Military Technology of Medieval India - Special Emphasis on

Prior of the Mughal Empire.

Paper: Military Technology in Medieval India

Candidate’s Name: Ranjit Biswas (M.Phil.)

Semester: II

Supervisor: Prof. Amarendra Kumar

Department of History
Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan
Introduction:

We know that the world and people have a history of where they stand today. This trend of

evolution has been going on since Palaeolithic time. We divide the epoch of the era of history

by the objects used by contemporary people above all by the weapons. The quality of these

objects states the contemporary phenomena of those particular time period. However, the main

topic of this assignment is Military Technology in Medieval India special emphasis on prior of

the Mughal Empire. We can see that, army organization and weapons of India was going on in

a traditional way except some linear developments. But the major change comes out after the

Turkey invasion. We will see, this evolution of arms and armor technology and what major

extension had occurred. A case may be made that military conquests in pre-modern times often

led to accelerated transmissions of techniques.1

Archery

The bows and arrows could not be treated as alone but used altogether in warfare, formed a

section under archery, the history of which is much old in antiquity. 2 In Harshacharita, (7th

century AD), the bow is said to be "the chief wealth in battle"3 The elephant warriors using

bows and arrows figure in

1
(Habib, I. (1992). Pursuing the History of Indian Technology: Pre-Modern Modes of
Transmission of Power. Social Scientist, 20(3/4), 1-22. Doi: 10.2307/3517685, n.d.)p.16

2
(Pant, G. N., & Deshpande, M. N. (1978). Indian Arms and Armour. New Delhi: Army
Educational Stores, n.d.) p.92.). The two great epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata provide a
graphic description of Indian archery.(Ibid., pp.64-65).

3
(Yadava, B. N. S. (1973). Society and Culture in Northern India in the Twelfth Century.
Allahabad: Central Book Depot., n.d.)p.216
Manasollasa of Somesvara4 (12th century AD) clearly refer to bows and arrows amongst other

weapons of war. The greatest Rajput ruler Prithviraja Chauhan possessed a great skill to

command the range and direction of his arrow in response to the sound, (sabdabhed).5 It appears

that unlike the Turks, the Indians were quite unfamiliar with the use of crossbow6 which with

far greater velocity and accuracy of direction proved the most deadly weapon for sieges and

defensive loophole shooting. A paik as mentioned in the texts written under the Delhi Sultans

was a foot soldier well versed in offensive and defensive forms of combat specialising in

archery. The paiks of Bengal who excelled in archery were however in great demand and were

given preference during recruitemen.7

Like the bows, the arrows used were also of varying types such as barbed-arrows. The

Paramara ruler Sindhuraja (AD 994-1020), while hunting is reported to have wounded by an

engraved arrow, on which was inscribed navina sahasanka sindhuraja.8 During the course of

the second battle of Tarain, Govind Rai, brother of Pithor Rai created a difficult situation for

Muhammad Ghori by showering arrows upon him from his howdah.9

4
Manasollasa. Vol.11, p.221, V.V.86-89
5
G.N. Pant, Studies in Indian Weapons, pp.47, 78, also see Prithvirajraso.
6
(White, L. (1962). Medieval Technology and Social Change., n.d.) p.35, p.151-152. The use
of cross-bow first invented in China before the birth of Christ, defused thereby to Rome and
later to Europe, had not become widespread in Islamic world until the middle of the 12th
century AD.
7
(ATHAR, A. (1994). THE “PAIK” IN THE ARMY OF DELHI SULTANS DURING THE 13TH
CENTURY (SUMMARY). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 55, 404-406. Retrieved
October 13, 2020, from Http://Www.Jstor.Org/Stable/44143381, n.d.)
8
Pant, p.169 mentions D.C. Ganguly The History of The Paramara Dynasty
9
(Pant, G. N., & Deshpande, M. N. (1978). Indian Arms and Armour. New Delhi: Army
Educational Stores, n.d.) p.70, also see Minhaj-us Siraj, Tabakat-i-Nasiri, Vol.1, p.56.
A howdah, or houdah (Hindi: हौदा haudā), derived from the Arabic, that means "bed carried by
Harnessing the Horse

