network of armour was worn an upper garment of cotton or linen quilted thick enough to resist a sword or a bullet, which came down as far as the knees. There was also a custom among the riders to cover the body in protective garments until little beyond a man's eyes could be seen. Above all, they wore the traditional dress of their tribes, such as silken pants as the lower garment and a pair ofkashmir shawls wrapped around the waist completed this costume.[97] Furthermore,Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri testified about the magnificent gallop of the Mughal cavalier's charge, as they adorned their horse's saddles and head covers with gems or jewel stones.[78]
The horse cavalry and musketeers recruited bymansabdars were required to meet the quality standards set by the emperor. The cavalry troopers in particular were riding the strong breeds ofTartary (central Asian)[98] or Persian steeds which generally have larger bodies than most horses commonly found in contemporary India. The quality control regarding the imperial standard usedDagh (imperial mark) which branded on the side of the horse. The cavalry troops of the Mughals were also required to possess extra mounts as spares.[99] Well-bred horses were either imported from Arabia, Iran and Central Asia, or bred in Sindh, Rajasthan and parts of Punjab. Emperors at times also issued firman or imperial mandates on regular intervals addressing officials likemansabdars, kotwals, zamindars and mutasaddis for the remission of taxes for promoting the horse trade.[100][predatory publication][44] Meanwhile, the emperor and the high-ranking commanders usingArabian horses for their high quality.[98] The Marathan lords ofThanjavur regularly sent tributes to the empire by sending Persian and Arabian horses.[101]
Aside from the high quality purebreed Arabian, Iraq, Khurasan, and Central Asia steeds, the Mughal also bred lower quality warhorses.[102] The systematic classification of horse quality in Mughal empire was started in 1595 and generally divided horses into several classes such as:[103][102]
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The most precious breeds of warhorse to the Mughals were:
Stewart N. Gordon classified pre-colonial India into 3 zones of military culture. Southern India featured fortresses and light infantries, western India(such as the Marathas) basing their military forces on light cavalry, and the Mughals and Rajputs, relying on traditional heavy cavalry with feudalistic land revenue systems.[104]
Tactically speaking, the Mughals were characterized by their frontal-combat oriented and shock-charge tactics. Heavy cavalry armed with swords and lances were popular in Mughal armies.[105][106] The Mughal cavalry also trained in a special maneuver to attack enemies' war elephants, and could control their horses to stand on their hind legs and jump forward.[107] The adversaries of the Mughals such as theUzbeks employed their own cavalry archers to prevent the Mughal heavy cavalry from closing in.[108] The Mughals also possessed their own cavalry archer units which were more effective than rifle armed cavalry, being able to shoot their arrows repeatedly while riding their horses.[95]François Bernier observed that a Mughal cavalry archer was capable of unleashing 6 arrows before a riflemen could shoot twice.[107]
In theSecond Battle of Panipat, the Mughal army led by Ali Quli Khan Shaibani featured three sections of cavalry vanguard with the centre composed of 10,000 cavalry.[109] This formation included Bairam Khan's detachment of Turks.[109] There were unique characteristics among horse-cavalry troopers under the command of eachSubahdar (Mughal provincial governor). According to the father ofShuja-ud-Daula,Safdar Jang, thegovernor of Awadh had adorned his contingent of 20,000 cavalry, who were mainly native Hindustan from the Jadibal district inKashmir, with the uniform of PersianQizilbash in dress and taught them to speak Persian language casually.[110][111] Meanwhile, theSadaat-e-Bara tribe ofUrdu-speaking people which traditionally composed the vanguard of the imperial army, held the hereditary role f serving as vanguard units of the empire in battles.[112][113]
Mughal army commanders led their troops atop an elephant,[115] as the perch gave them good vision for giving orders.[21] An elephant unit consisting of two riders atop a single elephant was known asHowdah.[116] They were mainly used to carry heavy goods.[117] Elephant riders inIndus river civilizations were typically calledMahout.[117] The riders were natives of desert areas like Rajasthan.[118] Female elephants usually were tasked to carry or drag baggage and siege cannons, while males were trained to fight.[21]
