User:Sridhar1000/Mughal Army

The Mughal Army was the army of the Mughal Empire.

Mirza Najaf Khan was commander in chief of the Mughal Army from 1772 till his death in April 1782.

The art of Mughalwarfare brought about a complete change in the way wars were fought in the Indian subcontinent. The Muslim armies that invaded India in the 11th and 12th centuries were small yet the art of their warfare made invincible. They brought with them techniques and instruments of warfare that were hitherto unheard of in the sub-continent. The soldiers were completely protected from any possibility of physical attack by means of a complete shield of armour from head to foot, their daggers and swords were made of superior alloys and they brought with them the use of gunfire in warfare. That is why despite the courage and valour of the Indian armies a small group of warriors was able to overtake them and lay the foundation for one of the grandest Empires in Indian history, the Mughal Empire.

COMMISSIONED RANK AND MODE OF RECRUITING

Few soldiers were entertained directly by the emperor himself; and for the most part the men entered first the service of some chief or leader. These chiefs were ranked according to the number of men that they had raised or were expected to raise. In this way originated the system of mansab, first introduced by Akbar

Mansabdary system

Mansab was not a term confined solely to the military service; every man in State employ above the position of a common soldier or messenger, whatever the nature of his duties, civil or military, obtained a mansab.

The highest mansab was commander of 7000 men, though in the later we find a few instances of promotion to 8000 or even 9000.But The mansab of a prince ranged from 7000 up to 50,000, and even higher. In the AIn-i-Akbarl sixty-six grades are stated,from commanders of 10,000 to ten men. Even at that earlier period, only thirty-three of these grades in actual existence. All the later authorities agree in holding that the lowest officer's mansab was that of twenty men;no more than twenty-seven grades, from 7000 to twenty.

promotions

The steps of promotion altered as the officer rose in grade. The usual gradation was as follows: —

promotion
From 20 to 60 a man rose by 10 each time
From 20 to 100 each rise was by 20
From 60 to 100 a man rose by 20
From 100 to 400 each rise was by 50
From 400 to 1000 each rise was by 100
From 4000 to 7000 each rise was by 1000

Classification

It was the custom to tack on to a mansab a number of extra horsemen. To distinguish between the two kinds of rank, the original mansab, which governed the personal allowances, was known as the zat rank and the additional men were designated by the word suwar.This division into grades we now proceed to describe.

On the distribution of rank into zat and suwar was founded a classification into first, second, and third class mansabs, by which the scale of zat pay was reduced proportionately. From this classification were exempted officers above 5000 zat; these were all of one class. From 5000 downwards, an officer was First Class, if his rank in zat and smvar were equal; Second Class, if his suwar was half his zat rank; Third Class, if the suwar were less than half the zat, or there were no suwar at all.

In addition to the simple division by mansab alone, there as also a grouping of officers into three classes. From 20 to 400 they were merely officers with rank" {mansadarS) ; from 500 to 2500 they were Nobles (Omrah); from 3000 to 7000 they were Great Nobles {amir-i-A'zam),Allmansabdars were kept on one or other of two lists: (1) Eazir-i-rikab, present at Court; (2)on duty elsewhere.

Mode of Payment

In the following table, which shows all the mansabs with their pay according to class.It shows the sanctioned allowances for a year of twelve months, it must be remembered that few of the officers received the whole twelve-months' pay, the number of month's pay sanctioned per annum ranging from four to twelve. Officers were also supposed to keep up an establishment of elephants and draught cattle. Apparently they were also liable to pay a fixed quota of their own allowances towards the expenses of the Emperor's elephants and cattle, an item known as khurac-i-dawabb , feed of four-footed animals. There were other petty deductions.

TABLE OF MANSAB-I-ZAT WITH YEARLY PAY IN RUPEES

	Mansab	First class	Second class	Third class
1	7000	3,50,000	-	-
2	6000	3,00,000	-	-
3	5000	2,50,000	2,42,500	2,35,000
4	4500	2,25,000	2,17,500	2,10,000
5	4000	2,00,000	1,92,500	1,85,000
6	3500	1,75,000	1,67,000	1,60,000
7	3000	1,50,000	1,42,000	1,35,000
8	2500	1,25,000	1,17,500	1,10,000
9	2000	1,00,000	Example	Example
10	1500	75,000	Example	Example
11	1000	50,000	Example	Example
12	900	37,500	Example	Example
13	800	31,250	Example	Example
14	700	Example	Example	Example
15	600	Example	Example	Example
16	500	Example	Example	Example
17	400	Example	Example	Example
18	300	Example	Example	Example
19	200	Example	Example	Example
20	150	Example	Example	Example
21	100	Example	Example	Example
22	80	Example	Example	Example
23	60	Example	Example	Example
24	50	Example	Example	Example
25	40	Example	Example	Example
26	30	1375	1250	1125
27	20	1000	876	750

The rates of pay in Akbar's reign were much higher than the above, which refers to Alamgir time and later. It will be noticed that the difference of pay between first, second, and third class is as follows : —

From 20 to 60 5,000 Dam, or Rs.125 yearly.

For 80 10,000 Dam, or Rs. 250 yearly.

From 100 to 400 20,000 Dam, or Rs.500 yearly.

For 1000 100,000 Dam, or Rs.2500 yearly.

From 1500 to 5000 300,000 Dam, or Rs.7500 yearly.

Suvar Rank

The grant of suwar in addition to zat rank was an honor. In that case a man who had no suwar would be better paid than another who was honored with the addition of suwar to his zat rank. the table that given above, are exclusively for the zat rank.For the suwar rank there was a separate table, the name of the table is Tabinan.The officer raising the troops was responsible for the behaviour of his men ; he therefore brought men of his own family or such as he could depend on.If horsemen, must be one third Mughals, one third Afghans, and one third Rajputs; if infantry, two thirds archers, and one third matchlockmen.

Tabinan

Tabinan gives a long table setting forth their pay in dams, beginning with that for five horsemen and ending with that for 40,000, but as the basis for calculation remains the same throughout. For five horsemen, then 40,000 dams a year were allowed. That would be 8000 dams for one man; and this sum in dams yields Rs. 200 a year

RULES CONNECTED WITH PAY AND ALLOWANCES.

In the preceding paragraphs have been shown in general terms the rates of pay for the cavalry, and some of the rules by which pay was governed. When we come to the actual working out in detail of this part of the army administration, our difficulties increase.

Rates of pay

The rates of pay for officers and men of the cavalry have been already stated when dealing with the mansab system. The rates for Infantry and Artillery will be stated when we come to those branches of the service.

Date from to which pay drawn:—

On an officer being first appointed, if by his rank he was exempt from having his horses branded {dagli), his pay began from the date of confirmation. If such branding were necessary, pay began from the date of branding.After that a disbursement was made of one month's pay on account. In the case of promotion,if conditional, the pay began from the date of entering on office.

Conditional {Mashrut) and Unconditional {Bila-sliart) Pay:-

Rank and pay might be given absolutely, or they might be conditional on the holding of some particular office. The temporary rank was given as an addition to the permanent which a man already occupied.

Pay always in Arrears:-

In later times, payment was always in arrears. In fact, we should not go far wrong, I think that this was the case in the very best times. The reasons are obvious. More men were entertained than could be easily paid; Indian mohamaddans are very bad financiers; the habit of the East is to stave off payment by any expedient. To owe money to somebody seems in that country the normal condition of mankind. For example, even such a careful manager as Nizamul-Mulk is credited with the boast that he "never withheld pay for more than three months ( Another reason for keeping the men in arrears may have been the feeling that they were thereby prevented from transferring their services to some other chief quite as readily as they might have done if there were nothing owing. Disturbances raised by troops clamouring for their pay were among the unfailing sequels to the disgrace or sudden death of a commander.

Pay in Naqd and in Jagir

Pay might be either Naqd, that is, given in cash or Jagir that is an assignment {jagir) of the land revenue of a certain number of villages {maujah) or of a subdivision {parganah). A certain number of officers and soldiers, chiefly those of the infantry and artillery were paid in cash. But the favourite mode of payment was by an assignment of the government revenue from land. Such an arrangement seems to have suited both parties. The State was a very centralized organization, fairly strong at the centre, but weak at the extremities. It was glad to be relieved of the duty of collecting and bringing in the revenue from distant places. This task was left to the jarirdar and unless such a mansbdar.This assignment was made on the most distant and most imperfectly subdued provinces. On the other hand, a chance of dealing with land and handling the income from it, has had enormous attractions. Nobles and officers by obtaining an assignment of revenue hoped to make certain of some income, instead of depending helplessly for payment on the good pleasure of the Court.then in negotiating for a jagir there were all sorts of possibilities. Whatever be the true reasons, of this there can be no doubt, that the system was highly popular, and that the struggle for jagir s was intensely keen. The system of jagir grants may be an interesting sociological fact — as to that I have nothing to say for or against; but it was not introduced into the Mogol Empire during its decline. Jagirs existed in that empire's most flourishing days, having been granted as early as Akbar while under Shahjahan they existed on a most extensive scale.

If the jagir were a large one, Such jagirs were practically outside the control of the local governor or faujdar, and formed a sort of imperium in imperio. On the other hand, a small jaglr was more frequently left by the assignee in the hands of the faujdar, through whom the revenue demand was realized. Gradually, as the bonds of authority were relaxed from the centre, the faujdars and subahdars ignored more and more the claims of these assignees, and finally ceased to remit or make over to them any of the collections.

Loans, Advances, and Gifts

The technical name for a loan or advance of pay was musaadath. Historians frequently mention the advance of money under this name. In later times, especially from the reign of Muhammad Shah, no commander ever took the field without the grant of the most liberal cash advances to meet his expenses. Possibly these were never repaid, or were from the first intended as free gifts. When we meet with the phrase tankkhwah-i-inam, there can be no doubt of the payment being a gift. The recovery of loans and advances came under a head in the accounts called mutalibah. Baz-yaft seems to have been confined to the recovery of items put under objection in the revenue accounts by the mustaufis, or auditors. At one time the recovery of an advance was made from a man's pay in four installments; but towards the end of Alamgir's reign, it was taken in eight instalments

Deductions

ksur-i-do-dami (fraction of the two dams), karch-i-sikkah (expenses of minting), ayyam-i-iallah (days of the moon's rise), hissah-i-ijnas (share in kind), khurak-i-dawabb (feed of four-footed animals).

Kasur-i-do-dami

This item was a discount of five per cent., that is, of two dams in every forty.The origin of this is to be found possibly in Akbar's five per cent, deductions from the AhadI troopers on account of horses and other expenses.The rate of deduction is differently stated as four dams in the 100, if the officer drew seven or eight months pay, and two dams in the 100, if he drew less than that number of months.

Kharch-i-Sikkah

Kharch-i-Sikkah was also deducted in ^Alamgir's reign the rates were Rs. 1 12a. Op. per cent, on Shahjahan's coinage, and Rs. 1 8a. Op. per cent, on the coin of the reigning emperor. Under the rules then in force, the Shahjahani coins, not being those of the reigning emperor, were uncurrent, and therefore subject to a discount. Why a deduction was made on the coins of the reigning emperor, is harder to explain. It was not till Farrukhsiyar's reign, one believe, that the coinage was called in annually, from which time only coins of the current year were accepted, even by the government itself, at full face-value.

ayyam-i-iallah

This was a deduction of one day's pay in every month except Ramazan. Mansabdars, Ahadis, and barqandaz (matchlock men) were all subject to it. But, towards the end of 'Alamgir's reign, it was remitted until the Narbada was crossed.

hissah-i-ijnas

This mean the part of a man's pay delivered to him in kind. Apparently this item did not apply to the cavalry. Tn the case of the matchlockmen, artillerymen, and artificers, the deduction was apply if the man were mounted, . This represented the value of the rations supplied to him. There is another entry of rasad4-jins (supplies of food), the exact nature of which we cannot determine.

khurak-i-dawabb

It was a deduction from a mansahdars pay on account of a certain number of horses and elephants belonging to the emperor, with whose maintenance such officer was saddled. The germ of this exaction can be found in Akbar's system of making over elephants to the charge of grandees Akbar would seem to have paid the expenses ; but in process of time, the charge was transferred to the officer's shoulders entirely, and in the end he had to submit to the deduction without even the use of the animals being given to him. At any rate, the burden became a subject of great complaint. After many efforts and exertions, some small assignment on the land revenue would be obtained. The lands were probably uncultivated, and the total income of the jagir might not amount to a half or even a third of the money required for the expenses of the animals. If these were realized from the officer, whence could come the money to preserve his children and family from death by starvation?

In the case of officers below a certain rank, the deduction of kurak-i-dawahb was not made. The rule says that there the pay {tankwah) did not come up to 15 lakhs of dams, the deduction was not made; but apparently no lower rank than that of 400 zat, 200 sowar, was liable. This rank would by the tables draw a pay of 20 lakhs of dams. Sometimes we are told that the calculation was made at so many dams on each 100,000 dams of pay; at others, that for each 100,000 dams one riding and five baggage elephants were charged for. A distinction in rates was made between Mahomedans and Hindus, the former paying more; also between officers holding jagirs in Hindustan and those holding them in the Dakhin and Ahmadabad, the former paying slightly less than the latter.

Fines

Fines are tafawat-i-asp (deficiency in horses), tafawat-i-silalh (deficiency in equipment), tafawat-i tabinan (deficiency in troopers), also called, it would seem, kami-i-barbadari tawaqquf o 'adam-i-taslnah' (non-verifica- tion), saqati (casualties), bartarafi (rejections).

tafawat-i-asp

This is literally "difference of horses," and refers to a classification of horses by their breed and size, which will be referred to more fully under the head of Branding and Verification. In each rank or mansab a certain number of each class of horse had to be maintained, and if at Verification it was found that this regulation had not been complied with, the result was a fine.

tafawat-i-silalh

This difference in armour" was a fine for not producing at inspection arms and armour according to the required scale.

Tafawat-i-tablnan (difference of followers) or kaml-i- baradarl (deficiency in relations)

this was a fine imposed on an officer for non-production of the number of men stipulated for by the suwar rank. This deductions apply to mansahdars as well as to Ahadis, and that they were made from the monthly pay for each man deficient, although the entry is so brief as to remain very obscure.

Ahsham

In the case of the Ahsham or troops belonging to the infantry and artillery, we have a little more definite information under this head. Officers of this class fell into three subdivisions, hazari (of a thousand), sadwal (hundred-man), and mirdahah (lord of ten). The first class was always mounted {suwar) and the second sometimes; these mounted officers might be two-horse {duaspah) or only one-horse yakaspah) men. Working on these distinctions, we get the following scheme of pay.

Duaspah Suwar

Where, inclusive of the officer's own retainers {kahsah), there were one hundred men present per 100 of rank, pay was drawn at duaspah rates. But if the number were under fifty per 100 of rank, pay was passed to the hazari as if he were a mounted sadiwal; subject to restoration to duaspah pay when his muster again conformed to the standard.

Yakaspah

If, including khasah men, there were fifty men present per 100 of rank, full pay was given ; if only thirty-one or under, then the hazari was paid as a sadiwal piyadah (unmounted), and certain other deductions were made.

Piyadah (unmounted officer)

If a sadiWal produced under thirty-one men out of his hundred, he received nothing but his rations. When the numbers rose above thirty, he was paid as a mirdahah till his full quota was mustered. In the case of a mirdahah the production of two men entitled him to his pay. If one man only was paraded for inspection, a deduction from the Pay was made, varying, from one to three annas per man.

Tawaqquf-i-tashihah (Delay in Verification)

The rules for Branding and Verification will be found further on. If the periods fixed were allowed to elapse without the verification having been made, a man was reported for delay; and then a mansahdar was cut the whole, and an ahadi the half, of his pay .

Saqali and Bartarafi

The first word is from saqat shudan 'to die' (applied to animals), and may be translated casualties. The other word means setting aside or rejecting, in other words to cast a horse as unfit. We find the groundwork of the saqali system in the Ain-i-Akban.In later times there were the following rules for regulating pay in such cases. First it was seen whether the man was duaspah (paid for two horses) or yashaspali (paid for one horse). In the first case, (1) if one horse died {saqal savval) or was cast {bar taraf shud), the man was paid at the yakaspah rate ; (2) if both horses died or were turned out, the man obtained his personal pay for one month, and if after one month he had still no horse, his personal pay was also stopped. In the second case, that of a yakaspah, if there were no horse, personal pay was disbursed for one month ; but after one month nothing was given.

If an ahadis horse died while he was at headquarters, the clerk of the casualties, after having inspected the hide, wrote out his certificate {saqal-namah), and pay was disbursed according to it. If the man were on detached duty when his horse died, the brand {dagh), and the tail were sent in to headquarters.

Other incidents of military service considered as affecting pay

Among these may be mentioned: (1) Ghiair-haziri (absence without leave); (2) Bimari (illness); (3) Ruksat (leave and furlough) ; (4) Farari (desertion) ; (5) Bartarafi (discharge or resignation); (6) Pension; (7) Fauti (death).

(1) Ghair-hazir

If a man were absent from three consecutive turns of guard {chauki), his pay was cut; but if he did not attend the fourth time, the penalty was dismissal, and all pay due was confiscated. Absence from night guard or at roll-call {jaizah) involved the loss of a day's pay. If absent at the time of the emperor's public or private audience, or on a day of festival half a day's pay was taken.

(2) Bimari

Absence on the ground of illness was over looked for three turns of guard {chauki), but after that period all pay was stopped, and a medical certificate (bimari-namah) from a physician was demanded

(3)Ruksat

Men who went on leave for their own business received no pay while doing no duty.In some times one month a man received half-pay; if he overstayed his leave it was reduced to one-fifth or one-tenth ; and after three month's absence he was classed as an absconder. Leave on account of family rejoicings or mournings was allowed for one turn of duty; if the man were absent longer his pay was cut.

(4) Farari

If a serviceman left after drawing his pay in full, the amount was shown on the margin of the pay-bill {qabs) as recoverable, and one month's pay was realized from the man's surety. If a recruit deserted after drawing money on account, the whole advance was recovered, but a present of one month's pay was allowed. If a matchlockman deserted the service of one leader to enter that of another, he was cut half a month's pay {nim-mahah). If an officer had induced him to desert, such officer had to pay the fine himself. They were allowed that time to reappear, if they chose. If they were again entertained, their rations only were passed.

(5)Bartarafi

If the discharged mansabdar produced a clear verification roll, he received half of the pay of his zat rank, and the full pay of his horsemen {tabinan). Matchlockmen received their pay in full up to the date of discharge.

(6)Pension

No retiring allowances could be claimed as of right. When a man retired from active service, we hear sometimes of his being granted a daily or yearly allowance.

(7)Fauti

It seems that in the case of deaths a different rule prevailed, according to whether the death was a natural one or the man lost his life on active service. In the one case half-pay and in the other full-pay was disbursed to the heirs on the production of a certificate of heirship {waris-namah) attested by the qasi.

REWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS.

The Moghul sovereigns were even more ingenious in converting things mostly worthless in themselves into objects to be ardently striven for and dearly prized. Among these were: (1) Titles; (2) Robes of Honour ; (3) Gifts of Money and other articles ; (4) Kettle- drums; (5) Standards and Ensigns.

Titles

the system of entitlature was most elaborate and based on strict rule. A man would begin by becoming a Khan or Lord (added to his own name). After that, he might receive some name supposed to be appropriate to his qualities, coupled with the word Khan. Round such a title as a nucleus, accreted all the remaining titles with which a man might from time to time be invested. As the empire declined in strength, so did the titles increase in pomposity.

Robes of Honour

The khilat was not peculiar to the military department. These robes of honour were given to everyone presented at court. There were five degrees of khilat, those of three, five, six, or seven pieces; or they might as a special mark of favour consist of clothes that the emperor had actually worn {malbus-i-khas). A three-piece khilat given from the general wardrobe [khilat khanah), consisted of a turban {(ldastar), a long coat with very full skirts {jamah), and a scarf for the waist (kamrband). A five-piece robe came from the toshah-khanah (storehouse for presents), the extra pieces being a turban ornament called a sarpech and a band for tying across the turban {balaband). For the next grade a tight-fitting jacket with short sleeves, called a Half-sleeve {mamah-aslln), was added. A European writer, Tavernier (Ball, i, J 63), thus details the seven-piece khilat; (l)a cap, (2)a long gown (kabah), (3) a close-fitting coat [arkalon), (4) two pairs of trousers, (5) two shirts, (6) two girdles, (7) a scarf for the head or neck.

Gifts, other than money

These were naturally of considerable variety. Jewelled ornaments, weapons, principally swords and daggers with jewelled hilts, palkis with fringes of gold lace and pearls, horses with gold-mounted and jewelled trappings, and elephants.

Kettledrums

As one of the attributes of sovereignty, kettledrums were beaten at the head of the army when the emperor was on the march; and in quarters they were beaten every three hours at the gate of his camp. The instruments in use, in addition to the drums, will be found in the Ain-i-akbari . As a mark of favour, kettledrums {nagqarah) and the right to play them {naubat) might be granted to a subject. But he must be a man of the rank of 2000 suwar or upwards. The drums when granted were placed on the recipient's back, and, thus accoutred, he did homage for them in the public audience hall.

Flags and Ensigns

The flags and ensigns displayed, along with a supply of spare weapons, at the door of the audience hall and at the entrance to the emperor's encampment, or carried before him on elephants, were called collectively the Qur.

In eight ensigns of royalty, of which the first four were reserved exclusively for the sovereign. The use of the others might, we must assume, be granted to subjects. The eight ensigns are — (1) Aurang, the throne; (2) Ghatr, the State umbrella; (3) Saiban or Aftabgir, a sunshade; (4) Kaukabah (5)Alam, or flag; (6) Chatr-tok, or yak-tails ; (7) Tuman-toh, another shape of yak-tails ; (8) JHanda, or Indian flag. To these we must add (9) Mahi-o-maralib, or the fish and dignities.

The origin and meaning of the different ensigns displayed by the Moghul Emperors in India:-

(1) Panjah:- an open hand, is said to mean the hand of ""All. Taimur ordered it to be carried before him for a charm and as a sacred relic.

(2) Alam:- a flag or standard. — This was supposed to be the flag of Husain, and obtained by Taimur at Karbalah. To it he attributed his victory over Bayazid, the Kaisar of Rum.

(3) Mizdn, a balance, was a reference to the equal scales of Justice, and was adopted as having been the emblem of Nushirwan the Just. There is a figure on a plate in Gen til's "Memoires," which is probably the M'lzan.

(4) Jftab, or Sun, was obtained from the fire-worshippers when they were conquered; it was an article used in their worship.

(5, 6) Azhdaha-paikar, Dragon-face. — From the time of Sikandar of the Two Horns, the rajahs of Hind had wor- shipped this emblem in their temples, and when Taimur made his irruption into India it was presented to him as an oflPering. It consisted of two pieces, one carried in front and the other behind the emperor.

(7) Mahl, or Fish, was said to have been an ofiering from the islands of the ocean, where it was worshipped.

(8) Qumqumah (Steingass, 989, a bowl, a jug, a round shade, a lantern). — This also was obtained from the Indian rajahs. The Ajn-i-Akbarl, i, 50, has kaukahah for apparently the same thing (see figure N^. 2 on plate ix). There is also w^hat looks like the kaukahah in a plate in Gentil's ^^Memoires." The definition of kaukahah in Steingass, 1063, corresponds with the figure in the Ajn, viz. '^a polished steel ball suspended from a long pole and carried as an ensign before the king." Careri, iii, 182, tells us that he saw a golden ball hanging by a chain between two gilt hands, and adds that "it was a royal ensign carried on an elephant when the army was on the march."

RFAVARDS AND DISTINCTIONS. 33

All these emblems, we are told, were carried before the emperor as a sign of conquest over the Seven Climes, or, in other words, over the whole world.

Mahl-o-maralih. — Some words must be added with special reference to this dignity, which was borne on elephants or camels in a man's retinue. It was one of the very highest honours, as it was not granted to nobles below the rank of 6000 zat, 6000 suwar {Miral-ul-Istilah, fol. 3). Main (literally, a fish), was made in the figure of a fish, four feet in length, of copper gilt, and it was placed horizontally on the point of a spear {Seir, i, 218, note 150, and 743, note 51). Steingass, 1,147, defines mahl-mardtib as certain honours denoted by the figure of a fish with other insignia (two balls)." But in careful writers T have always found it as ma/n-o-niaratib, "fish and dignities," and, as I take it, the first word refers to the fish emblem and the second to the balls or other adjuncts which went with it. The maratib Thorn, "War," 356, describes as a ball of copper gilt encircled by a jhalar or fringe about two feet in length, placed on a long pole, and, like the main, carried on an elephant. Can this be Gemelli Careri's "golden ball"? Perhaps it was identical with the qumqumah or kaukabah already described above. The translator of the Seir-Mutaq- herin^ i, 218, note 150, tells us that the fish was always accompanied by the figure of a man's head in copper gilt. This must have been in addition to the gilt balls. The mahl, as conferred on Lord Lake on the 14th August, 1804 (Thorn, "War," 356), is described as "representing a fish with a head of gilt copper and the body and tail formed of silk, fixed to a long staff" and carried on an elephant." James Skinner, who recovered MahadajT-Sendhia's mahi-o-maraiib in a fight with the Rajputs, speaks of it as "a brass fish with two chourees (horse-hair tails) hanging to it like moustachios" (Fraser, -'Memoir," i, 152). Gentil, "Memoires," 62, calls the main simply "the head of a fish on the end of a pole." As a sign of the rarity of this dignity, he

34 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

adds that while in the Dakhin (1752 — 1761) he only saw four of them.

8her-maralih^ or lion dignity. — This is a name only found, so far as I know, in Gentil, iMemoires," 62; and he only saw it displayed by Salabat Jang, nazim of the Dakhin. At the head of the dedication of the above work to the memory of Shuja'-ud-Daulah, are the figures of two elephants; one of which bears a standard that is most likely identical with this Sher-maratib. The flag bears a lion embroidered on it, and the head of the staff is adorned with the figure of a lion.

^Alam. — The flags seem to have been triangular in shape, either scarlet or green in colour, having a figure embroidered in gold and a gold fringe. The staff* was surmounted by a figure corresponding to the one embroidered on the flag. A plate in Gen til's "Memoires"showsfour of these embroidered emblems — l^t, a panjah, or open hand; 2"^^, a man's face with rays; Si'd, a lion {sher); and 4tti, a fish. A flag, or ^alam^ could be granted to no man under the rank of 1000 smear.

Aftahgirl, — This sun screen {aftab, sun; gir, root of c/irifian, to take), shaped like an open palm-leaf fan, was also called Suraj-mukhl (Hindi, literally, sun-face). By the Moghul rules it could only be granted to royal princes {Mirat'ul'Istilah, fol. 3). In the eighteenth century, how- ever, the Mahrattas adopted it as one of their commonest ensigns, and even the smallest group of their cavalry was in the habit of carrying one.

Tuman-togh. — This is one of the two togh mentioned in Akbar's list, Ajn i, 50, and figured on plate ix of that volume. Pavet de Courteille, "Diet.," 236, has ^y>' {togh)^ "etendard se composant d'une queue de (j/.LLjj {qatds) ou boeuf de montagne {i. e. yak) fixee a une hampe, au dessus d'un pavilion triangulaire." This yak's-tail standard was not unfrequently granted to officers of rank, by whom it was esteemed a high honour. The togh consisted generally of three tails attached to a cross-bar, which was fixed at the end of a long pole or staff.

PROCEDURE ON ENTERING THE SERVICE.

Single men who resorted to the Court in the hope of obtaining employment in the army, were obliged first to seek a patron. A man generally attached himself to a chief from his own country or of his own race: Mughals became the follfcrwers of Mughals, Persians of Persians, Afghans of Afghans, and so forth. On this point there were certain customary rules, which are thus stated by Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 10723. A noble from Mawar-un-nahr recruited none but Mughals ; if from Iran, he might have one third Mughals and the remainder Sayyads and Shekhs, or if he took Af^ans and Rajputs, of the former he might entertain one sixth and of the latter, one seventh of his total number. Nobles who were Sayyads or Shekhs might enlist their own tribe, or up to one sixth they might take Afghans. Afghans themselves might have one half Afghans and the other half Mughals and Shekhzadahs. Rajputs made up their whole force of Rajputs. At times men of high rank who desired to increase their forces would remit large sums of money to the country with which they were specially connected, and thereby induce recruits of a particular class to flock to their standard. For instance, in the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719—1748), Muhammad Khan, Bangash, filled his ranks in this way with men from the Bangash country and with Afridi Pathans. According to a man's reputation or connections, or the number of his followers, would be the rank {mansab) assigned to him. As a rule, his followers brought their

PROCEDURE ON ENTERING THE SERVICE. 37

own horses and other equipment; but sometimes a man with a little money would buy extra horses and mount relations or dependents upon them. When this was the case, the man riding his own horse was called, in later parlance, a si/aJ/dar (literally, equipment-holder), and one riding somebody else's horse was a Ijarf/ir (burdentaker). The horses and equipment were as often as not procured by borrowed money ; and not unfrequently the chief him- self made the advances, which were afterwards recovered from the man's pay. The candidate for employment, having found a patron, next obtained through this man's influence an introduction to the BakJisln-ul-mamalik or Mir Bakhshl, in whose hands lay the presentation of new men to the emperor, and on his verdict a great deal depended as to the rank {mansab) which might be accorded.

The Bakhshl. — This officer's title is translated into English sometimes by Paymaster-General, at others by Adjutant-General or Commander-in-Chief. ^ None of these titles gives an exact idea of his functions. He was not a Paymaster, except in the sense that he usually suggested the rank to which a man should be appointed or pro- moted, and perhaps countersigned the pay-bills. But the actual disbursement of pay belonged to other departments. Adjutant-General is somewhat nearer to correctness. Commander-in-Chief he was not. He might be sent on a campaign in supreme command ; and if neither emperor, vicegerent {wakil-i-mutlaq), nor chief minister {ivazlr) was present, the command fell to him. But the only true Commander-in-Chief was the emperor himself, replaced in his absence by the wahl or the wazir. The word Bakhshl means 'the giver,' from bakhshidan, P. 'to bestow,' that is, he was the giver of the gift of employment in camps and armies {Dastur-ui-lnsha, 232); or might it not better be connected wdth another meaning, to divide into shares, to distribute," making Bakhshl to equal "the

1 Blochmann, A'lyi^ i, 161, has Paymaster and Adjutant-General.

38 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

distributor, the divider into shares?" In Persia the same official was styled 'The Petitioner' i^ariz). This name indicates that it was his special business to bring into the presence of the emperor anyone seeking for employment or promotion, and there to state the facts connected with that man's case. Probably the use of the words Mir ^Arz in two places in the Ajn-i-Akbarl (Blochmann, i, 257, 259) are instances of the Persian name being applied to the officer afterwards called a Bakhhl. The first BaHshl (for there were four) seems to have received, almost as of right, the title of Amlr-ul-umara (Noble of Nobles); and from the reign of ""AlamgTr onwards, I find no instance of this title being granted to more than one man at a time, though in Akbar's reign such appears to have been the case {Ain, i, 240, Blochraann's note).

Duties of the Bahhshl-ul-mamalik. — These duties com- prised the recruiting of the army; maintaining a list of mmisnhdars with their postings, showing (1) officers at Court, (2) officers in the provinces; keeping a roster of the guard-mounting at the palace; preparing the rules as to grants of pay {tankhwali)\ keeping up a list of officers paid in cash, and an abstract of the total pay- bills; the superintendence of the mustering for branding and verifying the troopers' horses and the orders subsidiary thereto; the preparation of the register of absentees, with or without leave, of deaths, and dismissals, of cash advances, of demands due from officers {mutalibah), of sureties pro- duced by officers, and the issue of written orders {dastak) to officers sent on duty into the provinces. ^ One special duty belonging to the Bakhshl was, in preparation for a great battle, to assign posts to the several commanders in the van, centre, wings, or rearguard. The Bakhshi was also expected on the morning of a battle to lay before the emperor a present state or muster roll, giving the

1 Dastur-ul-Insha, 232, Dastur-ul-^Aml, B.M. 6599, fol. 159a, and B.M. 1641, fols. 28, and 176 to 22a.

PROCEDURE ON P^NTERTNG THE SERVICE. 39

exact number of men under each commander in each division of the fighting line.

TJk; ol/icr Hakh/m. — l^csides the First /?/7^//6'//e, ordinarily holding the title of Amir'iil'Uinnra^ and styled either Bdklifsln-ul'maiiialik (B. of the Realms) or Mir Bnkh/n (Lord B.), there were three other Bak/m/iu at head- quarters. It is a little difficult to fix upon the points which distinguished their duties from those of the First Bakhshl. The Second Bakhsid, usually styled Bakl/s/n- ul-mulk (B. of the Kingdom), was also called the Bakhshl- i-tan. ^ As tan (literally, body) was a contraction for tankhicah^ pay (literally tan^ body, khioah, desire, need), it might be supposed that his duties were connected with the records of jaglrs, or revenue assignments granted in lieu of pay, just as in the revenue department the accounts of these grants were under a special officer, the Diivan-i'tan. But on examining such details of the Second Bakhshis duties as are forthcoming, 1 find that this supposition does not hold good. On the whole, the duties of the First, Second, and Third Bakhshis seem to have covered much the same ground. The main distinction, perhaps, was that the Second Bakhshl dealt more with the recruiting and promotion of the smaller men, while only those above a certain rank were brought forward by the Mir Bakhshl. The Second Bakhshl was, it w^ould appear, solely responsible for the bonds taken from officers, a practice common to all branches and ranks of the imperial service. His office would seem also to have been used to some extent as a checking office on that of the First Bakhshl, many documents requiring his seal in addition to that of the Mir Bakhshl, and copies of many others being filed with him. The same remarks apply generally to the Third Bakhshl, the greatest diff'erence

1 Danishmand Khan, 18ih Shawwal 1119, Khafi Khan, ii, 601, Yahya Khan, fol. 114a.

40 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

being perhaps that he took up only such recruiting work as was specially entrusted to him, and that whatever he did required to be counter-sealed by the First and Second Bakhs/ds. His duties were on altogether a smaller scale than those of the other two.

From the details in one work, DasfUr-ul-^Aml, B.M. 1641, fols. 28/5, 29«, it might be inferred that the Second Bakhsh'is duties were connected with the Jhnais, or gentlemen troopers serving singly in the emperor's own service. The difficulty, however, at once arises that the Fourth Bakhshl had as his alternative title that of Bakhshi of the Ahadis. The third Bakhsh was also called occasionally Bakhshl of the IV Wa Shahls, that is of the household troops, men raised and paid by the emperor out of his privy purse. ^

Provincial and other Bakhsh'is. — In addition to the Bakhshis at headquarters there were officers with similar functions attached to the governor of every province. With the office of provincial Bakhshl was usually combined that of Waqi ah-nigar , or Writer of the Official Diary. And in imitation of the imperial establishments, each great noble had his own Bakhslii, who performed for him the same functions as those executed for the emperor by the imperial Bakhshis.

First Appointment of an Officer. — On one of the appointed days, the Bakhshi laid before His Majesty a written statement, prepared in the office beforehand and called a Eaqiqat (statement, account, narration, explanation). The man's services having been accepted, the emperor's order was written across this paper directing the man to appear, and a few days afterwards the candidate presented himself in the audience-hall and made his obeisance. When his turn came the candidate was brought forward, and the final order was passed. The following is a specimen of a Haqlqat, with the orders upon it: —

1 Kamwar Khan^ entry of l^t Jamadi I, 1119.

PROCEDDRE ON ENTERING THE SERVICE. 41

Report

is made that So-and-So, son of So-and-so, in hope of serving in the Imperial Court, has arrived at the place of prostration attached to the Blessed Stirrup {i. e. the Court). In respect of him what are the orders?

[First Order.] The noble, pure, and exalted order issued that the above-named be brought before the luminous eye {i. e. of His Majesty), and he will be exalted according to his circumstances. [Second Order in two or three days' time.] To day the aforesaid passed before the noble sight; he was selected for the rank {mansab) of One Thousand, Two Hundred Horse (suwar).

The next step was the issue of a Tasdiq, or Certificate, from the Bakhslns office, on which the Bakhshi wrote his order. It was in the following form : —

Certifies

as follows, that So-and-So, son of So-and-so, on such-and-such a date, of such-and-such a year, in the hope of serving in this homage-receiving Court, arrived at the Blessed Stirrup and passed before the luminous sight. The order, to which the world is obsequious and the universe submissive, was issued that he be raised to the rank (jnansnb) of one Thou- sand, Two Hundred Horse {suwar).

One Thousand, zat.

Two Hundred, siiwdr. [Order thereon of the BcMsJn^ Let it be incorporated in the Record of Events {Waqi^ah).

On the arrival of the Certificate {Tasdlq) in the office of the JFaqiahnigar, or Diary Writer, he made an appro- priate entry in his record and furnished an extract therefrom,

42 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS

which bore the name of a Yal-da^I/t, or MemoraniUim. In form it was as follows: —

Memorandum {Yad-daslii).

On such-and-such a date, such-and-such a day of the week, such-and-such a month, such-and-such a year, in the department {risalah) of One endowed with Valour, a Shelter of the Courageous, the Object of various Imperial Condes- censions, Submissive to the Equity of the world-governing favours, the Bakhshi of the Realms So-and-so, and during the term of duty as Event Writer of this lowliest of the slaves So-and-so, it was reduced to writing that So-and-so, son of So-and-so, having come to the place of prostration in the hope of service at the Imperial Court, on such- and-such a date passed before the pure and noble sight. The world-compelling, universe-constraining order obtained the honour of issue, that he be raised to and selected for the rank {ma7isab) of One Thousand Personal {zat) and Two Hundred Horsemen {suioar) in the chain {silk) of rank- holders {mansabddran), — On such-and-such a date, in accordance with the Certificate Tasdlq), this Memorandum {Yad-ddsht) was penned.

One Thousand, zdt. Two Hundred, suwdr.

I. [Order of the WazTr.]

After comparing it with the Diary ( Waqtali), let it be sent to the Office of Revision CArz4-7nukarrar).

II. [Report of the Event Writer.]

Agrees with the diary {Waqt'ah).

IH. [Order of the Superintendent of Revision, literally Renewed Petition {^ Arz-i-mukarrar)^

On such-and-such a date, of such-and-such a month, of such-and-such a year, it was brought up for the second time.

PROCEDURE ON ENTERING THE SERVICE. 43

In the later notices of the system we find few mentions of the paper called in the Jin (Blochmrmn, i, 25^) the ta^liqa//, which was, it seems, an abridgment of the Yad-dasht, This paper the tdliqah^ formed at that time the executive order issued to the officer concerned {Ajn^ i, 255). I have found tdhqnh used once in this sense as late as 1127 h. (1716), by Sayyad ^Abd-ul-Jalil, BilgramT, in his letters sent from Dihli to his son, Oriental Miscellany," Calcutta, 1798, p. 247).

The Jhadls. — Midway between the nobles or leaders {mansahdars) with the horsemen under them {(abwdn) on the one hand, and the Ahshani^ or infantry, artillery, and artificers on the other, stood the Ahadl, or gentleman trooper. The word is literally 'single' or 'alone' (A. aliad, one). It is easy to see why this name was applied to them; they off'ered their services singly, they did not attach themselves to any chief, thus forming a class apart from the iablndn; but as they were horsemen, they stood equally apart from the specialized services included under the remaining head of Ahsham. The title of Ahadi was given, we are told {Seir, i, 262, note 201), to the men serving singly "because they have the emperor for their immediate colonel." We sometimes come across the name Yakkah-taz (riding alone), which seems, when employed as the name of a class of troops, to mean the same body of men as the Ahadis. Horn, 20, 56, looks on the Ahadis as a sort of body-guard or corps d' elite-, and in some ways that view may be taken as true, though there was not, as I think, any formal recognition of them as such. The basis of their organization under Akbar is set out in Jjn 4 of Book ii (Blochmann, i, 249), and they are referred to in several other places (i, 20, 161, 231, 246, 536). In the strictest sense, the body-guard, or defenders of the imperial person, seem to have been the men known as the Wdld Shdhl (literally, of or belonging to the Exalted King), and, no doubt, these are the four thousand men referred to by

44 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Manucci ('^Catrou," English ed. of 1826, p. 297) as 'the emperor's slaves.' ^ Whether slaves or not, the fVala S/ia/il were the most trusted troops of the reigning sovereign. From various passages I find that they were chiefly, if not entirely, men who had been attached to his person from his youth and had served under him while he was still only a royal prince, and were thus marked out in a special manner as his personal adherents and household troops. The Yasaivnls or armed palace guards were some- thing like the Wala S/ialil so ;far as they were charged with the safety of the sovereign; but they difl'ered from the latter in not having the same personal connection with him. The Ahadis received somewhat higher pay than common troopers. In one instance we are told expressly what those rates were in later times. On the 2^^^ SRfar of his second year (1120 h. = 22nd April, 1708), Bahadur Shah, as Danishmand Khan tells us, ordered the enlistment of 4,700 extra Aliadu at Rs. 40 a month, the money to be paid from the Exchequer.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century the household troops, we are told, 8eir, i, 94, note 90, amounted to 40,000 men, all cavalry, but usually serving on foot in the citadel and in the palace. They consisted then of several corps besides the Ahadis, such as the Surk/i-posh (wearers of red), the SuUanl (Royal), the Wala Sha/il (High Imperial), the Kamal-pos/i (Blanket Wearers). Haji Mustapha is not, however, quite consistent with himself, for elsewhere {Seir, i, 262, note 201), when naming still another corps, the A^la Sha/n (Exalted Imperial), he asserts that the Surkh- posh were all infantry, eight thousand in number. The curious title used above, Kamal-posh, comes from the Hindi word himmal, a coarse blanket, having also the secondary meaning of a kind of cuirass {Seir, i, 143, note 105). The latter is no doubt the signification here.

^ The word meant may be Bandahhae, or, perhaps preferably, the Qui, the Chaghatae for 'slave.' — P. de Courteille, 433.

CHAPTER V.

BRANDING AND VERIFICATION,

False musters were an evil from which the Moghul army- suffered even in its most palmy days. Nobles would lend each other the men to make up their quota, or needy idlers from the bazaars would be mounted on the first baggage pony that came to hand and counted in with the others as efficient soldiers. Great efforts were made to cope with this evil, and in the earlier times with some success. In the later reigns, notably from the middle of Muhammad Shah's reign (1719 — 1748), all such precautions fell into abeyance, amid the general confusion and ever-deepening corruption. By 1174 H. (1761) the system had so entirely disappeared from the suhah of Ahmadabad, that clerks acquainted with the rules could not be found there {Mir at- i'Ahmadl, ii, 118).

Mustapha, the translator of the Blyar-ul-ynuiakhann, gives us an instance of the length to which this cheating was carried {Seir; i, 609, note). In Bengal, in the year 1163 h. (1750), when 'All Wirdi Khan, Mahabat Jang, was nazim, an officer receiving pay for 1700 men could not muster more than seventy or eighty. Mustapha, who wrote in 1787 — 8, adds from his own experience — "Such are, without exception, all the armies and all the troops of India; and were we to rate by this rule those armies of 50,000 and 100,000 that fought or were slaughtered at the decisive battles of Palasi rPlassy] and Baksar [Buxar] (and by some such rule they must be rated), we would have incredible deductions to make. Such a rule, however, would not answer for Mir Qasim's troops (1760 — 1764), where there was not one single false

46 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

muster, nor would it answer for Haidar ""All's armies." The admitted difference between recorded and actual numbers is emphazised by Khushhal Chand's expression, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. ]09la, MaujUdl, nak kaghazi, "actually present, not merely on paper", used in reference to the force brought to Dihli by Burhan-ul-mulk at the time of Nadir Shah's invasion. It was to put down these evil practices that the emperor Akbar revived and enforced more strictly than before a system of descriptive rolls of men and horses, the latter being branded with a hot iron before they were passed for service. This branding, with the consequent periodical musters for the purpose of comparison and verification, formed a separate department under the Bakhshi with its own superintendent [daroghali), and this was known as the dagh'O-tasUhah, from dagJi, a brand, a mark, and tashihah, verification. The usual phrase for enlisting was asp ba dag/i rasanidan, "bringing a horse to be branded." Branding was first introduced by ""Ala-ud-din Khilji in 712 H. = May, 1312— April, 1313, but on his dea'tii it was dropped {DastUr-ul-Insha, 233). The emperor Sher Shah, Afghan, started it again in 948 h. = April, 1541— April, 1542. Akbar {Aj7i, i, 233) re-established the practice in the eighteenth year of his reign (about 981 h., 1573 — 4), and it was continued until the time when the whole system of government finally broke down in the middle of the eighteenth century. At first many difficulties were made {Dastur-ul-Insha, 234), and evasions were attempted, but at length the system was made effective. The great nobles, holding the rank of 5000 and upwards, were exempt from the operation of these rules; but when ordered, they were expected to parade their horsemen for inspection (Z>«AV^7r-2^/- 'Aml, B.M., NO. 6599, fol. 144^). The technical name for these parades was »X:^a maliallah (Steingass, 1 1 90), a word evidently connected with that used in Akbar's time for branding, viz. dagh-o-mahaUl {Ajn, i, 242 ; Budaonl, ii, 190). The germ of the dagh system may perhaps be found

BRANDING AND VERIFICATION. 47

in the practice in Transoxiana of annually branding the colts. This was done so far back as the twelfth century; see E. G. Browne on the Cliahar Maqalah of ^Arudl (composed about 1161 A.D.), Journal R. Asiatic Soc. (189^>), pp. 771 and 776.

As said before, the recruit was supposed, at any rate so far as the State was concerned, to furnish his own horse. Orrae states the case thus: — "Every man brings his own horse and offers himself to be enlisted. The hor.^e is care- fully examined : and according to the size and value of the beast, the master receives his pay. A good horse will bring thirty or forty rupees a month. Sometimes an officer con- tracts for a whole troop. A horse in Indostan is of four times greater value than in Europe. If the horse is killed the man is ruined, a regulation that makes it the interest of the soldier to fight as little as possible." — "Historical Frag- ments," 4^0 edition, 418. Along with his horse the man brought his own arms and armour, the production of certain items of which was obligatory. In actual practice, however, the leaders often provided the recruits with their horses and equipment. When this was the case the leader drew the pay and paid the man whatever he thought fit. Such a man, who rode another's horse, was called a bargir (load- taker); while a man riding his own horse was in modern times called a silahdar (weapon-holder). The latter word is the origin of the Anglo-Indian phrase of "Sillidar cavalry," applied to men who are paid a lump sum monthly for themselves, horse, uniform, and equipment.

Descriptive Rolls. — When an officer entered the service (B.M. N^ 6599, fol. 160«) a Chihrah or descriptive rolP

^ Literally 'face,' 'countenance.' It must not be confounded with chlrah, which means (1) a kind of turban, (2) a pay-roll, on which the recipients signed, (3) the pay itself. Chlrah is used in the second sense in A hwal-ul- khawaqin, fol, 2306; and also by Ghulam Hasan, Samin, when telling us of the taunt addressed in 1170 h. (1757) by Ahmad Khan, Bangash, to Najib Khan, Najib-ud-daulah, of having been once a private trooper in Farrukhabad, where his pay-rolls (chirah-hae) were still in existence.

48 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

of the new mamahdar was first of all drawn up, showing his name, his father's name, his tribe or caste, his place of origin, followed by details of his personal appearance. His complexion might be "wheat-colour" {^gandum-rang)^ "milky," i, e, white (slilr-fam), "red" {surkh-post), or "auburn" {maigun-rang). His forehead was always "open" (faraqli)\ his eyebrows either full (Jcushadah) or in whole or in part inoshahQ)^ his eyes were sheep-like {irmh), deer- like {ahu), ginger-coloured {adrak), or cat's eyes {gurbah). His nose might be "prominent" {huland) or "flat" {past). He might be "beardless" iamrad) or "slightly bearded" {I'lsh barwat clghaz) ; his beard might be "black" [risk o barwat sigcth), or "slightly red" {siyah i maigun-numa), "thin" {k/iall?), "shaven" {mutarash)^ "goat-shaped" (kosah-i- kJiurd), or "twisted up" {shaqlqah). So with any moles he might have; the shape of his ears, whether projecting or not, whether the lobes were pierced or not, and whether he was pock-marked or not — all these things were noted. Ashob, Shahadat, fol. 84«, tells us that in the imperial service the chihrahs were written on red paper sprinkled with gold leaf.