Medieval period in many societies has been looked upon as The Age of Cavalry. When horses

played a great role in the making and unmaking of empires. Domestication of horses

necessitated numerous equine accountrements with the objective of controlling the horse as

well as for the convenience of the rider. Bridle, saddle, stirrup and horse shoe were the most

significant equipment towards this objective. The horse chiselled in the reliefs is having rich

trappings or an ornament covering horse is depicted in friezes from the Keshavatemple,

Somanathapur is well caparisoned horse. Generally horse is fitted with a bridle reigns,

pummels, and stirrups and decked with bells, whisks, leg ornament etc.10

Fig-1. Mounted horse men with saddle, bridle, stirrups at Keshava temple

Picture credit. Eric Lafforgue, Brussels.

10
See H.G Rekha “Friezes of Horses As Depicted In Hoysala Temples”
Jadunath Sarkar explained the result of harnessing the horse of Timur’s chivalry. He says

Timur’s horsemen could ride 150 miles in one day and night, march an average of 80 miles

daily for a week together.11

Saddle and Stirrup:

The riding and combat efficiency of a mounted archer was increased by the successful use of

saddles equipped with stirrups. The use of saddle to provide a comfortable seat to a horseman

was not a new one.12 But with the origin of stirrup, revolutionary changes occurred not only in

the field of mounted archery but in overall mounted warfare, as by tucking his feet into the

stirrup a rider would had been able to make full use of his height, in a standing position,

combining his full weight and energy with horse's strength and mobility. Now the question is

that whether it was an introduction at the hand of the Turks or it diffused to India from

anywhere else? Prof Irfan Habib, in a notable paper entitled a camel", also known as hathi

howdah, is a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some

other animal such as a camel, used most often in the past to carry wealthy people or for use

in hunting or warfare. It was also a symbol of wealth for the owner and as a result was decorated

with expensive gemstones.

'Technological changes", credits to Muslim conquerors of Delhi Sultanate, the direct cultural

heirs of the Persians and Central Asian people, for the introduction of stirrup in India.13 Simon

11
(Sarkar, J. (1960). Military History of India. Calcutta: M.C. Sarkar., n.d.), p.41

12
(Pant, G. N. (1997). Horse & Elephant Armour. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan., n.d., p. 69)

13
(Irfan Habib, "Technological Changes", op.cit., p. 158) quotes to Adab-ul-Harb-wa-Shujjat
of Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, which attest the use of stirrup in India {rikab) by the Delhi Sultans of
13th century AD (Ibid.). To the use of Arabian term rikab in Persian source, he states that in
original it meant a camel carrying travellers but by the 11th century AD, it began to be used to
mean stirrup (Ibid.).
Digby argued that, the presence of stirrup in India have proofs before its use by Delhi Sultans

through in the sculptural evidences of the early medieval period. Citing to the representations

of stirrups at Konark in Orissa (12th century AD), Khajuraho in Central India on frezies of

Lakshman temple (c. AD 950) and Channakesava temples at Belur (Southern Deccan), built

by a Hoyasala ruler in the first half of the 12th century, he suggests that the use of stirrup was

widespread in India, even in extreme south before its conquest by the Muslims.14 The use of

stirrups in south India has also been attested by a passage from Amir Khusrau describing the

conquest of Ma'bar by Alauddin Khalji, in which he says that the Rai of that place, named

Rayan, being embarrassed by the enemy's attack had broken his own stirrup.15 The iron made

bridle first appeared in china.16

Horse shoe:

Another device, the introduction of which increased the overall efficiency of a horse to gallop

over hard and rocky surface; acting as a protective sheath for the horse and providing a firm

grip of ground, was horse-shoe.17 The contemporary evidence of the use of such horse shoe by

Delhi sultans may be gleaned from a passage of Fakhr-i-Mudabbir's work on warfare.18