In 1581, CatalanJesuit Antoni de Montserrat recorded that Akbar had brought around 500 elephants and 28 field cannons to his battle against his brother Mirza Hakim.[21] Montserrat testified to the supporting role of war elephants.[119] In 1703, underAurangzeb, Mughal commanderDaud Khan Panni was recorded to have used 10,500 coins to purchase 30 to 50 war elephants fromCeylon.[120] Akbar maintained around 5000 to 7000 elephants in hisfil-khana (elephant house), of which about 100 of the best were reserved for his personal collection (khassa).[121] The Mughals were more interested in maintaining war elephants than their predecessors, theDelhi sultans, who never had more than 3,000 elephants.[121] They changed their tactics to include elephants. Akbar was a proponent of elephant warfare.[121] Historian Shireen Moosvin estimated the elephant population at 5,000, whileRaman Sukumar estimated that under Jahangir, numbers swelled from 12,000 to 40,000.[122]
Gajnal elephant unit carried Indian swivel-guns on its back.[118][123] Two of these guns could be carried by a single elephant.[118]
Mughal's war elephants woreBargustawan-i-pil armour. It consisted ofchain mail andplate armour that weighed 118 kg.[124] However war elephants were vulnerable to firearms.[115] Mughal elephants bore substantial armour.[117] it mostly protected the head and trunk. However, elephants ridden by high ranking figures typically were fully protected with chainmail, steel plates, sewn-scale or brigandine armour sets, although this was not typical.[116] From the earliest times, war elephants assigned to the frontline served as basically unstoppable shock troops.[8]
Vikram Aggarwal highlighted historical accounts and religious lore to illustrate elephant's significance to Mughal leadership, co-opting cultural symbols and underscoring the dynamic nature of culture and power, Elephants played a major role in the culture of South Asia, as they had been seen as a symbol of power and reverence since theVedic period.[121] The Mughals adopted elephant husbandry into their dynasty.[121]Abul Fazl, author of Akbar's biographyAkbarnama, stated that in Mughal society, the value of one well-conditioned elephant was equal to 500 horses.[121] The empire had a regular supply ofSri Lankan elephants from the Marathan lords ofThanjavur.[101]
Some Rajputmansabdars providedcamel cavalry. The Zamburaks or camel units carried mounted swivel guns and were thought to be a Mughal innovation. Bernier reported that Aurangzeb took two to three hundred camel-guns with him on his expedition to Kashmir.[125] Their mobility compared to their Gajnal elephant counterparts was considered pivotal, as these weapons, double the size of normal muskets, could be shot from the camels.[125] Zamburaks attached to the saddle of a camel and the ordnance typically measured in twohaths and forty - sixliva.[126]
Akbar reportedly employed camel trainers from Baloch andRabari ethnic in addition to his own camel corps that numbered around 6,000-7,000 camel riders.[127]
The infantry was recruited either byMansabdars , or by the emperor. The emperor's infantry was calledAhsam. They were normally ill-paid, ill-equipped, and lacked discipline.[128] This group includedbandukchi or gun bearers, swordsmen, and servants and artisans.[128] They used swords, shields, lances, clubs, pistols, rifles, muskets, etc. They normally wore no armour.[128] Unlike the Europeans who placedwagon forts in their rear formations, the Mughals army placed their wagon in front of enemy centers with[128] chains connecting the wagons to impede enemy cavalry charges. These wagon forts provided cover for the slow-loading Indian musketeers,[128] while protecting heavy cavalry who positioned behind the direct-fire infantry.[128]
Musket infantry (Banduqchis) units were generally more effective than archer infantry units[95] and were the majority.[129]
The musketeers line was able to break the enemy's elephant charges without help from cavalry units, as was demonstrated in theBattle of Haldighati and in theBattle of Tukaroi against cavalry and elephant charges, exploiting some level ofcombined arms with cavalry and artillery units.[130] They were most useful in rural operations to subdue local insurrections.[95]
Locally recruited and equipped withmatchlocks, bows and spears, the infantry was held in low status and was virtually equated withpalanquin bearers, woodworkers, andcotton carders in the army payrolls. Their matchlocks were one-third as fast as the mounted archers, and battle chronicles hardly mention them.[131] Indian Muslims usually enlisted in the cavalry and seldom recruited in the infantry, as they regarded fighting with muskets with contempt. TheBanduqchis were mainly made up of Hindus of various castes who developed skills as marksmen, such as the Bundelas, the Karnatakas and Buxar.[132][133][134][135][136]