Roll for Troopers. — The troopers (Jablnan) were also described, but not quite so elaborately. A specimen is as follows (B.M. No. 6599, fol. 163«): —

Troopers' Roll (ChihrahA-Tdbinan).

Qamr ^Ali, son of Mir "All, son of Kabir 'All, wheat complexion, broad forehead, separated eyebrows, sheep's eyes, prominent nose, beard and moustache black, right ear lost from a sword-cut. Total height, about 40 shanah.

Horse. — Colour kabud (iron-grey?). Mark on left of breast. Mark on thigh on mounting side. LaskarQ) on thigh on whip side. Brand of four-pointed stamp +

BRANDING AND VERIFICATION. 49

Descriptive Roll of Plorses {fihihrah-i-aspan).

The next thing done was to make out an elaborate description of the horse or horses (B.M. N^. 6599, fol. 106/5). There were twenty principal divisions according to colour, and eight of these were again subdivided, so that there were altogether fifty-eight divisions. Then there were fifty-two headings for the marks {khal-o-khat) which might occur on the horse's body.

The Imperial Brand.

The hot iron was applied on the horse's thigh {Seir, i, 481, note 27), The signs used in A.kbar's reign are given in the Ain, i, 139, 255, 256; but in the end he adopted a system of numerals. In ^Alamglrs reign and about that time there were twenty different brands {tamghah), of which the shapes of fifteen have been preserved and are reproduced below (B.M. N^ 6599, fol. 161<2). I am not certain of the spelling, and in most instances I am utterly unable to suggest a meaning for the names.

Name. Form op Brand.

1. Chaliar i)arlia (four feather?) 1

2. Chakar jiarha jomar-khaj i J"

3. Chaliar par ha dur khaj "^

4. Chahar parha sihsar khaj " ^ ^

5. Chakush V

6. 1st ad (upright)

7. Uftadah (recumbent)

8. Istadah o uftadah

50 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

]SIame. Form of Brand.

9. Yah ha do (one with two) i —

10. Asaran \ « 1

11. Togli (horse-tail standard) i 1 1

12. Fanjah4'7nurgh (hen's foot) r\f\

13. Mizan (balance) , 1 ,

14. Bo ddrah taur , 1

15. Chahar bar ah makar khaj 11

The Noble's Brand.

It is obvious that in addition to the imperial brand, a second mark was required by each noble for the recognition of the horses ridden by his own men. Accordingly we find direct evidence of this second marking in Bernier, 216, and again 243, when he speaks of the horses "which bear the omrah's mark on the thigh." Towards the end of the period the great nobles often had the first or last letter of their name as their special brand {Seir, i, 481, note 27), as, for instance, the sin-dagh {^) of Sa^dat ^AlT Khan, nazim of Audh. The brand of Sayyad ^Abdullah Khan, was A^c i^abd), according to Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 1020«. Ghulam 'AH Khan (B.M., Add. 24,028, fol. 635) tells us that about 1153 h. (1740 — 41) Muhammad Ishaq Khan used the last letter of his name, a qaf (^), as his brand. The way of selecting the brands is further illustrated by a passage in Kam Raj's A^zam-ul-harh. When A'zam Shah in 1119 h. (1707) was on his march from the Dakhin, some new brands were chosen. "As the brand of the Wcila Shdhl (personal troops) was ^Azma, that of Bedar Bakht, the eldest son, was mankab, and of Wala Jah, the second son, was khail, it was thought

BRANDING AND VERIFICATION

51

fit to fix on the word hashn (-) as that of ""Ala Tabar, the youngest son." It is to be niferred from this passage that in each instance the first letter of the word was used.

Classification of Horses.

According to the Ajn, i, 233, there were seven classes of horses founded on their breed — (1) ^Arabi, (2) Persian, (3) Mujannas, resembling Persian, and mostly Turk! or Persian geldings, (4) Turhi, (5) Yabu, (6) Tazl, (7) Ja7iglah.

In Mlamgir's reign we find (B.M. N«. 6599, fol. i63r/) the following classification : (1) ^ Iraqi, (2) Mujannas, (3) Turkl, (4) Ycibu, (5) Tazl, (6) Jangll. This is practically the same as Akbar's, except that Arab horses are not mentioned. This must be an oversight, since we learn from many passages in the contemporary historians that Arab horses were still in use. The Tdzl and Jangll were Indian horses, what we now call country breds, the former being held of superior quality to the latter. The Yabu was, I suppose, what we call now the Kabuli, stout-built, slow, and of somewhat sluggish temperament. The Turkl was an animal from Bukhara or the Oxus country; the ^Iraql came from Mesopotamia.

In 'Alamgir's reign the proportion in which officers of the different ranks were called on to present horses of these different breeds at the time of branding was as follows : —

Class of

Horse.

Rank or

Total.

Officer.

^lUAQI.

Mujannas.

Turk!

Yabu.

400

3

1

1

5

300—350

2

1

1

4

100—150

3

3

80—90

2

2

50—70

1

1

2

40

1

1

52

THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

These figures differ from those in the A}n, i, 248 — 9, where the number of horses is given for all mansahs, up to the very highest. Some figures are also given in Mirat-i-Ahmadi, ii, 118, which agree on the whole with those in the above table.

According as the standard was exceeded or not come up to, the branding officer made an allowance or deduction by a fixed table. This calculation was styled tafawat-i- aspan (discrepancy of horses) — B.M. N^. 6599, fol. 163a. The extra allowances were as follows: —

Horse Required BY Regulation,

Horse Produced.

Additional Allowance.

Turkl Turkl

Tazi Yabu

""Iraqi Mujannas Turkl Turkl

Rs.

12

6

8 9

When an inferior horse was produced the following deduc- tion was made: —

Horse Required BY Regulation.

Horse Produced.

Deduction.

Turkl Yabu Tazl

Jangll Jangll Jangll

Rs.

12 10

8

Subordinate Establishment.

An establishment of farriers, blacksmiths' forges, and surgeons had to be maintained by each mansabddr, according to the following scale (B.M. N^ 1641, fol. 38^'): —

BRANDING AND A^ERIFICATION.

53

• Numbers op Establishment.

Rank of

Officer.

Carriers

Blacksmiths'

Leeches or

{NaHband).

Shops {Ahangar).

Surgeons {Jara/j).

4000

8

2

2

3500

7

2

2

3000

6

2

2

2500

5

1

2000

4

1

2

1500

3

1

1000

2

1

Or, according to

more recent scale : —

1500—4000

The Mirat-i'Ahmadl, ii, 118, states that thirtj men on foot were required to be entertained for every 1000 of mansah rank. These included water-carriers, farriers, pioneers, matchlockmen and bow-men.

Verification {TasMhak).

Something on this subject will be found in the Ajn, i, 250, where the reference is confined to the ahadis; Dr. Horn, so far as he goes into the matter at all, deals with it on p. 49 of his work. In later times, at all events, the rule of mustering and verification seems to have been of almost universal application. For example, in a work called the G iddastah-i-Ba//ar , a collection of letters from Chhabilah Ram, Nagar, compiled in 1139 h. (1726—7), of which I possess a fragment, I find on fol. 18a an instance of the verification rules being enforced against a inansahdar in the end of Bahadur Shah's reign (1118 — 24 h.). Chhabilah Ram, who was then faujdar of Karrah Manikpur (stibah Allahabad), complains to his patron that the clerks had caused his jar/ir, in parganah Jajmau, bringing in ten lakhs of dams, to be taken away from him, because he had not

54 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

produced vouchers of da(/h-o-tas/nIiaI/. He sends the papers by a special messenger, and prays his correspondent, some influential man at Court, to obtain the restoration of the jafir in question.

The intervals after which verification was imperative varied according to the nature of the man's pay. If he were paid in jfifir, he had to muster his men for verification once a year, and, in addition, a period of six months' grace was allowed. If the officer were paid in naqd (cash), the time allowed depended upon whether he was — (1) present at Court {hagir-i-riqab), or (2) on duty elsewhere {tainat). In the first case he had to procure his certificate at six- month intervals, or within eight months at the outside. In the second case he was allowed fifteen days after he had reported himself at Court. An aJ/adl seems to have been allowed, in a similar case, no more than seven days. Where an officer drew his pay partly in jagw (assignment) and partly in naqd (cash), if the former made more than half the total pay, the rule for jaglrdars was followed; if the jaglr were less than half, the naqdl rule was followed. (B.M. 1641, fols. 31a, 395).

When the interval and the period of grace had elapsed, the man was reported for taioaqquf-i4asInhah (delay in verification). A mansabdar lost the whole of his pay for the period since the last verification ; or, if he were im- portant enough to have been presented to the emperor {ru-sliinas, known by sight), he might succeed in obtaining his personal pay. An aJiadl lost half his pay, and it was only by an order on a special report that he could be excused the penalty. The proportion of horsemen {tahinan) that a mansabdar must produce difi'ered when he was at Court and when he was on duty in the provinces. In the first case he was bound to muster one-fourth, and in the second one-third, of his total number or as the case is stated in the Ma,asir-ul-umara, ii, 444, "In the reign of Shahjahan it was decided that if an officer held a jaglr

BRANDING AND VERIFICATION. 55

within the Huhnh to which he was attached, he should produce one third of his tahinan for Branding. Thus if he were 3000 zed, 3000 suicar, he would produce 1000 horsemen. If sent to another sUbah of Hindustan, then one fourth had to appear. During the campaign in Balkh and Badakhshan, owing to the great distance, one fifth was held to be sufficient." There were three seasons appointed for verification, from the 26^1^ Shawwal to the 15^^^ Zul Qa'dah (twenty days), the 19t^i Safar to the I5tli Rabf I (twenty-five days), and the 16^^'^ Jamadi II to the 15*^ Rajab (twenty-nine days). (B.M. 1641, fols. 31«, 395, 58/^; B.M. 6599, fol. 148«).

Officials and their duties. — At head quarters officers entitled A mm, daroghah, and mushrif were appointed by the emperor to the Verification department, which was under the supervision of the chief bakhshis. The Bakhshis made the appointments for the provinces. In addition to his personal rank {mansab), the Amin received a mansab of 10 horse while in office {Mirat-i-JJimadl, ii, 118). The duties are thus described by Hidayatullah, Baharl, in his Ridayat- ul-quwaid, fol. \Za. The daroghah should compare the marks and points (Jchat-o-Mal) of the horses with the descriptive roll {chihrah), and inspect the horses to see whether they were fit for the service or not. If fit for branding, he should cause the brand to be imposed, signing the descriptive roll, adding the day, month and year, with the words "Two horses such-and-such branded." If it were a two-horse man, he should certify for two horses and send the original descriptive roll to the office of the Bakhshi, retaining a copy sealed by the Bakhshi among his own records. Two months having passed, he should in the third month inspect and verify according to the copy of the roll, looking to see if the marks correspond. His inspection report was entered on the back of the roll, giving day, month, and year, thus : "So-and-so with his horses and arms was in- spected." If it was a one-horse man, the daroghah wrote:

56 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

"Man and one horse inspected." If it were a foot match- lock-man or an archer, he wrote on the back of the roll: "Man and arms inspected." For carpet-layers and servants belonging to the court establishment he wrote on the back of the roll. When the paper was full, another sheet was attached. The peshkar (head clerk) of the daroghah drew up according to rule a present state, giving details of those present and absent and the receipts. He then brought it up for orders. The daroghah attached his seal to the report and sent it on to the Bakhshi's office. In accordance there- with an order {barat) on the Treasury was prepared for each man. The daroghah ought to see that the horsemen and infantry are present on the march and on guard. He should enjoin on the guard-clerk to make an inspection at midnight of the men posted on guard, and write down the names of those present. According to the Mirat-i- Ainnadt, ii, 118, the officials after the mustering and veri- fication made out certificates {dastak) bearing the seals of the daroghah, amin, and mushrif, which were delivered to the mansabdar concerned.

CHAPTER VI.

THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE.

Although in writing this essay I think it better to retain the divisions of the original authorities, who distribute the army into mansahdars (with their tahinan), ahadls, and aJtsham, it is quite true that, as Dr. Horn says, p. 11, the Moghul army consisted of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. But the second and third branches held a very subordinate position towards the first. The army was essentially an army of horsemen. The Moo;huls from beyond the Oxus were ac- customed to fight on horseback only; the foot-soldier they despised ; and in artillery they never became very proficient. Until the middle of the eighteenth century, when the French and English had demonstrated the vast superiority of disciplined infantry, the Indian foot-soldier was little more than a night-watchman, and guardian over baggage, either in camp or on the line of march. Under the Moghuls, as Orme justly says "Hist. Frag.," 4<^o, p. 418, the strain of all war rested upon the numbers and goodness of the horse which were found in an army. Their preference for hand to hand fighting and cavalry charges is well illustrated by the remarks attributed to Prince A'zam Shah in 1707 by Bhim Sen, Nuskhah-i-dilkusha, fol. 162«, that "to fight with artillery was a stripling's pastime, the only true weapon was the sword."

There was no division into regiments. Single troopers, as we have already said, enlisted under the banner of some man a little richer or better known than themselves. These inferior leaders again joined greater commanders, and thus,

58 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

by successive aggregations of groups, a great noble's division was gathered together. But from the highest to the lowest rank, the officer or soldier looked first to his immediate leader and followed his fortunes, studying his interests rather than those of the army as a whole. ^ It was not till quite the end of the period that, under the influence of European example, and also partly in imitation of the Persian invaders, it became usual for the great nobles to raise and equip at their own expense whole regiments without the intervention of petty chiefs. In Audh, Safdar Jang and Shuja'-ud-Daulah had such regiments, as, for instance, the Q.izzilbash, the Sher-bachak, and others, which were all clad alike, and apparently were mounted and equipped by the Nawab himself.

When Akbar first introduced the mansab system, which ranked his officers according to the number of men supposed to be under the command of each, these figures had possibly some connection with the number of men present under those officers' orders, and actually serving in the army (Horn, 39). But it is tolerably certain that this connection between the two things did not endure very long: it was, 1 should say, quite at an end by the reign of Shahjahan (1627 — 58). Indeed, if the totals of all the personal {zat) mansabs in existence at one time were added together, we should arrive at so huge an army that it would have been impossible for the country, however heavily taxed, to meet such an expense. If paid in cash, the army would have absorbed all the revenue; if paid by assignments, all the land revenue would have gone direct into the hands of the soldiery, leaving next to nothing to maintain the Court or meet the expenses of the other branches of the government. The inference I wish to draw is, that from the grant of rank it does not follow that the soldiers implied by such rank were really added to the army. The system required that a man's rank should be stated in terms of so many soldiers;

• For remarks to the same general effect, see W. Erskine, "History," ii, 540.

THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE. 59

but there is abundant testimony in the later historians that mansab and the number of men in the ranks of the army had ceased to have any close correspondence.

Thus it seems to me a hopeless task to attempt, as Dr. Horn does, p. 39, following Blochmann {Ajn, i, 244 — 7), to build up the total strength of the army from the figures giving the personal {zat) rank of the officers {mansabdars). The difficulty would still exist, even if we had sufficiently reliable accounts of the number of such officers on the list at any one time. For we must remember that the number of men kept up by any officer was incessantly varying. On a campaign, or on active employment in one of the provinces, either as its governor or in a subordinate position, an officer kept up a large force, generally as many as, if not more than, he could find pay for. On the other hand, while attached to the Court at Dihli, his chief or only duty might be to attend the emperor's public audience twice a day (a duty which was very sharply enforced), and take his turn in mounting guard at the palace. For duties of this sort a much smaller number of men would suffice. If we reckoned the number of men in the suwar rank, for whom allowances at so much per man were given by the State to the mansabdar, we might obtain a safer estimate of the probable strength of the army. But for this also materials fail, and in spite of musterings and brandings, we may safely assume that very few mansabdars kept up at full strength even the quota of horsemen {tabinmi) for which they received separate pay. In these matters the difference between one noble and another was very great. While one man maintained his troops at their full number, all efficiently mounted and equipped, another would evade the duty altogether. As, for instance, one writer, Khushhal Chand, in his Nadir-uz-zaynam (B.M. Or. 1844, fol. ]40«) says : Lutfullah Khan Sadiq, although he held the rank of 7,000, "never entertained even seven asses, much less horses or riders on horses." In Muhammad Shah's reign he lived

60 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

quietly at home at PanTpat, 30 or 40 miles from Dilili, his attention engrossed by his efforts to get hold of all the land for many miles round that town, and passing his days, in spite of his great nominal rank, like a mere villager.

It seems to me equally hopeless to attempt a reconstruc- tion of the force actually present at any particular battle by adding together the numerical rank held by the com- manders who were at that battle. This Dr. Horn has tried to do on p. 67, without feeling satisfied with the results. But, as far as I can see, there was little, if any, connection between the two matters. The truth is that, like all things in Oriental countries, there existed no rules which were not broken in practice. A man of high rank would, no doubt, be selected for the command of a division. But it was quite an accident whether that division had more or fewer men in it than the number in his nominal rank. The strength of a division depended upon the total number of men available, and the extent of the contingents brought into the field by such subordinate leaders as might be put under the orders of its commander. It was altogether a matter of accident whether the number of men present corresponded or not to the rank of the commanders.

Bernier, 43, has an excellent remark on the vague way that numbers were dealt with by historians: "Camp- followers and bazar-dealers .... I suspect, are often included in the number of combatants." Again, on p. 380, he seems to come to the conclusion that it would be a fair estimate to take the fighting men at about one-third of the total numbers in a Moghul camp. I have seen some- where (I have lost the reference, but J think it was in Khafi Khan) an admission that the gross number of a so-called "fauj" (army) was always reckoned as including no more than one-third or one-fourth that number of fighting men. I give below, for what it is worth, a tabular summary of Dr. Horn's figures (pp. 39—45) —

THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE.

61

ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF MOGHUL ARMY.

Pkriod.

Cavaluy.

Match LOCKMEN AND Infantry.

Artillery- men.

Authority.

Akbar Do.

Shahjahan

Aurangzeb Do.

Mhd. Shah

12,000 384,758

200,000

240,000 300,000

200,000

12,000 3,877,557

40,000

15,000 600,000

800,000

1000

Blochmann, i,246. Am-i-AkbarT. ' j Badshahnamah, ii, 1 715; Am,i,24>4>. Bernier. Catrou.

T an kh-i- Hindi of Rustam '^Ali.

NUMBERS PRESENT ON PARTICULAR OCCASIONS.

Number

OF Impe

RIALISTS.

Number of Enemy.

Name of

Battle

>-,

B

>^

^

Authority.

>-s

c?

>~i

i-*

OR

P"*.

CS

Commander.

>

c

^

p

'-J3

CD

>

c3

^ ^

"TTi

t

o

1— 1

<

w

o

I— 1

<

w

Sarkhej

10,000

_

100

40,000

100,000

Akhaniamah^

Under Khan

iii, 424.

'Azim

10,000

—

—

—

30,000

—

—

—

Id. iii, 593

Under Khan

Khanan . . .

1200

—

—

—

5000

—

—

—

Id. iii, 608

Sadiq Khan . .

3000

—

—

—

8000

—

—

80

Id. iii, 714

Qandahar

(1061 H.)...

50,000

10,000

—

10

—

—

—

—

Elliot, vii, 99

Jahanglr

(1016 H.)...

12,500

2000

—

60

—

—

—

—

Id. vi, 318.

Ahmad Abdali

(1174 11.)...

60,000

20,000

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

^ These include all the militia levies and zamindar's retainers throiighont the provinces, besides the army proper.

CHAPTER VII.

EaUIPMENT. (a) defensive ARMOUR.

The generic name for arms and armour was silali, plural adah (Steingass, 693). Weapons and armour of all kinds were much prized in India, much taste and ingenuity being expended on their adornment. Every great man possessed a choice collection. The following extract describes that of the Nawab Wazir at Lakhnau, in 1785: — "But beyond everything curious and excellent in the Nawab's possession are his arms and armour. The former consist of matchlocks, fuzees, rifles, fowling-pieces, sabres, pistols, scymitars, spears, syefs (long straight swords), daggers, poniards, battle-axes, and clubs, most of them fabricated in Indostan, of the purest steel, damasked or highly polished, and ornamented in relief or intaglio with a variety of figures or foliage of the most delicate pattern. Many of the figures are wrought in gold and silver, or in marquetry, with small gems. The hilts of the swords, etc., are agate, chrysolite, lapus-lazuli, chal- cedony, blood-stone, and enamel, or steel inlaid with gold, called tynashee ' or koft work. The armour is of two kinds, either of helmets and plates of steel to secure the head, back, breast, and arms, or of steel network, put on like a shirt, to which is attached a netted hood of the same metal to protect the head, neck, and face. Under the network are worn linen garments quilted thick enough to resist a sword. On the crown of the helmet are stars or other small device, with a sheath to receive a plume of feathers. The steel plates are handsomely decorated with gold wreaths and borders, and the network fancifully braided." ("Asiatic Miscellany," i, 393. Calcutta, 1795. 4to.)

' Probably for tah-nishani, inlaid with gold or studded with jems. Koft (beating) is gold or silver wire beaten into iron or steel.

EQUIPMENT. — (a) DEFENSIVE ARMOUR.

63

The fines for not producing at inspection a man's own armour and that of his elephant {jpahhaf) were as follows (B.M. 6,599, fol. 162«): —

Amount op Fine for non-Production

of

Rank of

Officer.

Headpiece

{Kliud).

Body Armour

{Baktar).

Elephant Armour

Greaves {Ranak).

Harhai(?). '

400 350 300 250 200

Rs. a. p. 2 2 1 12 1 8 1

Rs. a. p. 5 4 4 3 8 3

Rs. a. p

4 3 12 3 8 3 4 3

Rs. a. p. 2 1 12 18 1 4 LOO

Rs. a. p. 10 15 14 13 12

Armour was worn by all horsemen who could afford it; nay, officers of a certain rank were required to produce it at the time of inspection, subject to a fine if it were not forthcoming. Its use was never discontinued; it was even worn by men of European descent when they entered the native service. For instance, James Skinner, writing of the year 1797, says, "as I was exercising my horse in full armour' (Eraser, "Memoirs," i, 125); and again, "I was only saved by my armour" {id. 127). George Thomas, the Irish adventurer, also wore armour {id. 229). Nor is the use of armour entirely discontinued even to this day, as those can testify who saw the troops of the Bundelkhand States paraded before the then Prince of Wales at iVgrah in January, 1876.

The armour was worn as follows (W. Egerton, 112, note to W. 440) : — Depending from the cuirass was generally a skirt, which was at times of velvet embroidered with gold. Underneath the body armour was worn a qabchah, ^ or jacket quilted and slightly ornamented. Silken trousers

• Read sari-asp in B.M. 1641, fol. 37a, but to neither reading can I

assign a meaning.

2 Apparently the diminutive of qaha, a close long gown or shirt (Stein gass, 950).

64 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

and a pair of kashmlr shawls round the waist completed the costume of a nobleman of high rank. As to these quilted coats, we are told elsewhere {Seir, i, 624, note) that "common soldiers wore an ample upper garment, quilted thick with cotton, coming down as far as the knee. These coats would deaden the stroke of a sabre, stop the point of an arrow, and above all kept the body cool by intercepting the rays of the sun." Or as a still later writer tells us (Fitzclarence, "Journal," 143) ^ : — "The irregular cavalry throughout India are mostly dressed in quilted cotton jackets ; though the best of these habiliments are not, as 1 supposed, stuffed with cotton, but are a number of cotton cloths quilted together. This serves as a defensive armour, and when their heads are swathed round, and under the chin, with linen to the thickness of several folds, it is almost hopeless with the sword to make an impression upon them. They also at times stuff their jackets with the refuse silk of the cocoons, which they say will even turn a ball." This habit of swathing the body in protective armour till little beyond a man's eyes could be seen, gives the point to the scoffing remark of Daud Khan, PannI, at the battle against Husain "All Khan, fought on the S^ii Sha'ban, 1127 n. (6th Sept., 1715), that his assailant, one Mir Mushrif, "came out to meet him like a bride or a woman, with his face hidden" (Ghulam 'All Khan, Muqaddamah-i-Shah "Alam-namah, fol. 22/^).

I now proceed to describe each part of the armour, seriatim^ beginning with the helmet.

Khud, Dabalghah, or Top. — This was a steel headpiece with a vizor or nose-guard. There are several specimens in the Indian Museum; and in W. Egerton, "Handbook,"

' Lieut. -Col. Fitzclarence was created Earl of Munster in 4831, and he is the Lord Munster referred to by Dr. Horn on p, 8 as the author of a series of questions on Mahomedan military usages. His "Journal," the work of a close observer and graphic writer, proves that he was quite competent to write for himself, and not merely "schreiben zu lassen," the history that he had planned.

EQUIPMENT. — (a) DEFENSIVE ARMOUR. 65

several of these are figured, Nos 703 and 704 on plate xiii, N^ 703 on p. 134, and another, N^ 591, on p. 125. Khud is the more usual name, but dabnlghah is the word used in the Jjn (Blochmann, 1, iii, N^ 52, and plate xiii, N^. 43). The latter is Chaghatae for a helmet; and Pa vet de Courteille gives four forms, ^LiJ^jb, Ui^jb, »,k\y^c> (p. 317), and i^i^i.o (p. 322). I have only met with it once in an eighteenth-century writer {Ahwcll-id-Kkawaqin, c. 1147 h., fol. 161^), and then under the form of ^^iL^^^, dobalghah. Top, for a helmet, appears several times in Egerton ; for instance, on p. 119 and p. 125. This is apparently an Indian word (Shakes., 73), sr'y, which must be distinguished from the word top, y^j, a cannon, to which a Turkish origin is assigned. A helmet seems to have been called a top by the Mahrattas and in Maisur; but the word is not used by writers in Northern India. If we disregard the difference between o and o, then we can derive /o/j, 'a helmet,' and tojn, 'a hat,' as does the compiler of the "Madras Manual of Administration," iii, 915, from the ordinary Hindi word topna, 'to cover up.' But I hardly think this is legitimate.

Khoglil. — The next name to the dahalghah on the Ajn list, the kliogln, N°. 53, must be something worn on the head; but there is no figure of it, and I fail to identify the word in that form. From the spelling it is evidently of Hindi origin; and a note in the Persian text \\dL^ ghokhl as an alternative reading. Has it anything to do with ghoghl, a pocket, a pouch, a wallet (Shakespear, 1756), or ghunglil, cloths folded and put on the head as a defence against the rain (Shakes., 1758)? The latter may point to a solution: the khoghi, or, better, the ghUghl, may have been folds of cloth adjusted on the head to protect it from a sword blow.

Migjifar is defined (Steingass, 1281) as mail, or a net- work of steel worn under the cap or hat, or worn in battle as a protection for the face, also a helmet. It is evidently

66 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

the long piece of mail hanging down from the helmet over the neck and back, as shown in N'^. 45, plate xii, of the Aj7i, vol. i, and called there and on p. Ill, N". 54, the zHihkuldh (cap of mail). It was through the mighfar that, according to Ghulam ^\lT Khan's history, the arrow passed which wounded 'Abdullah Khan, Qutb-ul-Mulk, just before he was taken a prisoner at the battle of Hasanpur (IS^-h Nov., 1720), and the following verse brings in the word, as also the josha7i : —

Ghcih yare Imnnd mighfar o josJian-am, Chun Ban na hard akhtar roshaii-am.

"What aid to me is vizor and coat of mail, "When God has not made my star to shine." ^

Baktar or Bagtar. — This is the name for body armour in general, whether it were of the cuirass {chahar-ajnah) or chain-mail {zirih) description. Steingass, 195, defines it as a cuirass, a coat of mail. See also the Dastur-id-Insha, 228. The bagtar is W. 58 in the Ajn list (i, 112), and is shown as N^. 47 on plate xii. From the figure it may be inferred that, in a more specific sense, baktar was the name for fish-scale armour. Bargustuioan, as Mr. H. Beveridge has pointed out to me, is a general name for armour used in the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, text 119 (Raverty, 466 and note); but that work belongs to a period long before the accession of the Moghuls. Steingass, 178, restricts bargustuwan to horse armour worn in battle: the Ahwal-ul-Khaicagm, fol. 2183, applies it to the armour worn by elephants, and I have found it in no other late Avriter.

Chahar-ajnah. — This is literally 'four mirrors': it

' Muqaddamah-i-Shdh '^Alam-namah by Ghulam "^Ali Khan, B.M. Add. 24,028, fol. 40a. The last line probably contains an allusion to Roshan Akhtar, the original name of Muhammad Shah, to whom ""Abdullah Khan succumbed.

EQUIPMENT. (a) DEFENSIVE ARMOUR. 67

consisted of four pieces, a breast plate and a back plate, with two smaller pieces for the sides. All four were connected together with leather straps. Steingass, 403, has 'a kind of armour.' It is N^ 50 in the Ajn, i, 112, and figure N'\ 49 on plate xiii. It is also shown in Egerton, plate ix, and again on p. 144. The specimens in the Indian Museum are N^ 364 (p. 103), 450, 452 (p. 112), 569, 570 (p. 119), 587 (p. 124), 707 (p. 135), 764 (p. 144)!

Zirih. — This was a coat of mail with mail sleeves, composed of steel links {Dastur-ul-Inshci, 228). The coat reached to the knees (W. Egerton, 125, note to N^ 591). It is No. 57 in the Ajn, i, 112, and N^. 46 on plate xiii of that volume. There are six examples in the Indian Museum— W.E. 361, 362 (p. 103), 453 (p. 112), 591, 591 T (p. 125), 706 (p. 135). Apparently, judging from the plate in the Ajn, the bahtar (fish scales) or the chahar ajnah (cuirass) was worn over the zirili. W. H. Tone, "Maratta People," 61, note, gives a word beiUa as the Mahratta name for the chain-mail shirt that they wore. I cannot identify or trace this word.

Jaibah. — Blochmann, Aj?i, i. 111, N^ 56, and his note 4, says it was a general name for armour. He gives no figure of it. Erskine, History," ii, 187, has jaba. Steingass, 356, says it is from the Arabic jubbat, and spells it juba/i, a coat of mail, a cuirass, any kind of iron armour. The word is used in the ^Alamgirnamah, 245, I. 7 : — Tan ba zeb-i-jabah ojoshan \mirasta1i' — "body adorned with the decoration of jabali and joshan!' It is also used in Ahwal-ul-Khcmaqm {c. 1147 h.), fol. 164^^, in the form jaibah. Some variety of the jaibah is spoken of in the Akbarnamah, Daftar II, p. 249, line 4 (Lucknow edition), where we are told that a Rajput of distinction in the garrison of Chitor wore a j aibah-i-hazar-mlkhl. Apparently it was covered with small studs or knobs {mihh).

Other items of body armour {Dastur-ul-lnsha, 228) were the joshan^ the jihlam, the angarkhah^ the daghlah. In

68 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

other authorities we also meet with the jamah-i-fataJn, the chihilqadj sadiql, the Jcothl^ the hlianjU, and the salhqaha. Of the last, the salhqaha, Aj7i, N^. 66, we have no figure, and I am unable to identify it, as I have never seen the word elsewhere. Other words which have defied identifi- cation are harhai, as I read it (B.M. 6599, foL 162«; B.M. 1641, fol. 37«), and three articles in the Dastur-ul- Insha, p. 228, which I read suhl, malk, and masari. \Ve have also the kamal, the ghughwah, the kantha-sohka. Finally, there were the dast-wanah or arm-pieces, the ranah or greaves, and the mozah-i-alianl, a smaller pattern of leg-piece.

Joshan. — This is N^. 59 of the Iin, list, p. 112, and is figured as N^ 48 on plate xiii. It appears to be b steel breastplate extending to the region of the stomach and bowels. Blochmann, p. xi, calls it an armour for chest and body; Steingass translates more vaguely 'a coat of mail.'

Jililam. — According to the dictionary (Shakes., 825), this is the Hindi for armour, coat of mail, vizor of helmet; but I do not know what was its special nature or form. Steingass, 405, has chahlam, a sort of armour; also chihal- tah, a coat of mail. Kam Raj, 585, has a passage — "Mir Mushrif came quickly and lifted his jihlam from his face." This makes the word equivalent to vizor. It is not in the Ajn.

Angarkhah. — Hindi for a coat, possibly identical with that sometimes called an alkhaliq (a tight-fitting coat). Probably this coat was wadded so as to turn a sword-cut. It is N". 63 of the Ajn, i, 112, and figure N". 52 of plate xiv, where we see it a long, loose, wide coat worn over the armour.

DagJdah or Dagla, — The second of these is the Hindi form of the word. It was a coat of quilted cloth.

Jdmah-i'fataM. — This word is employed in the Akbar- namah (Lucknow edition), ii, 89, line 3. According to the editor's note it is "a robe which on the day of battle is

EQUIPMJ^NT. — (a) defensive ARMOUR, 69

put on beneath the coat of mail, and on it extracts from the Qurjin, such as Jnna fotahna, are inscribed." Steingass, 351, defines it as "a fine silken robe." The coats worn by the Khallfah's men in the Sudan, and now at the United Service Institution, must be specimens, as they have words embroidered or sewn on to them.

Chihilqad. — This is N". 67 of the Ajn, 112, and is shown as figure N^ 54 on plate xiv. Muliammed Qasim, Alrwcd- td-Khaioagm, 161/5, spells it J^iiii:^^, c/^«/^«/. It was a doublet worn over the armour, and possibly identical with the chilta or c^2^(7/-/a^-,literally forty-folds(Shakespear, 884; Steingass,398).

Sadiql. — Ajn, 112, N". 62, and N^ 51 on plate xiv, a coat of mail something like the joshan in shape, but with epaulettes.

Kotk. — We have this in the Ajn, 112, No. 61, and it appears on plate xiv, N^ 50, as a long coat of mail worn under the breastplate and opening down the front.

BhanjU. — This is W. 64 of the Ajn list, i, 112, but I have never seen the word anywhere else ; it must be a Hindi word, but it is not in Shakespear's Dictionary. The only figure is the one reproduced from Langles by Egerton, N". 9 on plate i, opposite p. 23. This might be almost anything; the nearest resemblance I can suggest is that of a sleeveless jacket.

Kamal. — This word is literally 'a blanket,' and from it the corps known as the kamal-posh (blanket-wearers) derived its name. The word seems to have had the secondary meaning of a cuirass or wadded coat, possibly made of blanketing on the outside. There were wadded coats of quilted cotton, as well as of wool, which would stand the stroke of a sabre. Some stuffed with silk refuse were con- sidered capable of withstanding a bullet {Seir, i, 143, note 105). This sort of protection was very common. "Almost every soldier in the service of a native power has his head secured by many folds of cotton cloth, which not only pass round but likewise over it and under the chin;

70 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

and a protection for the back of the neck is provided of similar materials. The jacket is composed of cotton thickly quilted between cloths, and so substantial as almost to retain the shape of the body like stiff armour. To penetrate this covering with the edge of the sword was to be done only by the practice of cutting." (Valentine Blacker, "War," 302).

Ghugfiwah, — This must, from its position in the A'Jn list, N^ 55, be some kind of armour, but I cannot identify the word, which is of Hindi form. In plate xiii, N^ 44, the thing is shown as a long coat and cowl of mail, all in one piece. In Egerton's plate (N^. i, figure 4) it is some- thing quite different, of a shape which it is difficult to describe, and for which it is still more difficult to suggest a use. The loord seems to have some affinity to khoglii or g hug In (see a7ite). It represents the Eastern Hindi form of ghogha, following the usual rule of vowel modification, thus: H. H., ghora-^ E. H., ghurwa^ 'a horse.' There being also a slight indication of the diminutive in this form, ghugliwa would be a small ghogha. There is a chain epaulette shown in one of the plates in Rockstuhl and Gille, which suggests the shape of the ghughwa figured by Egerton, and possibly that was its purpose.

Kantha-sobha. — This is No. 70 in the list in the Ajn, 112, and, as we can see from figure 7 on plate i of W. Egerton's catalogue, it was a neck-piece or gorget. N^. 69 {rmiak) and N^ 71 {mozah-i-ahanl) are both worn by the man and not the horse; then why does Blochmann, in his note, suggest that N^ 70 {kantha-sobha) was attached to the horses neck? The derivation is from kant/td (Shakes., 1616) a necklace, and sobhd, id. 1338, ornament, dress, decoration.

Dastivdnah. — This was a gauntlet, or mailed glove, with steel arm-piece. It is N^ 68 of the Ajn, 112, and is shown as N*^. 55 on plate xiv. The specimens in the Indian Museum are Nos. 452, 453, 454, 455 (Egerton,

EQUIPMENT. — (a) DEFENSIVE ARMOUR. 71

p. 112), 568, 570 [id, 119), 587, 590 {id. 124), 745 {id. 139). Three of these are shown, two on plate xii, opposite p. 122, and one on plate xiv, opposite p. 136.

Banah. — In the Ajn list, 1 12, N^ 69, appears the word rak or rag, which is quite unmeaning. When we turn to W. 56 on Blochmann's plate xiv, we see that the thing itself is an iron leg-piece or greave. Now, wherever there are lists of armour in the MS. Dastur-ul-Aml, I find a word iJ^i'^, which is invariably shown with a fourth letter of some sort; it might be read ratak, mlak, ranak, but never rak. As ran means in Persian the 'thigh,' I propose to substitute for Blochmann's rak the reading ranak, the diminutive ending being used to denote relation or con- nection, a formation like dastak (little hand), a short written order, fit to be (as it were) carried in the hand. The word ranak is not in Steingass.

Moznh-i-ahanl. — This "iron-stocking" is N^ 71 on page 112 of the Aj7i, and N^ 56 on plate xiv. It is a smaller form of the ranak.

Patkah. — I find in Ghulam ^AlT Khan, Muqaddamah, fol. 38/^, an epithet q'^%j ^^Hy pcdkak-poshan, applied to both Sayyads and horse-breakers {chabuk-smoaran). It appears to refer to some part of military equipment, but what it is I do not know. It is evidently used in a depreciatory sense.

Having enumerated the man's defensive armour, we go on to that of the horse. The elephant armour 1 will leave till we come to the special heading devoted to those animals.

Kajvm. — This is in Ajn, 112, N". 72 {kajem), and is shown as figure N^. 57 on plate xiv. Erskine. "History," ii, 187, has the form kiclmn. It was a piece of armour for the hind-quarters of a horse, and was put on over a quilted cloth called artak-i-kajwi {Ajn, 112, N*^. 73).

The other pieces of armour for the horse were the frontlet {qashqah: Jjn, 112, N^ 74, and plate xiv, N«. 60) and the neck-piece {gardani: Jjn, 112, N^ 75). Blochmann's

72 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

description of the latter (p. 112, note 3) does not seem very appropriate, as he makes it a thing which hangs down in front of the horse's chest. Gardani, however, is the name still applied to the head and neck-piece, the hood, of a set of horse-clothing. It is the neck-shaped piece in figure N*^. 58 of Blochmann's plate xiv, and is separately shown in Eger ton's plate i, figure N^ 8. Qashqah is the word used in Persian for the Hindu sect-mark or tilak, applied on the centre of the forehead. R. B. Shaw, J. A. S. Bengal for 1S78, p. 144, gives qashqah as the Eastern Turk! for an animal's forehead.

Horse trappings were often most richly adorned with silver or gold, embroidery or jewels. When so enriched they were styled saz-i-tilae, or saz-i-marasm . The names of the various articles are as follows (W. Egerton, 155): paltah (headstall) and Hna7i (reins), zerha^id (martingale), dumchl (crupper), hhogir (saddle), ustak (shabracque), hala- ta72g (surcingle), rikab (stirrups), shikarband (ornamental tassels at corners of saddle). The bow or pommel of a saddle was either qarhv.s (Steingass, 963) or qash (id. 947). The former word is used by Shekh Ghulam Hasan, (Samln) BilgramT, in his Tazkirah written in 1198 h. (1783); the second, by Rustam ^k\\, Bijnori, in his Urdu History of the Rohelas," written about 1803, fol. 28«. Nizam-ud- din ("Ishrat, Siyalkuti) in his JSadir-namah, fol. 50a, speaks of yaltang-posh as some sort of horse equipment. I have not been able to find out what this was. The list of stable requisites can be seen in Jjn, i, 136.

CHAPTER VIII.

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, "SHORT" ARMS.

The cavalry seem to have carried a great variety of arms. The most relied on were those they styled the kotah-yaraq or short arms, that is, those used at close quarters, corres- ponding to the European "arme blanche." Probably the kotah silah of Budaoni, i, 460, (Ranking, 593) has the same meaning, and not as Ranking suggests that of a defi- ciency or shortness of weapons. These short arms may be ranged into five classes ([) Swords and shields, (TI) Maces, (III) Battle Axes, (IV) Spears, (V) Daggers. Weapons for more distant attack were (A) the bow {Kaman) and arrow {Tlr) (B) the Matchlock {handuq or tufang) and (C) the Pistol. Rockets were also used, but they were in charge of the artillery {topkhanah) and will come under that head.

Out of the wealth of weapons, a description of which follows, it is not to be supposed that the whole were carried by any man at one time; but a great number were so carried, and, in a large army, all of them were to be found in use by some one or other. The great number of weapons that a man carried is graphically depicted by Fitzclarence, in the case of a petty officer of the Nizam's service, who commanded his escort {Journal, J 34). "Two very handsome horses with superb caparisons belong to this jamadar, who is himself dressed in a vest of green English broad cloth ^ laced with gold, and very rich em- broidered belts. A shield of buffalo hide with gilt bosses

^ By Indian writers of the IS^-^ century broad cloth of all colours is called sqarlat, Jd^^^, i. e. scarlet.

74 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

is hung over his back. His arms are two swords and a dagger, a brace of English pistols, and he has his match- lock carried before him by a servant." The following satirical description from Moor's Narrative, 98, also shows what a number of different weapons would sometimes be carried. Many of the sardars" (i. e. of the Nizam's army in 1791) "were in armour, and none of them deficient in weapons of war, both offensive and defensive. Two swords, a brace to half a dozen pistols, a spear, a crees, and matchlock- carbine constituted the moving arsenal of most of them. One man was mounted upon a tall, thin, skeleton of a horse, from whose shoulders and flanks depended, as a barricading, twenty or thirty weather-beaten cows' tails: two huge pistols appeared in his capacious holsters, while one of still larger dimensions, placed horizontally upon the horse's neck and pointed towards his ears, which were uncommonly long, dreadfully menaced the assailants in front. His flanks and rear were provided with a similar establishment of artillery of diflPerent sizes and calibres; one piece was suspended on each side of the crupper of the saddle, and a third centrically situated and levelled point

blank at the poor animal's tail The rest of his

armament consisted of a couple of sabres, a spear, a match- lock and shield He wore besides a rusty coat of

mail from the lower part of which a large red quilted jacket made its appearance." The variety of weapons is again dwelt on with great effect in Wilks, iii, 135, "no national or private collection of ancient armour contains a weapon or article of equipment which might not be traced in this motley crowd" i.e. Nizam ^Ali Khan's cavalry in 1791.

1. Swords.

As to the mode of carrying the sword, Mtzclarence,e7o?/r;2<3'/, 69, describing some irregular horse in the Company's service (1817), says "they have a sort of foppery with

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, "SHORT" ARMS. 75

respect to their sword-belts, which are in general very broad and handsomely embroidered; and, though on horse- back, they wear them over the shoulder." But the sword was not always carried in a belt hung from the shoulder. On plate 8 in B.M. Or. 375 (Rieu, 785), A'zam Shah carries his sword by three straps hanging from a waist-belt. The generic name of a sword was tegh (Arabic), shamsher (Persian) or tahcar (Hindi). The Arabic word saif was also used occasionally. One kind of shortsword was called the mmchah'Shamsher (Steingass 1445), It was the weapon carried by Ibrahim Quli Khan in 1187 h. (1725), when he made his attack on Hamid Khan at the governor's palace in Ahmadabad (Gujarat), Mirat-i-JI/madl, fol. ll^a. It is also to be found in the Akharnamah, Lucknow edition, ii, 225, second line. I have not seen in Indian works the word palaraJc used for a sword in Mujiail-ut-tanhh had Nadinyah, p. 110, line 3.

Names of the various parts are (B.M. N^ 6599 fol. 84a), teghah, blade, nabali, furrows on blade, qahzah, hilt, ^ae- narelai^), sarnal or muhml and tahndl, metal mountings of scabbard, kamrsal (the belt?) ^ handtari^). The quality or temper of a blade was its ah (water) or jauhar (lustre). One name of the belt was hamajil (Steingass, 430, plural oi himalat); and Khair-ud-din, ^Ihratnamah, i, 91, uses the word thus, in repeating the speech of one Daler Khan and another man to Shah 'Alam (1173 h.), fidwl az loaqte kih sipar o shamsher ra hamajil kardah-em, gahe ha dushman-i-khud pusht na namudaE' -. "Since we hung from our shoulders sword and shield never have we shown an enemy our back." Another word that I have seen used for a sword-belt is kamr-i-khanjar, see Steingass 1049; also Budaoni, text, 441, Ranking 566.

Shamsher. This word when used with a more specific

1 This is described in Qanoonc Islam, app. XXYIII, as a belt worn by women, consisting of square metal tablets hinged together. I find it named in native authors as part of men's equipment.

76 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

meaning, was applied to the curved weapon familiar to us as the oriental sword, or as it is frequently called, the scimitar. It is purely a cutting weapon, as its shape and the small size of the grip sufficiently demonstrate.

Bhitp, There was a straight sword, adopted from the Dakhin, of which the name was dhUp', it had a broad blade, four feet long, and a cross hilt. It was considered an emblem of sovreignty and high dignity, and was therefore displayed on state occasions, being carried in a gorgeous velvet covering by a man who held it upright before his master. It also lay on the great man's pillow when he was seated in darbar, engaged in the transaction of public business. This kind of sword was conferred as a distinction upon successful soldiers, great nobles, or court favourites, {^Seir, i, 549, note 54; i, 551, note 55; ii, 95, note 80; iii, 172, note 39). The dhup was also spoken of as ^asa-shams/ier, i.e. stafF-sword {Danislmand Khan, 22^^ Rajab, 1120 h.). Instances of its being conferred are found in the same historian (221^^ Ramazan, 1119 h., twice, and 22^1^ Rajab 1120 h., once). Mr. Egerton, p. 117, N". 527, note, quotes from the Ajn-i-Akhan, ^'Dhoup, straight blade, used by most of the Deccanees." I am unable to verify the reference; I cannot find the passage in Vol. I, (translation), and the word is not in Mr. Blochmann's index. _Khanda. This weapon is N^ 2 of the list on p. 112, AJn, Vol. I; and from figure 2 on plate xii it would seem to be idential with the dhilp.

Siro/n, The Majasir-ul-Umara, iii, 152, tells us that these blades obtained their good repute from the work done with them in 1024 h. (1615), during a fight at Ajmer between Rajah Suraj Singh, Rathor, and his brother, Kishn Singh. Whoever was struck on the head by these Indian blades was cleft to the waist, or if the cut were on the body, he was divided into two parts." Egerton, 105, says this sword had "a slightly curved blade, shaped like that of Damascus." There is no specimen in the India Museum. Hendley,

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, "SHORT" ARMS. 77

"Memorials of the Jeypore Exhibition," 1883, Vol. TI, plate xxix, N^ 4, has a sword from the Alwar armoury, which he calls a Shikargah or Sirohl gnj bail{?). The blade appears slightly lighter and narrower than that of the ordinary talwar. Evidently the name is obtained from the place of manufacture, Sirohl in Rajputanah, of which "the sword blades are celebrated for their excellence now as formerly," Thornton, 874. The town is situated in Lat. 24° 59', Long. 72° 56', 360 miles S. W. of Agrah.