14
(Digby, S. (2004). War-Horse and Elephant in the Delhi Sultanate: A Study of Military
Supplies. Delhi: Oxford University Press., n.d.)p.13-14
15
See https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.115127. M. Habib, The campaigns of
Alauddin Khalji, English translation of Khazain-ul-futuh,p.99
16
A.A Nazer in Horse Sculpture in India quotes, Deloche, 'Hoysala', Plates-XII-XXII. Iron -
stirrup proper appeared in China during 6th century A.D.
17
According to Lynn White, the earliest definite excavated evidence of horse-shoe comes from
the nomadic rider's grave in Siberia in 9th-10th centuries and the first recorded evidence of
nailed horse-shoe is found to be mentioned in the Byzantine Tactica of Leo VI, who reigned
from 886-991. He further states that horse-shoe probably appeared in Europe at the end of the
9th century and by the time of the 4th century its use had become common. (Lynn White,
op.cit., pp.58-59)
18
The passage tells, "An expert upon selecting a horse for the ruler of Bukhara first rested the
horse and then shod it and went and told the ruler that he would show him the horse next day."
Unfortunately, there is not even a single evidence of its use by the contemporary Hindus

including the Rajput rulers of India.19 For the first time in India certain sculptures of Hoysala

especially at Somnathpuram belonging to the 13th century clearly show the appearance of

nailed shoe, however horses were generally shoed.20

Bridle:

Bridle is a set of leather straps that are put around horse head to allow riders to control it. The

earliest notice of bridle equipment appears in the Rig Veda. The horses had bridle but it is not

clear from the early sculptures whether it was with or without bit but from the later sculptures

it is very clear horses bridle had bit.21

Elephants were arranged in the same way. But as the Sultanate period progressed, its use

Diminished.

Some other arms:

Sword:

Again the author put the insistence on the besieged garrison for the ever inclusion of smith to
shoe the garrison. (Irfan Habib, "Technological Changes", op.cit.).
19
Pant, G.N, Arms and Armou.P.177
20
Deloche, 'Hoysala', Plate XXII A.J. Qaisar, Horseshoeing in Mughal India, Journal of
History of Science, 27 (2), 1992, pp. 133-144, quoted by A.A Nazer in “Horse Sculpture in
India” journal.
21
For detailed study of early bit and bridle in India see Lawrence S. Leshnik, “Some Early
Indian Horse-Bits and Other Bridle Equipment” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 75,
No. 2 (Apr., 1971), pp. 141- 150
Beginning with the literary texts, the sword was given so much preference in relation to bow

and arrow by the Rajput King Bhoja Paramara (11th century AD) that in his work, he devoted

123 verses in description of sword, while the bow and arrow being described only in 8 verses.22

The Hindus had acquired so much skill in wielding a sword that even Ibn Batuta refers some

Hindu swordsmen recruited in the state army and in the private levies of the rebel princes of

Sultan Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.23 Bhoj the great Parmar ruler referring to the relative value

of swords produced in different countries states to those manufactured at Benares and

Saurashtra as the best, while those at Magadha, Anga and Kalinga as worst. The swords

manufactured at Ceylon are described by him as of middling.24 While comparing the Hindu

sword with those of Kurasan and Iraq, Fakar-i-Mudabbir says that "They (Indians) have the

hardest blades of all the swords.25

There were many types of sword, but amongst of them Khanda. Most Khandas of the 17th and

18th century have a thin flat broad straight steel blade approximately 90cm in length. Although

the Khanda is a double edged blade it is reinforced with narrow fretted strips of steel

reinforcement running down most of the length of the reverse edge and several inches down

the front edge from the root. This design enabled the blade not only to be light and elastic, but

also provides it with additional stiffness to withstand impact without bending out of shape and

not chip or shatter easily. With the advent of cavalry in Sikh and Mughal warfare the Khanda

22
Pant mentioned in Indian arms and armours, also see Yuktikalpataru. pp.MOff.,175-76.
23
Pant, ibid, p.179
24
Pant, p.181, Yuktikalpataru, op.cit
25
Simon Digby, op.cit., p. 18
was eventually replaced as the primary sword by the Tulwar which was better suited for

mounted warfare.26

Spear:

