Mughal Army
ارتش مغول
Flag of the Mughal Empire
Arrival of an imperial procession of the emperor Farrukh Siyar at Delhi's "world-revealing" mosque on a Friday, to hear the sermon (khutba) recited in his name
Foundedc. 1556
Disbandedc. 1806
Leadership
Former MilitaryTimurid Army
Padishah
(Great Emperor)		Mughal Emperor
Grand-VizierMughal Vazere'azam
Personnel
Military age15-25 years

The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, were in the cavalry-based armies of central Asia, its essential form and structure was established by the empire's third emperor, Akbar. The army had no regimental structure and the soldiers were not directly recruited by the emperor. Instead, they would be recruited and fielded by Mansabdar officers.

During the 17th century, the Mughal empire possessed largest military on earth,[1] which could reached 911,400-4,039,097 infantry and 342,696 cavalry.[2] Alternatively, according to the census by Abul Fazl, it is roughly about flat 4 million army with less than half million of them trained as cavalry.[3]: 89–90 

The Empire did maintain a fleet of warships and transport ships.[4] Mughal artillery consisted of heavy cannons, light artillery, grenadiers and rockets.[3]: 48 [5]: 133 [6] Heavy cannons were very expensive and heavy for transportation, and had to be dragged by elephants into the battlefield.

History

List of conflicts involving the Mughals:

The Mughals originated in Central Asia. Like many Central Asian armies, the mughal army of Babur was horse-oriented. The ranks and pay of the officers were based on the horses they retained. Babur's army was small and inherited the Timurid military traditions of central Asia.[7] It would be wrong to assume that Babur introduced a gunpowder warfare system, because mounted archery remained the vital part of his army.[8] Babur's empire did not last long and the mughal empire collapsed with the expulsion of Humayun, and the mughal empire founded by Akbar in 1556 proved more stable and enduring.[9]

Around 17th century AD, the dynasty was ruling the wealthiest empire in the world, with also the largest military on earth.[1] Mughals had approximately 24 percent share of world's economy and a military of one million soldiers.[10][11] The theoretical potential manpower of Mughal empire in 1647 according to Kaushik Roy from Jadavpur University, could reached 911,400 cavalry and infantry. However, Kaushik Roy also quoted the accumulation the imperial revenue of 12,071,876,840 dams has been calculated by Streissand who translated that the Mughal empire military could support about 342,696 cavalry and 4,039,097 infantry in total.[2] It further illustrated that during Shah Jahan reign, in 1647 the Mughal army composed of about 911,400 infantry and cavalry, while for span of 1627-58, there are 47,000 mounted musketeers, foot musketeers, gunners, and archers.[12] Meanwhile, historian Abdul-Hamid Lahori recorded the Mughal military strength in 1647 are 200,000 stipendiary cavalry, 185,000 other cavalry, and 40,000 garrisoned musketeers and gunners..[13]

Aurangzeb, son of Shah Jahan, has let the Mughal empire engaging various military campaign, including the pacification of the Bundela Rajputs in Siege of Orchha in year of 1635.[14][15]


Navy history

About 20 years after the Siege of Hooghly, the Mughals in Bengal came into a conflict , known as the Anglo-Mughal War, with the English East India company under admiral Nicholson, who had been granted permission by the emperor to sail about 10 warships,[16] The objectives of the company was to seize Chittagong and consolidate its interests.[17] However, The English were defeated as the Mughal counterattack under Shaista Khan towards Hooghly proved too much.[17][18]

One of the best-documented naval campaign of the Mughal empire were provided during the conflict against kingdom of Arakan, where in December 1665, Aurangzeb dispatched Shaista Khan, his governor of Bengal to command 288 vessels and more than 20,000 men to pacify the pirate activities within Arakan territory and to capture Chittagong,[19] while also assisted by about 40 Portuguese vessels.[20]: 230  This ensuing conflict in Chittagong were documented as largest Early Modern galley battles fought which nvolved more than 500 ships. and the number of were more than 40,000 bodies.[19]

During the era Aurangzeb, the chronicle of Ahkam 'Alamgiri, reveals how the Mughal empire has struggled to establish strong navy, boldened by the failure to prevent losses of Muslim vessels off the coast of the Maldives islands. Aurangzeb were said to possess four huge vessels at Surat and port of southern Gujarat.[21] Aurangzeb's Vizier, Jafar Khan, blames the Mughal lack of ability to establish an effective navy not due to lack of resources and money, but to the lack of men to direct (the vessels).[22] Thus Syed Hassan Askari concluded that the lack of priority of Aurangzeb to afford his naval project due to his conflicts against the Marathas has hindered him to do so.[22] Andrew de la Garza stated other reason of the Mughal navy did not evolve into a high seas fleet during the 17th century was technological inferiority of Indian blast furnaces in comparation with the European counterparts, who capable of generating the temperatures required to manufacture cast iron cannon in quantity.[19] Nevertheless, Syed maintained that Mughal was largely not independent to control the rampart piracy and European naval incursions, and instead resorted to depend on the strength of friendly Arab forces from Muscat to keep the Portuguese in check.[22]