The main infantry was supplemented by specialized units such as theShamsherbaz (sword-wielders or gladiators,[137] or swordsmen).[138] The Shamsherbaz were elite heavy infantry companies of skilled swordsmen. Some were assigned to the court to serve as palace guards, or participate in mock-battles or exhibitions. Tens of thousands were assigned to army units by theMansabdars.[137] The Shamsherbaz were frequently used in siege warfare, unleashed to deal with any resistance once the walls were breached with explosives or artillery.[139] They were divided into classes:[140]
Much of the Shamsherbaz were recruited from religious sects such asSufi orders.[141] Many Rajput tribesmen joined Shamserbaz units either as regular soldiers or as mercenaries.[6] Chronicler Abul Fazl recorded that around 1,000 Shamsherbaz lived within the Mughal royal palace, of approximately 100,000 gladiators in total.[119]
Infantry archers were calleddākhilī. The emperor placed them under the command ofmanṣabdār officers. They usually had a salary of about 100-120dāms. A captain of 10 archers was called aMīr-dah officer, typically paid between 20 and 180dāms.[140] During Akbar's final years, the ratio of archers to musketeers was about 3 to 1.[142] Archer units mainly filled a similar role as musketeer units.[143][144]
Mridha archers were the elite class archers units hailing from the parts ofDhaka,Tangail,Bikrampur andPirojpur.[145][146]
Chela were slave soldiers. As counterparts to the mercenaries, over whom commanders had a loose hold, commanders typically collected personal dependents or slaves. Such troops were known aschela (slave). They were fed, clothed, and housed by their owner. The mostly had been brought up and trained by the master. They were recruited chiefly from children taken in war or bought from their parents during famine. The great majority were of Hindu origin, who converted to Islam after they were enslaved. These units were the most dependably loyal in the force.[147]
The Mughals, Timurids, and other Mongol-derived armies, and unlike other Islamic states did not use slave soldiers as their regular army. TheChela mainly worked as menial labor, footmen and low-level officers.Eunuch officers were particularly prized for their loyalty.[148]
Urdubegis were women assigned to protect the emperor and inhabitants of the Emperor'szenana, (harem).[149] The women of the Mughal court were sequestered underpurdah, so their living quarters were run entirely by women.[150] The division of administrative tasks was dictated largely byAkbar, whosezenana numbered over 5,000 noble women and servants.[151]
The women who protected the zenana were commonly ofHabshi,Tatar, Turk andKashmiri origin. Kashmiri women were selected because they did not observepurdah. Many were purchased as slaves.[152]
They are mentioned as early as the reigns ofBabur andHumayun, and were proficient in the lance and bow. Emperors spent a great deal of their leisure time in thezenana, and slept there. The women assigned to protect the women's quarters were part of the larger system to protect the emperor.[153] During Babur's andHumayun's reign, when the Mughal throne was not consolidated, the harem was mobile, traveling with the Emperor. Accordingly, it was necessary to have trustworthy guards and thus, the army ofUrdubegis was constituted. They accompanied the harem during excursions and sieges, and kept guard in the palace mansions were the Emperor's male soldiers were prohibited from entering. Warriors ascended the ranks, or were granted a promotion by the Emperor in return for a favour. For instance, Bibi Fatima, the only knownUrdubegi, was first a wet-nurse in Humayun's period, but was promoted to the rank of anUrdubegi byAkbar.[154]
Despite the large number ofUrdubegis, the name of only one is known: Bibi Fatima. She is mentioned byGulbadan-Begum, Humayun's half-sister, who wrote of her in his autobiography theHumayun-nama.[155][156]
The Indian Muslims during the rule of Mughal maintained artillery dominance, and even after the fall of the empire, various other non-Islamic Indian kingdoms continued to recruit Hindustani Muslims as artillery officers in their armies.[157]
Mughal artillery consisted of various types ofcannons, light artillery, andgrenadier units.[6][19]: 133 [20] The artillery was a specialized corps with its own designated commander, the Mir-i-Atish.[158] The office of Mir-i-Atish grew in importance during the time of the later Mughals.[159] Being in charge of the defense of the Imperial Palace Fort, and being in personal contact with the Emperor, the Mir-i-Atish commander had great influence.[160] The Mughal artillery was somewhat risky to be used in the battlefield, since they exploded sometimes, killing the crew members. Light artillery was the most useful in the battlefield. They were mainly made up of bronze and drawn by horses. This also included swivel guns born by camels calledzamburak.