Patta. This is a narrow-bladed, straight rapier, and is to be seen now chiefly when twirled about vigorously by the performers in a Muharrara procession. It has a gauntlet hilt. The specimens in Egerton are N*\ 402, 403, 404 (p. 110), 515 (p. 117) 643 (p. 131). There are figures of N^ 403 and 404 on p. 104 of his catalogue.

Gu^il. In the Ajn, i, 110, this is N". 3, and was a straight sword having a walking stick as its sheath, the name being from H. gupt, concealed. See also figure 3 on plate xii of the same volume. Egerton's entries are N^. 516, 517, 518, 519 (p. 117), 641, 642 (p. 131). The head or handle in Blochmann's figure shows that the sword-stick and the fakir's crutch were closely allied in appearance, and might at times be united. The crutch is depicted in Egerton, p. 47, and again on plate xiii (opposite p. 126) N". 639 (p. 131), which is however only of dagger length. One of these crutches played a conspicuous part in the battle of Jajau in June 1707, A'zam Shah, one of the contenders for the throne, whirling his crutch frantically, as he stood up on his elephant to urge on his troops. Jonathan Scott, 11, part IV, 34, note 4, calls it "a short crooked staff", about three feet in length, not unlike a crozier, used by fakeers to lean on when they sit, and often by persons of rank as an emblem of humility."

Shields. Along with the sword naturally comes the shield, the two being almost as closely connected as the arrow and the bow. A shield (A. sipar, H. dhal) was inseparable

78 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

from the sword as part of the swordsman's equipment. Tt was carried on the left arm, or when out of use, slung over the shoulder. The shield appears at Nos 47 and 48 in the Ajn, i, HI, and is shown on plate xiii as Nos 40 and 41. They were of steel or hide, generally from 17 to 24 inches in diameter. If of steel, they were often highly ornamented with patterns in gold damascening; if of hide, they had on them silver or gold bosses, cres- cents, or stars. Egerton in a note to N^. 695 (p. 133) gives a description of two magnificent steel shields which once belonged to the emperor Bahadur Shah (1707 — 1712). The kinds of hide used were those of the Sambhar deer, the buffalo, the nilgau, the elephant, and the rhinoceros, the last being the most highly prized. Brahmans who objected to leather had shields made of forty or fifty folds of silk painted red and ornamented (Egerton, 111, note to N^ 484). More about shields can be seen in the same- work, pp. 47, 48, 49. The specimens in the Indian Museum are numerous, see Egerton pp. Ill, 118, 134, 139. The curious snake-skin {nagphanl) shield, N°. 365 (p. 103), is not a Moghul weapon.

Chirwah and TilwaJi. — According to the Ajii, Bloch- mann, i, 252, these were the shields carried by the Shamsher- baz, or gladiators, groups of whom always surrounded Akbar on the march, Akharnamah , (Lucknow edition), ii, 225, second line.

Fe7icing Shields. Following the dhal or shield the Ajn^ i. Ill, has N". 49, the kherah, ^^^^^ , but there is no figure of it. I presume that this is the same word as ^*)^i\girwah (Shaks.,

1695) or ^^^^ ganoah (Steingass, 1081), both meaning a shield. I can find no word khera/i in the dictionaries, but it might be ghera, q^, a round, a circle (Shakes. 1759), with allusion to the form of a shield. Again W. 50 Pahrl, (Jjn, i. 111) is described by Blochmann, p. xi, as a plain cane shield. It is shown as N^. 42 on plate xiii. This must evidently be Pharly grff, Hindi for a small shield of cane or bambu

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, "SHORT" ARMS. 79

(Shakes. 580). The quaint implement, maru or sinrjauta, made of a pair of antelope horns tipped with steel and united at tlie butt-ends, Egerton, p. Ill and p. \^'6 , ^ho i\\Q sainti (id. 118 and plate x), may be classed as parrying shields.

II. The Mace.

This formidable-looking weapon, the mace {gurz), usually formed part of the panoply of a Moghul warrior, at any rate if he were of any considerable rank. It appears as N". 25 in the A}7i list, i, 111, and varieties of it are entered under N^ 26 {sJiashhur) and N^. 29 {piyazi). Blochmann gives no figure of the latter, N°. 29, and from his remarks on p. x he seems a little doubtful as to what it was. The giirz is shown in figure 23, plate xii, of the A}n as a short-handled club with three large round balls at the end. Another kind, the shashbur, or lung-tearer \ figure 21, has a single head, of a round shape; and from Egerton, 23, plate i, N^ 35, I should suppose that it was made up of semi-circular, cutting blades arranged round a centre. Of the gurz, or mace proper, there are three examples in the Indian Museum. N". 466 (p. 115 and plate x) is 2 feet 7 inches long, with a many bladed double-head, that is one head above the other; N^. 574 (p. 123 and plate x) has a globular head of 3 inches in diameter and a shaft of steel gilt, length 2 feet 2 inches; N^ 616 (p. 130) is 2 feet 2 inches long and has a steel shaft with a six-bladed head. Other weapons of a similar kind named by Egerton are the Dhara, the Garguz and the Khmidh-F/iansl. The Dhara, W. 468 (p. 115), has a six bladed head and octagonal steel shaft; it is 2 feet long, and came from Kolhaptir. Of the garguz there are four specimens. Nos 373 and 374 (p. 108 and plate x) have eight-bladed heads and basket hilts, one is 2 feet 7 inches

^ Egerton, 21, says this weapon is mentioned by Babar, but I have been unable to find the passage in P. de Courteille's translation of the "Memoirs."

80 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

and the other 2 feet 8 inches long; N. 467 (p. 115) is 7-bladed with basket hilt, length 2 feet 4 inches; N^ 469 (p. 115) is eight-bladed with a similar hilt, length 2 feet 10 inches. The Khundll Phansl, N^ 470 (p. 115 and plate x), is 19 inches long, has a head of open scroll work, and is probably one of the BairagT crutches already referred to. Pliansi means a noose in Hindi, but 1 do not see the appropriateness of the name here, nor do 1 know what Khundll can mean.

The Flail (H. smit) is another weapon that may be classed with the Mace. These are two specimens in the Indian Museum, Egerton N^s 62, 63 (p. 78), and one is shown as N^. 24 on plate i opposite p. 23. 1 should also class among maces the Pusht-khar or back-scratcher, Ajn, i. 111, W. 41, made of steel in the shape of a hand. It is shown as N*^. 35 on plate xiii of Blochmann's volume. The same is the case with the Khar-i-main, or fishback- bone, of steel spikes projecting from each side of a straight handle, Ajn, i, 111, W. 41, and N^ 37, plate xiii. The Gujbag put among weapons in the Jjn, i, 111, N^. 46, and N^. 39, plate xiii, is only the common elephant goad or ankus,

111. The Battle Axe.

The battle-axe {tahar) will be found at N^ 28 of the Ajn, i. 111 and on plate xii, figure N°. 22. This figure shows a triangular blade with one broad cutting edge. When the head was pointed and provided with two cutting edges, the axe was called a Zaghnol, or crow's beak (id. N^. 30, and plate xii, ^g. 24). A double headed axe, with a broad blade on one side and a pointed one on the other side of the handle, was styled a Tahar zaghnol (id. N^ 32, and plate xii, fig. 26). An axe with a longer handle, called Tarangalah, was also in use (id. N^. 33 and plate xii, fig. 27, see also Egerton plate i, N^. 22).

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, SHORT" ARMS. 81

Of the Tabar there are seven entries 375, 876, 377 (p. ]08), 7]], 712, 713 (p. 137) and 746 (p. 144). There is a figure of N". 376 on plate x opposite p. 114. The shafts of these range from 17 inches to 23 inches in length; the heads measuring from 5 to 6 inches one way and 3 to 5 inches the other way. Some of the heads are crescent shaped, and one of the shafts is hollowed and contains daggers. I omit Egerton's Parma (p. 7) and Venmuroo (N^. 89, 90) as not being Moghul weapons. There is also a weapon styled Basolah, N^. 31 of the Ajn list, i. 111. The name sounds as if it were derived from the Hindi basula, a carpenter's adze, but the figure, N^. 25, plate xii, looks more like a chisel than any other tool.

Silver axes highly ornamented were carried for display by the attendants in the hall of audience (Egerton, note to W. 375, p. 108). These attendants were the Yasawal, and Anand Ram calls the axes they carried Chamchaq {Mirat-ul-lstilah, fol, 193^). Besides this form of the word, we find also Chamkhaq, Ghakhmaq, Chak//magh, Steingass, 388, 399, "a battle~axe fastened to the^saddle."

IV. Spears.

The usual generic name used for spears of all kinds was the Arabic word sinan, pi. asnan, Steingass, 60, 698. The head or point was called sunain^ Mirat-i-AI/madi \l^a, Steingass, 704; and the butt was the hunain, Steingass, id. There were several varieties of this class of weapon. The cavalry, however, seem to have confined themselves to the use of the lance {nezaJt), and the other kinds were used by foot soldiers and the guards surrounding the emperor's audience hall. There is also some evidence for the use, at any rate among the Mahrattas, of a javelin or short spear, which was thrown (Journal As. Soc. Bengal, XLVlll, 1879, p. 101). The kinds of spear mentioned in the Ajn-i-Akbari, i, 112, are five the Nezah, N^ 20, Barch/iah, W. 2J, Sank, N^ 22, Sainthl, N^. 23, and Selarah, N^ 24.

82 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Nezah. This is the cavalry lance, a small steel head with a long bainbu shaft. Steingass, 1442, has Nezah a short spear, demi-lance, javelin, dart, pike." But this is not borne out by the usage of Indian writers, who by this word intend a long-shafted spear. It appears in the Ajn, i. 111, as N^ 20, and is shown at N^ 16 of plate xii. Bhala I take to be only the Hindi equivalent for Nezah. Shakespear, 386, says Bhcda is from Sanskrit ;t^^, a spear about 7 cubits or IOV2 feet long, a lance with a narrow head. Including Nezah, Bhala and spears (unclassed), I find nine entries in W. Egerton, vizt. 463 (p. 115) 606, 607, 608, 609, 610, 611, 612 two (p. 130). Of these one has a small head and long bambu shaft; another a palmwood shaft and small triangular head; four have bambu shafts 12 to 15 feet in length, with heavy bossed butts and small heads; N^ 611, length 8 feet, head 16 inches; N^ 612 (two), length 9 feet and 9 feet 3 inches, head 21 inches.

The nezah or lance was so prominent a part of the Mahratta equipment that one writer Mhd Qasim, Auran- gabadi, {Ahwal-ul-Khawaqln, fol. 20 Iff and elsewhere) instead of the usual accursed enemy" {ghanm-i-laim) calls them nezah-bazan, *'lance-wielders." He thus describes, fol. 2056, their mode of using the lance: They so use it that no cavalry can cope with them. Some 20,000 to 30,000 lances are held up against their enemy, so close together as not to leave a span between their heads. If horsemen try to ride them down, the points of the spears are levelled at the assailants and they are unhorsed. While the cavalry are charging them, they strike their lances against each other, and the noise so frightens the horses, that they turn round and bolt."

As to the usual mode of wielding the spear, we see in a picture of a battle, inserted between fol. 14/; and fol. 15«  of B.M., Or: 3610 (Rieu, Supp. p. 54, W, 79) showing an attack on the elephant of Raff-ush-shan, that the man on horseback ("Abd-us-saraad Khan) who is attacking the prince,

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; 1, SHORT" ARMS. S3

held his spear uplifted above his head at the full length of his arm. In other pictures the same attitude is seen in the case of horsemen attacking horsemen.

Barchhah. This is a Hindi word, also spelt Barchlia and Barchhl. W. Egerton, note to N". 401, p. 115, quoting Tod's "Rajasthan," says the Mahratta lance is called "Birchha." This statement taken literally may be true; it is false, if taken as suggesting that the Barchhah is an exclusively Mahratta arm. We find the Barchhah in the Jjn list of Moghul arms, drawn up long before the Mah- rattas had been heard of as a military power. It is a well known word and weapon all over Northern India, hundreds of miles from the Mahratta country. We have it figured as N*^. 17 of plate xii of the Aj?i (vol. I). Its distinctive feature is its being made wholly of iron or steel, shaft as well as head. See also Egerton's description, p. 123, note preceding N^. 574, of two specimens in the Codrington collection. This heavy spear could hardly have been wielded by a man on horse-back, and was no doubt confined to the infantry.

Sank. This form of the word is Blochmann's translite- ration, Ajn, i, 110, N*^. 22. According to present day pronunciation it would be Sang. The second mark over the letter kaf is very often omitted by scribes, and thus t^ might easily stand for ^. Sang, (Shakes. 1239) is from the Sanskrit ^ or ^rm, shanku, shakli. It was entirely of iron, but according to the figure in the Ajn, i, plate xii, fig. 18, it was much shorter than the Barchhah. On the other hand, those in the Indian Museum are 7 feet 11 inches in total length, of which the head occupies 2 feet 6 inches. They have long, slender, four-sided or three-sided heads, steel shafts, and the grip covered with velvet, (Egerton, N^. 72, p. 81, and figure on p. 79), N^. 461, two, (p. 115).

The Indian name for the modern bayonet is sangln. This may probably mean a little sang; and is possibly formed from sang by a shortening of the vowel and the

84 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS,

addition of the diminutive termination ^5 nasalized. The long, slender, three sided or four sided head of the sang presents a resemblance to the shape of a bayonet; and in .Hindi it is not uncommon, in the case of inanimate objects, to employ the feminine termination ?" as a diminutive, thus gold, a ball, goli, a bullet, ha7ida a cauldron, hdndl, a small pot, cJiakkd a wheel, chakkl, a hand-mill.

Saintlil. This is a Hindi word, also spelt saintl. Shakes- pear, 1370, defines it as a dart, javelin, short spear, bolt. It is N°. 23 in the Ajn, i, 111, and appears as N^. 19 on plate xii. The shaft is still shorter than that of the sang. It is not given in Egerton. Has the name any con- nection with sentM, Hindi for a kind of reed?

&elarah This is W, 24 of the Ayn list, i, 111, and it is figured on plate xii (N^ 20) as a spear with a head and shaft longer than those of the sarnthl but not so long as those of the sang. There is no mention of it in Egerton, and outside the Ajn I have never either seen the weapon or come across the word. Possibly the word has some connection with the Hindi sel, ^t:^, a spear, said to be (Shakes. 1368) from Sanskrit ^s^^.

Other kinds of spears. Four names, Ballam, Pandl-ballam, Panjmukh, and Lange occur in Egerton as kinds of spears, though omitted from the Ajn.

The Ballam is well-known in moderm Hindi, and is defined. Shakes. 354, as a spear, pike, lance. Egerton has two specimens, N^s 27 and 28 (p. 78), which are described as having barbed heads and wooden shafts, total length 5 feet 11 inches, of which the blade takes up 18 inches. On p. 123, quoting from the Codrington catalogue, Mr. Egerton says the Ballam is a short spear with broad head, used by infantry.

Payidi-hallam (Egerton N*^. 29, p. 78) is a hog-spear with leafshaped blade, and bambu shaft, total length 8 feet 3 inches (blade 2 feet 3 inches).

Panjmukh is described on p. 137 in a note to N". 710,

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; T, "SHORT" ARMS. 85

on the authority of the Codrington catalogue, as a "five- headed spear used by the people of Guzerat." The derivation is, of course, panj, five, mukh, head.

Lange is mentioned on p. 1:28 in a quotation from the Codrington catalogue, and it is suggested that the word is a corruption of "lance." It has a four-cornered iron head with a hollow shaft.

Other designations for a spear are also to be found in Shakespear, vizt. :

Garhiya, (col. 1705), Pike, javelin, spear;

^Jlam, (1458), Spear (properly a standard or banner);

Ko7it, (1637) spear from Sans. ^;^7\.

"^Alam I have heard used, but I never met with the two other words. To complete the long list I may as well add the sort of bill-hook or pole-axe, ganclasa, a steel chopper attached to a long pole, which is the weapon of the modern cliaukidar or village watchman.

V. Daggers and Knives.

These were of various shapes and kinds, for each ot which there was a separate name.

Kafar, hatarah, Jcatcm, This is a Hindi word, kattar (Shak., 1556), probably from the same root as the verb Jcatna, to cut. The translator of the Seir (i, 549, note 53) thus describes it, "A poignard peculiar to India made with a hilt, whose two branches extend along the arm, so as to shelter the hand and part of the arm. The blade is very thick with two cutting edges, having a breadth of three inches at the hilt and a solid point of about one inch in breadth. The blade cannot be bent and is so stiff that nothing will stop it but a cuirass. The total length is 2 to 22- feet, one half of this being the blade." The hilt has at right angles to the blade a cross-bar by which the weapon is grasped, and it is thus only available for a forward thrust. It is named in the Aj7i, i, 112, being N". 10, and it is fig. 9 on plate xii. There the blade is slightly

86 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

curved; Mustapha's description corresponds perhaps more nearly to Hg. 4 of the same plate, the jamdhar. There are about twenty five specimens entered in Egerton (pp. 102, 109, 116, 131) and five of these are shown on plates ix, X (two) and xiii (two). The blades are of various patterns, and the length varies from 9 to 175 inches. One W. 340 is forked or two-bladed. Yule, "Glossary" 815, refers to two from Travancore which had blades of 20 and 26 inches. Others of great length are described by Mr. Walhouse in the "Indian Antiquary," vii, 193. The Bank is called in Egerton, W. 335, p. 102, the B. katari, but the figure on plate ix shows it as being like a knife and without the handle characteristic of the katar. Stavorinus, quoted by Yule, "Glossary," 816, speaks of a dagger, the name of which he translates as hellt/ piercer. No one seems to know^ what Indian word was intended unless it were the kaffar, which may be translated the "cutter" {quasi, "piercer").

Jamdhar. This is W. 4 in the Ajn, i, 112, and figure N*^. 4 in plate xii. This figure has the same handle as a kattar\ but the blade is very broad and straight, while the katfar is given a curved blade. On the contrary Mr. Egerton, p. 102, and plate ix, Nos 344 and 345, shows the jamdhar katarl with a straight blade and a handle to be held like one holds a table-knife or a sword. The etymology of the word as given by J. Shakespear, 1790, is jam, from the Sanskrit ?ft, death, and dhar, from ^jv{, a sharp edge. But see also Yule, "Glossary", 358, under "Jumdud" {jamdad).

Khanjar. We are told by Steingass, 476, that this is A., for dagger, poinard. There are eight specimens in the Indian Museum, Egerton, 502 to 506 (p. 116), 626, 627«, 627 (p. 131): two are shown on plate x (opp. p. 114). Most of these have doubly-curved blades, and are about 12 inches long. The Khanjar is N^ 5 in the Ajn, i, 110; and on plate xii, N'-. 5, it is shown as a bent dagger with a double curve in the blade and a hilt like a sword.

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, "SHORT" ARMS. 87

Figures N^s 5 and 7 on W. P]gerton's plate vi (opp. p. 53) appear to be Khanjar. Mustapha, Seir, i, 152, note 114, says that "the Khanjar is a poinard, with a bent blade, peculiar to the Turks, who carry it upright and on the right side; but it is occasionally worn by both Persians and Indians, the latter wearing it on the left side and inclined." Our word "hanger" is derived from Khanjar (Yule and Burnell, 312). Then we have the

Jamkhrd-, Ajn, i, 110, N^ 7, plate xii, N". 7. If it were not for the middle letter Mf ^, 1 would have sug- gested that this word was a misreading for chamkhakh ^Lj5:w5^, a battle axe (Steingass, 389), see ante, under iii. Battle Axes. The figure in the Ajn shows a dagger and not an axe. — Could it be intended for Chaqchaq, a kind of knife?

Jhambwah, Ajn, i, 110, W. 9, plate xii N'*. 9 and Egerton 106 (p. 82), 486—9 (p. 116), 798—9 (p. 145). He also gives figures on plate i, N^. 29 (p, 23) and fig. 17 on p. 79. The Jamhwah is also mentioned by him on p. 124 in a note to W. 581. Steingass, 373, only gives jamhiyah, "a kind of arms or armour." Shakespear, 789, has "a dagger." There are also some interesting remarks by Yule, ^'Glossary", 357, under ^'Jumbeea." He inclines to a derivation from janh. A., the side.

Bank, Ajn, i, 110, N^ 8, and figure N^ 7, plate xii; Egerton, Nos 480—1 (p. 115), and note to N^ 581 (p. 124), figure 31 on his plate i, (opp. p. 23). The name evidently comes from its curved shape (^tcft, a curvature, a bend, Shakes. 275^).

Nar Singh moth, Ajn i, 110, W. 11 and figure 11, plate xii; Egerton, fig. W\ 30 on plate i (opp. p. 23).

All four of these weapons seem of the same class as the Khanjar, though varying slightly in form. The same may be said of the Bichhiva and the Khapwah. Bichhica, literally "scorpion", had a wavy blade. It is mentioned by Egerton, 27, and there are specimens in the India Museum, No«490 — 8

88 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

(p. 116), 628 (p. 131), and plate x (opp. p. 114). The Khapiva/i, N". 6 in the Ajn, i, 110, must have been some sort of dagger; there is no figure of it on plate xii, but Egerton's plate i, N". 28, shows it as almost identical with the jambwah. May it not mean the finisher, the giver of the coup de graced' from the h. verb khapna, to fill up, to complete, as in the phrase, den khap-gya the debt has been liquidated?" The Persian word is dashnah (Steingass, 527). In some manuscripts of the Akbarnamah (near the end of the 1 7^^ year), it is said, as Mr. H. Beveridge has pointed out to me, that Akbar when drunk ran after Shahbaz Khan of Malwah, and tried to strike him "^\i\iQ. dashnah, called in Hindi a khapwaK\ because he refused to sing.

Peshqabz. The word is from P. pesh, front, qabz, grip. It was a pointed one-edged dagger, having generally a thick straight back to the blade, and a straight handle without a guard; though at times the blade was curved, or even double-curved. The Peshkabz is not in the Ajni, 110 — 112, so I presume that it was included under one of the other kinds of dagger, perhaps under kard, a knife, N°. 34 and fig. 28, Plate xii. In Egerton I find twenty three examples : 346 (p. 102), 381 (p. 108), 382 (p. 109), 484—5 (p. 116), 617—625 (p. 130), 717—724 (p. 138), 760 (p. 144). Of these there are 7 straight, 4 curved, and 2 double-curved blades; the shape of the rest is not stated. On plate xiv (opp. p. 136) he shows four, and on plate xv (opp. p. 140) one of these specimens. Some of the hilts have guards to them, others have none. N°. 624 is like the Ixhanjar in the Ayn, fig. 6, plate xii; W, 721 something like the jambhivah, fig. 8, same plate, and the others, N^s 712, 720, 760, more like the kard, or knife, fig. 28, same plate.

Kard. This was like a butcher's knife and kept in a sheath. It was more especially the weapon of the Afghan. For an example, see Egerton N^ 750 (p. 144) and the figure on plate xv, where the total length is 2 feet 6 inches, and that of the blade alone 2 feet. This was the sort of

EQUIPMENT. — (b) OFFENSIVE ARMS; I, SHORT" ARMS. 89

weapon with which, on the 8^^ October 1720, Mir Haidar Beg, Diighlat, assassinated Sayyad Husain 'All Khan, Mir BakhshT, in the emperor's camp between Fathpur Sikri and Amber (Jaipur), Mhd Qasim, LahorT, ^Ibratnamah, 1.0. L. N'\ 252, fol. 348. The author of the Jou/iar-i'Sammtn, fol. 138/^, calls the weapon then used a chaqchaql'i-ioilayatt. This word is related to yL:=-, a knife, (Steingass, 386, from Turkish). We have also in the Ajn, i, 111, i\\Q giipti-kard, or knife concealed in a stick (N°. 35, and plate xiii, W. 29), the whip-shaped knife, qamchl-kard (N*^. 36 and plate xiii, N*^. 30), and the clasp-knife or chaqu (N^. 37 and plate xiii, W\ 31).

Sailclbah-i'Qalmaqt was the name for the knife used by the men from Kashghar; it was as long as a sword, had a handle made of a fish-bone called sher-maM (lion-fish), and was worn slung from a shoulder belt, Ashob, fol. 172^, 1785.

CHAPTER IX.

EQUIPMENT. — (C) OFEENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES.

I exclude from tins heading what is generally classed as artillery, weapons of attack which were not carried by the individual soldier nor discharged by him without assistance. The three kinds of weapon included are I, Bows and arrows; II, Matchlocks; III, Pistols. Of these the first was without comparison the favourite weapon, the cavalry nearly all carried it, and the Moghul horsemen were famed for their archery. It was feigned that the Bow and arrow were brought down straight from Heaven, and given to Adam by the archangel Gabriel. Weapons were estimated in the following order. The sword was better than the dagger, the spear better than the sword, the bow and arrow better than the spear, {Risalah-i-i'ir o hayitan).

The use of the bow persisted throughout the 18**1 century, in spite of fire-arms having become more common, better made, and their handling better understood. Nay, somewhat to our astonishment, we read in W. Forbes Mitchell's Reminis- cences of the Great Mutiny," p. 76, that he saw the bow used by the rebels at the second relief of Lakhnau in Nov. 1857. In the force defending the Shah Najaf, in addition to the regular army, there was a large body of archers on the walls, armed with bows and arrows, which they discharged with great force and precision, and on a serjeant of the 93>^d raising his head above a wall, an arrow was shot right through his feather bonnet. One man raising his head for an instant above the wall got an arrow right through his brain, the shaft projecting more than a foot

EQUIPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 91

out at the back of his head. In revenge the men gave a volley. One unfortunate man exposed himself a little too long and before he could get down into shelter again, an arrow was sent right through his heart, passing clean through his body and falling on the ground a fe^v yards behind him. He leaped about six feet into the air, and fell stone-dead."

One would have thought this to be the last occasion on which the bow was used in serious fighting by any but the merest savages. But Mrs. Bishop, writing from Chefoo on the 18th Oct. 1894 (St. James' Gazette, Dec. l^t 1894), speaks of meeting large numbers of carts loaded with new bows and arrows, Avith which to equip the Banner men of the capital (Pekin)." And this in the days of Krupp and Maxim guns!

The Matchlock, a cumbrous and probably ineffective weapon, was left mainly for the infantry. Pistols sesm to have been rareties.

I. Bows.

The Moghul bowmen were considered to be especially expert with their weapon ; as Bernier says, 48, "a horseman shooting six times before a musketeer can fire twice." The word ogc/il quoted by Horn, 108, from the Akharnamah, is hardly to be found in the later writers, those of the 18^^ century; an archer is styled by them a Tlr-andaz (literally, arrow-thrower), not oqchi ^ But that word is used by Anand Ram once in reference to Ahmad Abdali's first invasion in 1161 h. (I.O.L. W\ 1612, fol. 705), though there the scribe has spelt it auncld. Shakespear, 219, has what he classes as a Hind! word, opcin, defined as A man armed with weapons or clothed in mail." May this not be a corruption of oqchi^ an archer? This word, opchi, is used by Shridhar Murlidhar in his poem on FarrukhsTyar, line 594, (Journal A.S.B. (1900) Vol. LXIX, i, 14, 39):

• Pavet de Courteille, Diet., 68, v_i'i' , an arrow.

92 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Pile opc/d topchl topo ghanere.

"Gathered archers, gunners, guns, without end." Of course, this may be simply the reduplication, so common in Indian vernaculars, such as k liana- wdna^ food, panl'ioanl^ water. Mild Qasim, Aurangabadi, Ahwal-uUkhaioaqln, 28 8^^, and a rather later writer, Khair-ud-din (c. 1208 h.), ^Ihratnamah, 105, have kamandar (bow-holder) for archer.

CharkL In the Ja/ian kusliae Nadirl of Mirza Mahdi, p. 233, (year 1151 h.) we have a reference to the C//«r^7/c^i- bas/n, or head of the charkh men. W". Jones, "Nader Chah", ii, ^^, renders this by "maitre de I'artillerie", and is followed by the German translator, 293. Steingass has neither charkhchi nor charkhchi-bashl. Charkh has many meanings: among them being "a wheel," "a cart," "a crossbow." Here I suppose we ought to render charkh by "cross-bow", and not by "artillery." Charkhchi is to be found in the Muj?nil-ut-tariM ba^d Nadiriyah, p. 95, line 13.

Kaman. The Moghul bow {kaman) was about 4 feet long, and generally shaped in a double curve. The bow was of horn, wood, bambu, ivory, and sometimes of steel (Egerton, 81, note to N^ 80). Two of these steel bows, in the Emperor of Russia's collection at Zarkoe Selo, belonged to the emperor, Bahadur Shah (1708 — 1712); they bear verses in his honour and are covered with rich gold damascened work (Egerton, 114, note to W. 457). The grip was generally covered with velvet. Mr. Egerton, 144, describes the Persian bow in detail, and the same description applies, there can be little doubt, to the bows used in India, for there they copied everything Persian, and in fact many of the principal officers were themselves Persians.

Mr. Egerton says "the concave side of the bow (the convex when strung) was lined with several strings of thick catgut to give it elasticity and force. The belly is made of buffalo or wild goats' horn, jet black and of a

EaUIPMENT. — (C) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 93

fine polish ; glued to this is a thin slip of hard, tough wood. The ends are fashioned to represent snakes' heads. The horn is left plain, while the wooden back is decorated with rich arabesques of birds, flowers or fruit intermingled with gilding." Captain Thomas Williamson, Oriental Field Sports", 87, describes thus the construction of the Indian bows kept for show or amusement, and also carried by travellers. They were of buffalo horn in two pieces curved exactly alike, each having a wooden tip for the receipt of the string; their other ends were brought together and fastened to a strong piece of wood that served as a centre and was gripped by the left hand. After being neatly fitted, they were covered with a size made of animal fibres, after which very fine tow was wrapped round, laid on thin and smooth. They were then painted and varnished.

The notch. The notches at the ends into which the string was fixed were called goshah (Steingass, 1104), literally "corner," also sufar {Dastur ul Insha, 228, Steingass 709). The latter word is used in Ahioal-ul-hhawaqln (c. 1147 h.), foL 12«. ~"

The string. This was called either zih or chillah, Hindi names are roda^, Shak., 1195, catgut, a sinew used as a bow-string, and panach or panchak (id. 552, 553). Bow strings were made of strong threads of white silk laid together until of the thickness of a goose quill. Whipping of the same material was then bound firmly round for a length of three or four inches at the centre, and to this middle piece large loops of scarlet or other colour were attached by a curious knot. These gaudy loops formed a striking contrast to the white silk (Egerton, 144). Captain Williamson, on the contrary, says, p. 87, that the string was composed of numerous thin catguts laid together without twirling, then lapped with silk in the middle and at the ends.

The finger stall. This was called zihgir (Steingass 631),

1 Roda.^ a bow string, is in Steingass, 592. Is it Persian or Hindi or both ?

94 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

bow-string holder, or shast (id. 743). It was also styled Shast-awez (Anand Ram, Mirat-ul-Isiilah, fol, 155/^, 182a). Of this last the etymology would be shast, the thumb, awez, attached or fastened to, that is, a thumb-stall. Bloch- mann, Aj7i, i. 111, N^ 42, and note 3, says the shast- dioez was a weapon resembling the girih-kusha, N^. 43, that is, a kind of spear. He has no figure of it. May he not have been mistaken, and is not Anand Ram's direct assertion to be preferred?

The bowman drew with his thumb only, the bent fore- finger being merely pressed on one side of the arrow nock to secure it from falling, or as Dr. Weissenberg (quoting V. Luschau) says, p. 52, the forefinger was pressed on the nail of the thumb to strengthen the pull without increasing the exertion. To prevent the flesh being torn by the bow string the zihgir had been invented (Egerton, 114). It was a broad ring, and according to a man's rank and means was of precious stone, crystal, jade, ivory, horn, fishbone, gold or iron. A very valuable zihgir^ part of the Labor booty, one that had belonged to Lord Dalhousie, is described in the "Daily Telegraph" of the W^ November 1898. It was formed of a single emerald and was 21 inches across at the widest part and U inches in depth. It bore an inscription which is thus translated : "For a bow ring for the King of Kings, Nadir, Lord of the Conjunction, from the Jewel House it was selected, 1152" (=A.D. 1739). From the date and the wording of this inscription it is to be inferred that it was part of the spoil carried ofi" from Dihli. How it found its way back to Labor we do not know. Sometimes two thimbles were worn instead of a zihgir, on the first and second fingers of the right hand. Upon the inside of this ring (the zihgir), which projected half an inch, the string rested when the bow w^as drawn; on the outside the ring was only half the breadth, and in loosing the arrow the archer straightened his thumb, which set the arrow free. (Egerton, 114, Q^wQ\Jmg\k\.Q Booh of Archery ,

EQUIPMENT. — (C) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 95

136). By the use of the ring the distance to which an arrow could be shot was increased. But its use required skill and practice; the Hindus used instead a thumbstall of leather {Mirrd-ul-Istilal/^ fol. 155^). These rings with a spare string were usually carried in a small box suspended at the man's side (Egerton, 114). Dr. S. Weissenberg, of Elisabethgrad, Russia, has devoted an article to these rings in the Miltheilmigen der anihrojjologischen Gesellschaft in Wien, Band XXV (1895) pp. 50 — 56, where he gives figures of eight of them. He divides them into two classes 1) cylindrical, 2) with tongue-like projection. Those des- cribed by him are of bone or stone, and six out of thirteen were found in the ruins of Sarae, a former capital of the Qipchaq. See also a thumb ring of ivory (now in the Nuremberg museum) figured on the plate at p. 887 of A. Demmin, '-'Die KriegswafFen", 4th ed., 1893.

Takhsh kaman. This is N*^. 13 of the AJn i, 110, and it is described by Blochmann, p. v, as a small bow. It is shown in figure N^ 12 of plate xii. Steingass, 288, defines takhh as a cross-bow, an arrow, a rocket.

Kaman-i-gurohah. This was a pellet-bow, identical, I presume, with the modern gulel, with which boys scare birds from the ripening crops. It is N°. 38 in the Ajn i, 111 and appears as N^ 32 of plate xiii. Steingass, 1085, has for guroha, a ball or spherical figure.

Gob/tan. The sling, Ajn i. 111, N*^. 45 and plate xiii, N°. 38, may as well be included here. The form in Shakespear 1727, is gophan. Khafi Khan, ii, 656, uses the word sang-i-falakhnn for the slings brought by the villagers who assembled in 1710 to aid in the defence of Jalalabad town against the Sikhs led by Bandah. Steingass, 936, has ^i>bl5 , ^Li>^5 , (iC;.^bi5, falakhan^falakhan, falasang, a sling.

Kamthah, kamanth. This is the long bow of the Bhlls. We find it named in the Ajn list, i. 111, as W. 39 under the first form; the second is that used by Anand Ram, Mukhlis, Mirat'ul'IstilaU, fol. 184^. Blochmann, p. x, in

96 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

describing fig. 33 of his plate xiii confounds the kamfha with the Kaman-i-guroha or pellet bow. I think this must be wrong. Steingass, 1051, has a word kamnait, an archer, which he thinks might be from P. kaman, ho^, plus Sanskrit, netd, owner. The word might, with more probability, be connected with the above words kamfha or kamant//, just as dhalait, a man with a shield, comes from dhal, a shield; or gorait, a watchman, from agorna, to watch. According to Shakespear, 2258, kamtha is Hindi for abowofbambu.

The Bhils held the bow by the foot, drawing the string {chillah) with the hand, and shooting so strongly that their arrows could penetrate an elephants' hide. W. Egerton, 75, quoting Tod's Rajpoot Tribes" (a reference which I have failed in verifying) says the principal weapon of the Bhils was the kamptl or bambu bow, with a string made of a thin strip of the elastic bark of the bambu. In their quiver were sixty barbed arrows each a yard long, those intended for striking fish having heads Avhich came off the shaft on striking the fish. A long line connected this head and the shaft, so that the shaft remained on the water by way of a float.

Nawak. This was a pipe through which an arrow was shot. As I understand it, this was either a cross-bow, or formed in some way a part of the ordinary bow. It was not, I think, a mere blow-pipe, like those used by the Malays for their poisoned arrows, as mentioned by Egerton, 97, 98, Nos 263—268. Those specimens of the pipe are 6 feet 6 inches to 7 feet 6 inches long, and the arrows used with them 12 inches long. The nawak is N^. 14 of the A}7i list, i, 110, but there is no figure of it. The weapon was known at Farrukhabad in the IS^li century (Journal A. S. B., XLVII, 33lT Steingass 1382, has 7ido, a trough, a pipe, and ndwak^ dim. of nao, a small arrow, an arrow for shooting birds, with notch on side; a tube through which an arrow is projected ; a cross-bow ; a reed or anything hollow.

EQUIPMENT. — (C) OPEENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 97

Tufak-i-dahan. The Ajn has also a blow-pipe, which it calls tufak-i-dahan (lit. mouth- tube), N". 40, i, iii and N^. 34, plate xiii. Steingass, 314, defines this as a tube for shooting clay balls through by force of the breath.

Arrows. The arrow {tir) is given at N". 15 of the list in the Ajn i, 110, and it is shown as fig. 14« on plate xii. iVnother name, siharn is found in the Mirat-i-A/madl, fol, 178«; it is the plural of sahm, an arrow, Steingass, 710; see also Lane, Lexicon," 1454, sa/iamahu, iii. Captain Williamson, Oriental Field Sports," 87, says that in Bengal there were two kinds of arrow shafts, the common kind made of reeds, and those used against tigers, made of wood. To the first kind the heads were attached by resin; in the second kind, a hole was bored and the head while red-hot was forced into it. Some arrows in the India Museum are 2 feet 4 inches long (Egerton 130, N*'. 604). One as long as 6 feet, obtained at Lakhnau in 1857, must have been used with a large bow. The names of the parts of an arrow were for the shaft ^ P. kilk, lit. reed, Hindi, sari (Shakes. 1285, also the name of a kind of reed); for the head, P. paikan, H. bhal; for the feathers, P. par. The feathers were frequently black and white mixed {ablaq). Ordinarily the head was of steel, but the Bhils used arrow- heads of bone.

Takah, Tukkah. — This was the name of an arrow without a head. One was said to have been fired in anger by A'zam Shah at his principal general, Zu'lfiqar Khan, at Jajau "on the 18^^ June 1707, - Yaliya~Khan, fol 113^. Steingass, 819, explains the word as "an arrow without a point, but with a knot at the end."

In the 1 8^b century the kinds of arrows in use among the

1 In Budaoni (Printed Text, i, 418, 1. 3) there is an expression, katlhah- i-bash, which Blochmann marlied as doubtful in his copy (now in my possession), without suggesting any alternative; Ranking, 537, substitutes katah-i-bas, and translates "bamboo shaft." I cannot find katah in the dictionaries, Persian or Urdu, unless it be a form of cjTS" kath^ "wooden." If so, "wooden-bambu" seems an odd combination.

7

98 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGflULS.

Pathans of Farrukhabad (Journal A. S. B., XLVIl, 832) were 1) Lais, Shakes., 1809, twig, practising arrow, 2j qalandara,

3) kohar-tarash, ^) ghera, broad-headed, 5) nahtali, or perhaps na-katta, headless arrow, lit. non-cutting; compare Egerton, 137, note preceding W. 710, as to the blunt, heavy arrow used in Sind, 6) thuth, or perhaps better, thonth. Shakes. 743, H. for beak, bill, 7) ankrl-ddr, with a bent head, shaped like a saddle-maker's needle {ankrl, a hook), i. e. barbed. In his time (1780—1807) Captain Williamson, 87, found some very broad arrow heads in use in the west of Bengal, towards Bahar. There was one of crescent shape more than four inches across at the barbs. Though they did not penetrate easily, yet when they happened to graze a limb, they cut desperately. When discharged among bodies of troops they were found to do amazing mischief. The following names of arrows are found in DastUr-ul-Insha, 228, 1) g her ah, broad-headed, 2) do muhclnah, two pointed or barbed, 3) tarah-i-mah, fullmoon or circular head,

4) tarahri-halal, crescent shaped head, 5) tarali-i-badam , almond-shaped head, 6) tarah-i-toko? , 7) sih-bhalah, three- spear headed, i. e. trident-shaped, 8) tarah-i-khornl, 9) tarah-i-khar, thorn-shaped, 10) tarah-i- khaki, Shakes. 974, epithet of a kind of arrow, what kind he does not say. James Fraser, Nadir Shah, 143, note, thus describes the arrow used for practising at the earthen target described a little further on. "The arrows for this exercise have the iron part quite round, about four fingers long, of the size of the reed until near the point, where they are somewhat thicker, from which part they taper gradually to a sharp point. The length from the thickest part to the point is from a quarter to one inch."

Symbolical use of arrows. — The pagan Arabs used arrows in a game of chance, Hughes, "Diet, of Islam," p. 309, under Al maisir, >^iX^. Divining by arrows was forbidden by Muhammad, see Sale's "Preliminary Discourse", section v, and the Quran, v, where the wcrd used is

EQUIPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 99

zalmun (singular) azlama (plural), an unfeathered, unpointed arrow. The mode of procedure is set out in E. W. Lane's Lexicon, p. 1247, under zalamun, "he cut off", section viii. The practice, however, survived in spite of the prohibition ; and in 1544 we find Humayun getting into trouble with Shah Tahmasp on this account. He marked twelve of his best arrows with his own, and eleven inferior ones with Tahmasp's name-Erskine, "Baber and Humayun," ii, 289.

Shooting an arrow into the air is said by Portuguese writers to have been a recognized mode of declaring war in the Vijyanagar state and Malabar. The particular in- stance is of 1537 at Diu, where Bahadur of Gujarat ordered an arrow to be shot into the air as a declaration of war - White way, "Portuguese in India", 249, note 1, on the authority of Castanheda, ii, 16 (reprint of 1833) and Correa, iv, 708, "Lendas da India", 4 vols., 1858—61. I have not met with mention of this practice in any native author, and Major J. S. King informs me that he knows of none. Perhaps it was of Hindu origin.

At the same place Mr. Whiteway mentions the gift of an arrow from the King's quiver as a security for peace. The King's quiver was also used as a symbol of authority (Whiteway, he. cit.). The instance given is from the Mirat- i'8ika7idan, where Humayun in 1537 released Bahadur Shah's minstrel, and bound his own quiver round the man's loins. Clothed with this authority, every prisoner that the minstrel claimed as his relation was released (Bayley, "Gujarat", 389). Another instance of this practice is to be found in the TanJch-us-Sind of Muhammad Ma'sum, under the year 924 h. (1518), where Shah Beg, Arghun, gave an arrow to the qafi of Tattah (Malet, p. 80).

Quiver. The Persian name is tarkash-. but I have found the Arabic word jabah used once on fol. 59/5 of the Far- rukjmamah of Shekh Muhammad Mun'im, Ja'farabadi (4tii year of Farrukhsiyar). It was generally a flat case, broad at the mouth, one side straight and the other sloping to a

100 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

point, provided with a strap for carrying over the shoulder. This broad shape is due apparently to the fact that the quiver was used to hold the bow as well as the arrows, see plate xvii in B. M. Addl. 5254 (Rieu, 780), and the plate in Valentyn, opposite iv, S04. There must have been, however, separate bow-cases, qirhan, for they are named as well as the tarkash, or quiver, in Kamwar Khan's entry of the 21st Zu,l Qa'dah 1134 h. In the India Museum are five specimens, Egerton, Nos 367, 369 (p. 108), 460 (p. 115), 601, 602 (p. 130). Of these one is of an un- usual shape, namely, cylindrical. Common quivers were covered with leather, more costly ones with blue or red velvet, and these were often embroidered on one side in gold or silver. These covers sometimes were applied to strange uses. During Humayun's exile in Persia (1544), Shah Tahmasp folded up his carpet, so that no one could share any portion. Humayun would thus have been forced to sit on the bare ground, when one of his followers took off the ornamented cover of his quiver, tore it open and spread it as a seat for his master, Erskine, "Baber and Humayun", ii, 294. The quiver is N^ 16 of the Ajn list, i, 110, and it appears as figure N^ 15 on plate xii. One of a slightly diff'erent shape from the usual pattern is given in Egerton's plate i (p. 24), copied from that in Langles' Monuments." Here the quiver is the same width all the way down, having one side straight and the other shaped in two crescent-like curves.

The Leather Guard {Godhu). This is mentioned in Egerton, 114, and it was worn on the left arm. That is, I suppose, if the shooter were not in armour, and thus already pro- vided with a mailed glove and steel arm-piece. Hansard, "Book of xA.rchery", 137, speaks of one as a quilted half sleeve of common velvet or fine cloth, which protects the arm from being bruised by the chord in its return". The word godhu I have not been able to trace. Two Central Asian arm-guards, one of bone and one of iron, are figured

EQUIPMENT. (C) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 101

by Weissenberg, 1. c. p. 54. They are now in the Ethno- graphical Museum at St. Petersburg.

Paikan-Jcash. This word is from paikan, arrowhead, kasJi, root of kaslildan, to draw out. The implement was shaped like a pair of pliers, and as its name implies, was used to extract arrow heads from the body. It is N". 19 of the Ajn list, i, 110, and figure N^. 146 on plate xii. The tirhardar, W. 18, (if the reading be correct) was another instrument for the same purpose.

Target. This was the sJy", literally, heap, Steingass, 334, todah. Shakes., 700, iudah. The latter is the present Indian pronunciation of the word. To secure a more perfect use of the bow and arrow it was usual to erect near an officer's tents a mound of earth, into which he or his men shot a certain number of arrows every day. It is referred to en passant by W. Egerton, 106, as a practice of the Rajputs, but its use was general and not by any means confined to them. For instance, we find this target in use by Nadir Shah, who shot five arrows into one every afternoon. It is thus described by James Eraser, History of Nadir Shah, 143, note, Khak Towda is a heap of fine mould well sifted and beat strongly in between two stone walls. 'Tis five foot high, three feet thick, and from three to four feet broad. The front of it is very smooth and even, beat hard with a heavy trowel. One who is well skilled can shoot his arrow into to it quite to the head; whereas one that shoots ill (be he never so strong) can't put a third part in". In a general sense the word for a butt or target, or the object aimed at, was Jiadaf (Steingass, 1492).

Modes of Shooting. We are told in the Bisalah-i-tlr o kaman that in archery there were twelve maxims to be obeyed. Of these three required firmness, (1) Hold the grip of the bow tight, (2) Keep the forefinger firm, (3) When the arrow is let fly, keep the advanced foot firm. Three things required easiness (1) the left side should be kept easy (2) the left foot the same, and (3) the other

102 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

fingers. Three things required straightness (1) the body should be erect (2) the forehead held up (3) the elbow- straight. Other three things were single: (1) use one side, (2) use one eye, (3) keep both hands in one direction. An arrow could have seven faults: (I) too wide a notch, (2) the shaft to be Jcarm'^ , (3) the head imperfect, (4) the head too heavy, (5) the top end and butt of the shaft hollow, (6) the shaft not straight, (7) the bow^ too stiff. In shooting at a horseman 200 yards off, you should aim at his cap, if 100 paces off, at his mouth, if 50 paces, at his saddle. By so doing you will hit him in the chest. A good archer needs to practise constantly with the Lezam, a bow with an iron chain instead of a string. There are three ways of gripping the bow, Chanc/al-i-baz (literally, "Hawk's claw"), muharraf (diagonally, on the slant), tna- rabba" (square), according to the length of the shooter's fingers. The arrow should be held without moving, and the advanced foot kept flat on the ground. As you let fly at the mark, you ejaculate, "In the name of God". Shekh AUahyar Sani, Eadlqat-ul-aqalim (ms. additions in my copy), under Bijgram, speaks of one ^Abd-us-Samad, a perfect bowman, who taught the author to shoot in three ways, 1) in the style of the master Tahiri, 2) qabzahgar^ 3) musht. Until that time Allahyar had shot only in the mode of Bahram.