However, Syed Hassan also highlighted that Aurangzeb are not completely neglect it since he has acquired the British expertise to captured the fort of Janjira island, and thus establishing naval cooperation with semi independent Siddi community naval force of Janjira State which resisted the Marathas.[22] The proficiency of the Siddi Yaqub navy are exemplified during Siege of Bombay, where Siddi Yaqub and his Mappila fleet blockaded the fortress and forced the submission of the Britain forces.[23]

It is said in the Ahkam 'Alamgiri record that the commander of British navy, Sir John Child, has concluded peace with the Mughal empire in 1689 due to his fear towards the "Mughal navy" force of Janjira which let by Siddi Yaqub.[22] According to Grant Duff, until 1670 the imperial navy under the leadership of Khan Jahan with the Janjira mariners has clashed frequently against Maratha Navy under Shivaji, where the Janjira and Mughal naval forces always comes victorious.[24] English letters In 1672 has recorded that Aurangzeb has sent 30 small frigates to assist the Siddis in Danda-Rajapuri.[25]: 196  The resulting battle has caused Shivaji naval forces to be burned and lost 50 ships.[25]: 196  Meanwhile, Khafi Khan has recorded that previously, once the fleet of Mughal during the era of Shah Jahan once inflicted heavy losses to the Maratha naval forces and causing 200 being captured while 100 casualties, an event which fuelled the rivalry of the Siddis with the Maratha in the sea.[25]: 196 

Organization

Main article: Mansabdar

Mughal emperors themselves maintained a small standing army, Instead the officers called mansabdars provided the bulk of the Mughal armed forces. Under Akbar, there are as many as 1,600 Mansabdars employed.[26] While during the reign of Shah Jahan, Mansabdars were growing into 8,000 officers.[26]

Man Singh I a Predominant Mansabdar

This system were introduced by Akbar, where a Mansabdar officer worked for the government who was responsible for recruiting and maintaining his quota of horsemen, where practically most of Mughal armies were under Mansabdar officers.[26] The rank of Mansabdars were based on the horsemen he provided, which ranged from 10(the lowest), up to 5000. A prince had the rank of 25000. This was called the zat and sowar system. An officer had to keep men and horses in a ratio of 1:2. The horses had to be carefully verified and branded, and Arabian horses were preferred. The officer also had to maintain his quota of horses, elephants and cots for transportation, as well as foot soldiers and artillery. Soldiers were given the option to be paid either in monthly/annual payments or jagir, but many chose jagir. The emperor also allocated jagir to mansabdars for maintenance of the mansabs.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, personal royal army which under the direct command of the emperor were numbered around 24,000 soldiers.[26] These emperor personal standing armies were called Ahadis,[26] a body of cavalry trooper.[27] They were directly recruited by the Mughal emperor himself, mainly from the emperor's own blood relatives and tribesmen. They had their own pay roll and pay master, and were better paid than normal horsemen sowars. They were gentlemen soldiers, some of them normally in administrative duties in the palace.[citation needed] Another term for the Mughal emperor personal bodyguards which associated with the Ahadis was the Walashahis(lit. belonging to the king[27]), or imperial bodyguards, which regarded as the most trusted and faithful part of the troops, being directly in the pay of the Emperor.[28] They also serve as cavalrymen, similar to Ahadis.[27] They were chiefly, if not entirely, men who had been attached to the Emperor from his youth and had served him while he was only a prince and were thus marked out in a special manner as his personal attendants and household troops.[29]

The Mughal army generally divided into four branches: the cavalry (Aswaran), the infantry (Paidgan), the artillery (Topkhana) and the navy. These were not divisions with their own commanders, instead they were branches or classes that were distributed individually amongst the Mansabdars, each of whom had some of each of these divisions. The exception to this rule was the artillery, which was a specialized corps with its own designated commander, and was not part of the mansabdari troops.[30]

Cavalry

Cavalry in the Durbar Procession of Mughal Emperor Akbar II (reigned 1806–1837)

The cavalry was the most superior branch of the Mughal army. By the reign of Aurangzeb, the Mughal army was mainly composed of Indian Muslims.[31] experts such as Irfan Habib generally agreed that Mughal cavalry are invincible in Indian subcontinent.[32] The superiority of their heavy cavalry discipline and shock charge were a staple of Mughal cavalry.[33][34]