One of the largest artillery pieces used by the Mughal army was employed during theSiege of Chittorgarh (1567–1568), where they used a giganticMortar designed by Persian engineerFathullah Shirazi. This mortar was capable of firing a cannonball weighing over 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg).[21][161][162] Another recorded mortar usage also recorded in 1659 during the conflict between Aurangzeb and his brother,Shah Shuja.[163][164]
The Mughals also usedrocket based weaponries.[6][19]: 133 [20] EmperorAkbar reportedly used metal cylinder rocket weapons known asbans against enemywar elephants, during the Battle of Sanbal.[165][166] In 1657, the Mughal army also used rockets during theSiege of Bidar.[167] Aurangzeb's forces reportedly used rockets andgrenades while scaling the walls.[167] Some miscellaneous rocket artillery engine was also employed by the Mughal artillery corps, such as one which recorded by chronicler Abul Fazl, which modern historian Andrew de la Garza described as resembling Germannebelwerfer artillery.[119]
The Mughals artillery corps also employed handgrenades[168] and rocket artilleries.[6]: 48 [19]: 133 These rockets are considered to be the predecessor ofMysorean rockets employed byHyder Ali andTipu Sultan[20] Pradeep Barua also noted that the Mughal technology forsapping and mining warfare saw small improvements from the Delhi sultanates which ruled India before them.[169]
The Mughals also maintained a considerable navy, known as theAmla-e-Nawara. InDhaka alone, the fleet numbered 768 ships, including 933 sailors of Portuguese origin and 8,112 artillery personnel in the east.[22] To support the maritime operations, Mughal grand vizierMir Jumla repaired and fortified three river forts:Hajiganj Fort,Sonakanda Fort, andIdrakpur Fort between 1660 and 1663.[170][22] The Navy's main duty was controlling piracy, but it was sometimes used in war.[171] It is known from the standard survey of maritime technology in 1958, that Bengali expertise on shipbuilding was duplicated by the BritishEast India Company in the 1760s, leading to significant improvements in seaworthiness and navigation for European ships during the Industrial Revolution.[172] Among them, there are 923 Portuguese sailors in service of Akbar.[173]
According to records on the Mughal invasion of thekingdom of Ahom, the characteristic warships of Mughals in the Bengal regions wereGhurab warships which were outfitted with 14 guns.[174] Their personnels numbered 50 to 60 crew members.[174] The officers of these ships were conscripted from Dutch, Portuguese, British, and Russian naval officers.[174]
Another characteristic of Mughal warships were their strength and their size, due to the shipbuilding skills of their Bengali shipbuilders.[23] Contrary to the naval forces in Bengal which relied mostly on riverine fitted Gharb warships,[175]: 28 the naval forces of Janjira state which were subsidised byAurangzeb and access to the port ofSurat could construct more large ships likefrigates andmen-of-war.[175]: 34 The man-of-war ships of the Mughals were as large as Englishthird-rate ships, while the frigates usedprows instead ofbeakheads.[176]: 499–500 Some of these ships carried thirty to forty pieces of cannons.[176]: 499–500 This navy included rare huge vessels with certain craft weighing between 300 and 400 tons and equipped with heavy ordnance on row boats, where a few matchlock gunners and spearmen were cramped.[177] The use of hand-driven pumps to remove excessive water from boats was already used by Indian shipmasters in the seventeenth century.[16]: 287 However, larger imperial ships were also operated by Mughasl such as theRahīmī, which reached 1500 tons.[178]Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti also noted the existence of ships belonging to the emperor weighing 1000 tons.[179] Another notable huge ship owned by the Mughals was theGanj-i-Sawai, which had 800 onboard guns at its disposal.[180][181][182] Ganj-i-Sawai was reported as the largest ship in Surat at that time, with its 1600 tonnes in weight.[183][184]
For the two decades at the end of the 16th century, during their operations in Bengal, the Mughals faced difficulties due to the rainy climate and the geography of Bengal, which contains large portions of theGanges River delta, resulting in any attempts for military conquest turning into amphibious operations. Their opponents were local warlords, who owned large quantities of warships. The locals were also assisted by the pirates from the Portuguese Goa region, along with some Dutch ships, although some of the Portuguese instead assisted the Mughal empire.[22]