Captain Williamson, "Oriental Field Sports", 87, says the bow was strung by placing one end under the thigh, and with both hands bringing the other end into due position, when the string was easily slipped into the groove made for it. Thirty inches of string was a common length, though some were longer. With a new bow it required a strong hand to bring the arrow up to its head.

The left hand was placed opposite the right breast, just far enough from the body to allow clear action : the butt of the arrow was pressed to the string, the fore and middle fingers of the right hand were then drawn steadily, until the head was

EaUlPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 103

near the forefinger of the left hand. The bow was always held perpendicularly. Native archers rarely missed an object the size of a tea cup at sixty or seventy yards, and Captain Williamson at Lucknow repeatedly saw a man lodge an arrow in a common walking stick at that distance. The hill people of Bengal were also very expert with the bow. They would lie on their back, steadying the bow with their feet hori- zontally, and at a distance of two or three hundred yards send the arrow through a common water pot, not more than a foot in diameter. They could shoot kites flying, and indeed rarely missed their object.

11. Matchlock.

This was the tufang (Steingass, 314) or handuq (id. 202) ^ Great credit is claimed for Akbar in the Ain, i, ] 13, for the improvements introduced by him in the manufacture of the matchlock. In spite of these, that weapon up to the middle of the 18^^ century was looked on with less favour than the bow and arrow, which still held their ground. The matchlock was left chiefly to the infantry, who occupied a much inferior position to that of the cavalry in the opinion of Moghul commanders. It was not until the middle of the 18^^ century, when the way had been shewn by the French and the English, that efibrts were made to improve the arms and discipline of the foot soldier.

The barrels of Akbar's matchlocks w^ere of two lengths, 66 inches and 41 inches. They were made of rolled strips of steel with the two edges welded together. Both the barrels, [nal, literally, pipe, tube, Steingass, 1378) and the

1 The Madras Manual of Ad., iii, 915, has a word tupak^ a small cannon, a musket, which I have seen only once elsewhere, namely, in verse 60, line 2, of a Hindi poem on Nadir Shah by one Tilok Das (Journal As. S.B. (4897) Vol. LXVI, Part i, p. 10). Of course, in the above form the word would represent the diminutive of top^ a cannon. But may it not rather be the Indian pronunciation of tufak (St. 314, another form of tufang^ a matchlock)?

104 THE ARMY Of THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

stocks {qu7iflaq, T. id. 970) were profusely decorated with the surface ornament for which India, like the rest of the East, is so justly celebrated. The longer of the two weapons could only have been used, I should say, by a man on foot. Part of the matchlockman's equipment was a prong or tripod, called shakh-i'tufang, on which the gun was placed when about to be fired {Mirat-ul-Istilah, fol. 178^;). Ashob, fol. 1825, calls them sih-pajjah, i. e. three footed or tripods. Seaton says, i, 207, that the prong was some- times attached to the weapon. According to Bernier, 217, the prongs were of wood.

I find in W. Egerton, pp. 83, 110, 111, 118, 124, 132, 133, 139, 145, about sixty specimens of the musket and the matchlock. The latter he calls toredar (Shakes., 702, h. a matchlock, from tora, a piece of rope, a gun-match). Thirteen of these guns are figured on plates iv (p. 51) and X (p. 114), and among the figures on p. 79. One matchlock is a miniature weapon, one a revolver with four chambers, one has a rifled barrel, five have flint, and four percussion locks, these latter obvious modern imitations of European models. The other forty-eight are types of the ordinary matchlocks. Of these the shortest is 4 feet 7 inches and the longest 7 feet in length. One, N^ 671, length 6 feet 5 inches is called a wall-piece; if so, N^s 551, 584, 585, which are longer, must be the same. Two of the specimens have octagonal barrels, a third has a barrel not only square outside but having also a square bore.

Guns of European make [tiifang-i-farang) were much prized, but were only found in the possession of the greatest nobles. It was with one of these, as Mhd Qasim, Lahori, tells us, ^Ihratnamah, 352, that a slave seated behind his master, Haidar Quli Khan, Mir Atash, shot Sayyad Ghairat Khan on the 8^^ Oct. 1720, in the onset made upon Muhammad Shah's tents immediately after the assassination of the Sayyad's uncle, Husain ^Ali Khan, Barhah.

EQUIPMENT. — (C) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ; II, MISSILES. 105

To the end of the Moghul period the fire arm in ordinary use was the matchlock. The flint lock was little known to them, and, of course, the percussion weapon was never seen, not having been introduced even into European armies until the W^ century (H. Wilkinson, JEngines of War, 67). The flint lock itself does not seem to have been generally adopted in Europe until the end of the 17^'i century (id. 67 ^), and it could hardly have become generally known in the East until a hundred years later. It was not until regular battalions armed and drilled in the European manner, were entertained by the Mah- rattas and the Nawab Wazir, that the flint lock could have got into the hands of Indian troops to any appreci- able extent. This seems borne out by the fact that of some sixty fire-arms catalogued by W. Egerton, fifty are match- locks, and only five fitted with the flint lock. A passage in M. Wilks, "Soutb India", i, 278, note, also shows that in 1751 the flint lock was an absolute novelty to the native armies of Southern India. Eitzclarence, 256, writing so late as 1818 confirms this opinion. He says "The flint- lock, an introduction of the Europeans, is far from being general, and I may even say is never employed by the natives: though the Telingas, armed and discipled after our manner, in the service of Scindiah and Holkar, make use of it. Some good flint locks, are, however, made at Lahor". It is true that Khair-ud-din, ^Ibratnamah, i, 105, writing of 1173 h. (1759), declares that when Ram Narayan, deputy governor of Patnah, was defeated by Shah 'Alam, he left on the field among other things six thousand flint muskets {bandUq-i-chaqmaqi). This can be only partially true, and even then it must be remembered that, by that time, the importation of arms through the ports on the Hugli must have become active; and what might be true of Bengal and Bahar in the above year, did not represent

1 Voyle and Stevenson, Mil. Diet. (1876), 142, say it was invented about 1635, but not employed in England till 1677.

106 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

the condition of things in places farther from the seaboard. In the Dakhin the introduction of the flint-lock weapon, owing to intercourse with the French and English, may have been somewhat earlier. At any rate, it is said that the 12 battalions of Gardl^ or infantry drilled and armed in imitation of the French sepoys, and commanded by Ibrahim Khan, Gardi, at the battle of Panipat in Jannary 1761, carried flint-lock muskets {Eusain S/id/d, fol. 345). And, if we may trust Ashob's memory, writing 58 years after the event, the artillery soldiers taking part in the riot of 1141 H. (1729) at the Jami' Masjid in Dihli, were armed with flint-lock (chaqmaqi) muskets.

The matchlock barrels were covered with elaborate da- mascened ijcoft-gari) work, and the stocks adorned with embossed metal work or with various designs either in lacquer, or painting, or inlaying of different materials. The stocks were at times adorned with embossed and engraved mounts in gold, or the butt had an ivory or ebony cap. The barrel was generally attached to the stock by broad bands of metal or by wire of steel, brass, silver or gold. The broad bands were sometimes of perforated design and chased. The stocks were of one or other of two designs, 1) narrow, slightly sloped, of the same width throughout, or 2) strongly curved and very narrow at the grip, ex- panding to some breadth at the butt. When not in use, matchlocks were kept and carried about in covers made of scarlet or green broad-cloth.

Parah. Rustam ""All, BijnorT, in his "History of the Rohelas" (in Urdu), fol. 22^, in speaking of the fight between Donde Khan and Qutb-ud-din Khan, grandson of ^Azmatullah Klian, near Kiratpur in Rohilkhand, says; handuq he parah charte the. Although this meaning is not in the dictionaries, I take parah to be here the hammer of the matchlock. Platts 258, and Steingass 230, 246, among other meanings give those of bolt of a lock or door" and "iron mace", either of which

EQUIPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; 11, MISSILES. 107

could be easily enough extended into "hammer of a gun".

The match. The name of this was in Persian either jamagi (Stcingass, 351), ox fcdUah (id. 938), in Hindi /o/y7 (Shak. 702). According to Ashob, fol. 2616, to have the match ready and lighted was falltah shahsuwctr namudan.

Powder horn et cetera. These accoutrements were called collectively kamr (Egerton 83, N«. 143, 133, N^ 683). The set consisted of a powder flask, bullet pouches, priming horn {singra), match-cord, flint and steel, the whole attached to a belt. This belt was often of velvet embroidered in gold. Ashob, fol. 226/5, gives shakh as the word for powder horn. Steingass, 720, does not include this specific signification in the numerous meanings he gives; but Platts, "Hindu- stani Dictionary", 716, has shakh-dahana, a small powder flask for priming. Fitzclarence, 69, speaking in 1817 of some irregular horse in the Company's service, half of whom were armed with matchlocks, says "the receptacles which contained their powder and ball are unwieldy, and as they never make use of cartridges for their pieces, they are a long time in loading. Some of them have at least twenty yards of match about their person, similar in ap- pearance to a large ball of pack-thread". Modern words, adopted from Europeans, were tozdan (pouch) and kartus (cartridge). They are used by Khair-ud-din, ^Ibratnamah, i, 422, when recounting Rene Madec's defeat in 1191 h. (1777) by Mulla Ralim Dad Khan. The book itself was written after 1203 h. (1788).

Blank Cartridge. I find the expression khah-goli used for blank cartridge by Rustam ^AlT, Bijnori, "History of the Rohelas" (in Urdu), fol. lla-. Bataur jang-i-zargari khah goll se apus men chalen; "As in a goldsmith's quarrel (a collusive dispute), they fired blank cartridge at each other".

Cailletoque. This strange word is used by Anquetil Duperron, Zend-Avesta, I, xliv, when speaking of Siraj- ud-Daulah's escort at Murshidabad (1757), and this word

108 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

he defines in his index "fusil a meche, tres long, que Ton tire ordinairement en le posant sur un pie fait en espece de fourche". The etymology of the word baffled me for a long time, it being impossible, from his spelling, to reconstitute its original form. It is not French, as the variations in spelling sufficiently show. For instance, De la Flotte, i, 258, referring to the Coromandel coast, (where Anquetil also may have picked up the word), speaks of a very long and heavy matchlock, which he calls a kaitoke (evidently another phonetic rendering of "cailletoque"). Gentil also, 59, in describing the entry of Salabat Jang's troops into Aurangabad on the li^ii June 1753, mentions fusils a meche, qu'on appelle kaitoJc, cou verts de drap rouge". Rene Madec (c. 1774) spells it kayetoc (E. Barbe, "Le Nabab Rene Madec", 54). For a time I thought it might be due to the use of qanduq, gun-stock, as a name for the whole weapon, though I have never found in native writers any such use of that word. Or it might be a vulgar error for banduq, the ordinary word for a gun. Mr. H. Beveridge suggested to me milteq, a gun, as a probable derivation of the word (R. B. Shaw "Sketch of the Turki Language" J. A. S.B., 1878, p. 184). P. de Courteille, Diet. 506, fancies that this word mllteq is itself a corruption of bandUq. In the absence of anything more satisfactory, an explanation of caiUetoque might he found in qidtUq, the armpit, (Shaw, 157, P. de Courteille 435), on the ground that a musket is often carried under the arm!

But long after I had given up the search, I came across a word for a gun or matchlock, which I am convinced must be the original of that used by the European writers quoted above. 1 found this word qaidUq in my copy of the AJ/mnd-namah of 'Abd-ul-latif, a rhyming chronicle of Ahmad Shah's reign written at Lakhnauin ] 184 h. (1770). The two passages are on ff. ]5a and \bb, the first in the rubric and the second in the text; and they read as follows :

EaUIPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. 109

Rubric.

Dastan dar hay an Jcih roze siiwdrl-i- Wazlr dar rah ml-raft, o yake az ma and dar kamlngdh nishistah, qaiduq, OJAxij, bar u rdndah, az In ma^nl Wazlr khiyrd-i-fdsid badil az Slidh rasdndah, o derah-i-khud az Dihll herun burdah, binydn-i'fasdd rd td'mir ddd.

Text.

Miydn-i-rdh kase qdbu giriftah, Zadah qaiduq [^Axi] barue U nihuftali, Ba qasd-as/i garchali U daiah zad^ Wa-le Ezad khiydl-ash sdkhtah radd, Giriftand-ash kasd7i az zormandl, Kashdn burdand urd ham chu bandi.

I cannot find the word in any of the dictionaries, of which I have consulted a good many.

Jazdil or Jazdir. This was the wall-piece or swivel gun, and it is doubtful whether it should come here, under fire arms carried by the combatant, or under artillery. In some respects it partook of the character of both. Steingass, 362, defines jazdil as a large musket, wall-piece, swivel, a rifle used with a prong or rest. Egerton, 124, note to N°. 585 refers to jazdils in the Codrington col- lection which are 7 feet and 8 feet long; this would appear to be the usual length. Ashob, fol. 1825, describing the entrenchments of Muhammad Shah outside Karnal (1151 H., Feb. 1739), twice speaks of something he calls a pushtafi, which was put up {anddkhtali) by the jazdil- men. This is not the tripod, which is separately mentioned; probably it was a field shelter or slight entrenchment.

In connection with this weapon we come to giny all, a word used by European writers. Shakespear, 796, says it is h. a swivel &ca, either a corruption oi jazd;il, or ivom janjdl, trouble, difficulty; and Steingass, 373, has a word janjdl,

110 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

crowd, multitude. Yule and Burnell, 285, say that janjal is of uncertain origin". Their examples are Elphinstone (1818) and Shipp (1803—15). Fitzclarence (1818) also uses the word. Janjal is used in a Hindi poem composed in Bundelkhand in the first half of the 18^^ century (Journal A. S. B., vol. XLVII, 1878, p. 369). I think that jazrdi must be the origin of jinjal (gingall). Substitute, as an uneducated Indian would do, a "j" for the "z", and you have "jaja^il"; then insert a nasal, far from an infrequent occurrence, and at once you have "janja^il", or quickly pronounced, "janjal". Q. E. D. But whether gingall is derived from jazcdl or not, these can be little doubt that both words are used in respect of one and the same kind of weapon, as witness Sir Hope Grant's description of the Chinese gingall (Life, ii, 92). "This weapon is a species of long heavy duck-gun carrying a ball weighing about two pounds; its range is at least 1000 yards. It is placed upon a tripod, from which tolerable aim can be taken". Lake's remarks. Sieges, 70, note, show that a ginjal (as he spells it) was in his opinion the same thing as the jazair or jazdil. "Long matchlocks, of various calibres, used as wall-pieces by the natives of India, which are commonly fixed like swivels, and carry iron balls not exceeding a pound in weight. In the field, they are sometimes carried on the backs of camels". Fitzclarence, 245, says the ball of the Indian jazdil weighed two or more ounces. Jinjalls, or heavy matchlocks were, as writes captain Thomas Williamson, "Oriental Field Sports", 45, commonly appropriated to the defence of forts. They carried a ball from one to three ounces in weight; and having very substantial barrels, were too heavy to use without a rest. Many had an iron prong of about a foot in length, fixed on a pivot not far from the nozzle: and this placed on a wall, a bush, or the ground, served as a support. In the defence of mud forts, especially in Bundelkhand, the besieged exhibited extraordinary dexterity, rarely failing to hit their object either

EQUIPMENT. — (c) OFFENSIVE WEAPONS; II, MISSILES. Ill

in the head or near the heart, even at great distances. All fire arms used by Indians having small cylindrical chambers, and being mostly of a small bore, a wonderful impetus was imparted to the ball. The juzzail used by the xVfghans in 1842 is described by Colonel Thomas Seaton, "From Cadet to Colonel"; i, 207.

Ghor-dcthan was a kind oi jaza^il, of which one thousand were made at Lahor for Mu'in-ul-mulk between 1161 and 1167 H. (1748—1754), see the Tahmas namah of Miskin, composed in 1196 h., fol. 36^:. The allusion in the name seems to be to the everted or widened mouth of the barrel.

Qidr. The Mircit-i-Ahmadl, fol. 199«, in describing the battle outside Alimadabad in 1143 h. (1730), between Abhai Singh, Rahtor, and Sarbuland Khan, speaks of the horsemen with qidr, yXi, and matchlocks advancing to give battle. I cannot find what weapon this was. The nearest word I have found is jXi, qidr, a cauldron, pot, kettle,

Steingass, 957; but this does not suggest an explanation. According to Erskine "History", ii, 294 (note), Osmanli troops lay great store by a kettle, which they carry into the field as other troops do their colours. But at Alimadabad neither side were Osmanlis.

III. Pistols.

This weapon was the tamanchah or tamanchah (Steingass, 819, a sharp blow, a pistol). It does not appear in the list in the Ajn, an omission not to be wondered at when we remember that the Ajn was composed in 1596 — 7, while the pistol does not seem to have been known even in Europe much before 1544 (H. Wilkinson, Engines of War, 58). The pistol was in use in India, to some extent at any rate, early in the 18*^ century. For instance, it was with a shot from a pistol that in October 1720 a young Sayyad, related to Husain 'All Khan, killed that nobleman's assassin (Mlid Qasim, Lahori, ^Ihratnamah).

112 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Dowson (Ell, vii, 573) must here have read nlmchah and translates a "short sword", but all the copies of the text that I have seen read tamanchah, i. e. a pistol. Probably the pistol was confined to the higher ranks of the nobles. Its rarety is shown by these being so few examples in the Indian Museum. Egerton's "Handbook" has only three entries, and one of these refers to a pair of English pattern, which must be quite modern. But Ashob, fol. 61«, writing in 1196 H. about the shoe-sellers' riot at the great mosque in Dihli in the year 1141 h. (1 1^1^ March 1729), speaks of the soldiers taking part in it as having European pistol and tahanchah.

Sherbachah. This musketoon or blunderbuss (literally "tiger-cub") seems to have been of a still later introduction than the pistol. Egerton catalogues three examples only N^ 410 (p. 110), Nos 761—2 (p. 144). One is twenty inches long. Probably the weapon came into India with Nadir Shah's army (1738) or that of iVhmad Shah, Abdali, (1748 — 1761). In the last quarter of the 18tli century there was a regiment of Persian horse in the Lakhnau service known as the Sher-bachah. Possibly they took their name from this weapon, with which they may have been armed. Or the name may have been due to their supposed ferocity and thirst for their enemies' blood. Dowson in Elliot, viii, 398, note 2, quoting from the Akhbar-ul-Muhabbat, speaks of ten thousand dismounted men in Ahmad Shah, Abdali's army in 1760 "having sher-bachas (pistols) of Kabul".

CHAPTER X.

ARTILLERY. HEAVY GUNS.

The general name for this branch was Top-k/iannh {top, cannon, Hanah, house, division). Every departn:ient con- nected with the artillery was included under the one name; it comprized, 1) a manufacturing department; 2) a magazine or ordnance department, in both of which the imperial Khansaman, or Lord Steward, had the superior control over the Daroghah or Mir Atash; 3) the field artillery in actual use; and 4) the guns in use in the fortresses. In these last two subdivisions the Mir Atash seems to have been entirely independent of the Khansaman.

The word top, the usual name for a cannon, is stated in Persian dictionaries to be of Turkish origin, but ap- parently Babar used the word zarb-zan (literally, blow- striker). For this see Horn, 27, and his references, Pavet de Courteille, "Memoires", ii, 168, ^arabah ustidaki zcirhzan- Icir, "les couleuvres qui etaient sur des chariots", id. ii, 336, zarbzan-lih ^arabah-ldr, "des couleuvres toutes montees sur leurs affuts", and BudaunT, ii, 194, line 6, ta- zarbzan- ha zambUrakha kih bcilae ^arabahhae bud, "to the cannon and swivel-pieces which were upon carts" ^. 1 have not traced when the word top first appears in Indian writings, but probably it came into use first in the Dakhin and was introduced there by the officers from Rum, that is, Turkey, who were employed in the artillery. The word top

' I have found zarbzan used by so late a writer as Kam Raj (c. 1119 h.), see A^zam-ul-harb, fol. 1206, but then he has top and rahkalah in the same sentence.

114 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

is often restricted to the large cannon or siege guns; sometimes we find it used for all classes of cannon, with the distinction into large and small, top-i-kalan and top4- k/mrd.

Babar seems to have had in use pieces of considerable size (Horn, 26). In his memoirs (P. de C, ii, 253) he describes the founding of a cannon at Agrah under the direction of his head of the artillery, Ustad Qull Khan. "Around the mould they had erected eight furnaces for melting the metal. From the foot of each started a channel which ended in the mould. As soon as I had arrived, the holes to allow the flow of metal were opened. The fused metal rushed into the mould like boiling water. After a time, before the mould was full, the fused metal from the furnaces began to flow very slowly, either because their size or the amount of material had been wrongly calculated, Ustad Qull Khan, in a state that cannot be described; wished to fling himself into the very midst of the melted copper. I made much of hira, ordered him a robe of honour, and thus succeeded in calming him. A day or two after- wards, when the mould had cooled down, it was opened. Ustad Qull Khan, overwhelmed with joy, sent me word that the bore {dme) of the piece had no fault and that a chamber could easily be made in it. The body of the cannon was then uncovered and a certain number of arti- ficers were set to finish it, while he busied himself with the preparation of the chamber". From ii, 269, it seems that this chamber was cast separately, and the gun was then tried, and fired a ball for a distance of sixteen hundred paces. On another occasion, ii, 324, a large cannon was fired, the ball went far, but the piece burst and eight men were killed'. At a much later period the art of founding could not have greatly advanced, for w€ find that De la

^ The passage in ii, 336, does not necessarily refer to large guns, and Mustafa, the other artillery officer, is spoken of as using small field pieces (culverines).

ARTILLERY. — HEAVY GUINS. 115

Flotte, i, 258, speaking of the 18^1' century and the Dakhin, asserts that Indian cannon were not founded, but built up of iron bars bound together, and hekl in pkce from distance to distance by thick rings of the same metal. Again An- quetil Duperron, "Zend Avesta", I, xlvi, speaking of the force commanded in 1757 by Rajah Dulab Ram, one of Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah's officers, says "I'artillerie consista en gros canons faits de bandes de fer battu". Writing much later, in 1818, Fitzclarence, 255, says "The artillery in use among the natives is generally an iron cylinder with molten brass cast round it". Elsewhere, 251, he remarks that in their first attempts to make cannon the Indians employed bars of iron hooped together. In one instance he saw an im- provement on this. It was at DihlT that he found a piece made of iron wedges placed as radii, and then hooped together so as to form the gun.

Horn, 28, quoting from Mirza Haidar (Elliot v, 131, 132) says that at the battle of Kanauj in 1540 Humaytin had 700 pieces (zarhzan) drawn each by four pairs of bullocks (these guns fired balls of 41b., 304 gr. each), [n addition to these were twenty-one heavy guns requiring each eight pairs of oxen, and firing leaden balls ten times as heavy as the others. Erskine, "History", ii, 186, using the same passage from Mirza Haidar, reads "sixty-one (ti^-n^ o^^^^) heavy guns, each drawn by sixty (o>^^^) pairs of bullocks". Ross, "Tarikh-i-Rashidi", 474, has "twenty one (d^^ >^'^:^j) carriages each drawn by eight (.^xi.^) pairs of bullocks". Looking to the state of things then existing, I think the number of twenty one is pre- ferable to Erskine's sixty-one heavy guns ; but on the other hand the larger number of bullocks {sixty and not eight pairs) is the more probably correct; the ball thrown being ten times as heavy as that of the smaller pieces, the gun itself must have weighed more, in something like the same proportion, and would have required more than twice as many bullocks to drag it.

Dr. Horn, 29, holds that under Akbar the artillery

116 THE AMRY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

reached the highest point of efficiency which it ever at- tained during the existence of the Moghul empire. But judging from the brief account of cannon in the Aln-i- Jkbari, one would surmise that this arm was little, if at all, developed. A great deal is said about matchlocks, but comparatively little about other bouches a feu. It would be, I think, a safer opinion to hold that the artillery was much more perfect and numerous in 'Alamglr's reign, than it was under his great-grandfather, Akbar. The long cam- paign in the Dakhin and the innumerable sieges, some of considerable importance, such as those of Bijapur and Jinji, must have brought the uses of artillery into much greater prominence. And during the 18^^ century something, if not much, was learned from the example of the French and English armies, and from the European adventurers, who found their way in considerable numbers into the armies of the native powers. As an instance of the hazardous conclusions that are occasionally arrived at, 1 may quote the suggestion of Mr. D. Mac Ritchie, "Gypsies of India", p. 207, that the gipsies (whom he identifies with the Jats) brought the use of artillery into Europe. The history of the arm in India seems to prove on the contrary, that it was intro- duced there from Europe.

European observers in the IS^h century do not, as a rule, speak favourably of the Moghul artillery. For instance, with reference to the Nawab of the Karnatak's army in 1746, Orme, "Mil. Trans." i, 74, says "Having never ex- perienced the effect of field pieces, they had no conception that it was possible to fire with execution the same piece of cannon five or six times in a minute; for in the awk- ward management of their own clumsy artillery, they think they do well if they fire once in a quarter of an hour". Even seventy years later, in 1815, the Nizam's artillery were still content to fire once every fifteen minutes ; and on one occasion they were indebted for final success to the freak of some European soldiers, who came at night

ARTILLERY. HEAVY GUNS. 117

from their own camp, and fired the guns so fast as to frighten the besieged into evacuating the place before the morning (Lake, 15, note). Cambridge, who wrote about 1760, "War", Introduction, ix, is more general in his con- demnation. "Nothing is so ruinous to their military affairs as the false notion which is generally entertained by them, and chiefly by their commanders, in relation to artillery. They are terrified with that of the enemy, and foolishly put a confidence in their own ; and what is the most fatal mistake, they place their chief dependence on the largest pieces, which they know neither how to manage or to more. They give them pompous and sounding names, as the Italians do their guns, and have some pieces which carry a ball of seventy pounds. When we march round them with our light field pieces, and make it necessary to move those enormous weights, their bullocks, which are at best very untractable, are quite ungovernable, and at the same time are so ill-harnessed, that it causes no small delay to free the rest from any one that shall happen to be unruly or slain". Again, take what Mustapha says, Seir, i, 443, note 19, "Expressions about a well-served artillery are misleading, for it is certain that all their artillery was as cumbrous, ill-mounted and ill-served as was the artillery of Europe three hundred years ago. It is only since the year 1760 that some Indians have put themselves upon the footing of having an artillery mounted and served nearly in the European manner". And writing at Agrah in 1768 or 1769, an anonymous observer (Orme Mss. p. 4341) remarks on the Jats taking two 24-pounders a mile or two in ten days, and scornfully adds "Telle est I'adresse de la plupart des Indiens dans le metier de la guerre apres qu'ils ont regu tant de legons des Europeens, dont ils auraient du profiter. Mais on a beau leur apprendre!"

The following account of Mahratta ways in 1791 may be taken as applicable to the Moghul artillery of the same period. "A gun is loaded, and the whole people in the

118 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

battery sit down, talk and smoke for half an hour, when it is fired, and if it knocks up a great dust, it is thought sufficient: it is re-loaded and the parties resume their smoking and conversation. During two hours in the middle of the day, generally from one to three, a gun is seldom fired on either side, that time being, as it would appear, by mutual consent set apart for meals. In the night the fire from guns is slackened but musquetry is increased on both sides" (E. Moor, ^'Narrative", 30). Colonel Hector Munro, the victor of Baksar, speaking of the period 1763 — 1772, held that the Indian princes got their artillery from Eng- land, Holland and France. "There is hardly a ship that comes to India that does not sell them cannon and small arms; the most of the gunpowder they make themselves. They cast shot in abundance, but there is no black prince that casts cannon but the king of Travelcore (Travancore). The cannon and military stores are smuggled into the country" (Carraccioli, "Life of Clive" iii, 276, and "Minutes of Select Committee, H. C", sitting of 14th May 1772.

Heavy Guns.

The Moghuls were very fond of large ordnance, but such pieces were really more for show than use; and as Fitzclarence truly says, 243, the oriental idea seems to have been "to render this destructive engine from its size more powerful than those of the Western world". In this direction they proceeded even to extravagant lengths. These huge guns made more noise than they did harm; they could not be fired many times in a day, and were very liable to burst and destroy the men in charge.

Names. The large guns were all dignified with pompons names, just as elephants were, such names as Ghazl Khan "Lord Champion", Sher Dahan "Tiger-mouth", Bhumdham "The Noisy", (Shiu Das, 29«) Kishwar kusha "World- opener", Garh'bhanjan "Fort Demolisher", Fath-i- Laslikar "Army Conqueror", (Elliot, vii, 100) Aarangbar "Strength

ARTILLERY. — HEAVY GUNS. 119

of the Throne", Burj Sliikan "Bastion Breaker", (Catrou, 256) Jahan kusha "World Conqueror" (Horn, 37) and so forth. At the battle of Husainpur in 1133 h. (Nov. 1720) there were present Sher dahan (Tiger mouth), Ghazi Khan (Lord Champion), "Alam-sitan (World-seizer), Atash-dahan (Fire mouth), KhushlialChand, Berlin Ms. N". 495, fol. 10 15^. In addition to a name they were also usually provided with an inscription, sometimes in verse, stating the name of the founder, the place and the year of manufacture.

From Bernier, 217, 218, 352, we learn that early in ^Alamgir's reign there were in the field with the emperor seventy pieces of heavy artillery, mostly of brass. These and the camel guns did not always follow the emperor, when he diverged from the high road to hunt, or to keep near a river or other water. Heavy guns could not move along difficult passes or cross the bridges of boats thrown over rivers. Many of these seventy pieces were so pon- derous that twenty yoke of oxen were necessary to draw them along : and when the road was steep or rugged, they required the aid of elephants, in addition to the oxen, to push the carriage wheels with their heads aud trunks.

These heavy pieces had frequently to be left behind, from the impossibility of their keeping up with the army. Thus A'zam Shah, when he marched in 1707 from Ahmad- nagar to Dholpur, left all his heavy guns behind at various stages of his march, and had none left when he reached the battle field at Jajau (Kamraj, A^zam-ul-harh, fol. 19). Then in Safar 1125 h. (March 1712), during the contest for the throne between the sons of Bahadur Shah, three of the very largest guns were removed from the fort of Lahor, each being dragged by 250 oxen, aided by five or six elephants, and it was ten days before the camp was reached, although it was not more than three or four miles distant (B.M. N". 1690, fol. \hlb).

In 1128 H. (1715-6) when Rajah Jai Singh was be- sieging Churaman Jat in his fort of Thun, one of these

120 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

cannon was sent from DihlT. It was escorted with ceremony from Palwal to Hodal and there made over to the deputy- governor of Agrah for conveyance to its destination. The shot is threw was, we are told, one maiind (Shahjahani) in weight (Shiu Das, fol. I3a). Again, at the siege of Agrah in 1131 H. (July, August 1719), several of these large cannon were employed. They had there Ghazi Khan, Sher Dahan, Dhiimdham, and others. These guns took shot of from 60 to 100 lbs, (30 sers to 15 man Shahjahani). Attached to each gun were from one to four elephants and from 600 to 1700 draught oxen (Shiu Das, fol. 29«). Muhammad Muhsin also speaks of Muhammad Shah having at Karnal in 1151 H. (Feb. 1739), guns which required five hundred to one thousand bullocks, aided by five to ten elephants (Horn, 34, quoting Elliot, viii, 74).

When the Jat rajah of Bhartpur besieged his relation in Wer, about 30 to 40 miles south of Bhartpur, his biggest cannon, a 48 pounder, was sent from his capital. It was a piece that Stiraj Mall had taken from the Mah- rattas, and they had carried away from DihlT. Although dragged by 500 pair of oxen, with four elephants to push behind, it occupied them a month to convey the gun about half way, some eighteen or nineteen miles altogether, and there it stuck. It should be noted, however, that this was in the rainy season, which added immensely to the difficulty. The writer from whom I obtain these facts adds "This may look strange, but you do not know the weight of these guns or the kind of gun-carriage used. At the very time I write this (c. 1767), it is ten days since they brought out two 24-pounders from the fortress of Agrah, each drawn by fifty pair of bullocks and helped by an elephant. Yet at this moment they are not outside the town of Agrah, though they are moving each day from dawn to night-fall (Orme Mss. p. 4341). In 1826 there were still large guns at Wer. Colonel Seaton in his "From Cadet to Colonel", i, 177, says "we found some enormous iron

ARTILLKIIY. — IIP:AVY GUNS. 121

guns built up something in the style of our present xVrm- strongs, with this difference that over the inner core of longitudinal bars forming the bore, iron hoops and not coils, were shrunk on ; over which came a layer of longi- tudinal bars, and outside these another layer of hoops shrunk on. The diameter of these guns at the muzzle was enormous, something like three feet, but the bore was small. I should suppose they were about 4()-pounders. I don't think any amount of powder would have burst them".

A /ode of Mounting Recwy Guns. From the slow progress that was made in the transporting of these heavy guns, it may be inferred that the carriages on which they w^ere mounted, were of a very clumsy and primitive construction. One is almost inclined to believe that they must have been dragged unmounted along the ground, by mere brute force. Otherwise the length of time occupied in going a mile seems hardly credible.

Most probably throughout the IS^^i century these guns were mounted on low platforms, and were made to turn on a pivot, such carriages as in 1803 Thorn, "War", 190, called "country block carriages, turning on a large pivot". Fitzclarence, 21G, says the generality of the artillery in the forts was so badly mounted that they would be dismounted at the first discharge.

The clearest account of the way in which they mounted their heavy artillery in the field is to be found in Orme, "Mil. Trans.", ii, 173, w^hen describing Siraj-ud-daulah's guns at the battle of Palasi (Plassey) in 1757: "The cannon were mostly of the largest calibres, 24 and 32 pounders; and these were mounted on the middle of a large stage, raised six feet from the ground, carrying besides the cannon, all the ammunition belonging to it, and the gunners them- selves who managed the cannon, on the stage itself. These machines were drawn by 40 or 50 yoke of white oxen, of the largest size, bred in the country of Purnea; and behind each cannon walked an elephant, trained to assist

122 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

at difficult tugs, by shoving with his forehead against the hinder part of the carriage". Sir Eyre Coote, "Minutes of Select Committee H. C", SO^li April 1772, says that the Nawab's cannon were "mounted on bundles of bamboos tied together and each piece drawn by 20 or 30 pairs of oxen". On the other hand, Major Munro, "Minutes", 14th May 1772, deposed that the 133 pieces of different sizes taken from Shuja'-ud-daulah at Baksar (23^^ Oct. 1764) were all on carriages and most of them on English carriages.

The Mahratta artillery in the Dakhin, so late as 1791, was still mounted on the old plan, copied from that of the Moghuls. "His (Paras Ram Bhao's) largest guns were brass 32 and 42 pounders cast at Poona, in length far exceeding ours: the wheels of the carriage as well as the carriages themselves, were exceedingly clumsy, particularly the limber wheels, which are generally of one piece, very low, and in a heavy road do not perhaps turn once in the distance of a hundred yards. The gun is so heaped with baggage of every description that it could not be cleared ready to fire under at least half an hour; nor could any one from its appearance iu its travelling state, were it not for the number of bullocks dragging it, con- ceive it to be a gun : fifty, sixty and sometimes one hun- dred couple of bullocks drag one of these guns; and in very heavy roads, where the cattle have been hard worked and ill-fed, an elephant is posted to the rear who pushes with his head over difficult passages. Although the impro- vement of having four bullocks abreast was lately adopted by the Mahrattas, there surely can be no utility in having such a string of cattle as they sometimes tack to one of these strange pieces of ordnance" (E. Moor, "Narrative, 78)". In the Dakhin we found it necessary to employ sixty Carnatic bullocks in yoke to an iron 24 pounder, fifty to an iron 18 pounder, and forty to an iron 12 pounder (Blacker, "War", 283).

One observer, De la Flotte, who was in the south of

ARTILLERY. — HEAVY GUNS. 123

India from April 1758 to May 17G0, declares that Indian cannon, when used in fortresses, were not mounted on carriages: "they are put on the very embrasure, or they are supported by two great movable timbers {poutres). The balls are of stone, they make many ricochets and then roll a great distance". M. de la Elotte saw at Jinji, the well-known fortress 82 miles s.w. of Madras, one of these pieces, which was twenty feet in length. At Arkat (Arcot) in 1746 Clive seems to have fired a big native gun from a mound of earth, without having any carriage (Orme, i, 191, referred to by Horn, 34). Colonel M. Wilks also speaks of an occasion in 1768 when the guns of the Indians were numerous "but unmounted". In Northern India, however, some sort of carriage seems to have been used even for heavy guns, when they were employed in the defence of a fortress.

Descriptions of individual guns. Dr. Horn, 36, quoting Captain Showers (J.A.S.B., XVI, 589) gives as the exact dimensions of one of Shahjahan's cannon, then (1847) to be found at Murshidabad,

Extreme Length . . . . 17 feet.

Deph of Bore .... 15 „

Diameter at Muzzle . . 1 „

Diameter of Bore ... 6 inches.

This cannon, Jahan Kusha, the world conqueror, bore a poetical inscription of eight distiches, to which were added the facts that it was made at Dhakah in Jamadi ii of the eleventh year of Shahjahan (Oct. Nov. 1637), and that it took a charge of 28 sirs of powder. It had been made by the method of welding.

When Dara Shukoh was sent against Qandahar in Shah- jahan's reign, he cast two great guns at Lahor, which threw a ball of I man 5 sirs (about 90 lbs. English). Their names were Fath Mubarik (Blessed Victory) and Kishwar Kushae (World Overcomer). He had with him two other

124 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

heavy guns, the Qildh-kushae (Fort Overcomer) from Dihli and Maryam (Mary?) from Shal (Raverty, "Notes on Af- ghanistan", 22, relying on the Lataif-ul-Aklihar of Rashid Khan). " ~

One of these large guns was to be found at Alimadnagar in the Dakhin. Fitzclarence, 243, says it was about 25 feet long, and it was said to have carried shot into Sir Arthur Wellesley's camp in 1803 "though it was pitched out of range of all reasonable weapons". It was, perhaps, the same as the malik-i-maidan, (King of the Battle-field), described by Horn, 132, quoting Meadows Taylor and J. Fergusson's "Architecture of Beejeepore", which is declared by those writers to be the largest piece of ordnance in the world. The metal is an alloy of 80.427 parts of copper to 19.573 parts of tin. The dimensions are

Diameter at the Breech . . 4 feet, 10 inches.

Diameter at the Muzzle . . 5 ,, 5 „

Diameter of Bore .... 2 „ 41 „

Length 14 „ 3 „

In the "Life and Correspondence of the Right Honble Sir Bartle Frere", i, 56, these is a drawing by him of two large guns that he saw at Bijapur in 1848. One was on the Upari-burj (upper bastion?); the other he calls Muluh Juft. Neither of them was mounted on a carriage.

The gun Malik-i-maidan was cast at Alimadnagar in 1548, during the reign of Burhan Nizam Shah i, by a Turk named Muhammad, son of Hasan. It was first des- cribed by E. Moor, "Narrative", 322, who believed it to have been cast by 'Alamgir in 1097 h. (1685), but the copy of the inscription as given by him, does not bear this out, for it commemorates the capture of Bijapur in that year, and not the casting of the gun. Moor was told that there were twelve large guns; of these he saw three, two being not cast, like the Malik-i-maidan, but made of welded bars hooped round. One of them was called Lam-

ARTILLRRY. — HEAVY GUNS.

125

chharri, which Moor translates "the fiir-liyer" (perhaps from lamchhar (Shak. 1795), a long musket, lamchhara, adj. tall).

There were also two guns twenty five feet long at Nagpur (Fitzclarence, 108, 244), called by the English Gog and Magog, which were "finer pieces and better proportioned than the one at Aliraadnagar". Fitzclarence also saw, 216, a heavy brass gun mounted on a sort of tower at Daulat- abad, and though he did not measure it, he supposed it equal to throwing a ball of sixty pounds. There was also a 24-pounder (id. 218) on a peak at the top, said to have been raised to that position by a European in ^Alamgir's reign. At DihlT, opposite the Lahor gate, he also saw in 1817 a gun of a very large bore.

Fitzclarence also describes the "great gun of Agra" as Major Thorn calls it, "War", 188. "At Agra I have seen a gun more like an immense howitzer, above 14 feet long, 221 inches in the bore, into which persons can get: the following is a table of its dimensions".

TABLE OF DIMENSIONS.

Diameter of the

Length of the

Weight

-i

Weight

Nature.

Weight.

OF the

OP THE

.

^

SHOT OF

SHOT OF

6

<6

o '3

S

•S-S

IRON.

MARBLE.

,£2

,a

S)

=5

O)

1

^

1^

o

0)

^

CJ

B

cq

^

o

Pm

1500 lbs.

cwt. grs. lbs.

In.

In.

In.

In.

In.

In.

In.

In.

lbs.

lbs.

Brass

1049 1 4

22.5

10.8

46.5

11.3

48.6

51

159

1C9.5

1497.39

567

Weight in maunds, 1469.

Value of the gun, as old brass, in sonaut {sanwat) rupees

53,400; but if serviceable it may be estimated at one

lac and sixty thousand. "This gun was once supposed to contain much gohl ; and

126 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

even as old brass it is valued at £ 7000 ; but if serviceable, it may be estimated at about £ 18,000. It at present (1818) lies near the bank of the Jumnah, outside the wall of the fort. An attempt was made to transport it down to Cal- cutta'*. Both Fitzclarence and Thorn give drawings of the gun. Thorn, 189, says "General Lake had a great desire to remove this trophy from Agra to Calcutta, with a view to transporting it ultimately to England; but though a raft was prepared for its conveyance upon the Jamnah, the stupendous body of metal proved too heavy for the framework, and the whole sank in the bed of the river, where the gun lay buried in the sand when 1 (Major Thorn) last saw it".

At Agrah in 1803 Lord Lake also obtained a fine 72- pouuder of the same composition as the great gun", together with 76 brass guns and 86 iron ones of different kinds, such as mortars, howitzers, carronades, and gallopers, with thirty-three tumbrils. The brass gnns were in general of the same manufacture and construction as those taken at Dihli; and in the camp and town (Agrah) several of the iron ones were of that description called bar guns, and the whole were mounted either on travelling carriages with elevating screws, or on country block carriages turning on a large pivot (Thorn, 190).

There are some large guns of the Moghul period at Labor. There is the Zamzamah (The Thunderer), one of two cast by a man named Shah NazTr, by order of Shah Wall Khan, prime minister of Alimad Shah, Abdali, (1747 — 1773). It is of brass and was used, so Muhammad Latif says, at the battle of Panipat in 1761, though this is inconsistent with the tariM it bears (1179 h. or 1765/6). The fellow gun was lost in the Chinab river ; and this one was removed by the Sikh leader, Har Singh, BhangT, from the village of Khwajah Sa^id, two miles from Labor, where the Abdali had his arsenal. It bears . an inscription of twenty-two lines, of which the last two are :

ARTILLERY. — HEAVY (lUMS. 127

Ba^d taslwi ha gufta: Top

Paikar-i-azhdahae, citash'haz\ (1179 z. ^. 1765/6).

After obeisance he exclaimed 'The dragon shaped, fire- vomiting, cannon'." Its length is 14 feet 45 inches and the diameter of the bore is 91 inches. These is also at Lahor another large gun made in 1182 h. (1768 — 9) by Shuja'at Khan, Safdar Jang, a governor of Multan; it bears the name of Kohshikan (The Mountain Destroyer) and weighs 110 maunds (Syad Muhammad Latif, "Lahor", p. 386).

Moor, "Narrative", 420, refers to descriptions of large guns by Dow, "History of Hindostan", ii, 278 (a reference which I cannot trace in my edition) and by Rennell, "Memoir", 61. The two referred to by Dow were at Arcot and Dacca. Rennell measured the second of these, but before the end of the 18<^li century, it and the bank on which it rested had fallen into the river. The weight of an iron shot for it was 465 pounds, and Moor calculates the weight of one for Malik'i'inaidan to be 2646to pounds.

Sixty eight guns were taken by Lord Lake outside Dihli on the 16th Sept. 1803 (Thorn, 117). They were of dif- ferent sorts, the whole mounted on field carriages with limbers and traces complete. The iron guns were of Euro- pean manufacture: but the brass guns, mortars, and howitzers had been cast in India, with the exception of one Portuguese three-pounder. Some were made at Math- ura and others at Ujjain, but evidently from the design and execution of a European artist. The dimensions in general were those of the French, and the workmanship highly finished. The guns had belonged to the disciplined troops of Sendhiah, and the above description abundantly shows that they were not strictly Moghul weapons at all, but an equipment prepared under the supervision of Euro- peans in the native service.

A somewhat later account (1809) of Sendhiah's artillery is found in Broughton, 109. Sendhiah then had 66 guns.

128 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHUJ.S.

twenty-seven in his own park, ten of large calibre, the rest of various sizes and descriptions. Thirty one guns were attached to his regular brigade ; these were all of different sizes, but few were so large as an English six-pounder. Besides these he had eight curricle guns, each drawn by a pair of bullocks: they were very small and were called the orderly" guns from their following in the Maharajah's retinue.

Wooden Guns. Under the stress of necessity these strange substitutes for ordinary cannon were used by the Sikhs on two occasions. For instance, we learn that when the Sikhs in Dec. 1710 evacuated their fort of Lohgarh in the outer hills, they blew up a cannon which they had made out of the trunk of a tamarind tree" (Kamwar Khan, entry of 19^^ Shawwal 1122 h.). Another writer, Ghulam Muhi-ud-din Khan, fol. 37/^), tells us that when they were besieged in Gurdaspur in 1715, the Sikhs, though they had the light artillery that they had taken from Wazir Khan, faujdar of Sihrind, Bayazid Khan, and Shams Khan, were unprovided with heavier pieces. These they replaced by hollowed-out trunks of trees, strengthened by heavy iron bands placed close together. From these they threw balls of stone and iron. The Mahomedans estimated these make-shift cannon to he about half as effective as the usual kind. A. Demmin "Die Kriegswaffen", 108, speaks of wooden mortars used in Europe in the Middle Ages; they were formed of hollowed tree trunks bound with iron straps and furnished with a metal touchhole. And so late as 1525 the rebellions peasants who besieged their Arclibishop in Strasburg were in possession of wooden cannon. They also had leather cannon, such as at a later time were used by the Swedes! Demmin, p. 929, N'l 24^2^, has a figure of a wooden cannon froai Cochin China, said to be manu- factured there up to the present time. It appears to be a tree trunk strengthened by thirteen strong bands in its whole length.

ARTILLERY. — HEAVY GUNS. 129

Ghaharah. According to Steingass, 880, this is a bomb, a mortar for throwing shells. I have only once come across it; Rustaui 'All, Bijnorl, uses it on fol. 30^/ of his "History of the Rohelas" (written about 1780): Toj), rahkalah, gha- bare, dhamakah, (jnj?icd, shutarnal, jazalr, sherbache, qain- chi banon ke, lekar.

Beg {Mortars). We find in the official manuals a class of men among the Ahsham, styled Deg-andaz, literally "pot- throwers". In present usage deg denotes a mortar, and it may have meant the same at the end of the 17^^ and beginning of the 18^^^ century, when the manuals referred to were drawn up. But it seems to me more probable that these men carried some sort of fire-pot or hand- grenade, which they threw when two armies were coming to close quarters.

Ttr. This word, literally "arrow", after acquiring the extended meaning of bullet, musket, or cannon ball (Stein- gass 340), was then converted into a word denoting the calibre of a gun. For instance, in the letters of Chhabilah Ram, Nagar, ^Ajdib-ul-afaq, fol. 345, we have, Hamrah- i-jidwiyat'irtisam sih top-i-kamtir, "with this loyal servant are three guns of small calibre" ; and again a little farther, upon the same folio, Wa yak zarb-i-top-i-kalan-tlr , "and one cannon of large calibre". With its meaning of "cannon ball" we find t'lr in the expression ilrah-hand for "loaded", used by Rustam "All, BijnorT, in his "History of the Rohelahs", fol. 435.

