Mughal Weapons

During the reigns of Babur, Akbar, Aurangzeb, and Tipu Sultan, Mughal weaponry saw major changes. The Mughal Empire's military employed a range of weaponry during its conquests throughout the ages, including swords, bows and arrows, camels, elephants, horses, some of the world's largest muskets, flintlock blunderbusses and cannons.

The most major hubs of military equipment manufacture during the Mughals' reign were Delhi and Lahore. For close-quarter combat, the majority of cavalrymen relied on short weapons (kotah-yaraq). Swords and shields, maces, battle-axes, spears and daggers are the five types of weapons. For long-range attacks, the bow and arrow (Kaman & Tir), matchlock (Banduq or Tufanq), and pistols were employed. The artillerymen utilized rockets as well (Topkanah). Although no single man carried these weapons simultaneously, they were all used by someone in a big army.

Swords: Sword belts were typically wide and well-embroidered. They were worn on horseback on a belt that hung over the shoulder. A guy wore his sword on three straps that hung from his waist belt. Blade types: 

• The Mughal infantry's main weapon was the talwar. Sepoy later carried it in the 18th century.
• Shamsher - A scimitar-like weapon with a curved blade. Due to its form and little grip, it is solely a cutting weapon.
• Dhup - A sword with a straight blade. Adapted from the Dakhin, this straight sword had a broad blade four feet long and a cross hilt. It was carried in a velvet covering by a man who held it erect before his lord on state occasions as a sign of sovereignty and great dignity. It was also on the great man's pillow while he sat at a darbar, a public, commercial transaction. This sword was given to victorious warriors, powerful lords, and court favourites as a mark of honour. Steel was used to construct it.
• A straight sword is known as a khanda. It appeared to be the same as the dhup.
• A scimitar is Sirohi. The blade of this sword was slightly curved, like a Damascus blade, and was slightly lighter and thinner than a regular talwar. Damascus steel was used to make them at Sirohi.
• Pata - A straight, narrow-bladed rapier with a gauntlet hilt. They were frequently used in stage productions.
• A straight sword concealed in the sheath of a walking stick is known as a Gupti. The head or handle resembled a fakir's crutch, with the crutch being dagger-length and the weapon looking like a short, crooked staff approximately three feet long. High-ranking people wore it as a symbol of humility.

Shields: As part of a swordsman's kit, a shield was always carried. Shields were constructed of steel or hide and were typically 17 to 24 inches (430 to 610 mm) in diameter when carried on the left arm or slung over the shoulder when not in use. Steel shields were frequently adorned with gold damascening designs, while hide shields had silver or gold bosses, crescents, or stars. Some shields were fashioned from the hides of sambar deer, buffalo, nilgau, elephant, or rhinoceros, with the last being the most valuable. In addition, Brahman warriors carried silk shields that were painted in forty or fifty folds.

Shields of various types

• Chirwah and Tilwah - The shamsherbaz, or gladiators, who usually followed Mughal commander Akbar (1542–1605) on the march carried these shields.
• Fencing Shields - Small circular cane or bamboo shields are known as dal (pronounced dhaal) because of their lentil-like form. A pair of antelope horns were tipped with steel and joined at the butt-ends to make the charming maru or singauta. Parrying shields were Sainti's classification.

Ceremonial mace:

• The mace (gurj), also known as a short-handled club, having three big spherical balls at the end, was generally carried by any Mughul warrior of significant rank.
• The shashbur, or "lung-tearer," was another variant, with a single round-shaped head, and comparable weapons were the dhara, gargaj, and khandli phansi.

Battle-Axe:

• The axe was known as a zaghnol, or "crow's beak," if the head was pointed and featured two cutting edges.
• A tabar zaghnol is a double-headed axe with a wide blade on one side of the handle and a pointed blade on the other.
• A longer-handled axe known as tarangalah was also utilized. The tabar's shafts were 17 to 23 inches long (430 to 580 mm), with a head that was 5 to 6 inches long (130 to 150 mm) one way and 3 to 5 inches long (76 to 127 mm) the other. Some of the heads were crescent-shaped, with one of the shafts hollow for dagger storage.
• Attendants carried elaborately decorated silver axes for exhibition in the audience hall, while a 'Basolah' looked like a chisel.

Spears: This weapon type came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Cavalry forces often utilized a lance, with foot soldiers and guards around the emperor's audience hall using different sorts of spears. There is also evidence of using a javelin or short Spear, which was hurled, notably among the Marathas. 

• Nezah-Bazan wields a cavalry lance with a tiny steel tip and a long bamboo shaft (lance-wielders). A man on horseback would hold his Spear at the full length of his arm over his head in typical use. Bamboo and steel are used to create this piece.
• The Marathas also utilized the Mughal weapon barchhah. With an all-iron or steelhead and shaft, this hefty Spear was only used by infantry because it would be too heavy for troops on horseback.
• Sang - This Spear was made completely of iron and was much shorter than the barchhah; however, some are 7.11 feet (2.17 m) long, with the head accounting for 2.6 feet (0.79 m). The weapon had long, thin heads with three or four sides, steel shafts, and a velvet-covered grip.
• Saint - The sang's shaft was shorter than Sainthi's.
• Selarah - A spear having a longer head and shaft than the sainthi but not as long as the sang's.
• Ballam - A spear, pike, or lance with barbed heads and wooden shafts that measured 5.11 feet (1.56 m) in length, with the blade taking up 18 inches of that length (460 mm). Infantry utilized the Ballam, a short spear with a wide tip. Infantry ||
• Pandi-Ballam - A hog-spear with an iron leaf-shaped blade at the end of a bamboo shaft that measured 8.3 feet (2.5 meters), with the blade accounting for 2.3 feet (0.70 m).
• Panjmukh is a five-headed spear used by the Gujarati people.
• Lange - A Mughal lance with a hollow shaft and a four-cornered iron head.
• Pike, weapon, or Spear are examples of Garhiya.
• A Spear - Alam (properly a standard or banner)
• One sort of Spear is the Kont.
• A billhook or pole-axe with a steel chopper connected to a long pole is known as a gandasa. Chaukidars, or village watchmen, use it.