The Muslim Sultans of Delhi had also made frequent use of this weapon, Tarikh-i-Yamini states

that the troops of Jaipala had fought against those of Mahmud for several days, drawing blood

from wounds inflicted from swords and spears and the fight was so fierce that "the spears were

tired of penetrating the rings of the coats of mail. It is also evident that the spears were openly

used in Mahmud's fight against Kulchand in close conflict.27

Lance:

The Muslim chroniclers describe, how in the first battle of Tarain (AD 1191) Muhammad

Ghori, on a horseback led a furious charge against the Hindu centre and shattered the teeth of

Govind Rai with his lance.28 The significance and use of lance in Sultanate army is illustrated

by Fakhr-i Mudabbir's statement that no other person than a lanceman is able to fight 1,000

horsemen all alone. He also praises it for its lightness owing to which it can be easily handled.29

26
http://www.sikhmuseum.com/nishan/weapons/khanda.html.

27
Elliot and Dowsen, History of India by Its own Historians, Vol.11, p.20, 31, 43

28
Pant, Arms and Armours, p.184, he quoted from Tabakat-i-Nasiri, Vol.1, p.460
29
(Athar, Ali M. Military Technology and Warfare in the Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1398 A.D.).
Icon Publications, 2006., n.d.), p.170
According to him the Indians used a heavy lance called bhallah, the point of which is often

poisoned to make the attack more effective.30

Defensive body arms:

Shield:

To accompany a Sword had supposed by the Shield, which was held in other hand. Some

Shields show the royal possessions and are very attractive. Rama-Kavana war as mentioned in

the epic Ramayana and the Pandava-Kura war as illustrated in the Mahabharata witnessed

innumerable varieties of Shields amidst other Offensive weapon and defensive armour.31 In the

battle-field of Panipat in 1526 AD., Babar,the founder of Mughal rule, had similarly placed

seven hundred gun carriages, which were joined together by the ropes ofraw hide and between

every two carts five tura Shields were fixed behind which the matclockmen stood and fired.32

The shield and Sword was highly popular in the Maratha period.33 The Rajput has been

employed till recently the Shields as dowry tray in Rajasthan.

The valuable things, and jewels were presented to bridegroom by the father of bride. A shield

beautifully decorated with both sides.34

30
Ibid.

31
Pant G.N., Catalogue of Edged Arms and Armour in Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad, 1989,
P.196.
32
Ibid.p.196
33
Hon. Director, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, ARMS AND ARMOURS in the Raja Dinkar
Kelkar Museum, Pune,1999, p.1
34
Pant, op.cit. p.195
Helmet:

During the Mughal period die steel head piece together with a vizor or nose-guard, surrounded

by small steel shafts, was known as Khud, Dubulgha, Dabalgah or Top, Khoghi. It was of

different varieties and beautifully decorated. A mail coat for both head and body in one piece,

Ghughuwa was called to these coats. These were padded either with cotton or velvet. 35 The

Rajput has been employed till recently the Shields as dowry tray in Rajasthan. The valuable

things, and jewels were presented to bridegroom by the father of bride. A shield beautifully

decorated with both sides.36

There were also some different armours for different parts of body, such as armour for the leg,

neck protector, shoulder guard, armour for the waist, armour for the hand etc.

Gunpowder and firearms in Delhi Sultanate period

The gunpowder technology brought a revolutionary change in the existing socio-political

structures around the world. The Chinese are generally regarded as the harbingers of this

technology by inventing gunpowder and guns and they were available in Asia before the

arrivals of Europeans.37 In the south and Bengal, gunpowder and gunpowder weapons were

35
(Sarkar, Jagadish Narayan. (1984). The Art of War in Medieval India. New Delhi :
Munshiram Manoharla, n.d.) p. 124
36
Pant G.N., Catalogue of Edged Arms and Armour, ibid, p.195
37
See introduction , (Lorge, P. (2008). The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to
the Bomb (New Approaches to Asian History). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Doi:10.1017/CBO9780511816598, n.d.), p.13
probably brought in from China.38 The first serious study of the early history of gunpowder in