Miscellaneous. We come now to various instruments, mostly of obscure application and use, which are mentioned here and there by the historians. These are Badal'ijah, Manjaniq, Sang-ra'd, Sarkob , Top-i-hawae, Muqabil-kob, Chcidar, Ruqqah-i-atash. Most of these are named by Horn, 28, 29, 35.

Badakjah. Steingass, 140, defines it as a sort of cannon. Mhd Kazim uses the form Badalij i^Alamgir namah 98, line 3, ba zarb-i-badalij az pae dar amad). Once Ghulam

130 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

^Ali Khan, Muqaddamah-i-Shah ^Alam-namah^ fol. 795) uses this word hadaUj when speaking of the war materiel to be found in Lahor fort in 1165 h. (1752). I have not seen the word elsewhere, nor can I tell what kind of thing it was.

Manjamq. This seems to have been in the nature of a catapult. vSteingass 1324, defines it, a warlike engine, cata- pulta, balista, sling a pulley, machine for raising great weights, a crane. Horn, 35, quotes from Elliot, vi, 139, a reference to the use of a man^anlq at the siege of Asirgarh. It is also used in the Tankh-i-Alfi (Horn 29, Elliot, v, 170). This word was applied to the scaffold raised by some French explorers when examining the upper part of the Naqsh-i-Rustam tombs in Persia, (E. G. Browne, "A year in Persia", 250).

Sangrdd. Steingass, 702, calls this a stone ball for a cross-bow, a stone roller for smoothing flat roofs. Is it not more probably another name for a catapult throwing large stones ?

Sarkob. Horn, 132, referring ioilie Akbarnctm ah /m,^)^^^ line 11, speaks of it as a wall breaker or battering ram. Steingass, 676, has, "a machine erected to overtop a wall, a battery, a battering machine, vany eminence which com- manded a fortress or houses, a citadel". Several of these definitions seem to make it the same thing as siba, which we shall speak of a little further on. The word sarkob for a battering ram is used by Jauhar, Aftabchi, fol. 165, when describing the siege of Chunar in 942 h. (1535). Nizam- ud-din, Tabaqat-i'Akbar 8hahl, fol. 1515, in his account of the same events calls the ram a muqdbil-kob.

Top-i-haivde. Horn, 28, calls attention to a passage in Khafi Khan, ii, 226, where this expression is used. He is writing of Sldl Ya^qut in the Dakhin during ^Alamgir's reign (year 1079 h. — 1668-9), and he says o tophde hawae ba-hani rasdndah^ bar darakht-hde bastah, loaqt-i-sliab taraf-i- Dandd Bdjpurl at ash niiddd. "Having provided some top-

ARTILl.ERY. — HEAVY GUNS. Kjl

i'hawae (air guns?) and having fixed them on trees, at night time fired them in the direction of Danda Rajpuri". This is all we know of this mysterious weapon.

C/tadar. In the Maasir-i-'^Alamglrl 295, line 13, year 1098 H. (1686), when the army was before Gulkandah, I find this passage, o yah tassuj pesh qadam na shudan-i- mardum az harish-i-tufang o ban o chadar o huqqah fjhair az Ixushtah shudan o zakhml gardldan maqsad sural nagirift. "From the rain of matchlocks and rockets and 'chadar and 'huqqaJt, the men could not advance a single inch, and no purpose was effected but to be slain or wounded". The context shows that c/tadar is here something that was fired off, but I do not know what. Elsewhere, as the con- text shows, the word denotes some kind of tent. As for instance in Ashob, fol. 265flf, ba pal iva chadar iva tambu, where chadar cannot possibly mean anything but a kind of tent. I have also seen the word chadar employed in a way that made it mean a sort of mantlet used as a field protection to gunners. I have mislaid my reference to the passage.

Euqqah'i-dtash. Horn, 29, refers to Budaoni, i, 376, line 7 from bottom, but I think it must be, i, 371, 372. (Ranking, 482). It was at the siege of Kalinjar in Bundel- khand in 952 h. (1545 — 1546). Sher Shah stood near the wall and ordered huqqah to be thrown into the fort. By chance one of these struck the wall and coming back with force broke in pieces, and the fragments falling on the other huqqahs, set fire to them and blew up Sher Shah. This passage does not show whether they were bombs fired from a mortar or thrown by the hand; but it is clear that they must have been one or the other. It shows that the projectile itself was called huqqah, a name derived no doubt from some resemblance in shape to the ordinary huqqah used in smoking. Steingass, 426, has huqqah-i-rdash, a kind of rocket used in war. Huqqah were used in 1044 h. (1634 — 5) by the defenders of Dhamonl in Bundelkhand,

132 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Badshahnamah, i, part 2, p. 108. The Central Asian word for the same thing seems to have been qarorah, see Mujmil- ut-tarlH bad Nadinyah, p. 78, line 13. We meet with another mention of these Ituqqah in an account of an assault on Dig by Najaf Khan's troops in 1191 h. (1777), see Khair-ud-din Mhd, 'Ibratncimah, \, p. 425. The Rohe- lahs scaled the wall by digging their knives into it and helping each other up, then hisarvi/an, hairan'i'nairangl'i- rozgar, sabackahd o Iiaqqah-hae baritt bar sar-i-shan ml andakhtand. "The garrison, harrassed by the instability of fortune, threw on their heads small pots {sabuchaJi) and huqqahs of gunpowder". This goes to show they were hand-grenades. The same author, i, 75, speaks on an earlier occasion of the garrison of Fatnah in 1173 h. (1759) resisting an assault by sabuchah-i-bdrut. There are some farther remarks on the J/uqqah under the head of Sieges.

CHAPTER XI.

LIGHT ARTILLERY.

Bernier, 217, says the artillery in 1658 was of two sorts, the heavy and the light, or "as they call the latter, the artillery of the Stirrup". Another general name sometimes applied to the light field guns is toplhanah-i-rezah or "small artillery" {Alrwal-ul-khawaqln, 190<^). We also find it styled topkhanah-i'jambishl, "moveable artillery", by Khushlial Chand, Berlin ms. 495, fol. 1144^ and elsewhere. But more frequently the reading is iop-Jchdnah-i-jinsi. We find this in Khafi Khan, ii, 953, where the meaning seems to be "miscellaneous artillery" and in Tarlkh-i-Almad 8haJi, fol. 1243, under date the 18th Jamadlli", 1167 h., ll^h April 1754. In the latter passage the sentence reads — "the jinsi artillery, large and small, was ordered to be collected under the JharokaJi' (balconied window of the palace). Here it is made to include cannon of all sizes, and is used probably as equivalent to "the artillery attached to the emperor's person". Top-hhanah-i-jilau^ we are told by Colonel Colombari, 36, is the word used by Mirza Mahdi in Jahan kushUe Nadirl for "moveable artillery". I have not been able to find the passage intended. But the word is used in Mujmil-ut-tankh bad Ncidiriyali^ p. 86, line 9.

This division into heavy and light artillery endured up to the end of the Moghul period, but I should describe the Artillery of the Stirrup rather as a subdivision of the Light artillery than as an identical term for it. For instance, distinct from the Artillery of the Stirrup proper, Bernier

184 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

tells US that Aurangzlb had two hundred to three hundred light camels, each of which carried a small field-piece, of the size of a double musket, attached on the back of the animal "much in the same way as swivels are fixed in our vessels".

Artillery of the Stirrup. The Stirrup {rikab) was a figu- rative expression for the emperor's immediate entourage. To be at Court was to be hazir-i-rikab, "present with the Stirrup". The artillery called by this name consisted in Bernier's time (Travels, ~218, 363) of "fifty or sixty small field-pieces, all of brass; each piece mounted on a well- made and handsomely painted carriage containing two ammunition chests, one behind and one in front, and ornamented with a variety of small red streamers„ The carriage with the driver was drawn by two fine horses, and attended by a third horse, led by an assistant driver as a relay. The light artillery is always intended to be near the king's person, and on that account takes the name of the artillery of the stirrup. When he resumes his journey in the morning and is disposed to shoot or hunt in game preserves, the avenues to which are guarded, it moves straight forward and reaches with all possible speed the next place of encampment, where the royal tents and those of the principal omrahs have been pitched since the pre- ceding day. The guns are there ranged in front of the king's quarters, and by way of signal to the army, fire a volley the moment he arrives". Sendhiah in later days imitated this practice, but called such guns his "orderly" artillery (Broughton, 109). But after 'Alamgir's reign and until European ideas were introduced towards the end of the IS*'*^ century, I do not find mention anywhere else that cannon were dragged by horses. Either oxen or elephants were used, to the exclusion of horses.

Names for Light Cannon. For the lighter guns we come across many names, several of which are probably diff'erent words for practically the same thing. The names that I

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 135

have collected are 1) Gajnal, 2) Hathncd, 3) Shutarnrdj 4) Zamhiirak, 5) Slia/nn, 6) Dhamaknh^ 7) BamjanaH and 8) Bahkalah. There is also a word rahraii (literally, "mover, traveller") used on fol. 1005 of the Tarlkh-i- Alamgir Sam. Referring to the dismantling of the Dihli fort by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1170 h. (January 1757) it says: "the great and small cannon that were on the bastions and over the gateways were brought down; also the rahrau of the moveable {jinsi) artillery". In reality there seem to have been only two classes of light artillery, which may be designated respectively, (1) Swivel-guns or Wall-pieces, (11) Field pieces. The distinction lies in the fact that the first class, the smaller pieces, were carried on the backs of ani- mals, while the second were transported on some sort of wheeled carriage. The Bahkalah (N°. 8) represents the second of these classes, and the other seven belong to the first category.

1) Gajnal, 2) Hathnal. The words mean literally ' 'ele- phant barrel" from H. (/aj and H. hat hi, elephant, and P. 7ial, a tube or gun-barrel; for the former Steingass, 1017, has the alternative form kajnal. They are mentioned in the Aj7i, i, 113, and were thus called because they were carried on elephants backs. From the Jauhar-i-samsam (Fuller's translation, fol. 50) it would seem that each elephant carried two gapicd pieces and two soldiers. We are led to infer that they were fired from the back of the elephant. But perhaps the gun was placed on the elephant for transport only, and dismounted before it was discharged. In any case, the practice of using elephants for such a purpose soon ceased to be common, as we seldom find any trace of it in the later reigns. The word Jiarnal, literally "male-barrel", quoted by Horn, 28, from the Ajn, i, 113, 1 have never met with in any of the later writers. It was Akbar's name for matchlocks which one man could carry.

3) Shutanial, 4) Zamburak, 5) Shahm, These words seem

130 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

all three to refer to the same weapon, what we should call a swivel-gun or wall-piece. Shutarnal is literally camel-gun barrel", and denotes the fact that they were sometimes carried on and fired from camels' backs. ZamhUrah is derived from zamhUr, a bee or wasp, with a diminutive added, and thus means a little wasp", probably in allusion to its sound when fired, or its power of stinging or wounding. Sliahm, literally falcon", seems a later name for the same thing; a name which was brought into India by Nadir Shah (1738—9) or Ahmad Shah, Abdall (c. 1760). Horn, 28, refers to it, quoting from Dowson's Elliot, viii, 398, a passage in Nig elm ama //A- Hind of Sayyad Ghulam ^Ali. See also W. Egerton, 29. An anonymous Indian writer {Waqat^-diyar-i'maghrih) describing the Durrani empire in 1212 H. (1797-8), writes of "the shakn-khanah, which are also called zamburalc\ The name shaJim may have been a translation of the European "falconet". Colonel F. Co- lombari "Les Zemboureks", Paris, 1853, p. 28, says it was the Afghans of Qandahar who first fixed the zambUraJc or falconet to the saddle by a moveable pivot. This mode was in use by them when they invaded Persia in 1722. Up to that time the camel had been used for transport only; the weapon when in use being placed on a rough wooden carriage, on the ground.

As to the size of the zamburak or shutamcd, we are told by Bernier, 217, that it was "a small field-piece of the size of a double musket". Horn, 28, quoting from the French edition of Bernier (Paris, 1670, p. 110, ed. A. Con- stable 47, 218) adds that "a man seated behind it on the camel can load and discharge the gun without dismounting". A later observer gives a different account of their use [Seir, i, 250, note 34). "Zamburaks are long swivels with one or two-pound balls. Two of them are carried fastened upon the saddle of a camel; and when they are brought into play, the camel is, as usual, made to kneel on the ground ; but to prevent his rising, each leg is fastened, bent

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 137

at it is, with cord, and the animal remains immoveable". According to eJonas Hanway, "Revohitions of Persia", 3^ ed. 1762, ii, 153, this method was also adopted by the Persians for their "harquebuses". "Each of these pieces, with its stock, was mounted on a camel, which lay down at command; and from the backs of these animals, trained to this exercise, they charged and fired these arms". Mundy, 215, states the way of using the camel-gun diflPer- ently : "the gun revolves on a swivel fixed on the pummel of the saddle, and the bombardier, sitting astride behind it, loads and fires with wonderful quickness". This refers to Sendiah's army in 1828.

6) Blinmakah. In one or two places 1 find Bhamakah mentioned along with rahkalah, as for instance in Jauliar- i-samsam, fol. 155^5 and Kamwar Khan, 227 (year 1132 h.). The word is used in the Ajn, i, 115, N*^. 39, for some kind of matchlock. But it was probably applied in later times to a small field piece of the same kind as the rah- halah, although 1 am unable to tell in what particulars they differed. The word is, of course, the Hindi dhamah 7/, the sound made by any heavy body falling on tc the ground. I recollect, in a case of murder brought befrre me, that this word was applied to the thud made by a dead body falling into a well. Shakespear doe^ not give the word in this, its more usual, meaning, but defines it as a kind of cannon carried on an elephant. Forbes copies Shakespear. Fallon, 659, has, however, as second meaning "a blow, thump"; and as third meaning the very vague word "firelock", which does not suit the passages where 1 have found the word ; it was rather some kind of light field piece.

7) Ramjanakl. Another unusual word for some sort of light field-piece is ramjaJd or ramjanakl (Jauhar4-mmsam , fol. 155fl). I also find the word used during the period 1134—1147 H. in the Alnocd-i-khawaqin, fol. 216^, where 1 read it Uamchangl. It is given as Bamjangl on fol. 8« 

138 THE AllMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

of the Hidayat'ul-quwaid of Hidayat-ullali, Bahari, com- posed in 1128 H. I cannot suggest even a derivation for the name.

Organ {Argliun). "A weapon called an organ, which is composed of about 36 gun barrels so joined as to fire at once"; Letter from De Boigne's camp at Mairtha, dated 13th Sept. 1790, in H. Compton's "Military adventurers", p. 61. Steingass, 38, has, Greek, ^^c,' an organ, or o^^^^- Mr. Compton suggests the comparison with a mitrailleuse.

Chala7il. This is a word used by Rustam ^All, BijnorT, in his "History of the Rohelahs", fol. Via-, huhn taiyari saz ^araq, rakkala/i, chalanl, gajual, shutarncil ka. Evidently from the collocation of words it is some sort of offensive weapon. But as to what it is the dictionaries give no help; and I have not met the word elsewhere.

Field Pieces. We come now to the second class of light artillery, that of field pieces mounted on wheeled carriages. Of the further subdivision of this branch into ordinary fifld artillery and artillery of the stirrup we have already sp ^ken. I have not come across any description of the pieces in purely Moghul times, but Fitzckrence, 88, writes thus of those taken from the Mahrattas at Jabalpur in 1817. "They were of cast brass with iron cylinders, two of them three and two bix-pounders, but they are so thick that till 1 looked at the bore I thought they were six and nine. Six tumbrils with their bullocks fell into our hands, with much ammunition and great stores of balls, grape and chain-shot. They appeared to be very careless with their powder, as large quantities of it lay loose near the guns . . . The carriages of the guns and tumbrils have hands painted on them in red, and the only explanation 1 could get of the emblem, used here as well as on the colours, is that it is meant for ^ujali (worship)" \

• On the significance of the open hand as an emblem much light is

thrown in a learned article by the late Mr. O'Neill in the "Pall Mall Magazine" for June 4895, pp. 59—72.

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 139

Thirteen of the four-pounders taken from the Mahrattas outside Dihli in September 1803 were of a similar make, namely, they were iron cylinders or bores over which it would seem the metal was run in casting the piece, "the adherence being so close that no chasm appeared, and nothino^ but the different colours of the two metals dis- covered the junction. The iron cylinder or bore was com- posed of four longitudinal pieces of hammered iron, remark- ably close and neatly fitted throughout the bore" (Thorn, "War", 1J7). Here again we have to remember that these guns were most probably produced in workshops super- intended by the Frenchmen in the Mahratta service.

Bahkalah. In all histories of the later Moghul period we find a word rahhalah used in connection with artillery. Literally it means a cart (Shakes. 1203, Hindi). The word rahhalah may be heard to this day in the Upper Duab applied to the smallest size of bullock-cart, one having a platform or body and wheels, but no sides. This cart, also called a larrl, is used to carry produce from the fields to the threshing floor, and for similar light work. The word seems also to be in ordinary use in the town of Bombay for a country cart \ But in historical works it means a field piece or small gun, including of course the vehicle for its transport. These guns were drawn by bullocks. No doubt, as a passage in the Akhbar-i-muhabhat, p. 277, w^ould show, rahkalah was strictly speaking the name of the gun-carriage only: Ear do dast dar zer-i-rahkalah burdah, top ra ba rahhalah ta sinah bardasht, "Bringing both hands beneath the rahhalah, he lifted both gun {top) and carriage {rahhalah) as high as his chest". In ordinary

' Parliamentary Paper No. 538, March 1894, p. 30, para. 29 of report by Acting Commr. of Police, Bombay, "natives of Kathiawad, who for the most part find an occupation in driving rehlas (small bullock carts)". Apparently these rehlas are the small gaily painted bullock carriages used for conveying people about in Bombay, one of which is depicted in the water colour by H. Van Ruilt (Loan Collection, Empire of India Exhibition, 1895, No. 398).

140 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

circumstances no such distinction was made, and when we read of the number of top and rahkalah in an array, we understand thereby so many siege-guns and field pieces. The word arahah is distinctly used for a field piece in line 1317 of the Hindi poem by Shridhar Murlidhar of Prag on the battle between FarrukhsTyar and Jahandar Shah, composed c. 1712;

cFT cJTT cFTH cfTT ^T ^^^ ^ T\Z ^Tc^f^ ZV\ cFT

kar-kar-hara-kaf sou arctbe chhuten, tat pakani tapkl

But more frequently he uses the word rahkala. Another 18^^ century poet, Lai, in his Chhatar-prakash (p. 267, doha 15, line 2) also uses «ra^e as the name of a swivel-gun :

Goli-gola chhutat arahe.

Calling the whole thing a cart {rahkalah or ^arcibah) is only equivalent to our saying a "gun", when we mean the gun with its carriage, or the Indians saying chakra, a wheel, when they mean a cart. In all three cases the name of a part is used to express the whole of a thing.

^Aradah'top. This is the name used in Khurasan for what must have been a field-piece, that is, in other words, a rahkalah. It is used by Mahmud-ul-Munshi in his Tarlkh-i- Ahmad Shahi, fol. 195 and elsewhere.

Qasarah. This weapon, evidently meaning some sort of field piece, is mentioned by the author of the Eusain Shahl, fol. lib and elsewhere, as forming part of the equipment of the Durrani armies.

Remarks on use of the loords ^arabah a?id rahkalah'". I have not traced back the first adoption, in the secondary sense of a field piece, of a word originally meaning a cart. Either the usage was of Indian origin and of a date anterior to Babar's time; or it might have begun with the translation of a Turkish or Arabic word already in use in the Cha- ghatae army. The former is, I think, the preferable opinion.

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 141

Thus Babar in his "Memoirs" uses a word which also means originally a cart, the Arabic word ^arahah. But if this were in Turki the well known and accepted name of the cart on which a gun was placed, why does Babar's cousin and contemporary use the Persian word gardim (lit. wheel) for the same thing? See Tarlkh-i-Uashidi, ed. Elias and Ross, 474.

"Arahah. Does Babar by this word mean nothing but a cart, or does he include in it the field piece also? The question is an interesting one. When recounting his pre- parations for the battle of PanTpat in April 1526, Babar, "Memoires", P. de C, ii, 161, tells us that he ordered his men to bring as many ^arabah as they could, and they collected seven-hundred. These were bound together with strips of hide, and in the intervals palisades of some sort {turali) were erected, the whole forming a kind of stockade or field protection. How, then, should we translate here the word "arabah? Literally it is, of course, cart; and for that literal version Pavet de Courteille, ii, 273, and Dr. Horn, 28, give their vote. On the contrary, Leyden and Erskine, "Memoirs of Baber", 304, prefer to render the word by "gun-carriage" and in other places "gun". Sir Henry Elliot follows suit, "Mah. Hist.", vi, 468, adding the curious assertion that "Babar had no light pieces at Panipat". Pavet de Courteille admits that a cart i^araba/i), being used to transport a field piece, could also be described as a "gun-carriage". But the main objection to this rendering is, in his opinion and that of Dr. Horn, the improbability that Babar had 700 cannon of any sort at Panipat; or that in another instance, given by Babar, the Persians could have had 2000 pieces, the word used being in both cases the same, that is, ^ardbah (P. de Courteille, "Memoires", ii, 161, 376). Elphinstone, "History", 363, following W. Erskine in his later work on Babar and Humayun, i, 433, writes, "linked his gu7is together by ropes of twisted leather".

Looking to the small size of these Bahkalahs, throwing

142 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

probably a ball of only two or three pounds' weight, it would not be very difficult to collect a large number of them. Nor would it be impossible to gather together seven hundred or even two thousand of such light pieces. Taking, then, all the probabilities of the case into account, the view of Pavet de Courteille and of Dr. Horn seems wrong, while that of Leyden, Erskine, Elphinstone and H. M. Elliot is more likely to be correct. We may safely believe, I think, that by ^arahah Babar meant not only a cart, but a cart with the small £fun carried on it. The onlv difficulty is that in other passages Babar combines with the word ^arabah (cart) the word zarh-zan (lit. "blow- striker") to designate the gun itself ("Memoires", P. de C, ii, 168, 336), and therefore, it may be argued, he would mean by "arahah, used by itself, a cart and nothing more. But these very passages, where zarh-zan occurs, may be turned round to strengthen the argument in favour of ^ardba/i sometimes meaning a gun. For they show that Babar had field pieces in his army. If so, then where were these guns at the decisive battle of PanTpat? Unless we accept with H. M. Elliot the very improbable conclusion that Babar had then no light artillery at all, the obvious answer is that they were on the ^arabah, with which he formed his first line of field defences in preparation for the battle. This operation of entrenching the artillery and chaining the guns together, was a common device in the battles of later times. And we may infer that what his successors did so often afterwards, was what Babar did at Panipat, that is, he placed his artillery in front of his force in a long line, and there partially entrenched it and chained the guns together.

Turah or Tobrah. As part of this question of Babar's use of guns in his battle against Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat, there arises a curious side issue about the meaning of the obscure word turah, s^y, or tobrah, «yy. First of all, which is correct, turah or tobrah'^ The latter form is that used

LIGHT ARTir-LERY. 143

by Nizani-ud-dln, Tahnqat-i-Akhar 8/iaJn, fol. 141^7, fol- lowed by his friend, 'Abdul-qadir, Budaonl, (Bibl. Ind. i, 334, line 4). It does not seem to be a scribe's error, for in that case it would not have been adopted by a con- temporary, Budaonl, without any question. It is strange that Nizam-ud-dln Bakhshl, a soldier, a man highly placed at Akbar's court, and living barely two generations from Babar's time, should have misread Babar's "Memoirs", from which, as is quite evident, he derived his information about the battle of Panipat. Yet all the other sources that I have been enabled to consult agree in giving the word as tUrah, I am indebted to Mr. H. Beveridge for many valuable notes on these authorities. An excellent manuscript of the Turk! Baharnamali owned by Mr. Say3^ad All BilgramT, fol. 264^, line 6, has tUra twice in the same line; Ilminsky's Turkish text, p. 341, four lines from foot, has ^f/^m twice; the Bombay lithographed edition of the Persian text, p. 173, has turah. In the Akbarnamah (Lucknow edition i, 74, line 2), Abu^l Fazl, who is here evidently using Babar's "Memoirs", has tUrah. Then Erskine and Leyden, in [their translation of the Babarnamah, p. 304, found the word to be turah in the manuscripts they used; and in a later work, "History of India", i, 433, Erskine practically adheres to this version. To sum up, there can be little doubt, I think, that the word Babar used was turah and not tobrah. It is a little difficult to account for Nizam-ud-din making such a mistake. Perhaps finding a word turah, of which he did not know the meaning he altered it into the more obvious term, tobrah, a nose-bag. Although he thus obtained a word more definite in meaning than the other, one asks in astonishment how leather nose-bags could be converted into breast-works or palisades or shields ? Here the ingenuity of ^Abd-ul-qadir, Budaoni, comes to the rescue. In his Muntakhab-ut-tawarikh, Bib. Ind., i, 334, line 4, which is almost word for word a copy of Nizam-ud-din, and there- fore of the Babarnamah, he writes "between each pair of

144 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGIIULS.

carts i^arabah), six or seven nose-bags {tohrah) full of earth {pur4-khak) were arranged". Being furnished by Nizam- ud-din with the word tohrah, a nose-bag, he at once in- vented the earth with which he filled them, in order to make the use of such an unsuitable article somewhat more plausible. Of nose-bags there must have been plenty in an army consisting nearly entirely of cavalry, but even four thousand nine hundred of them (700 X 7) would furnish a very sorry protection to the soldiers, and if filled with earth could not be carried raised in the air" as the turah occasionally was. Sir H. M. Elliot, Mahomedan Historians", vi, 469, accepts Budaoni's version as quite satisfiictory, and as affording a gratifying explanation of the use to which the nose-bags were put: see Dr. Horn, 74, 75, who gives the references just quoted, which I have verified. Colonel Rru- king, i, 439, I am glad to see, takes the view that I do, namely, that tohrah is a wrong reading for turah. The difficulty about carrying in the air also throws doubt on D. Price's ("Retrospect", iv, 678) and H. Beveridge's {Akhar- namah i, 242) rendering of "gabion"; although in fairness, one is bound to admit that this word fits better than any other the description of the turah as used by Babar at the battle of Panipat.

At times the leather nose-bags {tohrah) were, however, put to strange uses, as can be seen in the Tdrikh-i-Eusain Shahi, fol. 39r/. At the end of 1760, during one of the encounters which preceded the crowning victory of Panipat, Shah Pasand Khan, generalissimo of Ahmad Shah, Durrani, was seated on the edge of a well, cleaning the blood from his sword, when Shuja^-ud-daulah's retinue passed by. On the Nawab congratulating him, the general asked, "How many infidels thinkest thou we have slain?" "At the least five thousand", replied the Nawab. The Afghan said jokingly, "Give me one rupee each for them, and I will make over to thee twenty thousand heads". Then he shouted to his troopers, and each man as he rode up emptied the heads out of

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 145

his nose-bag at the feet of the Nawab. There were from two to four in each bag.

Tdrah, the meaning of the word. \V. Erskine, "Memoirs of Baber", 304, in the passage we have just been discussing, translates "breastworks", and adds in a note that "the meaning assigned to Turnh is merely conjectural". In addition to its use as a term of military art, turah has several other meanings, some of which are better known. Steingass, 334, has torah^ Turkish, "law, regulation, custom, rite, a law instituted by Changiz Khan". The meaning under discussion he gives on the same page under the form of tUra. But he does not seem to have the not unusual one of "scion of a royal house", (especially when set up as a claimant to the throne), see Pavet de Courteille, "Diet." 224. In this last sense Indian writers use the word whenever the occasion arises. For one instance among many, Muhammad Qasim, Aurangabadi, applies it in his Jhival-i-khawaqin, 1725, to the pretender. Prince Nekusiyar. The above three meanings can easily be derived from the Arabic word ^i^/, "Anything behind which shelter can be taken" (Kazmirski, ii, 1516). The same word, with quite a different meaning, turns up in the Badshdhnamah, ii, 208, year 1051 h. (1641-2). It is used there for a gift made to the widows of Yamin-ud-daulah, and is explained as being "nine pieces of unsewn clothing". According to Platts, "Dictionary", 342, this torah is an Indian word for dishes or trays of food and so forth, sent out as presents. In this sense it is also used more than once in the Tdrlkh-i-^Alamc/lr Sdm^yesiY 1171 h., folios 1735, 175r/ and 176^7

As a military term, what then was a turah or tfird? In the passage having reference to the battle of PanTpat, Pavet de Courteille, "Memoires", ii, 161, translates "sorte de palis- sades". In his "Dictionnaire Turc-Oriental", 225, the same author defines the tarah as pieces of wood and iron bound together with chains and hooks, behind which the soldiers took shelter. The word appears in other places in Babar's

10

146 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

memoirs. For instance, "the infantry marched in front, their turah raised in the air" (P. de C, i, 150, Ilminsky, p. 86, six lines from foot, Erskine, 74), and "orders were given to prepare turah and ladders, and also all that is necessary for the turah ^ without which a town cannot be taken by assault" (id. ii, 328). The exact kind of thing intended is thus left extremely vague, as is shown by Pavet de Courteille's alternatives ("Memoires", ii, 828) "sorte de palissades ou de boucliers". Perhaps Babar em- ployed the word in a shifting, somewhat elastic sense, applying it to anything coming under the general meaning of "a shelter" or '*a protection". I suppose it was usually what European military writers would call a mantlet (see Lake, "Sieges", 216, note). Apparently the same sort of thing was used by the Mahrattahs at the siege of Karnala in

1670, where "they advanced by throwing up boards

which they carry before them", Grant Dnff, 110, quoting the Bombay Records. Quatremere, "Histoire des Mongoles de la Perse", i, 387, note, also holds that the turah was

• 'une sorte de mantelet", relying on three passages in the

Zafarnamah, two in the Kabib-us-siyar, and one respecti- vely in the Matla^'US-sa^dain and the Akharnamah \

Muhrah-i-rahkalah. This is an expression used by Mhd Qasim, Aurangabadi Akwal-i-khatvdqtn, 210^, for which I can find no meaning in the Persian dictionary. Describing his preparations for resisting an expected night attack of the Mahrattahs, he says, Ba har janih kih dar-rasand jamf-i'mubarizan faraham dmdah, muhrah-i-rahkalah ba muqabilah-i-dn nci-pdkdn bay ad kard. From this I infer that it means the nozzle or mouth of the gun. The same

1 I am indebted to Mr. H. Beveridge for calling my attention to the passage in Quatremere. The work referred to is "Collection Orientale, Manuscrits inedits de la Bibliotheque Royale — Histoire des Mongoles de la Perse, ecrite en Persan par Raschid eldin, publiee, traduite en frangais, accompagnee de notes et d'un momoire sur la vie et les oeuvres de I'auteur", par [Etienne Marc] Quatremere, Vol. i, folio, Paris, 1836. The Persian title is Jami'^-ut-tawarikh.

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 147

word is used, id. 126/^, where it evidently means "chess- man". J. Shakespear, 2003, gives muhri (which he derives from munh, face) as the bore of a gun. This must be Mlid Qasim's meaning in the first of the above passages; but is not the word more probably connected with the Persian mori or muhri, a drain pipe? Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 1004^, uses the expression az muhrah-i-bandtiq majruh gasli- tah : and again id. 1015/5 (twice) and ]019fl. In the second of these four cases the word seems to refer to the mouth of the cannon; in the first, third, and fourth, to the ball or bullet itself. Ashob, fol. 262^, uses Muhrali quite plainly for the muzzle of a gun. He tells us that in 1739, during Nadir Shah's general slaughter in Dihli, having no weapons to defend their warehouses, some mer- chants resolved on frightening the Persians into leaving them unmolested. They removed the poles and bambus from their thatched roof, laid them on the walls and the top of the gate, with their ends toward the street, so that they looked like the barrels of matchlocks or wallpieccs, with their muzzles {muhrali) showing.

Ban {Rockets). Dr. Horn speaks of these on p. 39 of his treatise. Some form of rocket or fire-arrow was in use among Hindus from very early times. The word han is said by Stein- gass, 152, to be from vana, Sanskrit for an arrow. But takhsh used for a rocket in Elliot, M. Hist.", iii, 439, {MalfUzat-i- Taimurt), as quoted by Egerton, 17, is not found in any modern work. In the Ajn, i, 110, N". 13, we have takhsh kaman, but that is explained as a small bow, while rockets appear as ban, N°. 77, p. 112. Euqqah-i-dtash, defined by Steingass, 426, as a kind of rocket, has been placed by me under mortars, which see, ante p. 129. The stick of a rocket was apparently called chharl (h. a stick), see Khafi Khan, ii, 304, line 15, year 1095 h., sadmah-i-chobchharl- i-ban ba dahan-i-u rasidah bud: He had received a blow on the mouth from the stick {chob-chharl) of a rocket". In Tartkh-i-^Alamglr Sanl, fol. lo2a, we have a word

148 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

descriptive of some portion of a rocket, which reads ^^j-^., pu/a/c, but must be intended, I think, for 1^j>j , pun(/d, "a hollow tube", Platts, "Dictionary", 281. A thing called qainchi-i'han is mentioned twice in the Ahwdl-i-khawdqln (209<^, 219/5i) and Khushhal Chand speaks of Mahabat Jang, governor of Bengal, having with him in 1155 h. (1742) two thousand qaichl-i-bdn [Nddir-uz-zamdnl, Berlin Ms. W\ 495, fol. 1128«]. See also Ashob, fol. 110«, and again 122fir, who uses the word qaicM when writing in 1198 — 1199 h. of the events of 1150 h. I am not able to say what this was; but I guess it to have been a tripod or support from which the rocket was fired. Steingass, 997, gives qai?ichi, scissors. Perhaps, however, it is only one of the descriptive words so often used, like zanjir with elephants or rds with horses; in that case it adds nothing to the meaning. Another obscure name, in connection with rockets, hahak-hmihd, is found in the Akbarndmah (Lucknow edition, iii, 19, line 9). The only suggestion I can offer is, that it refers to the screaming noise made by some special kind of rocket, and that the word is, h., kuhuk, the cry of the koil, or scream of the peacock.

Rockets were an invariable part of the equipment of a Moghul army. Bernier, 48, speaks of their being used by Dara Shukoh at the battle of Samugarh in 1658, and references to them might be multiplied almost indefinitely. Ashob, fol. 24 1«, speaks of the great number of rockets which fell into Nadir Shah's hands with the rest of Muhammad Shah's artillery in 1152 (1739). The rocket, according to this writer, was invented and first used in the Dakhin. In his time they were chiefly carried on camels, each of which carried ten rockets besides the rocket man. At times they were conveyed on carts drawn by two or four bullocks, each cart carrying fifteen rockets, besides the necessary attendants. The idea of the Congreve rocket, intro- duced into the British service in 1806, is said to have been obtained from those used by Tipu Sultan at Seringa-

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 149

patara in 1799, where Congreve was present as a subaltern. But rockets were not peculiar to Maisur, they had been used in all ages and before that time had spread all over India. They were used by the Nagpur Rajah at Jabalpur in 1817 (Fitzclarence, 87).

The Ban is N^. 77 of the list of weapons in the Ajn, i, 1 1 2, and is figure 62 of plate xiv. It was adorned with a small triangular flag of green, white, or red. Rocket men marched on each side of the emperor's moving throne or of his elephant. This practice was imitated by the Dutch envoy Kotelar, in his procession into Lahor in 1712 (Valentyn, iv, 283).

We possess several descriptions of the rocket. Moor, 509, quoting Major Dirom, says the rocket consisted of an iron tube of about a foot long and an inch in diameter, fixed to a bambu rod of ten or twelve feet long. The tube being filled with combustible composition, is set fire to, and being directed by the hand flies like an arrow to the distance of upwards of 1000 yards. Some of the rockets have a chamber, and burst like a shell; others called ground rockets, have a serpentine motion, and on striking the ground rise again and bound along till their force be spent. They make a great noise and exceedingly annoy the native cavalry in India, who move in great bodies; but are easily avoided or seldom take effect against our troops, who are formed in lines of great extent and no great depth".

They are thus spoken of by an anonymous European, writing in French about 1767, Orme Mss. 4307, "Fouquets {ban), a species of rocket or pipe of iron filled with fine powder well rammed, and tied to long sticks. They make a great noise in the air. They are used to throw at crowds and to embarrass cavalry, but it is easy to protect oneself against them. Mostly they create more disorder than they do damage. The Rohelahs are reputed more skilful with them than any one else. Every army has some. The foot soldiers in charge might be styled ^'grenadiers" ".

Difficulties arising in the use of rockets are well described

150 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

by Captain Thomas Williamson, 6:2, Bans are not very safe engines, being apt to turn back on those who use them. They are much employed among the native powers. The contrivance is very simple, being nothing more than a hollow cylinder of iron, about ten inches or a foot long, and from two to three inches in diameter, closed at the fore end, and the other having a small aperture for filling. These cylinders are tied strongly to Icitldes, or bamboo staves, six or seven feet long, parallel to the thickest end of the bamboo. The fuze at the vent is lighted, the direction is given by the operator, a slight cast of the hand commences the motion, and then the dangerous missile proceeds to its destination. The panic it occasions among cavalry is wonderful ! When it does fall where intended its effect is inconceivable ; all fiy from the hissing winding visitor, receiving perhaps a smart stroke from the stick, which gives direction to the tube and often causes it to make the most sudden and unexpected traverses. So deli- cate, indeed, is the management of this tremendous weapon, that without great precaution, those v/ho discharge them are not safe, and it requires much practice, not only to give them due elevation, by which their distance is pro- portioned, but to ensure that they shall not, in the very act of discharging, receive any improper bias, which would infallibly produce mischief among the party".

M. Wilks, "Hist. Sketches", ii, 27, note, says "The Indian rocket derives its projectile force from the same composition which is used in the rockets of ordinary fire works; the cylinder which contains it is of iron; and sometimes gunpowder at its extremity causes it to explode when it has reached its object: a straight sword blade is also not unfrequently affixed to the rocket; an attached bambu or reed steadies its flight; the rocket men are all trained to give them an elevation proportioned to the varying dimensions of the cylinder and the distance of the object to be struck : as those projected to any distance describe

LIGHT ARTILLERY. 151

a parabola of considerable height, a single rocket is easily avoided, but when the flight is numerous, the attempt would be useless and their momentum is always sufticient to destroy a man or a horse. Such was the ancient Indian instrument, so inferior to the Congreve rocket of modern European warfare".

Lastly, Fitzclarence, "Journey", 255, holds that "Rockets were early brought into use and are far from being an ineffectual weapon. They have an iron cylinder fastened with untanned leather thongs and transported on horses or animals, and on being lighted an additional impetus is given to them from the foot of the thrower. They will pass through the body of a horse or man". Opposite p. 35 of his book he gives a plate showing a private in the Camel Rocket Corps then (1817) forming part of the Bengal Army.

Malitah. On Husain 'All Khan's being despatched in 1714 against Ajit Singh of Jodhpur, part of his equipment was 100 Mahtah. I am not sure what these were; but as they are named along with rockets, I presume they were some kind of missile. Steingass, 1352, says mahtah is a kind of firew^ork ; and J. Shakespear, 2000, has "a kind of fireworks, blue lights", he refers to Qanoone Islam, where mahtah and naqti mahtah appear in the Appendix, p. Ixiv, under fireworks.

Powder Magazines. These were called BarUt-khanah, see Ghulam 'All Khan, Muqaddamah-i- Shah ^Alam-namah, fol. 885.

Pal-i-sii/ah. I find this expression twice at least in the Ahical-i-khawaqm (fols. 2095 and '2'27a); "The rahkalahs w^ere filled with pal-i-siyaK\ and it is thus either an ex- plosive or a projectile. In another passage in the same work, 625, the same word is used, where from the context it ought to mean a copper coin : kharmuhrah, o 'pal-i-siyah, zar-i-sufed o zar-i-surkh, i. e. a cowrie, a copper, silver coin, and gold coin. Steingass, 254, has put, a small coin.

Badar. I find this word used in the second of the above passages, badar hae-pal-i-siy ah. It was thus something in which the pal-i-siyah was contained. Is it badrah, a bag? (Steingass, 162).

CHAPTER XIT.

PERSONNEL OF THE ARTILIiERY.

Of this arm of the service it is doubtful whether the Moghuls knew much before they descended into the plains of India under Babar. What they did know was probably borrowed from the Turks and from Constantinople. Nor could the art and science of gunnery have been very ad- vanced in India itself, when the Moghuls arrived in that country in the first half of the 16^^ century. In the earlier Moghul period, at any rate, the emperors were dependent for their artillery on the help and instruction of Rumis, that is, Mahomedans from Constantinople, or of Farangis, principally run-away sailors from Stirat, or Portuguese half- castes (Horn, 29). Rumi Khan was a well known officer of the first of these classes. Of either the real Europeans or their half-caste Portuguese substitutes, we find little or no mention. The Indian Mahomedans ignored as much as possible the services of the Christians and Europeans in their employment. Possibly this may have been due to the contempt which they really felt for Christian foreigners and their abhorrent ways. The slight consideration with which Mahomedan nobles treated Europeans, even those of some position, up to the middle of the 18^^ century, can be learnt from the statements in a letter written about that time by the celebrated Marquis de Eussy-Castelnau (R. O. Cambridge, "War", Introduction, xxix, xxx). Similarly, Haji Mustapha, a very acute observer, remarks about our early successes in Bengal, "But hear a Moghul, or read any of their relations, it seems that the whole revolution hangs on

PERSONNEL OF THE ARTILLERY. 153

the Moghols themselves only, and if any mention at all is made of foreigners, it is only to hint that Jafer Ali Chan gave also his protection to a few hundred frenghees, headed by one Clive, whom the new Nabob and his party saved from imminent destruction". (Dalrymple, Or. Repertory", ii, 217). The same feeling was shown by the governor of Orissa in 1633, when he insisted that Cartwright, an English trader, should kiss his foot, C. R. Wilson, "Early Annals", i, 8.

In spite of the almost complete silence of native authors, there is still evidence that up to the middle of the 18^^ century considerable bodies of Portuguese continued to be enlisted. For instance, we learn that Juliana d'Acosta, a Portuguese lady who held the office of matron of the harem, imported from Goa three hundred Portuguese, for most of whom she obtained employment (Gentil, "Memoires", p. 375). From the Tankh-i-Muhammadl (year 1147 h.) we learn that "Julya, a Farangi woman, a doctor and favourite of the deceased Shah ^Alam (i. e. Bahadur Shah) and of the reigning emperor, MM Shah, died at Dihli in Rabf i, 1147 (August 1734)". Again, Father TiefFen thaler, a Jesuit priest from the Tyrol, spent about sixteen years between 1747 and 1764 as priest in charge of a commu- nity of Christians in the imperial service, who had settled down in the obscure town of Narwar, 108 miles south of Agrah, (Bernouilli, "Recherches sur I'lnde", i, 175, and pp. 4, 5 of author's preface).

There are other scattered notices about Europeans em- ployed in the artillery. Bernier, 217, (Horn, 32) says "But the artillerymen receive great pay, particularly all the Farangis or Christians; Portugueze, English, Dutch, German, and French, fugitives from Goa and from the Dutch and English companies. Formerly, when the Mogols were little skilled in the management of artillery, the pay of the Europeans was more liberal, and there are still (1658) some remaining, who receive two hundred rupees a mouth, but now the king (^Alamgir) admits them with difficulty

154 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

into the service and limits their pay to thirty two rupees" ^ Bernier also mentions, T6, 93, that the garrison of Bakkar in Sind had, in 1658, artillerymen who were Portuguese, English, French and German. They had been enter- tained by Dara Shukoh. And in describing the battle of Hasanpur in 1133 h. (1721) Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 1015^, speaks of the "skilful Europeans" {Farangiyan-i'chahuk-dast) who worked the guns. Later again, in 1750, the principal artillery officer of Nazir Jang, subaJidar of the Dakhin, was an Irishman (Cambridge, "War", 67); We learn also from the Eusain 8/iahi, fol. 34^, that in 1760-1 most of Sendhiah's gunners were Europeans {JSasarl-i-Farang); and Gentil, "Memoires", 285, asserts that at the battle of Katrah in 1774, Hafiz Rahmat Khan's artillery was commanded by a Spaniard. So late as 1815 the Nizam had some Portuguese artillerymen in his service. "They had a Portuguese who levelled each gun himself, and appeared to have the direction of the attack. If by chance a shot struck any part of the wall, so as to raise a dust, the air resounded with acclamations in praise of the old Portuguese, who seemed in no small degree flattered thereby" (Lake, "Sieges", 16, note).

Mir Atash. At the head of the artillery was one of the great officers of state, the Mir Atash (Lord of Eire), or DarogIiah-i-topk//anah (Superintendent of the Cannon depart- ment). 8ometimes, as in Jahandar Shah's reign (1712), we read of two such officers, one at the head of all the artil- lery, and the other in special command of the light artil- lery attached to the emperor's person. These men were mansahdars, graded in the usual way according to their services or the favour in which they stood. But the rest

a month. G. Careri, 244, copies the above passage, except that he interpolates a statement that the heavy artillery especially was in the hands of Frank or Christian gunners, and that the Europeans entered through Goa or absconded from warships.

PERSONNEL OP THE ARTILLERY. 155

of the men on the establishment of the imperial artillery were paid direct from imperial funds, and in this respect were treated differently from the main body of the army, which consisted almost entirely of cavalry, men dependent upon and paid by the chief under whose banner they enlisted. There were, as we know, some bodies of cavalry in direct pay of the emperor, such as the Aliadis, the Wala Shahi and so forth. But all the rest of the men so paid, matchlockmen, artillery-men and artificers, including such an unmilitary class as cotton-carders and such like, seem to have been lumped together under one head as Ahsliani. One point that these men had in common appears to have led to this incongruous classification. They were all borne on the imperial treasury pay-rolls, and paid direct therefrom as persons in the immediate employ of the emperor, and not entertained through any chief or mansabdar^ to whom their pay could be disbursed.

The Mir Atash had grown into a most important officer; this is borne ont by Khushlial Chand's remark, Berlin Ms., fol. 1133i^, when Safdar Jang was appointed on the 21st March 1744, that "contrary to former days, the artillery has become the most trusted and favoured corps in the army". Involving as it did the command of the imperial artillery, which was always parked round the fortress or palace or the tents occupied by the emperor, this office carried with it the custody of the emperor's person and the guarding of the palace gates and walls, {^eir ii, 373, note 170, and Malumat-ul-afaq, fol. l^b).

The Mir Atash seems to have performed for the officers and men under his command most of the duties belonging for the rest of the army to the Bakhshis. He was aided in the execution of these duties by a Mushrif, or executive officer. The Mir Atash laid before the emperor all demands made on his department; all orders to it passed through him. He checked the pay bills and inspected the diaries of the Arsenal before sending them on to the Khansaman

156 THE AKMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

or Lord Steward. He saw to the postings of the artillery force, and received reports as to all losses and deficiencies. The agent at the head of the artillery pay-office was nomi- nated by him. The descriptive rolls of artillery recruits passed through his hands, all new appointments and pro- motions were made on his initiative {DastUr-ul-Aml, B.M. 1641, fols. 235—27/;).

In dealing with artillery, the subject falls naturally under three heads, 1) Manufacture, 2) Artillery in use, 3) Arsenals or Magazines. It is doubtful how far in later times the Mir Atash was concerned in the casting of guns or the provision of stores. The Top-khanah was classed as one of the workshops, or karkltmiajat, belonging to the Imperial Household, which were in charge of the imperial Khansaman, or Lord Steward ; and as Daroghah of the Topkhanah, used in this sense, the Mir Atash must have been a subordinate of the Lord Steward. But in course of time, as the artillery branch developed, the office of Mir Atash grew in impor- tance, until he was the equal or more than the equal of his nominal superior, the Khansaman, and as commander of the artillery in use he must have been wholly indepen- dent of that official.