The Mughal amphibious forces also operated in muddy terrains, such as when Ghiyas Khan led a operation against Udayaditya of theJessore Kingdom.[185] To further improve their operations in wet terrains, the Mughals leveraged local Bengalese fortress construction techniques to build a number of cheap, river-dedicated fortresses which were built with the abundance of mud in the region. Soon, the imperial naval strategy focused on the mobility of their ships whose tracks were defended by these river forts.[22] Grand vizier Mir Jumla also constructed land-based defensive installations to put on those floating river forts. These were constructed by lashing ships, while large rafts enabled the Mughal soldiers to fight on water.[170] Heavy artillery pieces were brought on board rafts to supplement the existing ones, while wagons lashed to decks and stacks of crates or bales of straw and cotton formed makeshift fortifications.[170]
The foundation of the salt water naval force of the Mughals was established byAkbar from the late 16th century after he conquered Bengal and Gujarat.[186] Emperor Akbar reorganized the imperial navy from a collections of civilian vessels to more professional institutions of naval administration; this is detailed in theAin-i-Akbari, the annals of Akbar's reign. The annals identify the navy's primary objectives as being the maintenance of transport and combat vessels, the retention of skilled seamen, protection of civilian commerce and the enforcement of tolls and tariffs.[186] Akbar was recorded inA'in Mir Bahri, to be possessed of 3000 armed vessels, although this later decreased to 768.[173] In early 1600, the Mughals employed local Bengali warriors as their naval force.[44]: 165 [170] theseNawwara is a Bengal local warlords.[187] These locals consisted of the twelve chiefs ofBaro-Bhuyan military confederacy, and were responsible for shipbuilding, commercial trade, slave raids, and military protection.[44]: 165 The Mughals assigned these local warlords to naval positions and gave uncultivated lands to them[clarification needed].[44]: 165 [170]
About 20 years after theSiege of Hooghly, the Mughals in Bengal came intoa conflict with English East India. The Mughal forces were commanded byShaista Khan[188] and Masum Khan, the eldest son ofMusa Khan and grand son of Isa khan, former enemies of the Mughals in Bengal during the reign of Akbar. Masum served as the Mughal army's general during the Hughly invasion in 1632.[189][190] The English company under Admiral Nicholson, who had been granted permission by the emperor to sail about 10 warships,[191] aimed to seizeChittagong and consolidate its interests.[188] However, the English were defeated by the Mughal counterattack under Shaista Khan towards Hooghly.[188][190]
EmpressMariam-uz-Zamani maintained large fleets of trade ships, including theRahīmī andGanj-i-Sawai.[192][193] The Rahimi was the largest of the Indian ships trading in the Red Sea.[154] It had large sails that were identifiable to sailors from miles away, and was known to Europeans asthe great pilgrimage ship.[194] After being sacked by pirates, this ship was replaced by theGanj-i-Sawa. This ship was eventually scaked[clarification needed] by English pirateHenry Every.[195]
The Mughal Empire's naval forces also engaged in maritime cooperation with the Ottoman Empire to counter Portuguese dominance in the 16th-century Indian Ocean. Giancarlo Casale's The Ottoman Age of Exploration highlights that Ottoman fleets, such as during the 1538 Diu siege, relied on logistical support from Surat, a key Mughal port after 1573.[196] The Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient notes Surat's role as a trade and logistical hub, where local sailors aided Ottoman efforts against the Portuguese.[197] Seydi Ali Reis's Mir'āt ül-Memālik records Surat's sailors providing supplies and navigation aid to Ottoman fleets in 1554, integrating Mughal naval efforts into a broader Islamic maritime network.[198]
On November 9, 1665, Mughal commander Abul Hussain, under Shaista Khan, attackedSandwip Island from Dhaka to oust 80-year-old pirate ruler Dilawar Khan (Raja Dilal), who had held it independently for around 50 years. Wounded in the clash, Hussain retreated to Noakhali as an Arakanese fleet approached but withdrew. Reinforcements of 141 boats, 1,500 musketeers/gunners, and 400 cavalry under Jamal Khan and others arrived. On November 18, the Mughals captured wounded son Sharif Khan and Dilawar after fierce fighting, imprisoning them in Dhaka. This bloody victory, aided by Dutch and Portuguese defectors, secured a base for Chittagong.[199][200][201]