Daggers and knives:

• Katara or Katari - An Indian-made lightweight thrusting knife that looks like a poignard. This weapon featured a broad blade with two cutting edges with a breadth of three (3) inches at the hilt and a clear solid point one (1) inch (25 millimetres) wide. It was made with a hilt whose two branches extended along the arm to protect the hand and part of the arm. The sword could not be bent and was so rigid that a cuirass could only stop it. A katara's overall length was 22 inches (560 mm), with the blade accounting for half of that. The weapon was gripped at right angles to the blade by a cross-bar on the hilt, which could only be used for a forward thrust.
• The handle was similar to a katara, but the blade was broad and straight, whereas the katara blade may be curved or straight. The jamadhar Katari was a sword with a straight blade and a handle similar to a table knife.
• Bichuwa and Khapwah are two tribes in Bichuwa. This sort of knife, literally "scorpion," featured a wavy blade, and the khapwah was also a dagger. It was nearly identical to the jambwahand, which Marathas mostly used.
• Peshkaj - A pointed Persian dagger having a thick straight back to the blade and a straight handle with no guard; however, the blade might be curved or even double-curved at times. Guards were on several of the hilts.
• Khanjar - A poignard-style dagger with a sword-like hilt, most with double-curved blades and a length of around 12 inches (300 mm). The weapon was first used by Turks, who held it upright and on the right side, but it was also used by Persians and Indians occasionally, with the latter carrying it on the left side. Jamhak, jhambwah, bank, and narsingh moths were the four kinds. Although their forms differed significantly, all four of these weapons appear to be the same class as the khanjar. Mostly used by Turks, but used by Persians and Indians on occasion.
• Afghans introduced the Karud, which looked like a butcher's knife and was held in a sheath. Karuds were 2.6 feet (0.79 m) long overall, with a blade that was 2 feet long (0.61 m). The qamchi-karud was a whip-shaped knife, whereas the gupti-karud was put into a stick. A clasp knife was the chaqu. Panjabis use it as a combat knife.
• Men from Kashghar use a knife known as the Sailabah-i-Qalmaqi. It was hung from an ashob or shoulder belt and was as long as a sword, with a sher-mahi (lion-fish) handle fashioned fishbone. The men of Kashghar wield this combat knife.

Missiles: The four types of missile weaponry were bows and arrows, matchlocks, pistols, and cannons. Cavalry was mostly armed with bows, and Mughal horse riders were known for their archery. According to legend, the archangel Gabriel brought the bow and arrow down from Heaven and gave them to Adam. The dagger, Sword, Spear, and soldier's weapons were rated from lowest to highest, with the bow and arrow being the greatest weapon.

Rocket: The rocket's development is credited to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. However, it's conceivable that the concept came from India during the Mughal era.

Bows: Mughal horsemen equipped with bows could fire three times quicker than musketeers, making them particularly skilled with their weapons. The traditional Mughal Kaman (bow) was about 4 feet (1.2 metres) long, fashioned in a double curve, and had a velvet grip. Two of these steel bows are made of horn, wood, bamboo, ivory, and occasionally steel. Bowstrings were occasionally constructed of strong white silk threads woven together to form a cylinder diameter of 1.25 centimetres (0.49 in). Whipping of the same material was then securely tied around the middle for a length of three or four inches, and huge loops of scarlet or other coloured cloth were joined to this main piece by a complex knot. These garish loops contrasted sharply with the white silk.

Matchlock: Mughal emperor Akbar, also known as the tufang, significantly improved the matchlock manufacturing process. Akbar's matchlocks had two barrel lengths: 66 inches (1,700 mm) and 41 inches (1,000 mm). They were manufactured from rolled steel strips that were welded together on both sides. Due to interactions with the French and English, the flintlock weapon may have been introduced earlier in the Deccan Plateau. Gun Types:

• Cailletoque: A unusual matchlock that is exceedingly lengthy and hefty. This musket was frequently slung over the shoulder.
• Jazail or Jazair: A wall-piece or swivel gun that falls between a combat weapon and a piece of artillery, with characteristics of both.
• Ghor: Dahan was a jezail of sorts. The term appears to be a reference to the barrel's everted or enlarged mouth.

Pistols: Tamanchah was the name given to the handguns. Early in the 18th century, the handgun was in use in India, at least. In October 1720, a young Sayyad, related to Husain Ali Khan, murdered that nobleman's assassin with a pistol shot. The gun was restricted to the lords' upper ranks, with just a few troops using European pistols and tabanchah.

• Sherbachah - This musketeer or blunderbuss appears to have been introduced after the pistol. The weapon most likely arrived in India with Nadir Shah's (1738) or Ahmad Shah's (1748—1761) armies.

Artillery: From rockets and mobile cannons to a huge cannon that stretched over 14 feet (4.3 m) in length and was once termed the "world's largest piece of ordnance," the Mughal military utilized a diverse spectrum of gunpowder weaponry greater than personal guns. The arsenal was divided between heavy and light weapons. The Bengali soldiers fighting at Plessey owed gratitude to the "Great Moghul" since they possessed metallic silver lustre cannons mounted on the specially constructed bullock.