In earlier days, judging from passages in Babar's memoirs, a Mir Atash was supposed to supervise the casting of cannon. Ustad QulT Khan, Babar's Mir Atash, is described as taking an active part in the founding of a large cannon at Agrah. I doubt if this was the practice in later reigns; I fancy that the cannon-foundry and ordnance store department fell more completely into the hands of the Khansaman and his officers, while the Mir Atash confined himself more exclusively to his purely military duties. As for arsenals, magazines, or store-houses of cannon and the other requi- sites pertaining thereto, these were under neither the Khansaman nor the Mir Atash. All reserve artillery and stores were kept in certain great fortresses, such as Agrah, Dihli and Labor, in the charge of the special commandant

PERSONNEL OF THE ARTJLLERY. 157

{qildhdaf), who was an officer appointed direct from court and in no way connected with or subordinate to the pro- vincial governor {nazini or sUbahdar).

Ilazar'i. The word hazarl often appears in histories, and from the context 1 have found that it means an officer of artillery, generally of garrison artillery. The equivalent may be taken to be our rank of captain. Hazarl is, of course, the same word as that used for one of the ranks (mansabs), which we have detailed earlier in this work. But the two t/iin{/s intended by the one word could not have been the same. A mansabdar of 1000 was a officer of high, or at any rate of considerable, rank; while Hazans are spoken of in the plural in a way to show that they were nume- rous and of no great consideration.

Some writers, Mirza Muhammad, for instance, in his Tarikh-i'Muhammadl, invariably use for an artillery officer the word mink-bashl where others use Hazarl. Ghulam ^Ali Khan, M uqaddamah-i-Shah ^Alam-namah^ fol. 64a, also uses that word. Kam Raj, A^zam-ul-harb, fol. 120^, uses both Mink-bashl and Hazarl in the same sentence. The two are equivalent in meaning, for mink-bashl is the Turkish for "Commander of 1000" {inink, 1000, bclsh^ head). See Horn, 14, 136, (Taimur's Ordinances, Davy and White, 281). Of course, this and the other Turkish terms for commanders of various ranks must have been known to and used by the Moghuls up to the time that Babar conquered India. But it does not seem as if the Turkish words passed into the official nomenclature of Hindustan. In that country all the ranks {mansab) were known by their Persian aud not by their Chaghatae Turkish names. Apparently the Ajn-i- Akbarl (at least, judging from Blochmann's translation) makes no use of the word Mink-bashl. From this I infer that the word came into India with the Turks from Con- stantinople, who were the chiefs and leaders in the Indian artillery during the earlier Moghul period. As the services of these and of Europeans, who were also employed, were

158 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

much prized, they may have been accorded at first the rank of commander of 1000 (i. e. mink-bashl or hazdri), and although, as the Indians themselves grew more familiar with the working of artillery, the estimation and market value of an artillery officer diminished, the original name of Hazarl or Mink-bds/n may have stuck to the office, after the rank denoted thereby had ceased to belong to it. This designation of Hazarl explains the epithet in Blacker, War", 340, applied to the Mahratta qildhddr or com- mandant of Mandlak (Central India), viz. Sahib Rae Hazarl, or as Blacker spells it, Hazeree. Possibly also Pogson's "Lulloo Hoozooree", commandant of Ajaigarh in Bundel- khand, ought to be Hazarl (Hist, of the Boondelas", J 35).

Sadiwdl, Mirdahah, Sdir. These names follow those of the Hazarl in all the official manuals, and may be taken as equivalent to lieutenant, sergeant, and privates. The etymologies are P. sadl, group of 100, lodl h. affix for man, person, possessor; mir contraction of P. mlr, lord, master, dahah, a group of 10; sdjir P. the rest, remainder, the others, i. e. the common gunners, (Davy and White, "In- stitutes", 232). Kam Raj, A^zam-ul-harb^ fol. 120(5, has the form sadlddr.

Golanddz. When gunners are specifically named this is the designation they receive, and in the Manuals they appear among the Ahshdm. Golanddz literally "ball-thrower", is derived from P. gol, ball, and anddz, the root of P. anddkhtan, to throw. We do not know how many men were attached to each gun and it must have varied a good deal, but Horn, 27, suggests sixteen as the average number, by inference from a passage in the Tuzuhi-Jahdngln (Lowe, 18, line 9). Ahmad Abdali had two men to each shdhln or falconet (Horn, 28, Elliot viii, 398). From Mirza Haidar's account of Humayun's artillery in 1540, it is in- ferred by Horn, 29, that there was then an average of seven men to a gun (Elias and Ross, 375?).

Deg-anddz. These were the men who had charge of and

PERSONNEL OF THE ARTILLERY. 159

used the deg, which I have mentioned under the head of Heavy Artillery. The name is literally 'Tot-thrower", P. deg, a pot, and andaz, throwing. I am not certain whether this means that they had charge of mortars, called deg, or whether they used hand-grenades. The latter would be more near the literal meaning, and I do not think that mortars were at all common in India until introduced by Europeans after the middle of the 18th century. A passage in Fitzclarence, 246, seems to bear out my interpretation of Deg and Deganddz. He says "at times they have re- course to thick earthen-ware pots with fuses and full of powder, the pieces of which wounded dreadfully".

Ban-andaz, Ban-dar. As these "Rocket-throwers" or "Rocket-holders" are rated separately in the official books, it must be inferred that they existed as a separate body.

CHAPTER XIII.

AHSHlM.

The Alisliam is the heading under which the later native writers place all connected with the army, who were neither maTisabdars, tablndn, nor ahadis. I retain the heading, with one change only; I place the artillery by themselves, as of sufficient importance for separate treatment.

In the Ajn, i, 251 — 254, there is a chapter headed Fiyadagan which corresponds generally to the Alisham of the later books. Under the same head as Akbar's 12,000 matchlockmen, who are the only men in the group at all entitled to be reckoned as soldiers, come the doorkeepers, the palace guards, the letter carriers and spies, the swordsmen, wrestlers, slaves, litter-bearers, carpenters, water-carriers and so forth. In the Ajn, i, 254, there is a class of troops called Dakhill (extra, additional) which seems no longer to have existed in Mlamgir's reign, at least the name has dropped out of the official manuals.

The vague word Ahsham (Steingass, 21, A, pi. of ifa.5//<^/;0 is defined in the dictionary as servants, domestics, followers, attendants, retainers, a kind of militia or armed police. In the official manuals {BastUr-ui- Ami) it comprehends the infantry, the 'personnel of the artillery, the artificers, and the attendants on the court. The incident of service which was common to all these men, and caused their inclusion under one head, was the fact that they were all borne direct on the imperial books, and received their pay from the imperial treasury, without the intervention of a man- sabdar. This fact also accounts for Abul Fazl's apparently

AHSHAM. 161

anomalous classification of the artillery as part of the Household in Book i of the Jjti, instead of with the rest of the army in Book ii, Ajn 1 to 10. I have also found Ahsham used with three more restricted meanings: 1) The light artillery which attended the emperor's person wherever he went were called the AhJicim {Mirai-ul'IstilaJ/^ fol. bb). This artillery is described by Gemelli Carreri, French ed., iii, 244, and by Bernier, 217, 363, who calls it artillery of the stirrup" (i. e. rikab) ; 2) the word Ahsham is used constantly in the 18^^ century for the gunners of the garrison artillery ; and 3) we find Ahsham used as a general term for petty zamindars serving in any campaign, and the half-armed militia or levies which they brought in their train. Khafi Khan, ii, 953, names the daroghah-i-ahshain separately, between the mir atash and the daroghah-i-top- Manah-i'jinsl, which would make the Ahsham something distinct from both the artillery generally and the light artillery.

Infantry, As already stated, this arm of the service held a very inferior position and was of little or no consideration (Bernier, 219). Writing about 1760, and referring more particularly to the south, De la Flotte, 258, says that the less numerous body gave way at the first meeting, espe- cially infantry before cavalry; "nay, seldom would 50,000 infantry stand before 20,000 cavalry". Another observer, Orme, "Hist. Frag.", 417, says the infantry consisted in a multitude of people assembled together without regard to rank or file: some with swords and targets, who could never stand the shock of a body of horse; some bearing matchlocks, which in the best of order can produce but a very uncertain fire-, some armed with lances, too long or too weak to be of any service, even if ranged with the utmost regularity of discipline. Little reliance was placed on them. To keep night watches and to plunder defence- less people was their greatest service, except their being a perquisite to their commanders, who received a fixed sum

11

162 THK ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

for ever}? man, and hired every man at a different and less price. In short, the infantry were more a rabble of half-armed men than anything else, being chiefly levies brought into the field by petty zamindars, or men belonging to the jungle tribes. Any Mahomedan or Rajput, who respected himself, managed somehow or other to provide himself with a mount and obtained enrolment as a cavalry soldier, who was in popular estimation a gentleman. The high figures for Infantry in each district and province, shown in volume ii of the Ajn-i-Akbarl, can only be ac- cepted under considerable reservation. These numbers can only represent the men called on to render strictly local duty, and they must have consisted almost entirely of villagers armed with long pikes, or swords and shields, perhaps even with only an iron-bound bambu staff [lathi). Bernier tells us, 217, that the foot soldiers received the smallest pay: "and to be sure, the musketeers cut a sorry figure at the best of times, which may be said to be when squatting on the ground and resting their muskets on a kind of wooden fork which hangs to them. Even then they are terribly afraid of burning their eyes or their long heards, and above all least some jinn, or evil spirit, should cause the bursting of their musket. Some have twenty rupees a month, some fifteen, some ten". And again, 219, (a passage copied almost word for word by Gemelli Careri, iii, 244) ; "I have said that the infantry was in- considerable. I do not think that in the army immediately about the king the infantry can exceed 15,000, including musketeers, foot-artillery, and generally every person con- nected with that artillery. From this an estimate may be formed of the number of infantry in the provinces. I cannot account for the prodigious amount of infantry with which some people swell the armies of the Great Mogol, otherwise than by supposing that with the fighting men they confound servants, sutlers, tradesmen, and all those individuals belonging to bazars or markets, who accompany

AHSHAM. 163

the troops. Including these followers, 1 can well conceive that the army ini mediately about the king's person, parti- cularly when it is known that he intends to absent himself some time from his capital, may amount to two or even three hundred thousand infantry. This will not be an extravagant computation, if we bear in mind the immense quantity of tents, kitchens, baggage, furniture, and even women, usually attendant on the army".

Nagas. These bodies of so-called Hindu devotees were common in the armies of the 18^^ century, and I believe that to this day the Rajah of Jaipur entertains a large number of them. There was a corps of them in the Audh service from about 1752 to the end of the century. The last leader of these was Rajah Him mat Bahadur, whose name appears so frequently in our own early connection with Bundelkhand (Pogson, "Boondelahs", 119 — 122, Francklin, "George Thomas", 364, 365). With this exception the Mahomedans do not seem to have retained any of these fakirs in their employ. Anquetil Duperron Zend Avesta", I, Ixxv, describes a body of these armed vagabonds, num- bering some 6000 men, that he met in 1757 on their way to Jagannath. The three leaders marched first, a long pike in one hand and a buckler in the other. The main body was armed with swords, bows and matchlocks. Haji Mustapha, during his adventurous attempt in 1758 to reach Masulipatam via Western Bengal and Pachet, came across five thousand of these devotees on their way to the Ganges at Sagar; "they are all of them tall, stout, well-limbed men, in general stark naked, but very well armed" (Dal- rymple's "Oriental Repertory", ii, 239). A description of a corps of these Nagas commanded by a disciple (chela) of Him mat Bahadur, and then in the employ of Daulat Rao, Sendhiah, well be found in Broughton, "Letters", 96, 104, 106,-123. Blacker, "War", 22, says the "Gossyes" i.e. Gusains or Nagas, "have always been considered good troops".

164 THE AMRY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

^Alighol. In the later years we find a class of troops known as '^Ahghol, who from one passage (Fraser, "Skinner", ii, 75, 76) would seem to have been the equivalent of the ghazis, as we now style them, so frequently heard of on our Afghan frontier. Eraser defines them as "a sort of chosen light infantry of the Rohilla Patans : sometimes the term appears to be applied to other troops supposed to be used generally for desperate service". They are also men- tioned in V. Blacker, "War", 23. W. H. Tone, 50, makes out the ^Alighol to be one of the divisions of the Nezib

Silah-posh. In 1799 the Jaipur Rajah had a body-guard of sixteen hundred men, armed with matchlocks and sabres, who were called the silaJ/posh, no doubt from their being clad in armour (Francklin, "George Thomas", 165).

Najlb. The word means literally "noble", and Blacker, "War", 22, tells us they were irregular infantry, who dis- dained uniform and carrying a musket, their arms being a matchlock, or blunderbuss, and a sword. They disdained to stand sentry or do any fatiguing duty, considering it their only business to fight and to protect the person of their prince. W. H. Tone, 50, says that long practice had enabled them to load with sufficient readiness, while their matchlock carried farther and infinitely truer than the firelock of those days. The Najibs was also excellent swordsmen.

With regard to the Najibs in the Nawab of Oudh's ser- vice in 1780, Captain Thomas Williamson, 124, tells us that they were clothed in blue vests and drawers, furnishing their own arms and ammunition (matchlock, sword, shield, bow and arrows). Their discipline was very contemptible; they answered very well for garrison duty, but could not stand the charge of cavalry, having no bayonets, while their arms were totally unfit for prompt execution. As for the Nawab's troops organized in imitation of the E. I. Company's battalions, they were, even on actual service.

AHSHAM. 165

nothing but "food for powder". Such as had bayonets had no locks: those that had hammers to their locks, had no cock, or at any rate the flints were wanting. Such ammu- nition and cartridges as there were had, through damp and time, become so incorporated with the wooden pouch-blocks, that when touched the tops came ofi", leaving the powder and ball a fixture. A battalion of Najibs could with ease cut to atoms half a dozen of those mock regiments.

Faf/iabaz. The author of the Eusain Sha/n (written in 1212 H., 1797-8) mentions, fol. 345, that in 1760-1 Sendhiah had several thousand FathcMaz, "a word which in the idiom of the Dakhin is applied to courageous men and expert swordsmen". They received their name, no doubt, from their weapon, the patfa or straight rapier (see ante p. 77).

Dhalait. This Hindi word (Platts, 572), meaning lite- rally "shield bearer", I have met with in three writers. Ashob applies it to one of the three foot soldiers who followed Sa^d-ud-dln Khan, the Mir Atash, when forced in 1151 H, (1738), much against his will, to accompany Nadir Shah's general of artillery into the streets of Dihli, to put the inhabitants to the sword. This Bhalait was sent as a messenger to carry a note to the Wazir, Qamr-ud-din Khan, (Ashob, fol. 2565). The word is also found in Tankh-i-Alamglr Sam, fol. 136«, referring to the year 1170 H. (1756-7); and in the Tahmas-namah of Miskin, fol. 49«.

Amazons. At the end of the 18^^^ century the Nizam at Haidarabad had two battalions of female sepoys, of one thousand each, which mounted guard in the interior of the palace, and accompanied the ladies of his family when- ever they moved. They were with the Nizam during the war against the Mahrattas in 1795, and at the battle of Kurdlah did not behave worse than the rest of his army. They were dressed as our sepoys used to be, and performed the French drill with tolerable precision. The corps was called the Zafar-paltan or victorious battalion, and the

166 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

women gardani^ a corruption of the word "guard" ^ The pay was five rupees a month (Blacker, 213, note). This Nizam seems to have had a penchant for female warriors. Moor, "Narrative", 117, tells us of an Italian lady, a dancer, who so entranced him, that he conferred on her a title and placed a battalion under her command. She now learnt the manual exercise and evidently took her military position au grand serieux. Soon afterwards a foreign male dancer arrived, and the lady was directed to appear in ^ pas de deux. Full of her new dignity, she objected; and as the Nizam insisted, she resigned her command and retired to Poona.

Sihbandi. This was the name for the armed men enter- tained by local officers when engaged in collecting the land revenue {Dastur-ul-^Aml, B.M. 6598, fol. 483). Colonel Sir R. C. Temple ("Calcutta Review", Oct. 1896, p. 406) in an article on the Andaman Sibandi Corps, suggests that this word found its way into Anglo-Indian use from Madras, and that originally it was unknown in Northern India. This opinion seems untenable in the face of the authority above quoted, which belongs to Northern India and is not later than 'Alamgir (1658—1707). The word is also used for local levies by Danish mand Khan, Bahadur ShalMimnah (entry of the 12th Shaban 1120~h. = 26th October 1708). Or we may go still farther back, to the year 932 h. (1526), when we find it applied by Babar to the Indian levies of Ibrahim Lodi. See the Baharnamah, lithographed text, 174; the bedhindi of Pavet de Courteille, ii, 163, is an obvious misreading.

Barqandaz. This name (literally barq, lightening, andaz, thrower), which came to be the commonest name for a foot soldier using a musket, appears rarely, if at all, in earlier writings, unless as a mere metaphor. An early use of it as a name for a matchlock man is found in Ahwal-i- khawaqln, 2093, (c. 1 147 h.).

• Or perhaps better, "guard" plus the feminine termination anl.

AHSHAM.

167

MatcJilochnen, Rates of pay. The following table shows the rates of pay for the various classes of the matchlock- men; it may be presumed, perhaps, that the mounted men were in the position of officers, or were perhaps what we should call mounted infantry. First we have the pay of the regular matchlockmen {BandtiqcM-i-jangi or Tufang-chi) who were either Eaksariyahs or Bundelahs. Of these some drew rates of pay specially fixed, and entered in the official diary at the time when they were entertained {Inihm). The usual rates, which every one else got, were as follows:

Class.

Rank.

Qadiml (old).

Jadidi

(new).

Suwar,

HazarlDuaspah

Rs. 45, 40, 32

Rs. 40, 35

(mounted).

(two horsed).

Id. Yakaspah

Rs. 22, 20, 17Jr

Rs. 20, 171-

(one horsed).

Piyadah,

Sadl-wal

Rs. 9

Rs. 8

(foot).

Mirdahah.

Rs. 8

Rs. 7

SaJr (the rest).

Rs. 6, 5^, 5

Rs. 6^

Cash Rs. 6, and conditional jagir, 8 annas.

Akbar's rates for these men, Ain, i, 116, work out as follows :

Class.

1st Grade.

2iid Grade.

3id Grade.

4tii Grade.

Sth Grade.

Mirdahahs

Rs. 7.1;

Rs. 7

Rs. 6f

Rs. 6^

Others Rs.

l8t

6[

2 ad

6

8rd

1st

2nd

5.1

3rd 5

1st

41

2nd

3rd

4[

1st

4

2nd

^

3rd

I8t

3|

2nd

3

3rd

2^

The later rates for the Mirdahahs would thus appear to have been a little higher than those first fixed; those for the common soldiers, on the whole, much higher.

168 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

There are some words which occur in the above which call for some explanation:

Baksariyah is a curious word, and suggests to us at its origin the town of Baksar on the Ganges in the Bhojpur country. The region is one which still supplies from its Rajput and Bhuinhar clans the stalwart clubmen of the zamindars in Bengal proper, the door-keepers of private houses in Calcutta, and many of the finest sepoys in our Hindustani regiments. Bhojpur shared with Audh the supply of men to our native army in Bengal from its earliest to its latest days, that is, from the middle of the 18^1^ to the middle of the 19^^ century. That these men crowded to our standards, as soon as the Company began to raise an army, was due, no doubt, to their having already been accustomed, for generations, to serve as matchlockmen and gunners in the army of our predecessors, the Moghuls. When in 1756 Calcutta was threatened by Siraj-ud-Daulah and preparations for defence were made, we find that "the number of Buxeries" (i. e. Baksariyahs), "or Indian match- lockmen, was therefore augmented to 1500". (Orme, Mil. Trans., ii, 59). See also the Glossary prefixed to an Address to the Proprietors of East India Stock (J. Z. Holwell's India Tracts, 3^ ed. 1774), — "Backserrias — foot soldiers whose common arms are sword and target only".

The connection between the Baksariyahs of the army and the town of Baksar in Bahar was evidently a matter of common belief and acceptance. In the Chahar Gulshan of Rae Chatarman (my copy, fol. 127/5), written in 1173 h. (1759), in the itinerary from Rae Bareli to Patnah, when the author comes to Baksar, he adds "original home-country of the Baksariyahs" {asl loatn-i-Baksariyah-ha). It is strange that they should have been known by the name of the town rather than by that of the subdivision of the country, that is, parganah Bhojpur, sirkar Ruhtas, Subah Bahar {A}n, ii, 157). We call them nowadays Bhojpuris and not Baksariyah. In the historians belonging to the \%'^^

AHSHAM. 169

century, I find that the men of the garrison artillery are usually designated Baksariyah.

Bu7idelahs. Bundelahs are, of course, the Rajput clan whose home is in the country south of the Jamnah and eas{. of the Betvvah river (J. Rennell, Memoir of a Map . . .", p. ^34, but for the northern limit read Jamnah instead of Ganges). Their appearance in this list shows that originally they w^ere held to be an inferior class of troops, and employed principally as matchlockmen. They were always renowned, however, for their bravery. In the end, through the rise of the Orchhah rajah, the head of their clan, and that of the so-called Dhangya State, formed by Champat Rae and extended by his more famous son, Chattarsal, their position was much enhanced, and during the 18^^ century they played an extremely prominent part, fighting first on the side of the Moghuls and subsequently against them.

Arabs. In later times, in the Dakhin at any rate, the best infantry were held to be the Arabs, who received higher pay than others. They received Rs. 12 a mouth, while the lowest pay was only Rs. 5 a mouth. The Arabs were in general fully to be depended on, but particularly so in the defence of walls (Blacker, "War", 21).

Other classes under this general head of Ahsliam were Bhilah, Mewatl, Karnataki, Mughal (B.M. 1641, fol. 593, 60a). For a mention of Bhilah and Karnataki in 1133 h. (1721), see Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. ]013i5.

The golandaz {golah, ball, andaz, thrower) or artillery- man, the Degandaz {deg, pot, andaz, thrower) and the Bandar {ban, rocket, dar, holder) are included in this section, but 1 have classed them under the head of Artillery. In one battle, that against 'Abdullah Khan, Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 10133, speaks of certain men imme- diately around the emperor's elephant as qurqchis, there being two kinds, those in yellow and those in red. The word, an unusual one in Indian works, is defined by

170 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Steingass as "a gamekeeper, a sentinel over the women's apartments".

BInlah. These were men of the wild tribe whose home is in the rugged country between Ajmer and Gujarat. They are described by an 18*^^ century writer, (Anand Ram, Mukhlis, Mirdt-ul'Istilah, fol. 1845) as being in their own country nothing but highway robbers and skilful hunters, wearing clothes mostly of leaves. Their principal weapon, which no doubt they brought with them when in the emperor's service, was the long bow of bambu called kamanth, which has been already described (p. 95).

Mewati. These men are further designated Tir-andaz (archers, lit. arrow throwers"). Mewat is the hilly country south and west of the Jamnah, between Agrah and Dihli (J. Rennell, "Memoir", cxx). It derives its name from the tribe inhabiting it, the Meos. In the Ijn, i, 252, the men from Mewat are called Mewrahs, and they are described as post-runners and spies. Neither the name nor these duties seem to have belonged to the MewatTs in the 18^^ century; though mewrah had survived as a name for a post-runner of any kind. From Mewat, the name of the country, comes the word Mewati, an inhabitant of Mewat. They are now Mahomedans and were famed, until our time, for their turbulence. Their depredations made the imperial highway from Agrah to DihlT, via Mathura, at all times unsafe; and it was necessary to travel in large parties, or to hire armed men, who were probably themselves MewatTs, on the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief. A good description of the state of things about 1710 will be seen in Yar Muhammad's Dastur-ul-Ins/ia, p. 130, 131. The E. I. Company's envoy, Mr. John Surman, who travelled this way to Court in June 1715, mentions in his diary that at Agrah they were forced to hire an armed guard for their protection (Orme Collections, p. 1694, under date of June 8tli).

Karnatakl. These must have been men from the south

AHSHAM. 171

of India, the word Karnatak by the Moghul usage applying to the whole of peninsular India south of the Tungah- bhadra, except Adoni (J. Rennell, "Memoir" (Peninsula), 20). I suppose these men in the Moghul army were of the same class as those who formed our first sepoy battalions in the south of India. In Northern India, which they reached in 1757 as part of Olive's force sent for the relief of Calcutta, they were known as Talingahs, that is, men of the Talagti country; and Talingah is still the common village word in Hindustan for a sepoy in one of our regi- ments. De la Flotte, 258, who served in South India from 1758 to 1760, says the infantry (no doubt the same men as these Karnatakis) carried on their heads a bundle of rice and their cooking utensils, their women carrying the husband's sword and other arms. Those were a very long and heavy matchlock called kaitoke {ante, p. 107). The whole family followed.

Kala Piyadah. Kamwar Khan (Ms. of the Royal Asiatic Society, Morley's Catalogue N^ 97) when speaking of the army led against Nizam-ul-Mulk by Mubariz Khan, subah- dar of Haidarabad, says there were in it 30,000 match- lockmen of the Dakhin known as Kala piyadah, (lit. "black foot-soldiers"). These if not identical with, must have been very similar to the Karnataki.

Rawat. This is a name which in Northern India indi- cates generally any respectable Hindu landholder who is not of very high caste. Mahomedan writers not infrequently apply it to the general body of Mahrattah soldiery, most of whom were of the kumbi caste, for which such an epithet would be appropriate. It is applied in this sense by the author of the Husain-shahl to 12,000 men, who served in Sendhiah (Scindiah) Patel's army during the campaign ending in the battle of PanTpat (1760—1761).

Bargi. Another general name used by some writers, when speaking of the Mahrattah soldiery, is Bargl. See Ma^asiru- l-umara, iii, 740, line 17, and J. Shakespear "Diet." 319;

172 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHUl.S.

its use is also referred to in Grant Duff, 37. I do not know the etymology of this word.

Mughal. As to these men I can suggest no reason for their appearance in this list of men serving in the infantry, but it is curious to find that there were any Mughals, who would deign to serve in this inferior branch of the service.

Farangi, These must have been Europeans serving in the capacity of common soldiers. They were probably for the most part native Christians, or so-called Portuguese, either from Goa, or from the colonies of that nation settled about the mouth of the Ganges and Brahmputra. There may have been among them some fugitive sailors from ships lying at Surat or Cam bay. More usually, however, such men entered the artillery. Ashob, fol. 266^?, informs us that in 1739 there were still Franks in the Mus^hal service. They were all Frenchmen, either attached to the artillery or practising as surgeons, bone-setters {shikastah- band), or physicians. The chief of them, Farangi Khan and Farashish Khan, were accounted nobles and drew nobles' pay. These Europeans lived in a special quarter called Farangipurah just outside the Kabul gate, close under the hill Kali Pahar, They killed some of Nadir Shah's provosts {nasaqc/n) and in retaliation the colony was wiped out.

Pag. The pay of the classes above enumerated is given as follows (B.M. 1641, fol. 59/5, 60«). The word sa^ir, which I would render "private soldier", will be found used in that sense in the Institutes of Taimur, Davy and White, 232, sU^yU, "common soldiers".

AHSHAM.

173

Mounted {Suwar).

Foot {Piyadah).

Name.

Remarks.

HazIrI

DUASPAH.

SadTwal

SADnVAL.

MiRDAHAH.

Sair.

Yakaspah.

Rs.

lis.

Rs.

R. a. p.

R.

a.

P-

Bliilali

52

•26

10

8 12

6

4

Formerly they received rations, but no pay in cash.

Mew at!

50

25

—

4 8

4

Receiving rations.

II

—

8

6

5

"Without rations.

Karnataki

50

■25

8

7 6

5 4

8

Mughul

—

—

8

7 6

8

Farangi

—

according

S

6 4

6

to order

5 5 5

12

8 4

Bernier, 217, gives the pay of foot soldiers at Rs. 20, 15, and 10 a month, and the pay of FarangTs as Rs. 22 a month. Rations, when issued to the above men, were as follows: Flour {arad), \\ sir, Split peas {dfil) \ sir, Salt {namak) \ of a dam, ghi {rogJia/hi-zard), 2 dams.

Artificers, or other men classed under Infantry. Of these there were a number, artisans and labourers, who can scarcely be designated soldiers at all; they were really camp-followers, though they may possibly have carried some sort of weapons for their own protection, just as we furnish litter-bearers with swords when on active service. The Beldars were used to make difficult roads passable (?lorn, 24, \ilnmglr-7iamah, 653); they also threw up the field- works usually made to protect the guns. One duty of the carpenters and axemen was to cut a road through the thorny jungle with which most petty strongholds were surrounded. The use of some of the others, as bearing on the service of the army, are obvious enough ; others, less so. Dr. Horn, 24, seems to translate beldar by "beiltrager", a word meaning, 1 believe, an axeman. But bel is a spade.

174

THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

hoe, or mattock, and a heldar is a digger up of earth, an excavator, not an axeman.

The following table gives the names and pay of some of these artificers (B.M., 1641, fol. mh). Many of the words I am unable to make out.

Name.

Class.

Remarks.

Persian.

English.

SUWAR.

Yakaspah.

PlYADAH.

Rs.

Kahardah Turanl

—

40

Rs. 14, 11, 7

II liindusianl

—

(as ordered)

Rs. 8, 7, 6, 5^

wUc^ ^^J

—

(as ordered)

Rs. 15

Najjar

Carpenters

(as ordered)

Rs. 8, 7, 5

Basali

Rs. 10

An armourer? Steing. L87, Basal, an iron helmet,

Ahangar

Blacksmiths

—

Rs. 6[, 6[, 6

Musuji {diO\M&'^) Rs. 9^

Bhnnah

Cotton-carders

—

Rs. 6

Badaha

—

—

Rs. 6, 5

Sahalki

—

—

Rs. 8, 7

Khor hahliyah

—

—

Qadim, Rs. 9 Usual, Rs. 8, 7

Bahelii/ah, a bird snarer ?

Sang -tar ash

Stone masons

—

Rs. 8, 7, 6

Modi

Leather workers

—

Rs. 8

Atashhaz

Firework makers

—

Rs. 7, 6, 5

Kharati

Turners

—

Rs. 7

Arah-kash

Sawyers

. —

Rs. 6

Beldar

Diggers

—

(blank)

Naqh-kwi

Miners

Rs. 20, 17

Rs. 41, 4.V, 4

Tabrdar

Axemen

—

Mirdahah, Rs. 5 1- Private, Rs. 4]-'

Salotrl

Farriers

Rs. 15

—

CHAPTER XIV.

ELEPHANTS.

Horn, 51 — 56, includes elephants in his account of the fighting force. But long before the Moghul empire fell into decay, they had become principally beasts of burden or means of display, and their role in the day of battle was comparatively insignificant.

Akbar seems to have made much use of elephants, bringing them into the field in great numbers (Horn, 51, 52, 53). In his time they carried on their backs musketeers or archers. This practise seems to have soon ceased. But as late as 1131 h. (Nov.-Dec. 1718) and Muharram 1133 (November 1720) we hear of their being used to carry small cannon. Thus Sayyad Husain 'All Khan, when he re-entered Dihli on his return from the Dakhin, had forty gajnal elephants, which each carried two soldiers and two pieces, Jauhar-i-Sanisam, Fuller's translation, fol. 50. Again, when ""Abdullah Khan, Qutb-ul-Mulk, was made prisoner at the battle of Hasanpur, a gajnal elephant was ordered up, and seated on it the prisoner was carried before Muhammad Shah {Jauhar-i-Samsam., fol. I58fir, and Fuller's trans., fol. 76).

To the last some elephants protected by armour were brought into the battle-field. But their use was confined almost entirely to carrying the generals or great nobles, and displaying their standards. The baggage elephants were assembled in the rear with those bearing the harem, the women remaining mounted on the latter during the battle, and protected by a strong force posted round them.

176 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

In the day of battle elephants were provided with armour, called paJihar, Ajn, i, 129, W. 21. This was made of steel and consisted of separate pieces for the head and trunk. In one place, A/noal-i-khawaqm, 2186, I find the epithet barc/ustawan-posh applied to armour-clad elephants. Again Ghulam ^AlT Khan, Muqaddamah, 34/^, applies the word kajim to elephant armour in general, and defines bargustuioan, as a protective covering adjusted on the trunk of an elephant when going into battle. The rest of the complicated gear used in connection with elephants is set out in detail in the Ajn, i, 125 — 130. Besides their own armour, the riding elephants carried on the day of battle an armour-plated, canopied seat, called an ^iman, of which the sides were some three feet high. The prince or noble took his seat in this, and was thus protected with the exception of his head and shoulders from all distant attack {Mirat-id'JstilaJi, 207/5). We are told by Haji Mustapha, Seir, ii, 301, note 140, that the ^imari and the haudah (or Haudaj) "are diff'erent, the former has a canopy and is used for travelling or for purposes of state, the latter has no cover and is employed in w^ar". Or again, in other places, i, 33, note 41, and i, 337, note 283, he says the haudah is made of boards strengthened with iron, having the shape of an octagonal platform, with sides eighteen inches high. In war time the sides were raised to two feet, and were then covered with iron or brass plates. It was divided into two unequal parts; in the forepart, about three fourths of it, a man may easily sit with his pillows and cushions, or upon a stretch, two men. The hind part held one man, and that with difficulty. He adds that when "covered with a canopy it is called an amhari and is not used in the field". This last statement cannot be accepted, as all the historians speak of the seat used in war as an ^imari, ^^Uc Moor, "Narrative", in his glossary under Amhara says that a seat with a canopy was so called, and without a canopy it was a haudah. "It (the

ELEPHANTS. 177

canopy) is generally made of Europe scarlet cloth and embroidered, and sometimes has a golden or silver urn or some such ornament on the top. Mahomedans prefer a crescent".

The object of mounting the general or commander on an elephant was that he might be seen from a distance by all the troops. For in those days battles were nearly always decided by the fate of the leader. If he was killed or disappeared, the army gave up the contest and in a very short space of time melted away altogether. Nadir Shah wondered at this Indian habit of mounting the general on an elephant: "What strange practice is this that the rulers of Hind have adopted? In the day of battle they ride on an elephant, and make themselves into a target for everybody ! {Malahat-i-maqal of Rao Dalpat Singh, fol. 54^). The criticism seems to have been taken to heart. For Miskin, fol. 43r/, tells us that Mu^in-ul-mulk, governor of Labor (1748 — 1754), declared that a general on an elephant was like a prisoner in the midst of his guards, and a mere target for the enemy. The next time that he fought Ahmad, Durrani, he meant to ride, a horse. In other ways, too, the elephants were sometimes of more harm than benefit. If wounded, they were liable to get beyond control and escape at the top of their speed. In one instance, in a battle near Labor in 1124 h. (March 1712), a wounded elephant rushed off with ^Azim-ush-shan, son of Bahadur Shah, and jumping off the high bank into the river Ravi drowned himself, and the wounded prince along with him.

Elephants were also used to batter in the gates of fortified places. It is for this reason that such gates are generally found protected by metal plates and spikes. To counteract these, the elephant was again, in its turn, provided with a frontlet of steel. We find an instance at Arcot (Arkat) in 1751, when "the parties who attacked the gates drove before them several elephants who, with large plates of iron fixed to their foreheads, were intended to break them

12

178 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

down : but the elephants, wounded by the musquetry, soon turned and trampled on those who escorted them" (Orme, Mil. Trans., i, 194).

Under Akbar the elephants ridden by the emperor were called khasali (special), and all others were arranged in groups of ten, twenty or thirty, called Iialqah (ring, circle). In later reigns, (B.M. 1690, fol. 176r/) the same classifi- cation was employed, with a rather more extended meaning, khasa/i then including all riding, and halqah all baggage elephants. Mansabdars from 7000 down to 500 were required to maintain each one riding elephant, and in addition, five baggage elephants for every 100,000 dam of pay. As I understand the rule, these elephants belonged to the em- peror, and were not even made over to the mansahdar for use. The origin of this practice can, I fancy, be detected in a passage in the Ajn, i, 126 (see also i, 130), where Abu^l Fazl says that Akbar "put several halqahs' (groups of ten, twenty, or thirty elephants) "in charge of every grandee, and required him to look after them". In Akbar 's time apparently the fodder was supplied by the State. I have already referred to this matter of Khurak-i-datoabb under the heading of Pay (p. 20).

Armandi's work on the military history of the elephant is almost entirely taken up with its use by the Greeks and Romans. The Moghul period occupies only fifteen pages, and there is nothing in those pages of any novelty. There is another v/ork which covers in part the same ground, "Historical Researches on the Wars and Sports of the Mongols and Romans", by John Ranking, "resident up- wards of twenty years in Hindoostan and Russia". The main object of this very discursive treatise, which ranges over India, Siberia, and Great Britain, seems to be to prove that the fossil bones of elephants found in Europe are the remains of those used in war and sport by the Romans and Moghuls. Sixty quarto pages are taken up by a life of Taimur. The most valuable part of the book is

ELEPHANTS. 179

perhaps the descri])tion of the elephant (pp. 440—450). In spite of his upwards of twenty years in Hindustan", Ranking seems to have found some difficulty with the word zanjlr, a chain, as applied to an elephant. On p. 12 of his Introduction, he says "very frequent mention is made in Asiatic histories of c/iain elephants ; which always means elephants trained for war; but it is not very clear why they are so denominated". The explanation is fairly easy. The word zanjtr (chain) is here one of the fanciful catchwords attached to every being or thing in the Oriental art of ^iyaq, that is, of accounting and official recording. Some fancied appropriateness was discerned in the epithet so used. Pearls were counted by danah, seed, horses by ras, head, shields by dast, hand, bricks by qalih, mould, and so forth. For elephants the word is znjijir, chain, which is no doubt a reference to the iron chain by which an elephant is hobbled when not in use. Having to speak of 100 elephants, a Persian or Indian scribe writes 100 zanjlr-i-fil, or in an account he would enter them thus;

mi,

zanjlr, 100.

All elephants had names, as they have still. Horn, 79, gives several names from the Akharnamah\ and again, p. 124, (Von Noer, Fr. trans., i, 171j, he refers to Akbar's own elephant Asman Shukoh (Heaven Dignity). Catrou, 255, has Bahingar (Ornament of the Army) and Aurang-gaj (Throne-elephant). Danishraand Khan; entry of 26^^ Rama- zan 1120 H., refers to Fath-gaj (Victory Elephant), and we find in Elliot, viii, 95, Mahasundar (Queen of Beauty) ridden by Nadir Shah.

After the introduction of fire-arras and the gradual ex- tension of their use, elephants ceased, even in the East, to be of much value in the fighting line of battle. As I have said above, the chief men still rode them and dis- played their standards on them. But this was more for the

180 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

purpose of being seen and of acting as a centre and ral- lying point, than for any advantage derived from the ele- phants themselves, either through their strength or their courage. (To the same effect, see De la Flotte i, 258, and Cambridge, "War", Introd. ix).

Nizam-ul-Mulk seems to have maintained a large number of elephants even so late as about 1143 h. (1730-1). When on a campaign to the north of his dominions, in the direction of the Tapti, he had with him 1026 elephants, of which 225 were provided with armour, and presumably were used in battle {Ahwal-i-Jihatoagm, 218(^). On this occasion he made a curious trial of their staunchness or otherwise. In an open space near the river he ranged his guns in a line, (there were 44 top and 1225 rahkalah), and drew up his elephants opposite them. As the elephants advanced, the cannon were fired, supported by musketry. A few of the elephants stood fast, but the greater number fied for miles, the only result being that 306 foot-soldiers were trodden under foot.

Towards the end of the period they were more largely employed as beasts of burden or as aids in the transport of heavy guns. Captain T. Williamson, Oriental Field Sports", 43, says that when used for the latter purpose they were furnished with a thick leather pad, covering the forehead, to prevent their being injured. The same work has also one of the best early accounts of the Indian elephant, wild and domesticated. In time of peace, as a means of display, for riding on, for shooting from, they have continued to be largely used. Ranking, 13, tells us that Asaf-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Audh (1775—1797), kept considerably above 1000 elephants merely for pleasure. Still the gradual decline of the elephant, even for purposes of state and show, is proved unmistakeably by a recent paragraph in the Indian papers ("Pioneer Mail", Sept. ^1^^ 1894, p. 2). The Govern- ment "howdah-khanah" has been broken up, there being only two to three hundred elephants on the roils all over

ELEPHANTS. 181

India, nearly all of which are maintained for heavy batte- ries; the equipment at Agrah has been sold off, only the vice-regal howdah of silver being kept. We have thus travelled far from the days when one of our early com- manders-in-chief, Colonel Richard Smith, reviewed his troops from the houdar (sic) of his elephant" (Carraccioli, "Clive", i, 133).

CHAPTER XV.

According to our European notions discipline was ex- tremely lax, if not entirely absent. Bernier, 55, tells us that when once thrown into confusion, it was impossible to restore a Moghul army's discipline, while during the march they moved without order, with the irregularity of a herd of animals ; and Europeans generally held the true cause of their dread of fire-arms, and particularly of artil- lery, to lie in the inexperience of their leading men, who never understood the advantage of discipline or the use of infantry (Cambridge, "War", Introduction, viii).

Nobles while at headquarters were bound to appear twice a day, morning and evening, at the emperor's audience, and on this point they were strictly supervised. But there seems to have been no regular drill and no manoeuvres. From time to time they paraded their troops in the outer court during the time of public audience, and the state of the horses and elephants was then observed. Occasionally, but very rarely, there were special parades in the open ' ; these generally took place on the line of march, the emperor passing in review the troops of some particular commander, as he was making his march to his next camping ground. For instance, Datid Khan, Panni, thus paraded his troops before Bahadur Shah on the 26^^^ Ramazan 1120 h. (8*^1 Dec. 1708), Banishmand Khan, entry of that date.

^ These were the Mahallah ah^eady referred to, see ante, p. 46. The phrase in Khurasan was San dldan, see Mujmil ut-tdrlkh ha^d Nadirlyah, p. 81, hne 5.

183

Orgamzatio7i. There was no regimental organization; the only divisions known were those created by reason of each chief or noble having his own following of troops. Such words as tUman or tumandar have no strict or definite meaning. The first meant any body of soldiers, and the second the leader or head of such a body. Jama Mar is a word of the same signification and equally vague, though it may be taken as denoting a smaller man than a tumandar. Qas/mn is a word employed in the second half of the 18*11 century, having been borrowed from the Durrani system, but I do not think it had a much more definite sense than the above words. In the dictionary, Steingass 971, Q^^s is defined as T., body, company, troop, army, soldier, military station.

As for uniform, the only sign of it originally was a red turban worn by all in the imperial employ. For the great mass of the army there was usually no uni- formity of dress; but in a general way each class of troops dressed in a similar style, Persians in one way, Mughals in another, Hindustani Mahomedans could be distinguished from Rajputs, and so forth (Horn, 25). But such distinctions, though obvious at once to a practised eye, would take long to record, even if we knew sufficiently what they were. One Sabit Khan, at one time faujdar of ^Aligarh, was famed as the introducer of a kind of attire for soldiers, which w^as called after him the sahit-khanl dress. There were, however, some few regiments clothed in uniform. For example, as early as Farrukhsiyar's reign the Surkh- poshari' (the Red Regiment) is spoken of. (Ijad's Farrukh- shali namali, fol. 27, line 3). And it would seem from a passage in the Sharaif-i-^usmam, p. 207, line 4, that in Muhammad Shah's time there were some regiments of body-guards clad alike, and known as the surkhposh, zardpos/i and siyahposlt, from the colour of their coats, red, yellow or black. These men carried gold or silver clubs {gathak).

184 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

The Chaghatae origin of the ruling house and many of its officers was shown in the frequent occurrence of mili- tary terms from the language used in Central Asia. The emperor and many about the court spoke and understood the Chaghatae language so late as 1173 h. (1759-60), Seir, iii, 142; and Mustapha, id., iii, 400, note 63, tells us that up to the time he wrote (c. 1785), the word at Ian (Be mounted) was "carried round to the horse guards when the emperor is going to mount his elephant". (P. de C, 5, from oUi^j5, atlanmaq, to ride on horseback). Another instance of familiarity with Eastern Turkish is found in 1739, when Aghar Khan of the Aghar tribe, whose family had been settled in India over a hundred years, talked to Nadir Shah in that language, and even composed some verses in it, Ashob, foL 258<2.

Punishments. For desertion to the enemy we read occa- sionally of men being blown from the mouth of a gun. In 1714 two Mina robbers were blown from guns by Husain 'All Khan, when on the march from Dihli to Ajmer. Again Haidar Qui! Khan, when commanding at the siege of Agrah in 1131 h. (1719), had recourse to this punish- ment with good effect, Siwrniih-i-khizrl (my copy). In the year 1174 h. (1760) the Mahrattahs blew away from guns two Mahomedan leaders taken prisoners by them at Kunj- purah, History of the Rohelas" by Rustam 'Ali, Bijnorl, fol. 51«. And in 1175 h. (30tli May 1762) the Mahrattah commander, Narti Pandit, blew two men from guns at Burhanpur, Mirat-us-Safa, ilQa. In the "Abrege Histo- rique" prepared by Colonel Gentil in 1772, (E. Blochet, "Inventaire et description des miniatures des Mss. orientaux conserves a la Bibliotheque Nationale", p. 202, N^ 219) there is a picture of a man tied to the mouth of a cannon. Horn deals with the subject of desertion on pp. 49 and 51, but both of his references to Babar's memoirs, viz., P. de C. ii, (should be i) 325, and ii, 352, 353, seem to be cases of surrender. That to the Badshahaamalt i, 334,

DISCIPLINE, DRTIJ., AND EXERCISES. 185

is not a case of desertion at all. The garrison of Mansur- garli in Orissa (1049 h.) asked for quarter by holding blades of grass between their teeth. This is the well-known Indian custom of indicating submissiveness, see Elliot, "Supp. Gloss.", 252, s. v. Dant-tinka (teeth-straw), which is practised by villagers to this day. It is also said to have been resorted to by the Mahrattah horsemen at DihlT (Feb. 1719), when they were overpowered in a street riot, Mlid Qasim, Lahori, ^ Ibratnmiah 244, my copy. Another in- stance is found in a book written c. 1147 h., gah dar dandan giriftah {AJnoal-i-khawaqln, fol. 2I7fl).

Drill. There seems to have been no drill for soldiers, as such, and no training in combined movements of any sort. The individual, on the other hand, paid the minutest attention to the training of his body, and exercising him- self with all his weapons. For this there were the series of movements practised daily, known as kasarat. In 1791 an English visitor to the Nizam's camp near Kadapah (Cuddapah) writes to the following effect, Ouseley, "Or. Coll", 1795, i, 21 — 32, "the traces of order, discipline, and science are so faint as to be scarcely discernible, except in the outward appearance of the men, the management of their horses, and their dexterity in the use of the spear and sabre, which individually gives a martial air". He adds that the men exercise at home with dumb bells or heavy pieces of wood; and he also describes the kasarcd move- ments. There were in addition the clubs called mugdar, the chain bow or lezam, Egerton 147, 150-1, N^ 808, and single-stick play. In this last, a stick covered with a loose sheath of leather was held in one hand and a small round buckler in the other, Egerton, 148, quoting from Mundy (3rd ed. 1858, p. 165, 191, 310, 322). The stick is called gudka, gadka or gadga, a little club, from gada, a club (Shakes. 1689). An account will be found in Briggs, "Ferishta", iii, 207, of yak-ang-bazl, play with one single- stick or sword, and do-ang-bazl, with sword and shield,

186 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

or two swords, one held in each hand. There were also wrestling bouts, which usually took place in the rainy season. For mounted men there were tent- pegging and shooting at bottles: and the archers had their daily shooting at an earthen mound or target.