The Barha tribe of Indian Muslims traditionally composed the vanguard of the imperial army, which they held the hereditary right to lead in every battle.[35][36] The horsemen normally recruited by mansabdars were high-class people and were better paid than foot soldiers and artillerymen. They had to possess at least two of their own horses and good equipment. The regular horseman was called a sowar. Normally they used swords, lances, shields, more rarely guns. Their armour was made up of steel or leather, and they wore the traditional dress of their tribes. Mughal armour was not as heavy as Europe, due to the heat, but was heavier than the south Indian outfits.[37] The armour consisted of two layers; the first consisting of steel plates and helmets to secure the head, breast, and limbs. Underneath this steel network of armour was worn an upper garment of cotton or linen quilted thick enough to resist a sword or a bullet, which came down as far as the knees. Silken pants as the lower garment and a pair of kashmir shawls wrapped around the waist completed this costume. There was a habit of covering the body in protective garments until little beyond a man's eyes could be seen.[38]

Adapted to fighting pitched battles in the northern Indian plains,[39] the Mughals were frontal-combat oriented, and shock-charge tactics of the heavy cavalry armed with swords and lances was popular in Mughal armies.[40][41] In times of crisis at battle, the Muslim Mughals would perform a type of fighting called Utara,[42] the act of dismounting from their horses and fighting on foot until they were killed rather than ride away and escape with their lives.[43]

Well-bred horses were either imported from Arabia, Iran or Central Asia, or bred in Sindh, Rajasthan and parts of Punjab. Emperors at times also issued firman or imperial mandates on regular intervals addressing officials like mansabdars, kotwals, zamindars and mutasaddis for the remission of taxes for promoting the horse trade.[44][28]

Camels and Elephants

Model Depicting Mughal era Elephant Armour from the late 16th to early 17th century

Mughal cavalry also included war elephants, normally used by generals. They bore well ornamented and good armour. Mainly they were used for transportation to carry heavy goods. Some of the Rajput mansabdar's also provided camel cavalry. They were men from desert areas like Rajasthan. A special elephant unit called Gajnal were carrying Indian swivel-gun mounted on its back.[45][46] two of these kind of light artillery could be carried by single elephant.[45] The Zamburaks or camel units with mounted swivel guns were though as Mughal innovation, as were first mentioned by Bernier, who reports that Aurangzeb took two to three hundred camel- guns with him on his expedition to Kashmir.[47] Its mobility compared to their Gajnal Elephant counterpart were considered pivotal, as those weapons which size are double of normal musket could be shot on top of the camels.[47]

The key to Mughal power in India was its use of warhorses and also its control of the supply of superior warhorses from Central Asia. This was confirmed by victories in the Battle of Panipat, the Battle of Machhiwara, Battle of Dharmatpur, and in eyewitness accounts such as Father Monserrate, which primarily featured the use of traditional Turko-Mongol horse archer tactics rather than gunpowder.[48] Cavalry warfare came to replace the logistically difficult elephant warfare and chaotic mass infantry tactics. Rajputs were co-opted by converting them into cavalry despite their traditions of fighting on foot. This was similar to the Marathas' service to the Deccan Sultanates.[48]

Infantry

A Mughal Infantryman
Weapons used by the Mughal Infantry

The infantry was recruited either by Mansabdars, or by the emperor himself. The emperor's own infantry was called Ahsam. They were normally ill-paid and ill-equipped, and also lacked discipline.[49] This group included bandukchi or gun bearers, swordsmen, as well as servants and artisans.[49] They used a wide variety of weapons like swords, shields, lances, clubs, pistols, rifles, muskets, etc. They normally wore no armour.[49] Unlike the Europeans who placed Wagon forts in their rear formations, the Mughals army placing their wagon in front of enemy centers with.[49] Chains connected the wagons to each other to impeded enemy cavalry charges. This wagon forts provided cover for the slow-loading of the Indian rifles.[49] while also protected Heavy cavalry who positioned behind the direct-fire infantry protected.[49]

Banduqchis

The Banduqchis were the musketmen in the infantry. They formed the bulk of the Mughal infantry.[50] Locally recruited and equipped with matchlocks, bows and spears, the infantry was held in low status and was virtually equated with palanquin bearers, woodworkers, cotton carders in the army payrolls. Their matchlocks were thrice as slow as the mounted archers. Chronicles hardly mention them in battle accounts.[51] Indian Muslims usually enlisted in the cavalry and seldom recruited in the infantry, looking down at fighting with muskets with contempt. The Banduqchis were mainly made up of Hindus of various castes who were known for their skills as gunmen, such as the Bundelas, the Karnatakas and the men of Buxar.[52][53][54][55][56]

