The Mughals Tactics and Technology PDF

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TACTICS AND TECHNOLOGY USED BY THE MUGHALS INTRODUCTION The 16th century was a very crucial period in the history of India for it not only witnessed the emergence of one of the greatest empires in the world but also marked an important development in war, tactics, and gunpowder technology. With the establishment of the Mughal Empire in India, the use of gunpowder technology became more frequent. Although primitive gunpowder technology was known in India, Mohammad Zahiruddin Babur changed the contour of battle and experimented with the latest Gunpowder technology introduced by the Europeans. There have only been a handful of books dedicated to Mughal military history ever written, with a gap of nearly a century between William Irvine’s colonial-era study and the works of later scholars like Jos Gommans and Dirk Kolff. Most general works on the Empire devote relatively little space to military matters, and even dedicated works of military history in this period primarily address background and context—how an army was funded, its social and cultural foundations, the political implications of its expenses and actions. There has been little exploration of how the Mughals and their enemies actually fought. TACTICS • The important factor behind the success of the Mughals in India was their use of tactics and technology. The Mughal army is often visualized as a force dominated by mounted archers and other cavalry and as an organization directly descended from the nomadic warbands of the steppe. The Central Asian warrior ethos remained an important motivating factor, and the horse archer was an essential player in the emerging imperial military order, but the overall system was much more complex. Babur and his successors designed a sophisticated combined arms force that included diverse personnel and elements of both nomadic and sedentary warfare—mounted archers, heavy cavalry, shock infantry, missile infantry and artillery. They merged an already highly developed system of Central Asian tactics with Western developments in field fortifications and gunpowder weaponry. Tactics in this setting evolved much differently than their European counterparts. Indian warfare in the Mughal era discouraged linear formations and emphasized entrenchments,

skirmishing, small unit operations and the tactical defensive. Apart from diverse ethnic groups in the army, the Mughal emperors like Babur often emphasized the weakness and strength of his army along with the enemy. He used to analyze the strength and the weakness of the opponent along with his own troop and accordingly, he plans his attack. Such consistent effort by Babur fetches him the fruits of success. • If direct confrontations, either on the battlefield or from behind the shelter of fortress walls, were not successful, the Mughals’ enemies resorted to more indirect means. The last resort for the Mughals’ rivals was to scatter their forces and commence ‘guerrilla warfare’ (the technique of letting the enemy to attack first). This technique was borrowed by Babur from Muhammad Shaybani Khan who had defeated Babur earlier in the Battle of Sar-e-Pul. Another famous rivalry of the Mughals who used this technique was Sher Shah Suri against Humayun. Suri preferred to avoid battle, giving ground and luring his opponents far away from their home bases and then to striking at their supply lines and advance outposts instead of their army proper. He only fought when conditions were ideal, when the enemy was distracted, depleted and exhausted.

• The best solution, however, was to succeed without fighting at all. As the Empire expanded, open field battles of any sort became increasingly rare. The tactical dilemma presented by the new system and the lethality and rate of fire of the weaponry involved meant that any combat was extraordinarily violent and costly. Battles like Panipat, Khanua and Tukaroi may have resulted in combined death tolls of over 20,000 with at least several times that many wounded, captured and missing. As an alternative to violence—which JOS GOMMANS describes as “the second-best option,” the Mughals resorted to posturing, intimidation, diplomacy and bribery. Outright cash payments and the promise of mansab, or high office in the imperial ranks, were used to induce their opponents to give up without a fight—or perhaps, for honor’s sake. • The most important tactics used by the Mughal emperors like Babur was the skill of persuading people. If the plunder was not distributed to the soldiers, the soldiers used to withdraw their support from the ruler. That’s wise, after invading India, when Babur went to Delhi and sent his son, Humayun to Agra for

plundering the treasure, some parts of the plunder was then distributed to the allies of Babur (like soldiers). After the battle of Panipat, unlike previous conquerors, Babur’s tactics was to convey the Indians so, that these people could associated themselves with the ruler, respect the ruler, provide basic amenities like food grains to the ruler. But, most of the people were not trusting Babur and were in terror because of him. Therefore, to make the people to trust him, Babur has made several attempts. For example- he went to Delhi and paid homage to the Sufi saints. However, until Akbar had not taken the throne of the Mughal Empire, people were not ready to accept the Mughals as their ruler.