Sword'play. The swordsmen were exceedingly skilful and active; their attack and defence being accompanied by the wildest gestures, the most extraordinary leaps, and elabo- rate feints of every sort. Something of this may still be seen at any Muharram festival, where the most complicated evolutions and sweeping circular cuts are made with the straight gauntlet sword or patta.

Burton, writing of Sindh in 1844, gives us a good picture of Indian single-stick and sword-play. The usual style of sword exercise in India is, he says, "Life", i, 119, with a kind of single-stick, ribbonded with list cloth up to the top, and a small shield in the left hand. The swordsman begins by "renowning it", vapouring, waving his blade, and showing all the curious fantasie that dis- tinguish a Spanish espada. Then, with the fiercest counte- nance, he begins to spring in the air, to jump from side to side, to crouch, and to rush forwards and backwards, with all the action of an excited baboon. They never thought of giving "point": throughout India the thrust is confined to the dagger. The cuts as a rule were only two, one on the shoulder and the other, in the vernacular called qalam \ at the lower legs. Nothing was easier than to guard these cuts and to administer a thrust that would have been fatal with steel. Colonel Blacker on the other hand, "War", 302, thought more highly of the native cutting stroke, it being the only one capable of penetrating the quilted jackets, or the many folds of cloth worn as turbans by Indians. The colonel held the opinion that the then Dragoon sword would not penetrate these, even by giving "point". He adds "the native practice not only requires a

' Probably from qalam kardan, to lop or prune.

DISCIPLINE, DRILL, AND EXERCISES. 187

stiff wrist, but a stiff though not a straight elbow, for a cut that shall disable".

Fitzclarence, 102, thus describes the charge made on the Sitabaldi hill by the Nagpur Rajah's Arabs on the 26^^ Nov. 1817. "Their manner of advancing was exceedingly imposing. Being perfectly undisciplined, they advanced in a crowd; the bravest being in advance and taking high bounds and turning two or three times round in the air, they rushed forward to the sound of small drums, accom- panied by the perpetual vociferation of the war-cry "Din ! Din! Muhammad!" This sounds at a distance like 'ding, ding', which is often used instead of the correct expression". As this represents what was, no doubt, the long-established mode of fighting on foot, I give it, in spite of its referring to a period after the fall of Moghul rule.

Horsemanship. The cavalry had their horses trained to a sort of manege, where the horse was made to stand on its hind legs and then advance by bounds for a consider- able distance. This manoeuvre was resorted to in Bundel- khand whenever a man on horse- back attacked any one on an elephant. Once, when Muhammad Khan, Bangash, invaded Bundelkhand in 1727, he was thus attacked. As he writes in his report to the emperor: "1 drove my ele- phant straight into the thick of the enemy, where my men seemed to be struggling hopelessly against them. At this moment two of the enemy's horsemen, one after the other, rode their horses with the greatest boldness at my elephant, so that their forefeet were on the elephant. By God's aid they were, one after the other, dispatched by our arrows" (see the official report in Shakir Khan's Gulshan-i-sadiq, my copy). This caracolling is still adhered to by the cavalry in the Bundelkhand native states, as could be seen by those who witnessed the review of their troops at Agrah in 1876, in the presence of the then Prince of Wales.

The Persians in the Moghul service did not think much of Indian horsemanship, judging from the following passage

188 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

of an anonymous memoir written about the middle of the 18^h century. As a rule the people of India do not know how to ride, and horsemanship is unknown in Hindustan. In addition, they use their utmost efforts to efface from horses all the qualities of the horse, and make it epileptic and mad. Their movements are not regulated by an intel- ligible principle, and it is impossible for them to be under the rider's control. I am a good rider and relying on my skill, I have often mounted Indian horses barebacked, in the belief that they would not be too much for me; and yet, when I have wanted to go east, they have carried me north, south, or west, and vice versa. If one wants to control the speed of the horse and make him travel at the speed one wishes, the beast either stands up on his hind legs or jibs, or hugs a wall till he crushes his rider or kills him in some other way. His paces are accompanied by jumps wholly unnatural". {Tankh-i-Farah Bakhsli, trans. W. Hoey, i, App. p. 7). ~~

In this connection the following passage, although written in 1844, is quite as applicable to the Indian Moghuls as if it had been written a century or two earlier. All nations seem to despise one another's riding, and none seem to know how much they have to learn. The Indian style has the merit of holding the horse well in hand, making him bound off at a touch of the heel, stopping him dead at a hand gallop, and wheeling him round on a pivot. The Hindu (Indian ?) will canter over a figure-of-eight, gradually diminishing the dimensions tell the animal leans over at an angle of 45°, and throwing himself over the off side and hanging down to the earth by the heel, will pick up sword or pistol from the ground". (Burton, "Life", i, 135). This is as favorable as the preceding extract was unfavorable. When doctors disagree, who shall decide?

Mounting Guard. In time of peace the nobles took it in turn to mount guard with their troops at the palace gate. This was called chauh and the guard-house was the

DISCIPLINE, DRILL, AND EXERCISES. 189

chauJci-Hanah \ The rules will be found in the Ajn, i, 257. The duty lasted for twenty-four hours and recurred once a week. The relief took place every evening. There was also another division of the army into twelve parts, each of which mounted guard for one month. But 1 do not see how the two divisions, that into seven and that into twelve parts, are to be reconciled with each other.

Hunting. The nearest approach to army manoeuvres was when the army or a division was ordered out to take part in a royal hunt. This subject is touched on by Horn, 69. One branch of the army combined two functions; in peace they were huntsmen, in war, skirmishers. These were the Qarawal, with the Qarawal Begl, or Chief Huntsman, at their head ^. Horn, 69, refers to two descriptions of a royal hunt, namely, Budauni, iii, 92, and Erskine, "History", ii, 286. I add another from Anand Ram, Mirat-ul-Istilah, fol. 184fl. ShiJcar-i-qamrghdh (or qamrc/ah), also shikar-i- jargah, is called in Hindi Iiata-jorl \ For this hunt a king gives orders, through his huntsmen {qarawal), to his gover- nors and the zamindars and cultivators (ryots) to surround a wide space full of game. This was closed in on daily till the area was very small. Then the ruler and his friends arrived, entered the enclosed space, and hunted the game. As this was a privilege {jquruq) of kings, no one else, not even a great noble, was allow^ed to practise it. This method was also followed in Iran; in India it was given up after the middle of ^Alamgir's reign.

1 Steingass, 402, chauki^ H. a raised seat, chair; a guard; a place for collecting customs; a watchhouse. J. Shakes. 507, chauk, a market, a city square; a court yard.

2 Steingass, 962, a sentinel, watchman, spy, guard; the vanguard, a gamekeeper, a hunter.

» Kamrg_hah, Steingass, 988, the hunting ring formed to enclose the game in the grand royal chase. Id, 360, jargah, a circle or ring of men or beasts. Hatna, H. to drive back, jorna, to collect, therefore hata-jorl^ a drive of game.

CHAPTER XVI.

ARMY IN THE FIELD.

Having sprung from a Central Asian nomad horde, the early chiefs of Taimur's race were perpetually on the move, accompanied by their army. This traditional habit was maintained in India by the earlier and more active em- perors of that house \ From Babar to Bahadur Shah, they were seldom long in one place, and the greater part of their life was passed under canvas. For example, during the five years of his reign Bahadur Shah never slept in any building, and did not enter one in the day time on more than one or two occasions. From this habit it resulted that the empire had never had a fixed capital, the only capital was the place at which the sovereign might happen to be 2, and as a consequence, the whole apparatus of government was carried wherever the emperor went. Ail the great officers of state followed him, and all the im- perial records moved with them. Thus a Moghul army, where the emperor was present, was weighted with the three-fold impedimenta of an army, a court, and a civil executive. It is thus easy to account for the immense size to which their camps gradually extended.

Mir Manzil. To preserve order in the audience-hall and its approaches, and to regulate the access of the public thereto, there were a number of guards {yasaioal), at whose

1 The original nomadic habits of the royal house are betokened by the singular habit, that the wives of the emperors were delivered lying upon a saddle-cloth. The authority for this is found in a letter said to have been written in 1137 H. by Nizam-ul-Mulk to Muhammad Shah ("Asiatic Misc." i, 490).

• Or as the Romans said, "Ubi Imperator, ibi Roma".

ARMY IN THE FIELD. 191

head were several officers styled Mn Tuzak (literally, Lords of Arrangement). The first of these officials was one of the great officers of State, and it was his duty when the court was on the march, to fix the route, to decide on the marches, and to proceed ahead, select a place for encampment, and lay out the site of the various camps and the lines of shops {bazar). When carrying out these duties, the first Mir Ttizak was more commonly known as Mir Manzil, Lord of the Stages.

Transport. The means of transport, consisting of elephants, camels, pack-ponies, bullocks, bullock-carts and porters, were only provided officially for the imperial tents and establish- ments; every one else was left to make his own arrange- ments. Each soldier did his best for himself. The baggage was known as bahlr o hangah ox 'part dl. In Ashob, fol. 265«, we find Partdl used for the means of transporting, instead of for the baggage itself: P artdl-i-aksare-i-eshdn shut ar an- i-Bakhtl-i-asil loa khdtirhde, yanl usfiturhde katai^-i-khush- jins'i- Wildyatl. Bakhtl is the large, two-humped or Bactrian camel.

Commissariat. In an Indian army the commissariat was left very much to take care of itself. The imperial kitchen fed a certain number of palace servants and some armed guards, matchlock men, and artificers. There was also a charitable kitchen kept up, at the emperor's expense, and called the Langarkhanah. In the same way, a chief distri- buted cooked food to the men more especially attached to his person. Outside these limited circles, every man was left to provide for himself, buying from day to day enough for his daily wants from the numerous dealers, or hanyas, who followed the army. These men's huts or shops were erected in long double lines, so as to form temporary streets. These were the so-called bazars or markets (Bernier, 381). Each great leader had his own bazars, and in these were to be found not only dealers in grain, but merchants and artificers of every sort and kind.

192 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Banjara or Birinjara. The suppliesof grain were brought in on the backs of bullocks by the wandering dealers known as Banjarahs or Brinjarahs. There are two derivations alleged for this word, 1) H. bnnij, trade, plus the affix ctrah, de- noting a doer or agent (Steingass, 201), and 2) P. birinj, rice, ar, am, the root of dwardan, to bring (Steingass, 179). Eitzclarence, 93, says "It is by these people that the Indian armies in the field are fed, and they are never injured by either army. The grain is taken from them, but invariably paid for. They encamp for safety every evening in a regular square formed of the bags of grain, of which they construct a breastwork. They and their families are in the centre and the oxen are made fast outside. Guards with matchlocks and spears are placed at the corners, and their dogs do duty as advanced posts. I have seen them with droves of 50,000 bullocks. They do not move above two miles an hour, as the cattle are allowed to graze as they proceed on the march". On these men, see also Thorn, 85, E. Moor, 131, and M. Wilks, iii, 209.

Fodder. The grass for the horses was provided, as it still is, by sending men out to gather it. If they had a pony, the grass was loaded on it and brought in ; if not, it was carried in on the man's head (Cambridge, "War", Introd. vi). These men were either engaged as servants by the troopers or worked on their own account, (Bernier, 381). With an active enemy about, these followers were often cut off, or even frightened into not going out at all. Camels were, of course, sent out to pick up what they could in the country round the camp (idem). These, too, were often raided by the enemy.

Foraging. In addition to those brought in by traders, supplies were also added to by raiding and plundering in the country through which the army marched. Even in the best time of the monarchy and under the strictest com- manders, the course of an army was marked by desolation. These was great destruction of growing coops when the

ARMY IN THE FIELD. 193

army passed through a fairly cultivated country. Compen- sation under the name of paemcllt, "foot-treading", was certainly allowed, according to the rules, in the shape of a remission of revenue on the land injured, but this must have been a very incomplete indemnification for the loss of the crop.

Scarcity and other sufferings. An army supplied in the way indicated above was peculiarly liable to have its sup- plies cut off; then followed at once scarcity, high prices, and if the stoppage continued, death from starvation. Mention of these difficulties is seldom absent long from the pages of native historians. Great heat and want of water were also frequent grounds of complaint, and from one who went through the march of A^zam Shah from Gwa- liyar to Dholpur in June 1707, escapes the bitter cry, "May God Omnipotent never subject even my enemy to such a day as we then passed through" {Ahioal-i-khawaqin, fol. \\a). Again in Bahadur Shah's operations against the Sikh leader, Bandah, in December 1710, he was much hampered by the heavy rain and the intense cold, many of the transport animals being lost. A graphic picture of campaigning difficulties, even in the case of a force which was finally victorious, is given by KhafT Khan, ii, 888. Nizam-ul-mulk on his way in July 1720 to attack ^Alim ^Aii Khan, governor of Aurangabad, passed several days in extreme discomfort, exposed to incessant rain and in the middle of deep black mud. The constant rain and the swollen streams stopped all supplies, the Mahrattas plun- dered close round the camp, not an animal could be sent out or brought in. For many days the only food of the cattle was the pounded leaves and young shoots of trees; "the smell even of grass or corn did not reach the four- footed animals", and many of them, standing up to their shoulders in mud, starved to death. One rupee would only buy 2 to 4 lbs. of flour. Referring to a century earlier. Sir Thomas Roe, as quoted by Cambridge, "War", Introd.

13

194 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

vii, gives a very lifelike description of the sufferings of a march through woods and over mountains.

Flight of Inhabitants, Colonel Wilks, i, 308, note, speaking of the south of India, says the inhabitants of a country deserted their homes for the hills and woods upon the approach of an invader, taking with them whatever food they could carry, and often perishing of want. Such an exodus was not unknown in Northern India, as for instance, when the Sikhs first rose in 17 JO, and invaded the Upper Jamnah-Ganges duabah and the country north and east of Lahor, the inhabitants, especially the Mahomedans, fled at their approach. More usually, however, the peasants continued with tranquil unconcern to plough, sow, or reap within a stone's throw of a raging battle. Like true sons of the East, they "bowed low before the blast" and "let the legions thunder past". What had they to hope or fear from defeat or victory?

CHAPTER XVII.

CAMPS AND CAMP EQUIPAGE.

Each soldier seems to have had the shelter of a tent, even if it consisted only of a cotton cloth raised on two sticks. The kinds of tents were numerous, from the rautl, a mere low awning, up to the huge imperial tents. The Ayn, i, 54, names twelve different kinds of tents. I have just spoken of one of these, the Uautl, and of another, the Guldlbar, not a tent but an enclosure, I shall speak further on. The sarapardah W. 11 also is a screen and not a tent. From a perusal of the passage referred to, coupled with plates x and xi, it is fairly easy to understand what each of these tents was like. The Shamiyanah^ N". 9, is still known and in common use; the name may be from sham, evening, that is an awning for use in the evening, or from shamah (Steingass, 725), a veil. The khargah, N". 8, (Stein- gass, 456) are spoken of by Bernier, 359, note 4, and 362, where he says they are folding tents with one or two doors, and made in various ways; he calls them "cabinets", and leads us to infer that they were set up inside the large tents. The emperor and the great nobles were provided with tents in duplicate, one set being sent on to the next camping ground while the other set was in use (Bernier, 359). The tents thus sent on were knov/n as the pesh- khanah (literally "advance-house").

Camp, description of. The laying out of the emperor's camp, a plan continued to the last, is described in the Ajn, i, 47, and is shown with more detail in plate iv. In the centre was the imperial enclosure of canvas screens

196 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

]530 yards long, and about one fifth of that distance in breadth. It was divided across in its length into four courts. Over the entrance, which faced in the direction of the next inarch, was the drum-house (naqar-khanah), in the second court was the audience tent, in the third a more private hall, and in the fourth the sleeping tents. Behind was a place for Akbar's mother, while outside and still more to the rear were the women's apartments, surrounded on all four sides by guards. Along the outside of the enclosure were ranged on each side the kdrhhanahs, or departments of the household and arsenal, about ten tents on each side. Still farther away and towards each corner, the tents of the guards were erected. Outside the gate of the enclosure were the elephants and horses with their establishments on one side; and the records, the carts and litters, the general of artillery, and the hunting leopards on the other. A des- cription of Jahangir's camp will be found in Cambridge, "War", Introd. v, who quotes it from Sir Thomas Roe's journal, the chief impression produced on the ambassador's mind being that of immense size.

A good account of the mode of pitching an imperial camp is to be found in Bernier, 360, 361. First of all the Mir Manzil selected a fit spot for the emperor's tents. This was a square enclosure 300 paces each way. The whole of this was surrounded by screens {qanat), seven or eight feet high, secured by cords to pegs and stayed by poles fixed at an angle, one inside and one outside, at every ten paces. The entrance was in the centre of one of the sides. On each side of the gate (Bernier, 363) were two handsome tents, where were kept a number of horses ready saddled and caparisoned ^ In front of the entrance was a clear space, at the end of which stood the naqar khanah, or station for the drums, trumpets and cymbals. Close to it was the chauki-hhanah , or tent of the officer on guard for the day.

• This is, no doubt, what we read of so often under the name of the Ji7ai<.

CAMPS ANI) CAMP EQUIPAGE. 197

Round the enclosure were the imperial bazars, through which a street led from the gate in the direction of the next day's march, marked out by long poles, which were surmounted by yak tails and placed at 300 paces from each other. The princes and great nobles pitched their camps at various distances, sometimes of several miles, from the emperor's tents. Each was surrounded by the tents of his men and his own bazar, the only order observed being that the chief's tents must face towards the imperial Public Audience-hall (Bernier, 366). Bernier estimates, 367, that where there was ample space for spreading, ^Alamgir's whole camp would have measured about six miles in cir- cumference. The bazars were marked out (Bernier, 365) by long poles surmounted, as already said, by the tails of the great Tibet cow "which have the appearance of so many periwigs".

The camp is thus described by Catrou, French ed., 4*0, p. 128, 12^^, iv, 40, 57, possibly borrowing from Bernier, although he professes to have the Venetian, Manucci, as his authority : "The camp where this numerous army rested was laid out daily in the same manner, so far as the nature of the ground permitted. A great enclosure was roped off of square shape, and this was surrounded by a deep ditch. The heavy artillery was ranged from distance to distance and defended the approaches. The emperor's palace was placed in the centre of the camp. This also was square in shape and the light artillery was disposed all round it. The tents of the generals, of a much less height than those of the emperor, were pitched in the different quarters of the camp. The sutlers and traders of all sorts had streets assigned to them. To sum up it may be said that Aurangzeb dragged in his train a travelling city as large and as peopled as his capital".

Some of the tents were of an enormous size. These was one made by order of Shahjahan which bore the name of Dil'badil (Generous Heart). When Bahadur Shah ordered

198 THE ARMY OP THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

this tent to be erected at Lahor in the year 1711, five hundred tent-pitchers and carpenters were employed for one month in putting it up, and in so doing several persons were killed {Mirat-ul-Istilah, 218^). Kamwar Khan, entry of 4th Sha'ban 1123 h* (16th Sept. 1711), sayTthis tent cost 50,000 rupees. A later writer, Seir, i, 25, note 32, says the emperor's camp was about one and a quarter miles in circuit, it contained one hundred and twenty tents, some of them big enough for several hundreds of men, and the largest might admit two thousand or three thou- sand. All this was surrounded by a qanat, or wall of cloth six feet high, outside which is a paling which surrounds the whole : and it is betwixt these two enclosures that live the guards. Further off, there is another paling, and here, too, in the intermediate space reside guards and people attached to the imperial household, such as chairmen, watermen, or taper-bearers. See also Cambridge, "War", In trod. V, for an account of Nasir Jang's camp in 1750, over twenty miles in circumference. There is also a good description of a native camp in Wilks, i, 292, referring to the year 1752, where he tells us of the motley collection of cover, from superb tents down to ragged blankets; tents and animals all intermixed ; the only mark of order being the flags set up by each chief, the only regularly laid out lines being those of the traders' booths or shops.

Colour of tents. The tents of the emperor,* his sons, and grandsons were of a red cloth, called kharwah, a stout canvas-like cotton cloth, dyed red with the root of the al plant. Round the emperor's tents was the enclosure called the gulalhar. Some of the great nobles such as the vice- gerent (loahl-i-mutlaq) or the chief minister, {Jamdat-ul- mulk) were allowed patapatl or striped tents, one red stripe and one white stripe alternately. Patl is h. for a strip of anything, {Mirat-ul-Istilah, fol. 275 and Bernier, 366). The latter writer on p. 362 seems to imply that the imperial tents also were striped outside, but as his phrase is "or-

CAMPS AND CAMP EQUIPAGE. 199

namented with stripes", perhaps the two statements are not absolutely conflicting.

Gulalbar. The name of the screen which Bernier speaks of as being put up round the emperor's tents was the Gulalbar. It is mentioned in the Ajn, i, 45, 54, but a fuller description will not be out of place, since the word frequently appears in histories, and it is well to have a definite idea of what is meant. Gulal in Hindi means "red" and bar, "anything in the nature of a wall which prevents entrance or passage through it". Thus the whole word is equivalent to "Red Wall". Before Akbar's time the tents of the Gurgani kings were surrounded by a rope called the ia7idb-i-qUruq (lit. "the rope of hindrance"). In Akbar's reign the gulalbar was devised. It was formed out of bambus coloured red and held together by leather straps like a net- work {jail), and so made that it might be ex- tended or gathered up at will. Its height was three gaz, or about eight feet, and it had two gateways to the front and one on the side where the harem tents stood. This screen was erected round the imperial tents, which were styled collectively the Daulat-khanah (literally. Abode of Prosperity). Outside it a ditch was dug, and red flags, an attribute of sovereignty, were displayed on poles {Mirat- ul-Istilah, fol. 203«).

Jail. The word jail is similarly met with in reference to the precincts of the emperor's tent. The derivation is from H. jcil, a net, and it means lattice, grating, network. From the passage quoted in the last paragraph and another in the same book, we see that this network {jail) was the gulalbar under another name. But a European observer, who probably had seen an emperor's camp, says the gulalbar was the outer paling fifty yards from the qanats, or cloth screens seven feet high, which enclosed the emperor's tents {Seir, i, 159, note 120). For gulalbar Khushhal Chand in one place, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 1010^, uses salabat-bar "majestic-enclosure": and Ashob, fol. 196^, claims it as

200 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

the invention of Salabat Khan ^ Mir Atash to ^Alamgir, gulal-barah being nothing more than a popular name. Ashob gives a minute description of its construction; this differs in details from that of x^nand Ram given above. The tents of princes continued to be protected by the old device of a rope, which still bore the name of tandb-i-quruq, or rope of prohibition {Mirat-ul-I.).

Bahkalah-bar. This word is literally rahkalah^ field-piece, plus bar, enclosure. It was the park of artillery arranged at the entrance of the imperial quarters, or round them, as a protection against attack. The quarters of the Mir Atash were at the imperial gateway (Danish mand Khan, entry of 4th Zai Hijjah 1119 h., and Bernier, 363)7

Rarem women with armies (Horn, 57). On all campaigns a harem of women with their attendants seems to have accompanied the emperor and the chief men. On the day of battle these women were put on elephants and carefully guarded by the force forming the rear guard, which was posted at some distance behind the centre, where stood the emperor or other chief commander. Many references might be quoted in illustration of this statement. The habit of being followed by a harem might be justified in cases where the camp was the only home, for perhaps years at a time. But the practice was the same even on short campaigns. For instance, the redoutable GhazT-ud-din Khan, ^Imad-ul-mulk, who became wazir at sixteen years of age and had deposed two emperors before he was five and twenty, was born in his maternal grandfather, Qamr-ud-din Khan's, camp. This noble, who was Muhammad Shah's wazir, was then on his way to Malwah on an expedition against the

1 According to the Ma^asir-iil-umara. ii, 742, Khwajah Mir, Khwafi, (Salabat Khan) was made Mir Atash in the 23rt^ year of '^Alamgir, then removed, but reappointed in the 25tii year; he died in 1103 h. (the 36*^ year). The Tarlkh-i-Muhammadi says he died in 1104 h. Neither the Ma^asir-ul-umara nor the Ma^asir-i-^Alamglrl makes any mention of his having invented the gulalbar.

CAMPS AND CAMP EQUIPAGE. 201

Mahrattas. Wilks, ii, 38, writes as if it were a peculiar weakness of the particular noble, that the Nizam of Hai- darabad was in 1768 "accompanied in the field by his favourite wives". But in so doing Nizam 'All was only following the usual practice of Moghul commanders.

CHAPTER XVIIT.

ON THE MARCH.

When an army or the emperor first took the field, there were generally great difficulties and delays in making a start. Nothing was ever ready when wanted ; and if a great noble was put in command, he had always some further petition to urge or objection to make before he could be persuaded to start. Then there were the astrologers to be consulted. No march began until the lucky moment {saat- i-sald) had been fixed by reading the stars. If it were not possible to make a real departure on the proper day or at the proper time, the advance tents would be sent out and a pretended start would be made in the hope of cheating the Eates {Seir, i, 309, note 248). In all cases, however, the first march out was a very short one, in order that stragglers might have time to join and anything left behind might be sent for. This regard for lucky and unlucky days was a great obstacle to the Moguls' success in war, as it often prevented them from taking the most obvious advantages of an enemy (Cambridge, "War", Introd. xi).

Emperor s taking the field in person. The emperor was not supposed to take the personal command unless the army was large and the campaign important (Horn, 46 relying on the Tuzuk-i-Taimuri). Thus, when Bahadur Shah in 1710 headed the army sent against the Sikh, Bandah, he was blamed for meeting an antagonist unworthy of him. On the way it was usual to pay visits to holy men of repute in order to obtain their blessing; and the shrines of any noted saints situated near the line of march were

ON THE MARCH. 203

perambulated and the saint's help implored. Thus Shah ^Alam Bahadur Shah when on his way to fight his brother, offered up prayers at the tombs of Qutb-ud-din and Nizam-ud-din Auliya at Dihll. In the same way Farrukhsiyar, marching up from Patnah to Agrah, prayed at the tombs of Taki- ud-din ut JhusT, of Badf ud-dln at Korah, and of Shah Madar at Makhanpur. Another curious practice is described by Yaliya Khan, 1295. He says that when in 1721, Prince Muhammad Ibrahim was raised to the throne and was about to start against Muhammad Shah, he was taken, in accordance with an old custom, to Qutb-ud-din's shrine, to have his turban wound round his head there, and a sword attached to his waist. Then a bow with its string loosened ought to have been placed near the tomb. If the string of itself resumed its place, this would be held a sign of victory. On this occasion, such was the uproar and con- fusion, the order to bring the bow was not carried out.

Description of an army on the march. Catrou, Vl^^ ed. 1715, iv, 49 — 57, or 4to edition p. 126, gives us the fol- lowing picture of a march of the emperor Aurangzeb. The heavy artillery went first and formed as it were the ad- vance guard. The baggage followed in good order. First came the camels bearing the imperial treasure, one hundred loaded with gold and two hundred with silver coin. The load of each did not exceed 500 lbs. The treasure was succeeded by the hunting establishment. There were a great many dogs used for coursing deer and numerous "taureaux" ^ for hunting tigers. Next came the official records. It is the practice of the Moghul empire for these never to be separated from the emperor. The accounts and other archives of the empire were carried on eighty camels, thirty elephants

1 This must surely be a mistake; perhaps leopards (chitah) are meant or buffaloes for fighting with tigers. But the original Portuguese text of Manucci, Berlin Ms., Phillipps 1945, p. 47, says nothing about bulls. The sentence reads : "One hundred and fifty camels loaded with nets (redes) for hunting tigers, of which sport I have already spoken". For the use of these nets, see Constable's Bernier, p. 378.

204 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

and twenty carts. Immediately behind these came fifty camels carrying water for the court and the princes. This is a necessary precaution in Indian travelling, you are often in a waterless country or the water, speaking gene- rally, is stagnant and unwholesome. Behind these camels came the imperial kitchen and fifty camels with the pro- visions for the day. There were fifty cows to give milk, as Aurangzeb chiefly lived on milk. One hundred kitchen servants riding on horses followed. Each man prepared one

particular sort of stew Next was the wardrobe of the

emperor and the harem, and for this fifty camels and one hundred carts sufficed. Thirty elephants bore the harem jewels and the store of swords and daggers, from which the emperor makes presents to his generals. In front of the baggage train and the artillery two thousand pioneers marched with spades ready to smooth the ground. There were other thousand who followed to repair any holes made by the camels or elephants.

The army came after the baggage. It was composed almost entirely of cavalry. As for the infantry it is made up in case of need from the numerous sutlers, traders, and servants that follow the army. These are armed only with the sword, spear and shield. After the cavalry came the emperor, followed by his seraglio. Ordinarily he rode an elephant. On the back of this great animal, they had built a room with glass windows, in which was a couch and a bed. By the side of the elephant were palankins all ready for use should .the emperor wish to change his mode of conveyance. His elephant was followed by led horses. Aurangzeb was fond of riding and at a considerably advanced age he was still the best rider in his empire. Some camels preceded the emperor bearing some large cooking-pots always steaming, perfuming the air as they went by. Forming the two wings on the two sides of the emperor's elephants, marched in good order the whole of the imperial guard. The queens, princesses, and ladies of

ON THE MARCH. 205

the harem followed the emperor. They were carried, as he was, on elephants, but the room which contained them was surrounded with wooden blinds [jalousies) covered over with loose, thin muslin. They saw all and could breathe the air without being seen. The other women who worked in the harem were on horseback, wrapped in long mantles covering their faces and reaching to their feet. The line of march was brought up by the light artillery, each field piece on its carriage being drawn by horses.

The rear guard was swollen by the prodigious number of people always at the Court, and the innumerable mul- titude of servants leading elephants, camels, horses, and those carrying the tents and baggage of the lords of the court and the generals of the army. All moved in order and without confusion. This rear guard had its place al- lotted as exactly as the disciplined troops.

Standards. The flag of the noble or sovereign was car- ried on an elephant during the march (De la Flotte, i, 258 Fitzclarence, 138). These was a special officer entrusted with the insignia and standards. Of these some account has been given under the head of Mansabddrs. Collectively they were called the qUr, an Indian usage of the Turkish word which is not given among the definitions in P. de Courteille, "Diet." 425. The officer's title was QUrbegt, lord of the Qur\ and the men under him carried a supply of weapons for the emperor's use. The details, as they stood under Akbar, will be seen in the Ajn, i, 109, 110. Bernier, 371, speaks of the qur (or as he spells it, cours) preceding the emperor on the march: these standards and emblems were surrounded by a large number of players on cymbals and trumpets.

The following graphic description of an emperor on the march with music playing and standards displayed is found in a Hindi poem by Shridhar Murlldhar of Allahabad, lines 355—376:

206 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Phajir 8hahanshdh sajeu,

JSakal brind gayand gajeu, Bajl nauhate gahgahi tab,

Bhai naubat rawarl ab, Ghor dhamisd dhuni dhakdrat,

Phateh, pliateir , manu pukdrat, ^^ Ho'hu-Iio' karandi bdjat^

8hdhanshdh-hi sagun 8djat, Sagun son siirandi bdjl,

Siddhi rdm karlju sdjl, "Jhdru-jhdrun' jhdnjh jhankat,

Khanan Idgi-hi g limit khanakh'kat'\ Phil tvdr nishdn jliaharat,

Man-hu agd phatuli phaharat, At pair anup rdjat,

Indr syon prabhu tdbi rdjat, Jhdlarl muku tdsu lachhak,

Man-hu tdrd chhatr rachhak, Aphtdb blhds ken kar,

Man-hu rakhshak sang dini ar, Tog sundar mdha mdhl^

Sagun kl manu det gwdhl.

Next morning the King of Kings started,

The throng of elephants roared, The royal march was beaten loudly,

Then played the music of His Majesty, The big drums shook with mutterings and growlings,

Men shouted 'Victory! Victory!', The trumpets brayed 'ho-hu-ho'.

The King of Kings' good omens appeared. The hautboys sounded happy augury,

Rama and the sages joined the throng. 'Clash, clash' clanged the cymbals,

Jingling bells began their 'tinkle, tinkle', The elephant riders displayed their standards,

In front ran men shouting 'Victory!'

ON THE MARCH. 207

Everywhere incomparable brightness reigns,

The splendour is that of Indra's heaven, Fringes hang over their faces,.

Guardians of stars and umbrellas, Sun screens waving in their hands.

Hearts full of joy, they shout for the Faith, Yaktails, sundar, the fish dignity.

Give evidence of happy augury.

Military Music and the Naubat. The beating of drums, accompanied by the playing of cymbals and the blowing of trumpets, at certain fixed intervals {naubat), was one of the attributes of sovereignty. The place where the instru- ments were stationed, generally at or over a gateway, was the naubat or naqqar khanah, the latter name coming from naqqarah, one kind of drum used. Details will be seen in the Ain, i, 51. As I read that passage, there would seem to have been nine naubat in the twenty four hours, but generally they are spoken of as recurring at the end of each of the eight watches {pahr) into which that period was divided. The number is differently stated by different writers. Haji Mustapha, Seir, i, 3 note 31, after saying that in its origin this music was a mark of sovereignty, though later usurped by all provincial governors, goes on, "It played four times by day and once by night, and also to announce good news". Others speak of only three ^«w6r/^. Fitzclarence, 192, writes "the continual beating of the naubat, or great drums, is one of the highest signs of rank and power; over the gate of every palace is a gallery or balcony where this noisy instrument is beaten at certain hours in the day and night. One of them (i. e. a drum) is always carried on an elephant before the commander of a native army. At Murshidabad, when I was there, the Nawab had them continually beaten. Four gates to his palace had each a naubat, and each of them sounded a quarter of each hour and made the most horrid din ima-

208 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

ginable". As to the beating of kettle drums on the march there is a passage to the same effect in Captain J. Wil- liamson "Oriental Field Sports", p. 79.

In addition to the fixed periods at which the imperial drums were beaten and the music played, it would seem that music and drum beating accompanied the march of the emperor (Fitzclarence, 138). The intention to make a march was announced by the beating of kettle drums, as was done for instance by Prince 'Ala Gohar in 1171 h., Tankh-i- Alamgir Sam, fol. 1555. Or as Manucci asserts, ii, 68, a trumpet was sounded for the same purpose. If the emperor were not present, the commander, if entitled to this high honour, caused his own drums to be beaten, and as Horn, 17, remarks, the sound of these drums was a sign that some great noble was in commatid and that probably the army under him was a large one. The drums were also beaten at the opening of a battle. We are told by one writer of the year 1169 h. (1756), Tanhh-i- Almnglr Sanl, fol. 49^, that a horn was blown at night in the emperor's camp to indicate a halt for the next day. We read of one noble who kept in his service one hundred horn-blowers {Jcarranctl), so that when a fight was trembling in the balance, they should all blow together and inspire the other side with dread. [Majasir-ul-umara, i, 514). After a battle the drums and trumpets were also employed by the victors to announce their victory; and even on ordinary occasions a noble was preceded by music. In 1757 iVnquetil Duperron, Zend Avesta, i, xliv, after being pre- sented to Siraj-ud-daulah, speaks of the Nawab coming out to visit the mint, and "nous entendimes un bruit affreux de tymbales, de trompettes, entremele de coups de fusils et de cailletoques". This picture taken on the spot must represent, as I take it, the usual practice.

The kettle drums {7iaqqarali) were made of iron hoops, and they were twice as big as those used by cavalry in Europe {Seir, i, 24, note 31). One of the drums used was

ON THE MARCH. 209

called Bankah, a small wooden drum, no doubt identical with i^^n-, Shak. 1129, a bass kettledrum, in size between the naqqarah and the laJwra, or as Q.anoone Islam, App. p. Iv, has it, the bass end of the small kettle-drum. De la Flotte, 211, compares the sound of their trumpets {(rom.pettes), ten or twelve feet long, to that of a French cowherd's goathorn, only louder; and G. Careri iii, 182, speaks of seeing a man walking in front of the camp Provost Marshal {kotwal), blowing a copper horn 8 palmes" in length, the sound of which made him laugh, "il res- semble tout a fait a celui que les porchers font en Italic lorsqu'ils veulent rassembler leurs cochons egares".

Patrolling and Watching. At night time some troops were sent out to march round the camp and protect it. The name of these detachments was tildyah {Mirat-ul-Istilah, fol. 202^, Steingass, 817). In 1151 h. (1738) when" Mu- hammad Shah marched out to Karnal to oppose the advance of Nadir Shah, these night rounds or patrols were apparently still carried out; Ashob, fol. 1826 calls them shah-gar d, which seems the correct technical name, Steingass 732. He uses tali alt, fol. 182«, for advanced posts or pickets, which seems the more exact meaning of that word, Steingass 819. The same form, taltah, is used c. 1169 h. (1755-6) by Muhammad ^AlT, Burhanpuri, in his Mirat-us-safa, fol. 99«. As for the care of the interior of the camp, Bernier, 369, describes the system of watch and ward then prevailing. His watchmen with their cries of khabardar (Take care), the guards at their watch fires every five hundred paces round the camp, and the kotwal with his armed men and their trumpet, were better fitted to prevent thieves and robbers entering the camp than to act as military pre- cautions against surprize. In later times even these im- perfect precautions seem to have been abandoned. In the 18^^ century it was found that, often as native troops had been surprized in the night by Europeans, they could never be brought to establish order and vigilance in their camp.

14

210 THE ARMY OF THE ~TNDTAN MOGHULS.

When they acted as allies of the English, the most earnest entreaty could never prevail upon them to be upon their guard, or quit their ground in the morning to take part in a surprize. The men ate a heavy meal just after night fall, many indulged also in drugs, and about midnight a whole army would be in a dead sleep (Cambridge, "War", Introd. xiii). In the police of the camp the provost-marshal, or kofwcil, was aided by a censor, or muhtasib, whose special duty (usually very imperfectly performed) was to suppress gambling, drinking, and other breaches of the Mahomedan law.

Escort. The name used for this duty was badraqah (Steingass, 163).

Etrfperors conveyance and usages on his passing hy. Shah 'Alam Bahadur Shah (1707—1712) generally travelled his stages on a moving throne [tahht-i-rawan). It is described by Bernier, 370. Another account, 8eir, ii, 171, note 95, tells us it was a chair resting on two straight bambus or poles and carried on the shoulders of eight men. Two or three persons could find place in it, and it had not only a canopy over it, but an awning in front to intercept the glare of the sun. Preceding the moving throne were the yasawals (Steingass, 1531), whose business it was to pre- serve order (Malumat-ul-afaq, fol. 795). Sometimes Bahadur Shah mounted a horse, but he does not seem to have ridden on an elephant except in the battle field.

Whenever the emperor passed, it was the etiquette for princes, nobles, and chiefs to come out to the edge of their camp and present a gold coin or other offering. There are numerous instances of the practice in the historians such as Danishmand Khan and Kamwar Khan; and Bernier, 382, also speaks of it. The custom was observed by Herr Kotelar, the Dutch envoy, when he was in Bahadur Shah's camp at Lahor in 1712. The practice spoken of by Bernier of entering the camp sometimes on one side, sometimes on another, was the taghaiyur-i-rah dddan {Mirat-ul-Istildh,

ON THE MARCH. 211

fol. 80), a custom either founded on superstition or devised as a precaution against assassination.

Crossing Rivers. On this subject Horn, 25, quotes P. de Courteille, "Memoires", ii, 336, the occasion being Babar's boat bridge across the Ganges near Kanauj. The practice was exceedingly common. Any river, if unfordable, was crossed by a temporary bridge of boats, such as are still to be seen in the present day. Horn, referring to Elliot, vi, 363, somewhat emphasizes the fact that elephants could cross such bridges, but this is a matter of every day experience. A special officer, dignified with the name of Mir Bahr, Lord of the Sea, was charged with the con- struction of these bridges and the provision of boats. The description of one of these bridges in Bernier, 380, can hardly be improved upon. "The army crossed by means of two bridges of boats constructed with tolerable skill, and placed between two and three hundred paces apart. Earth and straw mingled are thrown upon the planking forming the foot way, to prevent the cattle from slipping. The greatest confusion and danger occur at the extremities ; for not only does the crowd and pressure occur most there, but when the approaches to the bridge are composed of soft moving earth, they become so broken up and full of pits, that horses and laden oxen tumble upon one another into them, and the people pass over the struggling animals in the utmost disorder. The evil would be much increased if the army were under the necessity of crossing in one day; but the king generally fixes his camp about half a league from the bridges of boats and suffers a day or two to elapse ere he passes to the opposite side of the river; when, pitching his tents within half a league from the bank, he again delays his departure so as to allow the army three days and nights at least to efi'ect the passage". The practice referred to in the last sentence could be illu- strated by more than one instance of river-crossing in the reign of Bahadur Shah (1707—1712).

212 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

It seems that there was one defect in the purely native system of making a boat-bridge. They did not make use of grapnels. Instead of these, they followed the tedions mode of driving stakes into the river bed. The result was a bridge less secure; and what might have been ready in one day took eight or ten days to complete (Remarks by Major R. E. Roberts, "Asiatic Miscell." i, 419).

In Ashob's Skahadat-i-Farruk/isii/ar, fol. 112/5, I have come across a curious device bv the Mahrattas to mark the fordable part of a river. In 1148 h. (1735) Pilaji Jadon crossed the Jamna to attack Sa^adat Khan, Burhan-ul-mulk. At the place of crossing he caused bamboo poles to be planted in the water, to show the line of shallow water in case they had to retire. His forethought was, however, of no avail; they were badly beaten, fled in haste, and missed the ford, those that were not drowned being taken prisoners.

Marching through Passes. The passage through a hilly country of such a huge assemblage as a Moghul army, consisting as it mainly did of undisciplined men, was, it need hardly be said, a matter of extreme difficulty, and in the presence of an active enemy likely to end disas- trously. Of this difficulty Bahadur Shah had ample expe- rience while governor of Kabul during the last ten years of his father's life. It was with the greatest difficulty, and more by guile than force, that he was able to pass yearly from his winter quarters at Peshawar to his summer resi- dence at Kabul, and back again (Raverty, "Notes", 84, foot note, 86, 90, foot note, 372). Warned by what had happened to him in Kabul, we find Bahadur Shah adopting special precautions whenever he came to any narrow defile. On his return from the Dakhin, when he arrived at the Eardapur pass between Aurangabad and Burhanpur on the 23rd Shawwal 1121 h. (25tii Dec. 1709), he sent ahead his eldest son, Jahandar Shah, with orders on reaching the other end to occupy in force a position in the open plain beyond (Kamwar Khan, entry of above date). Shortly

ON THE MARCH. 213

afterwards he came with his army to the Mukand darrah, or pass, and the three great Rajput chieftains of Udipur, Jodhpur, and Jaipur being in open revolt, there was every reason to take precaution against a sudden onftilL This narrow valley in the Kotah state has a melancholy interest in Anglo-Indian history as the scene of Colonel Monson's disastrous retreat before Jaswant Rao, Hulkar, in July 1804 (Thornton, "Gaz." 624, Thorn, "War", 358—363, Wel- lesley "Despatches", iv, 178 ^). Bahadur Shah took very great precautions. A plan of the pass was prepared a week before they came to it: the road was reported to be only 4i dirdh wide (about 12f feet). Accordingly on the 25*^ Muharram 1122 h. (25th March 1710), the eldest prince, Jahandar Shah, was again deputed to march through in advance of the main army, and occupy the exit from the narrow valley. It seems to have taken the main body eight days to get clear, as it was not until the 6^^^ gafar (5^^ April) that the emperor quitted his camp on the hill side, at the top of the pass, a position which had been occu- pied by him since the 29^^ March (Kamwar Khan, entry of above date).

Scouts and Spies. The intelligence department was always in active operation, both in peace and war. Reports of all sorts, descending even to idle gossip and scandal, were always welcome. Danishmand Khan, entry of 11*^ j^^^mazan 1120 H., tells us that there were in all four thousand spies {Jiarkarali) in the imperial service scattered throughout the kingdom. There was a head spy {daroghah-i-harharah^ who was a man of influence and much feared ; his establishment formed a branch of the postal department, managed by a high court official called the Baroghah-i-dak, or super- intendent of the Post. When in the field, these spies were sent out in all directions. Their name, harkarah (literally "for every work"), arose in the Dakhin but was adopted

' The best account of this retreat is perhaps that in Frazer's "Skinner", ii, 7—15, 31—35.

214 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

by the Moghuls (Danishmand Khan, 1. c). In modern usage it has been transferred to the runners carrying the mail bags. Despatches and orders were either sent through the ordinary post, manned by foot runners, or by special mes- sengers on camels. If the recipient was to be specially honoured or the matter was very important, one of the imperial mace-bearers carried the message or letter to its destination.

Negociations. These were carried on as a rule through holy men {darvesh) or through eunuchs, the sacred character of the one and the peculiar position of the other class making their persons more likely to be respected. Connected with this subject is the case in Erskine "History", ii, 248, quoted by Horn, 51, where during Humayun's flight through Sind in 1542, Mai Deo, the son of Rae Lankaran of Jaisalmir, when he came to remonstrate about plundering, bore a white flag. Another instance is found in Ashob, fol. 2565. He tells us that during the general slaughter of 1739 in Dihli, the Shah's men were opposed in superior force by the AVazTr's troops stationed round the hitter's mansion. It became necessary to communicate with the VVazir and send him a letter. The messenger displayed a white sheet "that is to say, the signal of peace and negociation", and then advanced to state his purpose. The only other instance that I have met with of a flag of truce being used, was at the siege of Malligam in 1818, where Lake, 127, says "the garrison hung out a flag of truce, that we might carry away our dead and wounded".

CHAPTER XIX.

LENGTH OF MARCHES.

Rennell, 317, speaking from his experience, says the length of a day's journey in Hindustan was 11 to 12 kos or about 22 miles, for an ordinary traveller; but that of a courier may be reckoned at 30 or 33 miles; and on occa- sions of emergeney they could travel even more, and that for a continuance of fifteen or tv^^enty days. But these figures must not be taken as any standard for army mar- ching. These was an official rate of progress laid down for single officers or small parties travelling to or from Court. At times there were, however, forced marches which much exceeded the ordinary length; on the other hand, the rate of advance of a large army was very much less than the official rate of marching, for slowness of motion and the smallness of the stages are in the idea of the Indians a part of the state that must attend a great man" {Sei7\ i, 187, note 131). Bernier, 358, alludes to this when he writes, "this is indeed slow and solemn marching, what we here call a la mogole\

In detailed histories where events are recorded day by day, such as Danish mand Khan's Bahadur 8Jidh namah and Kamwar Khan's Tazkirah-i-salatm4'chaghatai7/a/i, the length of each day's march is stated with great precision in jaribl or measured kos. This precision is accounted for, no doubt, by a statement found in Firishtah, Maqalah ii, p. 212, line 1. He tells us that a tanah-i-'paimcdsh fol- lowed the army, and by it the distance traversed was measured. The introduction of the practice into India was

216 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

attributed to Babar. One hundred tanab made one tanah (the word is kos, in the quotation of the passage to be found on fol. 38« of B.M. Or. 2005, Tnnkh-i-AImad Shahi c. 1167 H.). Each tanab was of 40 yards {(jaz) and each gaz was of nine average fists (mus/il). This would make a kos of 4000, instead of 5000 gaz, as the later reckoning was. It was apparently Akbar who lengthened the tanab from 40 to 50 gaz {Ajn (Jarrett) ii, 414).

Niccalao Manucci saw these measurements actually being made when 'Alamgir left Dihli in 1663, Berlin Ms. Phil- lipps 1945, fol. 48, and he gives a detailed account of the process. "Other men on foot march with a rope to measure the road, as follows. They begin at the royal tent when the king starts. The first man, who holds tho rope in his hand, makes a mark in the ground, and when the man behind comes up to it, he calls out One". Then the other man makes another mark and counts two: and thus they continue for the whole march, counting "Three", "Four" and so on, the other peon also keeping count. Should the king ask how far he has gone, they calculate the number of ropes making up a league, and answer accordingly".