India was made by Elliot in 1840. He suggested that gunpowder was possibly present in the

Ramayana and Mahabharata.39 Akram Makhdoomee said, the use of gunpowder was known

much earlier than the fourteenth century.40 Iqtidar Alam Khan ascribes the earliest textural

reference about pyrotechnics based on gunpowder in the Delhi Sultanate to a qasida composed

by Amir Khusrau.41 Shams Siraj Afif describes the bursting of flower scattering rocket on the

occasion of shab-barat during the reign of Firoz shah Tughlak (1351-61). P.K. Gode found

references to fireworks in a fifteenth century Sanskrit text called Kautukacintamani by Gajapati

Prataparudradeva of Orissa. The text provides details about the various ingredients of

pyrotechnic mixtures.42 Amir Khusrau mentions in Khazain-ul-futuh that the Hindus besieged

by Alauddin Khalji in the fort of Ranthambor had started fires in the towers of the fort.43

Although more developed weapons replaced most early gunpowder weapons, the Bans or

rocket arrow, which came into use during Delhi Sultanate period, remained in use into the late

eighteenth century. The Ban was a narrow iron cylinder, about one foot long, filled with

38
Ibid. p.118
39
Khan. I.K, Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India, Oxford University Press,
2004. P.17
40
Makhdoomee, M.A., ‘The Art of war in Medieval India’, in Islamic Culture, Vol. XI, No. 4,
p. 475.
41
The qasida was composed in the praise of Jalal al-Din Firoz Khalji in 1290-6. A hawai or
rocket is mentioned in the qasida which could only work with the use of gun powder. L.A.
Khan, op.cit., p. 18.
42
https://archive.org/stream/StudiesInIndianCulturalHistoryvolum1/SICH1_djvu.txt.
43
(KHAN, I. (1996). COMING OF GUNPOWDER TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND NORTH
INDIA: SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROLE OF THE MONGOLS. Journal of Asian History, 30(1),
27-45. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from Http://Www.Jstor.Org/Stable/41931009, n.d.). p.39
gunpowder and attached to a 10-12 foot long stick.44 Earliest evidence of gunpowder in mining

operation was first used in India relates to the siege of Bhatnair and Meerut by Taimur in

1398.45 Another example of use of gunpowder mining technology in 1472 to the siege of

Belgaum by the Bahmani force commanded by Mahmud Gawan.46

A writer who lived at Jaunpur from 1457-64 mentions cannon and a clear description of the

trial of a brass or bronze piece that threw a 1200 kilogram projectile in 1443-44 at Herat puts

very early cannon credibly within reach of Indian rulers in the fifteenth century. Notable that,

I.A Khan argues quite persuasively that indication of artillery in the Bahmani Kingdom in the

fourteenth century cannot be supported by carefully reading of the Tarikh-i-Firista.47 However,

a weapon resembling the cannon is also reported present in Kashmir by Jonaraja and Shrivara.

The latter also records that this weapon came to be known as topa in Muslim language and

kanda in local dialect. Portuguese experts began to found European style cannon in the south

by at least 1506, and to train local craftsmen in their manufacture.

Babur invaded the Delhi Sultanate in 1526 equipped with several kinds of guns, ranging from

very large mortars, for reducing fortifications, to matchlock muskets. The large mortars were

two piece cannon hauled by two or three elephants or 400-500 men. Babur had two kinds of

gun the firingi and zarb-zan. In this case of zarb-zan Babur acquired them after 1519, about

44
Peter Lorge, op.cit, p.118
45
Khan, Gunpowder and Firearms:p.31
46
Ibid. p.32
47
For the writer of Jaunpur see Iqtidar Alam Khan, Warfare and Firearms: p.41, also see
ibid,p.205-9
the same time he obtained the service of Mustafa Rumi, an Ottoman artillerymen.48 It suggests,

Ottoman or Egyptian origin of zarb-zan gun. But compared to advanced weapons of Babur and

