Origins

The start of the use of artillery in the Ottoman Army is not very definite. Date estimates on when artillery entered Ottoman service vary, as most of the early history on Ottoman artillery was written in the late 15th century, long after the actual battles.^[1] One of the arguments is that the Ottomans used cannons in the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and Nukap (1396) and most certainly by the 1420s.^[2] However the other argument states that field guns entered service shortly after the Battle of Varna (1444) and more certainly used in the Second Battle of Kosovo (1448).^[3]

The Balkans were used by the Ottomans as both a human and technical source concerning the advancement and the use of their artillery pieces.^[4] Bosnia and Serbia particularly, along with Italy and Germany, were significant for the Ottoman Army. Specialist ‘topcu’ or artillery units were formed mainly of Christians; units such as tayfa-i efreciye . In the siege of Baghdad where the Ottomans retook the city from the Persians (1638), gunners of European descent served on the lines.^[5] Although the payroll registry records were not good at keeping up with the number of gunners because the comrades of those deceased collected the money on their behalf. The table below gives us a clear view of the trends.^[6]

The Size of the Ottoman Artillery Corps 1514-1769

One of the greatest advancements in Ottoman fire arms came in the reign of Beyazid II who improved the design of field artillery pieces and many other firearms ranging from muskets to ‘tufeks’. To add to this the 16th century brought the latest technical advancements in gun making to the Ottomans; in the form of Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition.

Types

Early 16th-century Ottoman volley gun

Archival evidence supports the notion that the Ottoman artillery was famous for the size of its cannon, and their number; from the highly mobile antipersonnel Abus gun to the massive Great Turkish Bombard. These bombards were a product of specialised study in the production of 'giant guns' known literally as castle smashers 'kale-kob'. Although such weapons being primarily used in sieges; where they were cast on site due to the logistical difficulties attributed to transport them there, they were used as late as 1809 when massive stone-firing guns were used with some effect against British ships during the Dardanelles Operation, throwing 1000-1,000 lb (450 kg) marble with a range of 1 mi (1.6 km). Accuracy was achieved by using wadded shots wrapped in sheepskin with ready-measured stacks of powder. Unlike the European powder, the Ottoman powder is thought to be better for upon firing; it produced white smoke rather than black smoke.

The most famous battle in which these bronze 'bombards' were used is at the siege of Constantinople in 1453. The bombards weighed 19 tons, took 200 men and sixty oxen to emplace, and could fire just seven times a day. The Fall of Constantinople was perhaps "the first event of supreme importance whose result was determined by the use of artillery", when the huge bronze cannons of Mehmed II breached the city's walls, ending the Byzantine Empire, according to Sir Charles Oman.^[7]

The most commonly used gun is known as a battering gun (darbzen). This gun fired 0.15–2.5 kg (0.33–5.51 lb) shots in weight. These guns were used more in fortresses as the emphasis was given to small to medium-calibre guns. Small-calibre bronze pieces were also used on galleons and river boats; they weighed between 3.7–8.6 kg (8.2–19.0 lb). However, most riverboats had an armoury of cast-iron guns which fired 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) shots; on average they weighed between 20–40 kg (44–88 lb). The ‘balyemez’ was a medium-weight, long-range cannon which fired shots weighing 31–74 kg (68–163 lb). ‘Şahalaz’ was light cannon, mainly used on riverboats, and was a cast-iron cannon firing 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) shots. ‘Şayha’ was a gun of various sizes used predominantly on riverboats mainly in the Danube. It weighed between 31–74 kg (68–163 lb). The 16th and 17th centuries gave rise to other types of cannons which the Ottomans used, such as the‘Saçma topu’ (grapeshot) and the ‘Ağaç topu’ (petard).^[8][9][10]

Method and production

Tophane, 1890s.

The ammunition used by the bronze bombards were stone balls 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter and weighing 400 kg (880 lb). The transportation of just two bombards proved to be a logistically challenging task. They were dragged to the Fall of Constantinople by 70 oxen and 1000 men. The casting of these bombards are described by Kritoboulos 1467. He describes the clay mould and the core which was strengthened by iron, wood, earth and stone. 45 t (44 long tons; 50 short tons) of copper and tin are said to be placed in two furnaces constructed out of large stone blocks, laid with cement and covered by fire bricks and smeared in clay. Logs of wood along with charcoal are placed inside the furnace and all the holes except the tapping channels are closed. Then bellows are put to work until the metal inside is in a fluid state. The liquid bronze is then poured into the clay mould where it is then chiseled and polished.^[11]

Mehmed II erected many cannon-foundries in Istanbul, the most famous of which is the Tophane foundry which produced bronze cannons for siege warfare. It made large bombards which had a diameter of 60–100 cm (24–39 in) and in 1562 alone it cast a total of 1012 guns weighing all together 481 t (473 long tons; 530 short tons).^[12]

Artillery gallery

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  Length: 385 cm (152 in);– Calibre: 178 mm (7.0 in);– Weight: 2,910 kg (6,420 lb);– Projectile: Stone – Forged: In Alger 1581
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  Type: Ottoman Bronze – Cast Date: 1790–91 – Weight 5.2 t (5.1 long tons; 5.7 short tons);– Shot Fired: Stone shot of over 56 kg (123 lb).
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  Bronze cast Ottoman bombard – Cast in the 15th–16th century – Fired shots of 1,000 lb (450 kg)
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  Cannon batteries at the Siege of Esztergom 1543
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  Miniature of an Ottoman gunner
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  Ottoman gunner badge
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  Ottoman artillery unit banner