Dr. Horn, 115, states that his researches have not yielded him material for an exhaustive treatment of this section. Without any pretence to be exhaustive, 1 hope to he able to throw some further light upon the subject.

The official days inarch. If a man was summoned to court, the time for his arrival was calculated in the fol- lowing way (B.M. 1641, fol. 40«5):

1) For the order to reach him by the postrunners, 30 measured {jarlbl) kos (78 miles) a day.

2) For preparation to march, one week.

3) For the march, 7 measured kos (18.2 miles) a day. The imperial measured kos was 200 jaribs of 25 dira^h

each, that is, 5000 dirdh (B.M. 1641, fol. 51^). The fol- lowing doggrel lines aff'ord a memoria technica of this fact :

LENGTH OF MARCHES. 217

Panj alaf amad zi gaz nnqdar-i-mll. In manabazat bar In has/iad dahl.

"Five thousand will yield in yards the mile's length, This specification affords the proof thereof".

(Klmshhal Chand, 'Nadir-uz-Zamani, B. M. Or. 1844, fol. 159/^).

The dirdh may be safely assumed to be the same as the gaz-i'ildhl, which has been found to be, as nearly as could be ascertained, 33 inches in length (Elliot, "Supp. Gloss." 480, under "llahi Guz", and 229, under "Coss", see also Prinsep, "Useful Tables", Calcutta, 1834, p. 88, 89). Thus the length of one jarlbl kos would be 4583| yards or 2.6 miles; and 7 kos equals 18.2 miles. The reputed {rasaml) kos was shorter, one jarlbl equalled 1.71 rasaml kos, and the rasaml kos was thus 1.52 miles in length. But this latter kos varies greatly in different parts of the country.

We can prove the ordinary rate of a day's journey from other sources. For instance, Khushlial Chand Nadir-uz-Zamanl, B.M. 24,027, fol 247^, tefls us that from Dihli to within twelve kos of Kabul the distance was 306 jarlbl kos, or 5351 rasaml kos, and that it was one and a half month's journey. Taking thirty days to a month, or forty five days in all, we find that this brings out a rate of 6| jarlbl and II9 rasaml kos travelled each day, or almost exactly the same as the distance fixed in the official manual.

Then Mirza Muhammad, Harisi, gives in his Memoirs details of several journeys that he made. After Bahadur Shah's death he came from Labor to Dihli in twenty three marches, via Nakodar, Phaltir, Ambalah, and Karnal. The reputed distance was 107 kos, measured on the map it comes to about 288 miles, or at the rate of 2.6 miles to the kos to 278 miles. This gives only 4.65 kos or 12.09 miles a day. But then we must recollect that for most of the time he travelled in the company of Bahadur Shah's

218 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

widows, who w^ere bringing that emperor's body for burial at Dihli. Under these circumstances they may be supposed to have travelled less quickly than was usual. Again in

1130 H. (1718) the same Mirza Muhammad went from Dihll to Jalalabad in the Muzaffarnagar district in five marches; the distances he gives, when added up, come to 53 kos, an average of over 10 kos (27 miles) a day. He also returned to Dihli in five marches. The next year,

1131 H. (1719) the same man went as an 'Amil to par- ganah Rahun in the Jalandhar duabah. He reached the place in twelve marches. Measured on the map the distance is roughly about 200 miles, which gives an average of 161 miles as his daily march. Again in 1126 e. it took ^Abd-ul-jalil, BilgramT, four months to 'march from Bhakkar to Dihli, a distance of about 850 miles (Oriental Miscellany, pp. 133 — 295, Letter N^ 6) by the usual route via Labor. This yields an average of a little over seven miles a day; but then we do not know what halts he made.

Forced marches. The tlghar, or forced march, is men- tioned by Horn, 21. Some remarkable feats of this nature were performed by Akbar; notably his advance on Gujarat in 1573 (Elphinstone, 443). Such activity was not displayed in later times, and the Moghuls were habitually outmarched and out-manoeuvered by the Mahrattas. It is true that late instances of forced marches by Maistir troops are on record, but these can hardly be taken as applicable to the Moghul organization. Haidar and Tipu Sultan kept their troops in exceptional order, and what they did could not be done by other native armies. In 1781 Haidar marched one hundred miles in two days and a half, and in November 1790 Tipu s entire army marched sixty three miles in two days. In our early days in India our own troops performed feats quite as wonderful. In 1805 General Smith's cavalry followed Amir Klian 700 miles in 43 days (Blacker, 281). Lord Lake also made some wonderful marches in 1803 and 1804.

LENGTH OF MARCHES. 219

Army marching. We possess several detailed accounts of long marches undertaken by the later emperors at the head of large armies. When ^Alamglr died two of his sons fought together for the crown. But at the time of their father's death, one was at Jamrud, a little west of Peshawar, and the other was in the imperial camp at Ahmadnagar in the Dakhin. There were thus about 1200 miles between them ; they at once commenced to march towards each other, and finally met in battle in June 1707 between Agrah and Dholpur.

The eldest son. Prince Mu^zzam, Shah 'Alam, reached Agrah in sixty-two days. The route was covered thus: Jamrud to the Indus, 8 days, the Indus to Lahor, 19 days, Lahor to DihlT, 25 days, Dihli to Agrah, 10 days. The distance measured on the map, with an addition of one eighth for the windings of the road ', is about 690 miles. The average distance covered is thus about 11.1 miles (including halts).

Starting from the other direction. Prince A^zam Shah, the second son, was ninety two days on the march. From Ahmadnagar to Aurangabad took him 15 days, Aurangabad to Burhanpur, 22 days, Burhanpur to Sironj, 20 days, Sironj to Gwaliyar, 29 days, Gwaliyar to Dholpur, 6 days. The total number of days being ninety two and the dis- tance on the map about 505 miles, the average rate of progress was about 5.48 miles (including halts). Some farther details may be noted. Aurangabad to Burhanpur was, we are told, 56-2 kos done in 18 marches and 4 halts; the actual marching thus averaged here 3J^ kos (8.16 miles) a day. Burhanpur to Sironj, given as over 114 kos (296.8 miles), was done in 17 actual marches, or a daily average of 6.7 kos (17.42 miles). By the map I make it 242 miles, which yields an average of 14.2 miles.

The two marches above described were made under the

1 Rennell's rule, -'Memoir", 7, is "Break the horizontal distance into portions of 100 or 150 miles, and add one eighth to get the road distance".

220

THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

strongest possible pressure of haste, and must represent the utmost that a Moghul army was able to do in the way of continuous marching. In ordinary times the usual march of an army never exceeded 4| kos (11.7 miles) and was sometimes as little as 11 kos (3.25 miles). When Bahadur Shah marched from Agrah to the Dakhin, and then back via Ajmer to Lahor, the historians record the length of 340 separate marches. Most of them were of 3 to 31 kos each (7.8 to 9.1 miles). This monarch always halted on Friday, and there was generally a long halt in the month of Ramazan on account of the fast. Some of the facts may be tabulated as follows-.

Name op Place.

Number

Total

Total

Average

OP

Number

number

DISTANCE

DAILY MARCH

Pb-om

To

MARCHES.

OF Halts.

OP DAYS.

MARCHED

(approximate).

(excluding

DAYS halted).

miles

miles

Agrah

Jaipur

20

50

70

155

7.75

Jaipur

Mairtha

16

12

28

140

8.75

Mairtha

Ajmer

14

17

31

45

3.21

Ajmer

Burhanpur

40

39

79

427

10.67

Burhanpur

Haidarabad

61

144

205

360

5.9

Haidarabad

Aurangabad

44

87

131

315

7.15

Aurangabad

Burhanpur

15

38

53

135

9.0

Burhanpur

Narbada bank

11

17

28

72

6.54

Narbada bank

Ajmer

50

130

180

355

7.1

Ajmer

Sonpat

21

97

118

318

15.14

Sonpat

Thanesar

8

11

19

68

8.5

Thanesar

Beyond

Sadhaurah

7

8

15

48

6.85

Sadhaurah

Labor

33

200

233

220

6.66

To

tal

340

850

1190

2658

7.81

The whole period occupied, namely from the 12^^ Nov. 1707 to the lltii Aug. 1711, comprises 1369 days, of which 1190 days are shown above. The remaining 179 days were spent at some of the principal places named in the first column.

Another instance is when Dara Shukoh was sent to recover Qandahar. He reached that place in thirty three marches from Multan (Raverty, "Notes", 22). Assuming that his

LENGTH OF MARCHES.

221

route was by the Eolan pass, the distance may be esti- mated as 60S miles. This gives an average daily march of 18.4 miles.

We have also some other accounts, which are sufficiently specific to afford us information of the usual rate at which an army marched. For example, we have the advance of FarrukhsTyar from Patnali to encounter his uncle, Jahandar Shah, in the neighbourhood of Agrah. The prince left Patnah on the 22^^ Sept. 1712 and reached Sarae Begam, opposite Samtigarh, east of Agrah, on the 4^^ January 1713. The distance from Patnah to Agrah was commonly reckoned as 800 Jtos (780 miles)^ Khushhal Chand, B.M. Addl 24,027, fol. 220^. I make it no more, however, than 585 miles on the map (allowing i^^ for the windings of the road); and as Farrukhsiyar did not keep to the usual route, but deviated a good deal to the right, in order to visit the shrine of Shah Madar at Makhanpur, I should estimate the distance actually travelled at about 610 miles. The stages (including the final advance to Dihli) were:

Stages.

Nu:viBER

OF MARCHES.

Number

0^ HALTS.

Total

NUMBER OF DAYS.

Approximate

TOTAL DISTA^'CE

marched.

Average

DAILY MARCH

From:

To

(excluding

DAYS halted).

Patnah

Banaras

Allahabad

Makhanpur

Agrah

Banaras

Allahabad

Makhanpur

Agrah

Khizrabad

(outside Dihll)

19

5 17 17

12

23

6

11

8

8

42 11

28 25

20

miles 180 90 180 157

130

miles

9.47

18.0

10.58

9.23

10.83

T

Cotal

70

56

126

737

10.51

We have the record of two long marches of Jahandar Shah, first from Lahor to Dihll shortly after his accession, secondly, from Dihli to Agrah to oppose Farrukhsiyar.

222

THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Stages.

Number

OP MARCHES.

Number

OF UALTS.

Total

NUMBER OP DAYS.

Approximate

TOTAL DISTANCE MARCHED.

Average

From

To

DAILY MARCH.

Lalior Dihll

Dihll Agrah

(not k

nown) 5

44 22

miles

288

135

miles 6.54 (with halts)

8.43 (without halts)

Again the march of Sayyad Husain 'Ali Khan from the Dakhin, a march undertaken under circumstances of extreme urgency, should afford an excellent test of the rate at which a Moghul army could march. He left Aurangabad about the ll<^h Nov. 1718, and reached a suburb of Dih]i on the 16tb Feb. 1719. His march thus occupied 98 days, and his route by way of Burhanpur, Ujjain, and Agrah, mea- sures about 695 miles on the map, allowing 1^^^ for the windings of the road. His average daily rate of marching (including any days on which he halted) was thus 7.1 miles.

The last instance I shall refer to is the march of Mu- hammad Shah in 1719 from Agrah past Fathpur Sikri to Todah Bhim in the direction of Jaipur. I make out the distance to be about 90 miles; it took the army twenty seven days to reach Todah Bhim; but they marched on twelve days only and halted on fifteen days. The average daily march made was thus about 71 miles.

CHAPTER XX.

ORDER OF BATTLE.

The ranging of an army in order of battle was known as saff arastan, from saff, a row, rank, or file; another phrase for the same thing i^parrah hastan (Ashob, fol. 134^). Dr. Horn, 59 — 70, has worked out this section so fully, that what 1 have to say must be in a great measure a reproduction of his remarks. He shows that the Moghul tactics were founded on the rules laid down in Taimur's ordinances (Davy and White, 228 and foil, Horn, 136 — 151). When a great battle was imminent, it was the duty of the first Bakhshi, the Bakhshi-ul'mamalik, to draw up a scheme of attack, dividing the force into divisions, assigning to each its position and naming the leaders of each. The proposed distribution was laid before the Emperor and his approval obtained. The day before the battle the Bakhshi also caused musters to be made, and an abstract of this present-state was laid before the emperor. For instance, we read in Danishmand Khan, entry of the 28th Shawwal 1120 H., that Zujfiqar Khan, the first Bakhshi, drew up a plan for the battle against prince Kam Bakhsh, and presented it to the emperor for approval.

The order of battle was then, roughly speaking, as fol- lows. First came the skirmishers. Next was placed the artillery in a line, protected by rocket-men and sheltered by a rough field-work, possibly the guns being also chained together. Behind the guns stood the advanced guard; a little behind it were the right and left wings. Then, at some distance, was the centre, where stood the emperor on

224

THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

his elephant, having a little way in front of him an ad- vanced guard {iltmisli) and on each side of it two bodies, thrown a little way ahead, called the tarah. Behind the centre was the rear-guard {cha7idaioul), having in its charge the baggage and the women. I would beg a reference to the diagrams in Horn, 60, 63, 65, 66, 73. One book, B.M. 6599, fol. 164(f^, has the following disposition:

Juz-i-harawal

Jaranghar (Left Wing)

Qar Clival (skirmishers)

Harawal or

Muqaddamah-

ul-Jais

(Vanguard)

Iltmish

Baranghar-i-

Harawal (Right wing of advance guard)

Al-altar{l)

Dastchap-i-ghol

(Left wing of Centre)

GJiol (Centre)

(where the com- mander was stationed)

Iltmish

Dast-i-rast-i-g liol

(Right wing of

centre)

Chandawul (Rear guard)

As the names for these different parts of an armv in battle array differ a good deal, it will be as well to set them out somewhat at length. The words so/-^an and sol- qui for the left, and ong-qul for the right wing of the centre, as introduced by Eabar (P. de Courteille, "Memoires", ii, 17, Horn, 60), seem to have dropped out of use. We hear nothing of them in the later histories.

Qalawurl. This word is employed in the Mirat-i-Ahnadl,

ORDER OF BATTLE. 225

fol. 186^, in the sense of men guiding or showing the way to an army. Steingass, 983, defines it as "road-guides, horsemen who guard the flank, spies, scouts".

Iftrdl. From a passage in John Surman's Diary, C. R. Wilson, "Early Annals", ii, 2nd part, 26, this word seems to have been used for an advanced force or vanguard : "Meer Jumlah has arrived att Attayah (Itawah) and his Aftally consisting of 12,000 horse att Shasadpore (Shahzadpur)". Steingass, 80, has. If ted: "dispersed, scattered, rent, torn".

Skirmishers. Qarawal is defined by Steingass, 962, as T. a sentinel, watchman, spy, guard, the vanguard, a game- keeper, a hunter. In peace these men were the imperial huntsmen; in war, they were sent ahead as scouts and skirmishers.

Vanguard. This was called either Harawal ov muqaddamah' ul-jais. The former word Iiaraioal, harol, or arawal is de- fined by P. de Courteille, 10, 515, as "troupe qui marche en avant de I'armee pour I'eclairer, troupe envoyee en avant pour soutenir I'avant garde". Steingass, 1494, has "vanguard, running footmen". Muqaddamah-ul-jais is the Arabic phrase, meaning "front-part of the army {jaisy\ and is often used instead of harawal. Horn, 60, speaks of certain families among the Moghuls having hereditary claims to certain positions. In India the right to fight in the vanguard was conceded, from the time of Akbar, to the Barhah sayyads, and the fact is often referred to in later times as one of their best titles to honour. In the Badshah-nmiah, i, 214, line 8, I find 'Abd-ul-hamid speaks of troops sent ahead of an army by the name of manqalah. The expression is not very common; I have met with it once spelt manqala in Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 1127^, and several times in the Maasir-ul-umara (written c. 1155 h., 1742), as for instance on p. 543 of vol. i. It is used in Tarikh-i"^ Alamgir Sam, on fol. 1055. It is said to have also the form manghalae, the latter a Moghul word meaning "forehead, front" (Steingass, 1331, 1333).

15

226 THE AMRY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Advanced post of the Vanguard. This body was named juzah-i-hardwal, literally "chicken of the vanguard", Horn, 61, who refers to Budaoni, ii, 231, line 4.

Bight Wing. There are five names for this part of the army, two Arabic, one Chaghatae, and two Persian. They are (1) maimanah^ (2) ansar-i-maivianah, (Dastur-ul-lnsha, 233), (3) baranghar, (4) dast-i-rdst, (5) taraf-i-yamln (Khafi Khan, ii, 876)7 '" ~~

Left Wing. In the same way the left wing is referred to by five different names, the maisarah, A.ansdr-i-??iaisarah{Ds.st\lr- ul-Insha, 233) jaranghdr, Ch., dast-i-c/iap^ P., and jdnib-i- yamr (Khafi Khan, ii, 876). Jaranghdr, the form used in India, should be more correctly juivdnghdr (Horn, 39, P. de C, 157, 289), but jaranghdr does not seem to be merely a mistake of the press, as Dr. Horn suggests, for we have it in the dictionaries (Steingass, 359).

Advance guard of the Centre. This bore the Chaghatae name for the number sixty, that is, iltmish, (P. de C. 31). Possibly it may have originally consisted of this number of men, and the name having been once adopted, it was retained regardless of the actual number of men employed. Khafi Khan, ii, 876 spells, galtmish.

The Centre. This division was known either by the Chaghatae word qTil (P. de C. 433) or the Arabic words qalb, literally "heart", and ghol, "troop", "assemblage". For example, Khafi Khan, ii, 876 uses ^?7/ and the ^m/^^- i'Mhd. Shah, fol. 1135, uses ghol. Qid also means slave in Chaghatae. Perhaps the centre was called by this name, because it was formed out of the personal retainers or slaves of the leader or sovereign. Another name for the centre is qamargah, Mirdt-i- Ahnadi (circa 1170 h.) fol. 17v<^. This word is more usually applied to the circle within which game was driven by troops used as beaters. It was also a term of fortification (see farther on under "Sieges"). It was in the centre that the leader took up his station with his standards displayed.

ORDER OF BATTLE. 227

Winc/s of the Centre. These were called taraJi. P. de Courteille, "Diet." 382, translates this word as used in Babar's Memoirs", ii, 167, Text, 344, by the word "reserve". Horn assigns to the tar ah, which he also calls the reserve, a position on each side, but somewhat in advance, of the centre itself. In this position these troops would seem rather to be the advanced guard than the reserve of the centre. Khafi Khan, ii, 876, distinguishes into tarah-i-dast-i-chap and tarah'i'dast-i-rast .

Rear guard. The name of this was chanddwul (P. de C. 288) literally, water-carriers, people belonging to the rear guard (Steingass, 400). Tn its charge was the baggage of the army (bahir-o-bangah). Horn, 61, says the correct form is chaghdaul, referring to Babar 131, line 1, and 184, line 10. This form is not used by Indian writers of later date, nor is it in P. de Courteille, "Dictionnaire". It is found on p. 395 of Steingass.

Saqah. The rear of any division of the army or of any camp was called its saqah, Ashob, fol. 182a, Steingass, 642.

Nasaqchl. From the time of Nadir Shah's invasion, we hear a good deal of the nasaqchl. This word, which seems to have passed then into Indian usage, is from nasaq, order, arrangement. The nasaqchl was an armed man employed to enforce orders ; and there were several thousand of them in Nadir Shah's camp. Military punishments were inflicted through them, and one of their duties was to stand in the rear of the army and to cut down every one who dared to flee. Their arms were a battle-axe, a sabre, and a dagger (Jchanjar), JSeir, i, 340, note 286. Their signs of office, Ashob says, fol. 263^^, were a staff" or baton carried in the hand, and on the head a tadai, J^^j, of moulded brass, three sided, in shape like the deeply ribbed or winged fruit of the kamra/ch (Averrhoa carambola).

Taulqamah (^^.iiip') or Taulghamah (i^^^S). This is a Cha- ghatae word used to denote the troops posted in ambush to turn the enemy, or the action of turning the flank of

228 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

the enemy (P. de C. "Diet.", 243). Horn refers to it in several places (22, 23, 60, 73, 75). It was a manoeuvre executed by Babar (P. de C. "Memoires", i, 194) and is described by him as a sudden onslaught accompanied by a discharge of arrows, and followed by as sudden a retreat. From this passage Horn holds taulqamah to be the name of a manoeuvre rather than of a particular part of the army. But in his diagram on p. 73, showing the position taken by Babar before the battle of PanTpat, he places a taul- qamah on both the right and the left of the two wings. Thus the word must be accepted in both senses, namely as a manoeuvre and as a section of the battle array. Khafi Khan, ii, 876, when setting forth the divisions of Nizam- ul-mulk's army before the fight with Sayyad Dilawar 'All Khan, 19th June 1720, says "Fathullah Khan, Khosti, and Rao Raghuba, Binalkar, with a force of 500 horse were appointed the taulqamair . This bears out the use of the word as one of the divisions of an army when in battle array. The manoeuvre was one employed by Ahmad Shah, Abdali, without giving it this name, see p. 233. Qazaql (p. 240) was also a movement of much the same sort.

CHAPTER XXI.

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE.

An open country was one of the first necessities for a successful action by a Moghul army, for without this their cavalry could not deploy freely (Horn, 21). Even ground covered with thick scrub was unfavourable, while hills and ravines still more hampered their movements. In a moun- tainous region they were at a terrible disadvantage; and their mail-clad horsemen were quite unequal to guerilla warfare. In their palmiest days they found themselves unable to reach the Pathans amidst their rocks; and in their decadence they were helpless as children against the nimble Mahratta.

Usually one, if not both, the armies made ready for battle by drawing out the guns in a long line and protecting them by earth works, the guns being also connected to- gether by chains or hide-straps, to prevent the horsemen of the other side from riding through the line and cutting down the gunners. For instance, Dara Shukoh used chains at Samugarh in 1658 (Bernier, 47); and before the battle of the 22nd Rabf i, 1161 h. (2lst March 1748) with Ahmad Shah, AbdalT, between Machhiwarah and Sihrind, the im- perialists "joined their cannon together by chains after the fashion of Rum" (Anand Ram, India Office Ms. 1612, fol. 58a). Again, outside Labor, on Ahmad Shah's second in- vasion in 1165 H. (1751-2), the subahdar, Mu^in-ul-mulk, resorted to zanjlr-hnndl of his cannon (Ghulam All Khan, Muqaddamah-i-S. A. namah, fol. 79«). Nay, the practice survived to the very last, for we find it put in force by

230 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

the Mahrattas at LaswarTin November 1803 (Thorn, "War", 214). A good description of the zanjlrah-hand (as he calls it) is given by Ashob, fol. 182/5, with reference to Mu- hammad Shah's camp at Karnal in the year 1151 h. (1739). The zaujirah hand began at the last bastion of the town wall, a narrow path one or two yards wide being left on the bank of the canal for the passage of the guards (chauki) on their rounds ishah-gard). The swivel-guns {rahkalali) were planted four yards apart, with iron chains strongly attached to the wheels {lialqah) of their carriages (arabah). Between every two swivel-pieces were stationed five men with wall-pieces {jazair), having pushtahs (breastworks) thrown up {andakhtali), and their pieces ready, side by side, on their tripods".

If the guns were not too numerous, it was often the practice to post them behind the clay walls of the houses in some village; or to take up a commanding position on the top of an old brick-kiln ; or a temporary entrenchment might be formed out of the earthen bank and ditch which usually surround a grove of mango trees \ A discharge of rockets from the artillery position generally began the action. Then the guns were brought into play. The fire never became, I expect, very rapid. Orme, for example, "Mil. Trans.", i, 74, referring to as late as the middle of the 18^^! century, speaks of their firing once in a quarter of an hour. Khushhal Chand's remarks, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 1016/5, show that in 1721 the usual rate of fire of the heavy guns was one shot every three hours (one pas). He praises Haidar Quli Khan's men for the energy with which they cooled their guns, loaded them, and fired them at inter- vals of three-quarters of an hour {do-ghari ^=- 44 minutes). In Babar's time the rate of firing must have been very slow. In his battle near Kanauj, he says (P. de C, ii, 337) "Ustad Quli Khan" (his mir atash) "made very good use

1 Clive found one of these last very useful at the battle of Palasi (Plassey), Orme, ^'Mil. Trans.", ii, 172.

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE. 231

of his artillery. The first day he discharged eight projec- tiles, the second he shot sixteen, and so continued for three or four days". He used for this the piece called "the Cannon of the Conqueror", the same that he had used in the battle against Sanka (i. e. the Rana of Chitor), and to this it owed its name of Ghazi. He had also mounted in a battery a still larger piece; but it burst at the first discharge.

Owing to the slowness of the draught oxen, who were unable to keep up with an advancing line, the artillery seldom took any further part in the battle, once the cavalry advance had passed beyond the entrenched position which had been taken up at the outset. From the same cause, it seldom happened that in case of a retreat or defeat the guns could be saved; they had to be spiked and left behind (Fitzclarence, 255); or as Blacker puts it ("War", 128) "In an action the guns of an Indian army are generally immovable and their cavalry all motion. The object of the batteries is to fire as long as possible pre- viously to being taken; and of the horse, to secure their retreat if discomfited, unfettered by any incumbrance".

While the artillery duel went on, the rest of the army was drawn up at some distance behind the guns in the order of battle already detailed, with standards displayed, drums beating, and horns blowing. "As the army took up its position for battle, the long brass horns {karranai) sounded and heralds ^ made proclamation" {8air-ul-Muta- kharln text, 59, Seir, i, 208). Since, as Isaiah says, "every battle of the warrior is with confused noise", some mention must be made here of battle cries. Horn, 23, tells us that in Babar's time there was a pass word to dis- tinguish friend from foe ; we hear nothing of such a prac-

1 Heralds, that is naqlb, Steingass 1421, a servant whose business it is to proclaim the titles of his master, and to introduce those who pay their respects to him. In 1870, on the day of the Duke of Edinburgh's arrival at Benares, such a herald preceded the late Rajah Deo Narayan Singh as he walked from the railway station to the river bank, and I heard the man shouting out the Rajah's titles.

232 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

tice in later times. But shouts and battle cries, coupled with abusive or taunting language, were copiously resorted to. Such cries were Allahu akbar ! (God is great) and Din! Din! (The faith! The faith!). Akbar used the cry of Yd Muln! (O Helper!), Horn 109, quoting BudaonT, ii, 167, Lowe 170. The passage in Budaoni is:

Kamdn-i-liiydnl dar elm ad ba-zilt,

YaJce guft Ba-sitdn\ yalce guft DUi\

The royal bow was drawn to the full. One called 'Seize', and another 'Strike' ".

In another place, Budaoni, i, 335, line 3 from end, speaks of awdZ'i-' Dill' o Sitctn' o Ba-kasI/!' o "Ba-zan\ ghostly cries of "Strike", "Seize" "Slay", "Smite", still supposed to be heard after night-fall from the battle-field of Panipat. Steingass, 547, has di!i, strike thou, inf. dadan, and 548, dihddih zadan, to raise a battle cry. Khafi Khan ii, 58, speaks of sadde Ba-kash! Ba-kasli' buland sak!itah, "having raised loud cries of 'Kill! Kill!'" We are reminded of Michael Drayton's "Battaile of Agincourt":

"Whilst scalps about like broken potsherds fly

And 'kill', 'kill', 'kill', the Conquering English cry".

The most common cry in later times was Din! Din! Muliammad! This was used by the Arabs at Nagpur in 1817 (Fitzclarence, 103). It is what Robert Orme repre- sented, "Mil. Trans." ii, 339, as "the sound of Ding Ma- homed", or as a contemporary account of the battle of Baksar, Oct. 23rd 1764, says (Carraccioli, "Clive", i, 57) "when our seapoys observed the enemy they gave them a ding or huzza \ One Mahratta war cry was "Gopal ! Gopal!" {AJucdl-ul'khaivaqln, 207^;); this is one of the names of Krishn. iVnother, according to Grant Duff, 109, was "Har, Har, Mahadeo" ; these are also the names of Hindu gods. Cavalry cJiarges. When the guns were supposed to have done their work and had sufficiently demoralized the op- posing army, successive charges were delivered from first

CONDUCT OV A BATTLE. 233

one wing, then the other. The horsemen began with match- lock fire and a discharge of arrows, finally coming to close quarters and hand to hand fighting with sword, mace, or spear. This latter was the chapqalash, evidently from (ji^^xjl:^, P. de C. 271, a combat. Ahmad Shah, Abdali, seems in 1165 H. (1752) to have brought in a mode of attack, resembling the taulqamah, (ante, p. 228) in which the matchlock played a conspicuous part. He divided his horse into several bodies of one thousand each, all with matches ready lighted. The first body {dastaJi) rode hard at the enemy, delivered its fire, then galloped off again. A second body followed and did the same, and so on in succession (Ghulam 'All Khan, Muqaddamah, fol. 79/5). At the battle oFPanTpat, fought on the 7*11 Jamadi ii, 1174 h. (13*^ January 1761), he repeated this manoeuvre at a critical moment with conspicuous success, thereby throwing the Mahrattah centre into confusion, {Tdnkh-i-Eusain ShaM, fol. 445, 45^^). In the Ma^asir-ul-umara, ii, 671, we are told that in the south of India it was the practice to make the first attack against the rear of an army.

Chevaux de frise or Caltrops. According to the dictionary, Steingass, 460, khasak is the word for a caltrop thrown down to impede the movements of cavalry. I have seen only one mention of their employment, namely, in the Akharnamah (Lucknow edition, i, 75, five lines from foot) where Taimur is said to have used them. But I have come across the word in Sa'di's lines quoted by Muhammad Mun'^im, Ja'farabadi, in his Farrukli-namah, fol. 275, (1128 h.) and by 'Ishrat, Siyalkoti, in his Nadirnainah^M. 56a (1151 h.) : '^Adu ra ha jcte khasak zar ha rez, Kih bakhshish kund kunad dandan-i-iez.

"Before an enemy scatter gold, not spikes. For gifts will blunt the sharpest teeth".

As to the distinctive difference between Moghul cavalry and that of European armies in their methods of fighting.

234 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Colonel Blacker has some judicious remarks ("War", 189). First of all, to show how formidable such solid but irre- gular bodies of cavalry seemed, he quotes Orme — "whoso- ever has seen a body of ten thousand horse advancing on the full gallop all together will acknowledge with the Marechals Villars and Saxe that their appearance is tre- mendous, be their courage or discipline what it will". Yet a few European squadrons could ride them down and dis- perse them. There was a want of sympathy between the parts, and this prevented one part depending upon the assistance of another. Owing to its size, an army of Moghul horse could, for the moment, meet the attack of a small compact body by a portion only of its total strength, and since as against disciplined cavalry an equal front of an irregular body of troops can never stand the shock of an attack, the Moghuls were bound to give way. The whole being thus broken up into parts, the parts avoided exposure to the brunt of the action ; the part actually attacked fled, but the parts not menaced did not combine to fall on the rear of the pursuers. On the other hand, the disciplined troops divided, reassembled, charged and halted on a single trumpet-call, and threatened each single part in turn. But if the drilled cavalry tried skirmishing, it was soon found that the Moghul horse, apparently so despicable, were most formidable in detail. Wilks, iii, 392, is also of opinion that in single combat a European seldom equalled the address of a native horseman.

The objective was the elephant of the opposite leader, and round it the fiercest of the battle raged. The centre was the ultimate object of attack and every effort was made to get closer and closer to it. As a rule, a battle in India was a series of isolated skirmishes, the contending bodies holding themselves at first at some distance from each other, and ending in close individual fighting. One European observer, writing at rather a late period, declares that numbers always decided the day, that the smaller

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE. 235

invariably gave way before the larger force. This view may have some truth in it, but cannot be hiid down as an axiom. Accident as frequently as not was decisive, while treacherous desertion or half-hearted support w^as a frequent occurrence.

The most decisive point of a battle was, however, the death or disappearance of the leader. If he was known to have been killed, or could not be seen on his elephant, the troops desisted at once, and the greater part forthwith sought their own safety in flight (To this eff'ect, see De la Flotte, i, 258, Orme, "Hist. Frag.", 419, Cambridge, "War", Introd. ix). In order to be conspicuous, the leader rode on an elephant, preceded by others bearing displayed standards. "Nothing was more common than for a whole army to turn its back the moment they perceived the general's seat empty. But Europeans having these forty years past (1745 — 1785) gained many a battle by only pointing a four-pounder at the main elephant, Indian generals have abandoned the custom and now appear on horseback, nay have learned to discipline their troops and to have an artillery well served" {Seir, i, 10, note 20). The troops were very subject to panic and sudden flight; so much so that the fact was summed up in the proverb "one soldier makes off, and a whole army is done for" \

Many battles were lost by the event above referred to, the death or disappearance of the leader. One instance is the loss of the battle of Samugarh in 1658, because Dara Shukoh descended from his elephant to mount a horse, at the entreaty of Khalilullah Khan, with the object of pur- suing the flying enemy (Bernier, 54). The loss or flight or capture of the leader also determined the great battles of Jajau (18th June 1707), Haidarabad (13th January 1709), Labor, (15th-18th March 1712), Agrah, (10th Dec. 1712) Hasanpur (13th Nov. 1720). In the first Prince A'zam Shah

1 Lashkarl garezad, o lashkarc sar shavvad^ Horn, 111, quoting Budaonl, ii, 196, line 4.

236 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

and two sons were killed; in the second, Prince Kam Bakhsli was mortally wounded and made prisoner. At Lahor the three younger brothers of Prince Jahandar Shah were defeated by him one after another and killed. At Agrah, Jahandar Shah left the field of battle and fled in disguise to Dihli. At Hasanpur, Prince Ibrahim and the rebel wazir, ^Abdullah Khan, both became the prisoners of Muhammad Shah. On this head see also Horn, 46, and the cases there referred to, Badsliahnamah, i, 512, last line, Akharnamah, iii, 54, line 12 and following. Once more. Sir Eyre Coote, "Minutes of Sel. Com", SQtli April 1772, reprint, 39, attributes the victory of Palasi (Plassey) partly to the loss of one Meer Noodur, Siraj-ud-Daulah's head general. One of our cannon balls killed his elephant and then its rider was killed by a fall from it; this, and the death of the oxen dragging the guns, threw the enemy into the greatest confusion.

Untimely plundering. There was also an undisciplined eagerness to break off and begin plundering before the day w^as really decided; and this habit often ended disas- trously for those who had too easily assumed themselves to be the victors.

Single combat. Horn, 46, quotes instances {Akbarnamah, iii, 97, 98 and Khafi Khan, ii, 304, 305), 1st where Akbar challenged his opponent, Datid Lodi, to a fight in single combat; and 2adly^ in 1095 h., when M. Ibrahim, a general of the Haidarabad rulers, made a similar ofier to Prince Mu'azzam, eldest son of 'Alamgir. We may add to these the proposal sent in 1119 h. (1707) by the same Prince Mu'azzam (afterwards Shah 'Alam Bahadur Shah) to his next brother, xVL. A'zam Shah, when they were both clai- mants for the throne, then vacant through the death of their father. It does not appear that any of these duels actually took place; the last most certainly did not.

Challenges to single combat seem to have been not un- usual between men of lower rank. We have an instance

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE. 237

in Khafi Khan, ii, 633, line 14, where he says that Sarwa, a robber associate of Papra, the toddy-seller, and one of the latter's petty officers, Purdil Khan, had such a violent quarrel about each other's soldierly qualifications, that they fought a duel {jang-i-yahyangi), "as is the custom in the Dakhin" (see ante, p. 185). Later on the practice showed itself in 1782, when the English under Sir Eyre Coote were opposed to the Mysore army under Haidar "All. Individual horsemen would ride up within speaking distance and, with contemp- tuous abuse of a mode of warfare excluding individual prowess, would give a general challenge to single combat. Many times and with uniform success these were accepted by Lieut. Dallas, a man six foot high, who rode a coal- black horse, and formed a striking exception to the general inferiority of European to native swordsmen (Wilks, ii, 392).

The TJtara. Dismounting, (from H. utarna, to descend, dismount), or fighting on foot, was a peculiarity of Indian horsemen of which they were very proud. It was specially affected among Indian Mahomedans by the Barhah Sayyads. H. M. Elliot, "M. Hist.", i. Appendix, 537, speaks of this practice, and the allied one of Colligation in Fighting, as a custom of the Hindu tribes. The Beglar-namah, (Ell. i, 293) a history of Sind written about 1625, quotes Rana Kumba of Amarkot as saying "it was an old-established custom amongst their tribes that both parties should alight from their horses and engage on foot". Other instances are to be found in the same Appendix.

Horn, 21, seams to be referring to this habit, when he says that the Moghul horseman had to serve sometimes as infantry. His reference in the ^Alamgir'namah, 67, line 8, is undoubtedly a case of the utara. It took place at the battle with Jaswant Singh, Rathor, and it is specially said to be "the custom of the valorous reputation-seekers of Hindustan". Anand Ram, writing in 1161 h. (1748), I. O. L. N^ 1612, fol. 876, refers to it as a special feature of Rajput tactics. An instance of the practice by Rajputs

238 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

will be found in Budaonl's account, text i, 368, Ranking, 478, of the battle fought in 1562 near Ajmer between Sher Shah and Mai Deo, Rathor. Again, we find it in use in 1151 H. (1739) at the battle near Karnal, where Klian Dauran, Samsam-ud-daulah, was wounded and MuzafiFar Khan killed. Ashob, fol. 227«, tells us that "they found the dead bodies of Mirza 'Aqil Beg, Kamalposh, and of others, his brethren, with their skirts tied together".

This dismounting was resorted to at the crisis of a battle; and when the horsemen alighted, they bound themselves together by the skirts of their long coats. There are many references to this mode of fighting in the descriptions of battles in the early part of the 18^^ century. The Persians in the Indian service scoffed at this habit, and attributed it not to valour but to defective horsemanship. An anony- mous writer of that nation remarks, "So when Hindustani cavalry go to battle, it is impossible for them to make a stand without suffering physically. If they are caught in- volved in a fight they have no resource left but to alight and let their horses go. Though they may be killed in either case, yet the chances are greater in favour of life when they alight. If they remain in the saddle, it is im- possible for them to escape, for the horse, as likely as not, kills the rider before the enemy touches him. Anyhow, this manoeuvre of utdra has the appearance of bravery and they boast of it. ("Memoirs of Dihli", trans, of Tankh-i- Parah Bnkhsh, by W. Hoey, M. A., D. Lit., i, App7~8).

Allied to what Elliot refers to as "colligation", or men binding themselves together when fighting, is an incident which I have only met with once. In 1165 h. (1752) at the turning-point of the battle fought outside Lahor against Ahmad Shah, Abdali, the nazim, Mu'in-ul-mulk, and his chief captain, Bhikari Khan, put each one foot in the other's stirrup, and thus, knee to knee, fought their way back to shelter in the fort of Lahor (Ghulam 'Ali Khan, Muqaddama/i, fol. l^b).

CONDUCT OF A BATTT^E. 239

Some other technical terms of fighting. There are several words and phrases which often occur in accounts of battles, and seem to have, in that connection, a more or less tech- nical meaning. These I note, with such explanations as occur to me.

Earakat-i'mazbu/n. This means literally the expiring throes of a slaughtered animal, but seems used to express a feeble and hesitating attack, which is never carried home. In Budaoni, ii, 234, occurs the following passage: o sare chand az fidaigdn-i-Rana, kih mahal-i-Tt-rd muhdfazat nn-kardand^ sare chand-i-dtgar, suknah-i-mu^abad^ kih majmu bist kas bdshand, binabar-i-rasm i-qadlm-i- Hindustan.^ kih waqt i-khdli sdkhtan-i-shahr, ba jihat-i-radgat-i-ndmus, kashtah mi shav- vand, az andarun-i-khdnahha o butkhdnahhd bar dmdah, harakat-i-inazbuhi kardah, ba zakhm-i'Shamsher-i-jdn-sitdn jdn ba mdlikdn-i-dozakh sipurdand. Lowe, 240, renders it thus: "And certain of the devoted servants of the Rana, who were the guardians of his palace, and some inhabi- tants of the temple, in all amounting to twenty persons, in accordance with an ancient custom of the Hindus that when they are compelled to evacuate a city, they should be killed in order to save their honour, coming out of their houses and temples performed the sacrificial rite and by the stroke of their life-taking swords committed their souls to the keepers of hell". See also Lowe's note. I take this passage as meaning, on the contrary, that the men made a feeble purposeless onslaught {harakat4-7nazbuhl), and were slain not by their own swords, but by those of their Moslem opponents.

Again in the Ma fisir-i-^ Alamgirl, 299, at the taking of Gulkandah, 24th Zul'Qa^dah 1098 h., 9th Sept. 1687, we have the expression used in its literal sense of a feeble useless effort. When the besiegers entered that fort, their leader seized the king be an kih U o hamrdhdn-ash harakat- i-mazbuhl namdyand, "before he and his companions could make any fruitless effort". As the prisoners thus made were

240 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

Mahomedans, it can hardly be supposed that the writer means they were about to perform a "sacrificial rite", that is, in other words, the Hindu jTi/iar, or immolation of themselves and family. In the Ma^asir-ul-wriard, i, 844, the words are used to describe the opposition offered in 1153 H. (1740) by Sarfaraz Khan, 7iazim of Bengal, to the invasion of the usurper, 'All Wirdi Khan, Mahabat Jang. Wilks, ii, 552, attributes to Tipu Sultan's personal malig- nity the use of this phrase for describing the "movements of the enemy". No doubt, contempt is included in the meaning, but it is a regular stock expression, used by all writers when describing the movements of troops. Khushhal Chand, Berlin Ms. 495, fol. 10103 uses it in its strictly literal signification with reference to the execution of Rajah Ratn Chand (1133 h.). Once more he uses it, rather in- definitely, on fol. 10153.

Qazaqt. The word comes, of course, from qazarj, Stein- gass, 968, a partisan, a light armed soldier, a highway robber, a Cossack. Qazaqi he defines as a military incur- sion, guerilla warfare, free-booting, brigandage. But in Indian writings it seems to me to have a more definite application, and is used for something equivalent to a loose attack in open order, followed by retreat as soon as the attack has been delivered, in short something the same as the taul- qamah movement already referred to (ante, p. 227). Modern writers speak, I notice, of the Cossack "lava-like" form of attack, and I suppose the above-named is what they mean. Horn, 64, rejects, and I think rightly, the use of this word as one of the divisions of an army, but he does not give us any definition to replace the one rejected. I fancy that Dr. Oskar Mann's reading of faraql iS'^s, on p. 95, line 6, of Mujmil-ut-ianM might be better J.[^, qazaqi.

Bar gosliah-i-kaman zadan. This is in the literal sense of the words "to take in the corner of a bow". But the words seem to have also the specifiic meaning of surrounding and overpowering any body of men.

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE. 241

Talaql'i-fariqain, "Meeting of the two parties", denotes the fact that the two armiCwS are in touch and within striking distance of each other.

Sii/ah namudan, lit. "to show black", is the phrase for the first faint signs of an enemy's appearance in the distance.

Ilallah^ said by Steingass 1506 to be from hamlah, a fight, was the general word for an on-rush or charge.

Ynrish, Steingass, T., 1537, P. deC, 545 u^^j^.,7narche, expedition, was also used in the same sense as hallali.

Hni^at'i-majmui was also a word for some sort of com- bined advance. Literally it means hai^at, form, mode, maj- mul, collective, aggregate. I think this had a technical use, but I have failed to satisfy myself as to its exact meaning.

ChapkuncJii, a reconnaisance, Horn 21, T have never seen. Chapqalash I have already referred to (ante, p. 233); Turk- tazi (Turk-galloping) was an expression for hard or ex- peditious riding. The words TJimaq or Aimaq, Horn, 21, Blochmann Ajn, i, 371, note, were not in use in the later period.

Sipahl-i'frdez. This phrase, literally "soldiers of the melon bed", has often puzzled me. It is used as a description of a defeated, non-resisting body of troops. Presumably the metaphor means that in such a case their heads are as easily cut off as melons can be gathered from a melon-bed. Mirza Haidar (Ross and Elias, 323) puts Avords something like it into the mouth of a prince, looking on at a review of raw undisciplined troops: "with such a troop as this it would be dangerous to try and rob a kitchen-garden {paliz)".

Defeat. In case of a reverse the heavy guns were ge- nerally abandoned, as they could not be removed. We are told that in such cases they were spiked and rendered useless (Blacker, "War", 128). One instance where this was done was at Gulkandah in 1097 h. (1685-6) by 'Alamgir, Khafl Khan, ii, 355, last line, mlkh zadah nahud salchtand. Generally, on the retreat of an Indian army, so great was the dispersion that some days elapsed before the direction

16

242 THE ARMY OF THE INDIAN MOGHULS.

of flight taken by the principal body could be ascertained. There were no dispositions taken to cover its escape, no stratagems to mask its route, cover its baggage, gain an advance, lay an ambuscade, or mislead a pursuer. All impediments to flight were successively abandoned, and a retreat became a sauve qui pent. This result is attributable partly to the want of discipline and to defective leadership, which leaves every individual to rely more on himself than on his commander (Blacker, "War", 162).

Juhar. This well-known Hindu practice of killing women and children to prevent their falling into the enemy's hand was once, I find, proposed for adoption by a small body of Mughals under Khwajah Asa^d Khan (son of Mubariz Khan), when surrounded hy an overwhelming body of Mahrattahs {Jhval-i-kliawaqm, fol. 194«).

Proclamation of Victory, Horn, 109. When the day was won, the victor ordered his drums to strike up and his horns to blow, both to announce the victory to his own side and to produce further disheartenment among his opponents. Sometimes, to re-animate the drooping energies of his men, a general would order his drums to beat as for a victory, in the hope that they would be cheated into the belief that the day was going favourably for them, and thus inspirited, might turn an imagined into a real success.

Pillars of heads. It was the custom for a subordinate commander to accompany his despatch announcing any success with as many heads of the slain as could be col- lected. This was a survival of the Central Asian practice of erecting a pillar or pyramid formed of the heads of the dead enemy. There are two cases in Budaoni, ii, 17, 169, Lowe, 10, 172. In 964 h. (1556-7) Akbar built a pyramid of heads at Panipat; again in 981 h. (1573-4) near Alimad- abad, he did the same. There are also several instances of heads being sent in during the reigns of 'Alamgir and Bahadur Shah. For example, Danishmand Khan tells us, entry of 18tl^ Ramazan 1119 h., i1^^ Dec. 1707, that an

CONDUCT OF A BATTLE. 243

imperial officer, after taking the Jat fort of Sansani, near Matliura, sent in one thousand heads in ten carts, along with the weapons taken. Nicolao Manucci also speaks, Phillipps 1945, Part i, p. 85, of having seen piles of heads, once as many as ten thousand heads; and in his many journeys between Agrah and Dihli (1656 — 1680), he always saw fresh heads in the niches made for them on the pillars. In 1122 h. (1711) Mhd Amin Khan, when announcing the capture of Sihrind, sent in six cart-loads of heads, and reported that the rest had been built into a pillar {minar), Kam Raj, ^Ibrat-namah^ fol. 435. Again in 1715, in Farrukhsiyar's reign, between two and three hundred heads carried on poles graced the triumphal entry into Dihli of the victors of Gurdaspur. And, according to the Ahlihclr-i'Muliahhat, fol. 279, pillars of heads were constructed by Ja^far Khan in 1124 h. (1712) on the edge of the high road to Hindustan, just outside Murshidabad, after he had defeated Rashid Khan. Ashob, fol. 1115, speaks of Sa^adat Khan Burhan-ul-mulk sending to Court the heads of the slain after his defeat of Bhagwant Singh, Khichar, in 1]48 h. (Oct. 1735). Abdullah Klian, Firuz Jang, who died in 1054 h., 1644-5, boasted, according to the MafisiT-ul'Umara ii, 788, that he had cut off 200,000 heads, and all the way from Agrah to Patnah had built pillars with them.