In the same year, during theconflict against the kingdom of Arakan in December, Aurangzeb dispatched Shaista Khan, his governor of Bengal to command 288 vessels and more than 20,000 men to pacify the pirate activities within Arakan territory and to captureChittagong,[186][202] assisted by about 40 Portuguese vessels.[203]: 230 Ibn Hussain, Shaista Khan's admiral, was asked to lead the navy, while the subahdar himself took up the responsibility of supplying provisions for the campaign. He also orderedFarhad Khan and Mir Murtaza to take the land route, while the overall command was given toBuzurg Umed Khan, a son of Shaista Khan.[203]: 230 The Mughals and the Portuguese held sway in the following naval battle. The conquered territory to the western bank of Kashyapnadi (Kaladan river) was placed under direct imperial administration. The name of Chittagong was changed to Islamabad and it became the headquarters of a Mughalfaujdar.[203]: 230 This ensuing conflict in Chittagong was documented as the largest galley battle of theEarly Modern period, involving more than 500 ships and claiming more than 40,000 lives.[186] After the Mughals took Chittagong, the Portuguese moved to the Ferengi Bazaar in Dhaka. Descendants of the Portuguese still reside in these places.[204]
It is said in the Ahkam 'Alamgiri record that the commander of British navy, Sir John Child, concluded peace with the Mughals in 1689 due to his fear of the "Mughal navy" force of Janjira which let bySiddi Yaqub.[177] According to Grant Duff, until 1670 the imperial navy under the leadership of Shah Jahan with the Janjira mariners has clashed frequently againstMaratha Navy underShivaji, where the Janjira and Mughal naval forces always comes victorious.[206] English letters in 1672 record that Aurangzeb sent 30 small frigates to assist the Siddis in Danda-Rajapuri.[207] The resulting battle caused the Shivaji naval forces to be burned and 50 ships to be lost.[207]: 196 Khafi Khan also records that the Mughal fleet once inflicted heavy losses on the Maratha naval forces during the reign of Shah Jahan, capturing 200 while suffering only 100 casualties. This fuelled the rivalry of the Siddis with the Maratha in the sea.[207]: 196
During the era of Aurangzeb, the chronicle ofAhkam 'Alamgiri reveals how the Mughals had struggled to establish a strong navy, spurred by the failure to prevent losses of Muslim vessels off the coast of theMaldives islands. Aurangzeb was said to possess four huge vessels at Surat and the port of southern Gujarat.[173] Aurangzeb's Vizier, Jafar Khan, blames the Mughal lack of ability to establish an effective navy not on the lack of resources and money, but on the lack of men to direct (the vessels).[177] Thus, Syed Hassan Askari concluded that the lack of priority of Aurangzeb to afford his naval project due to his conflicts against the Maratha hindered his ability to do so.[177]
Andrew de la Garza stated that the other reason why the Mughal navy did not evolve into a high seas fleet during the 17th century was the technological inferiority of Indianblast furnaces furnaces in comparison with their European counterparts, which were capable of creating the high temperatures required to manufacturecast iron cannons in quantity.[186] Nevertheless, Syed maintained that the Mughals were not independently able to control rampant piracy and European naval incursions, instead depending on the strength of friendly Arab forces fromMuscat to keep the Portuguese in check.[177] Alternative explanation were offered byMichael Naylor Pearson, as he and other historians suggested that the Portuguese were actually posing no real threat to the Hajj expeditions during the reign of Aurangzeb. Umar Ryad highlighted the fact that the Portuguese typically did not dare to attack armadas of pilgrims sponsored by the Mughal empire, since they were heavily protected with many military personnel in each ship.[208]
However, Syed Hassan also highlighted that Aurangzeb did not completely neglect the Mughal navy as he had acquired British expertise to strengthen the fort ofJanjira island, while also establishing naval cooperation with semi independentSiddi community naval force ofJanjira State which resisted the Marathas.[177] The proficiency of the Siddi Yaqub navy is exemplified duringSiege of Bombay, where Siddi Yaqub and hisMappila fleet blockaded the fortress and forced the submission of the British forces.[209] In the late 1600s, Sidi Yaqut received a subsidy of 400,000 rupees from emperor Aurangzeb to manageMurud-Janjira He also owned large ships which weighed 300–400 tons. According to records, these ships were unsuitable for fighting on the open sea against European warships, but their size allowed for transporting soldiers for amphibious operations.[205] Reports from travellers has noted that Mughal generalMir Jumla II was employing the services the sailors from British, the Dutch, and the Portuguese, along their ships.[210] In August, 1660, he employed 6–7 British sailors of a small vessel carrying Trevisa, the English Agent, toDhaka.[210] He also utilised the services of both the Dutch and the British for constructing his warships as it is recorded agaliot built by the Dutch atHooghly district and manned by 6–7 British fugitives under a captain named John Durson.