Portuguese, Iqtidar Alam Khan says Portuguese matchlocks were far superior to the matchlocks

in widespread use on the subcontinent.49

Chinese Bombardes are known to have become familiar weapons in the Kingdom Calicut

(Kerala) as early as the second decade of the fifteenth century.50

Naval Technology

In the 11th century according to the Tabakat-i- Akbari of Nizamuddin Ahmed, the 17th

expedition of Sultan Mahmud was directed against the Jats who had molested his army on his

return from Somnath, it was brilliant naval fight. In the 13th century Balban directed a great

naval expedition against Tughril Khan, Governor of Bengal. Marcopolo gives details regarding

the ship, their size, form, fitting, and the mode of repairing. Till the arrival of the Portuguese

the Ahmedabad Sultans maintained their position as lords of the sea. In 1429 the Gujrat king

Ahmed Shah sent a fleet of seventeen vessels to recover the Island of Bombay and Salsette

siezed by the Bahmani Kingdom. Between 1452-69 the Raja of Vishalgad, one of the fortresses

built up a great maritime power.51

48
Peter lorge, op.cit, p.121
49
Khan, Gunpowder and Firearms. P.129-35
50
An anonymous account by a Florentine noblemen of Vasco da gama’s landing at Calicut was
printed by Giovani Batista (1485-1557). This speaks of an Indian pilot who accompanied
Vasco da gama to Lisbon in 1499. The pilot is reported to have told the Florentine that foreign
ships have landed in Calicut eighty years before. These ships carried bombarde which were
much shorter than the modern ones. Twenty or twenty five of these ships returned every two
or three years (Partington, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. P.222-23
Conclusion

We see that, the Sultanate era brought a big change in the field of military technology. Special

changes come in infantry, archery, and defensive arm. Apart from the Delhi Sultanate, various

indigenous states also developed their military technology. But major change happened by the

advent of gunpowder and fire arms. It took such a position that who has this new technology

is the dictator. As time went on these technologies had been supposed to the mature form.

Reference
(Habib, I. (1992). Pursuing the History of Indian Technology: Pre-Modern Modes of
Transmission of Power. Social Scientist, 20(3/4), 1-22. Doi: 10.2307/3517685, n.d)

(Pant, G. N., & Deshpande, M. N. (1978). Indian Arms and Armour. New Delhi: Army
Educational Stores, n.d.)

ATHAR, A. (1994). THE "PAIK" IN THE ARMY OF DELHI SULTANS DURING THE 13TH
CENTURY (SUMMARY). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 55, 404-406. Retrieved
October 13, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44143381

Athar, Ali M. Military Technology and Warfare in the Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1398 A.D.).
Icon Publications, 2006.

Digby, S. (2004). War-Horse and Elephant in the Delhi Sultanate: A study of military supplies.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Pant, G. N. (1997). Horse & elephant armour. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.

Sarkar, J. (1960). Military history of India. Calcutta: M.C. Sarkar.

KHAN, I. (1996). COMING OF GUNPOWDER TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND NORTH

INDIA: SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROLE OF THE MONGOLS. Journal of Asian History, 30(1),
27-45. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41931009

Athar, Ali M. Military Technology and Warfare in the Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1398 A.D.).
Icon Publications, 2006.

51
Mukherji R.K., Indian Shipping: A History of the Sea-Borne Trade and Maritime Activity of
The Indians From The Earliest Times, (Orient Longmans, Calcutta, 1957).
Lorge, P. (2008). The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to the Bomb (New
Approaches to Asian History). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sarkar, Jagadish Narayan. (1984). The art of war in medieval India. New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal

Khan, I. A. (2004). Gunpowder and firearms: Warfare in medieval India. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.

Yadava, B. N. S. (1973). Society and culture in Northern India in the twelfth century.
Allahabad: Central Book Depot.

Mukherji R.K., Indian Shipping: A History of The Sea-Borne Trade And Maritime Activity Of
The Indians From The Earliest Times, (Orient Longmans, Calcutta, 1957).