TECHNOLOGY • Technology played an obvious role in the Mughal military transformation. Babur and his successors combined the traditional implements of Central Asian warfare—bows, blades, armor and horses—with new devices—muskets, cannon, bombs, rockets and ships. In many cases, these newer weapons did not compete with or replace the older equipment but instead complemented it. The Mughals were not simple imitators of Western designs but informed consumers, able to grasp the full importance and implications of gunpowder weaponry. Guns became more than just ugly but necessary tools. According to some historians, the reason behind the success of Babur was the use of muskets and cannons. But this is often seen as a misconception because Babur didn’t rely on these two rather, he was very much confident in mobile and trained cavalrymen. They were stronger and his horses were far superior in comparison with the Indian one. The muskets and canons were used to put-on the opponent in risk. But his success was emphasized on cavalrymen. Babur used to praise his success to cavalrymen. • Although the Chinese had been using gunpowder weapons before the Mongols arrived on the scene, it is not until the end of the thirteenth century that firearms of any sort, particularly rockets, appear in the Sultanate of Delhi or in regional literary references. One can consider Mongols as the agents of technological transmission. Although cannons became somewhat common throughout India, the Mughals used them the most effectively, thus giving rise to one of the popularly called Gunpowder Empires (along with the Ottomans and Safavids). As in late medieval Europe, the expense of cannons meant that few among the nobility besides the ruler possessed the resources to purchase

them. Fortress walls gave little shelter against cannons and the nobility quickly learned to acquiesce to the authority of the ruler. Although similar situations appeared among some of the regional Indian states, the rise of the Mughals brings this phenomenon into better focus. From the Portuguese, the Mughals and others learned how to make cannons from wrought iron, thus reducing the cost of the weapon, while at the same time improving it. The Mughals, who learned from Ottoman advisors, quickly grasped the importance of light artillery as it became less expensive and more easily manufactured. While magnificent in siege warfare, the lack of maneuverability of heavy cannon left it virtually useless on the battlefield. By the time of Akbar, heavy mortars and cannons were rarely used in the Mughal military. Light cannons that could be used on the battlefield were the mainstay of the Mughal artillery corps, including the shaturnal, similar to swivel guns, but carried on the backs of camels and even in the howdahs of elephants. In addition to artillery, handheld firearms also became ubiquitous throughout the Mughal Empire. We can find western influences in the technology. Western influences included new technologies in firearms manufacture. However, not all of these became widespread. As a result, stagnation occurred particularly in terms of standard weapons. The preferred weapon became the matchlock, even after other technologies surpassed it. One cannot ignore the role of the matchlock musket in the centralization of Mughal authority. Mughals also used musketeers to maintain their authority. Babur began his career with a scant musket bearing force of just over a hundred men, but by the time of Akbar, over 35,000 musketeers existed in the Mughal military. One reason for this was that, despite the cost of their weapon, the musketeers were actually less expensive than garrisoning cavalry forces. The expense of feeding the man and his horse grossly exceeded that of a musketeer. Thus, a small but trained force of musket wielding troops allowed the Mughals to assert their authority in even the most remote provinces. This was also possible as, for several decades, the nobility was forbidden to recruit their own forces of musketeers. At the same time, this mass force of troops with firearms undermined the Mughals. As the matchlock became ubiquitous, its cost dropped, but it also was deemed very reliable by those using it. Thus, even when other technologies came into the region, like flintlock muskets, the Mughals failed to adopt them due to economic reasons as well as the matchlock's popularity. While firearms aided the process of centralization, it

also played a role in undermining the Mughal's authority. Because of the affordability of matchlocks and the relative simplicity in gaining expertise with them, one did not have to train for years to be a warrior. Ultimately, this led to the diffusion of firearms into the general populace and resistance to central authority. Beginning in the late-sixteenth century, not only political rebels, but even peasants opposed to tax collection acquired firearms. As domestic tensions grew, the widespread use and manufacture of matchlock muskets played a role in the breakdown of central authority, and the Mughals, despite several innovative attempts, failed to halt the eventual Balkanization of their empire. Conclusion While the Mughals and other Indian states adopted technology and processes from abroad, they were informed consumers, not passive imitators. They adapted and refined their new instruments to meet the unique demands and challenges of their setting. Gun powder technology helped the Mughals expand their empire along with the support of cavalry and infantry. However, Gunpowder technology alone wasn’t responsible for strong Mughal army. The earliest Mughal emperor, Babur wrote in his autobiography that infantry, cavalry (mounted archers) were the major components of his army that led him win the battle. However, he doesn’t deny the use of Gunpowder technology in the battle but their contribution wasn’t important as the cavalry and the infantry. REFERENCES • Mughal Warfare by Jos Gommas • Gunpowder and Empire: Indian Case : Iqtidar Alam Khan • Nature of Gunpowder Artillery in India during the Sixteenth Century: A Reappraisal of the Impact of European Gunner : Iqtidar Alam Khan • www.jstor.org , Class notes...