[210] Furthermore, Mir Jumla also employing a Britishman named Thomas Pratt to construct boats and making ammunition for riverine warfare[210] During the tenure of Mughal general Mir Jumla in Bengal, he employed Portuguese, English, and Dutch sailors to operate his 323 warships.[170][210] In August, 1660, he employed 6–7 British sailors of a small vessel carrying Trevisa, the English Agent, toDhaka.[210] He also utilised the services of both the Dutch and the British for constructing his warships as it is recorded agaliot built by the Dutch atHooghly district and manned by 6–7 British fugitives under a captain named John Durson.[210] Furthermore, Mir Jumla also employing a British named Thomas Pratt to construct boats and making ammunition for riverine warfare.[210] After the death of Mir Jumla, Shaista Khan launched conquest of Chittagong in 1666, where he employing the fleet of ships belonging local warlords group in Bengal, which calledNawwara, to overcome the turbulent water frontier of the region.[211]
Ancient Rome or British army... logistics had to support operations in a variety... faced problem transporting artillery...
Others suggest that it was not artillery but cavalry that made the Mughals invincible in the
rockets were upgraded versions of Mughal rockets utilised during the Siege of Jinji by the progeny of the Nawab of Arcot
...Mughal army shed most of its post-nomadic..
Stephen Rosen's calculations show that even the most conservative figures for Indian soldiers per capita are at least as high as those for Europe at the end of the Thirty Years' War (1650), that is, 550,000, or 0.5 percent of a population of some 105 million (Europe west of the Urals, including Scandinavia, Britain, European Russia, Spain, and the Balkans). He also states that the actual numbers may be closer to ten times the incidence of soldiers per captain Europe during that war. Furthermore, in sharp contrast to European states, the Mughals controlled only a small proportion of the total military forces in India. The Ain-i-Akbari gives the empire's total number of soldiers in the 1590s as 4.4 million, which includes local militia, consisting mainly of foot soldiers outside of Mughal control. This represents 3 percent of an estimated population of 135 million in 1600.
...Mughal historiographical tradition has depicted the encampment as an example of its central Asian legacy.... He also created new revenue collection systems known as the khalisa... 21 Nevertheless, these centralizing policies also coincided with Akbar's .... Akbar's entourage included small camps for journeys or hunting and large camps for royal ...The emperor and his administration ruled the expanding Mughal empire from these camps.
... Mughals paid insufficient attention to the quality of their firearms, they nevertheless maintained a formidable mixed-arms army. In 1647, the historian Abdul Hamid Lahori listed Mughal military strength as 200,000 stipendiary cavalry ...
Under the Mughals,Delhi andLahore had been the most important centres for the production of military equipment.
Nath, Climate of Conquest: 30–36
..elephants significance to Mughal leadership's right to rule, depicting how cultural symbols are co opted and repurposed and thus underscoring the dynamic nature of culture and power....In South Asia, elephants have been a symbol of power and reverence since the ancient Vedic times, as shown in the Arthashastra and Manusmriti
musketeers were mostly recruited from certain Hindu tribes, such as the Bundelas, the Karnatakis, and the men of Buxar
The Indian muslims looked down upon fighting with muskets and prided on sword play. The best gunners in the mughal army were hindus
Most of the larger zamindari establishments consisted of a considerable number—sometimes half or more of all estate employees—of armed men, calledjamadar,mridha,peyada,paik, and so on, who were used against recalcitrant tenants.
Akbar supposedly possessed 3000 vessels or boats. Later on, the amount was decreased to 768 armed cruisers; (1618–1707) is said to have possessed four great vessels at Surat, the southern Gujarati port
Rahimi, a 1,500 - ton
... Mariam Zamani then ordered the building of an even larger ship with 62 guns .... take pilgrims to Mecca...
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)This Mughal military machine conquered and absorbed all the northern and central regions of South Asia except for some small, geographically isolated, strategically insignificant, or …
This article incorporates text fromThe army of the Indian Moghuls: its organization and administration, byWilliam Irvine, a publication from 1903, now in thepublic domain in the United States.
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