Shamsherbaz

The main infantry was supplemented by specialized units such as the Shamsherbaz. Meaning "sword-wielders" or "gladiators", the Shamsherbaz were elite heavy infantry companies of highly skilled swordsmen. As their name implies, a few of them were assigned to the court to serve as palace guards, or participate in mock-battles of exhibitions of skill. However, tens of thousands of them were assigned to army units by the Mansabdars around the Mughal Empire.[57] The Shamsherbaz were frequently used in siege warfare, where they would be unleashed to deal with the resistance once the walls were breached with explosives or artillery.[58] Much of the Shamsherbaz were recruited from religious sects such as Sufi orders.[59]: 89–90 

Many of Rajputs entered service of the Mughal army either as regular soldier or mercenary, as Shamserbaz.[3] they were equipped with halberd, mace, while some of othem also equipped with Sword-and-buckler set and also two-handed sword similar with western Zweihänder, where they act like central european Doppelsöldner on the offensive.[3]: 89–90 

Artillery

Main article: Mughal artillery

The artillery was a specialized corps with its own designated commander, the Mir-i-Atish.[60] The office of Mir-i-Atish grew in importance during the time of the later Mughals.[61] Being in charge of the defense of the Imperial Palace Fort and being in personal contact with the Emperor, the Mir-i-Atish commander great influence.[62] They were somewhat risky to be used in the battlefield, since they exploded sometimes, killing the crew members. Light artillery was the most useful in the battle field. They were mainly made up of bronze and drawn by horses. This also included swivel guns born by camels called zamburak. They were very effective on the battlefield.

The Mughals artillery corps also employed hand grenade,[63] and rocket artilleries.[3]: 48 [5]: 133  These rockets are considered as predecessor of Mysorean rockets which employed by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan[6]

Navy

1565-Battle Scene with Boats on the Ganges-Akbarnama

Further information: Shipbuilding in Bangladesh

The Navy's main duty was controlling piracy, sometimes used in war.[64] It is known from the standard survey of maritime technology in 1958, that the Bengalis expertize on shipbuilding were duplicated by The British East India Company in the 1760s, which leading to significant improvements in seaworthiness and navigation for European ships during the Industrial Revolution.[65]

The foundation of salt water naval force of the Mughal empire were established by Akbar from the late 16th century after he conquered Bengal and Gujarat.[19] Emperor Akbar reorganized the imperial navy from a collections of civilian vessels with more professional institutions of Naval administration which is detailed in the Ain-i-Akbari, the annals of Akbar's reign.It identifies the navy's primary objectives including the maintenance of transport and combat vessels, the retention of skilled seamen, protection of civilian commerce and the enforcement of tolls and tariffs.[19] Akbar were recorded in A'in Mir Bahri, to be possessed 3000 armed vessels, although later decreased into 768.[21] Among them, there are 923 Portuguese sailors in service of Akbar.[21]

According to records in the Mughal invasion on kingdom of Ahom, the characteristic of Ghurab warships of Mughals in Bengal regions were Ghurab warships which were outfitted with 14 guns.[66] the personnels were numbered around 50 to 60 crews.[66] The officers of those ships were conscripted from Dutch, Portuguese, British, and Russian naval officers.[66]

The Mughal warships were characterized their strength and their size, due to the shipbuilding skills of their Bengalis shipbuilder.[4] Contrary to the naval forces in Bengal which relied mostly on riverine fitted Gharb warships,[67]: 28  the naval forces of Janjira state which given subsidy and sponsored by Aurangzeb with the access of Surat port could construct more bigger ships like frigates and Man-of-war[67]: 34  The Man-of-war ships of Mughals were as big as English Third-rate.[68]: 499–500  while the frigates used prow instead of Beakhead.[68]: 499–500  some of these ships carried thirty to forty pieces of cannons.[68]: 499–500  This Siddi navy has armed with rare huge vessels of certain craft which weighted between 300 and 400 tonnage with heavy ordnance on row boats, where few matchlock gunner and spear men cramped.[22]

Chelas

"Chelas" redirects here. For the concept of the disciple in Indian religions, see Guru–shishya tradition. For the station on the Red Line of the Lisbon Metro, see Chelas (Lisbon Metro).

Chela were slave soldiers in the Mughal army. As a counterpoise to the mercenaries in their employ, over whom they had a very loose hold, commanders were in the habit of getting together, as the kernel of their force, a body of personal dependents or slaves, who had no one to look to except their master. Such troops were known by the Hindi name of chela (a slave). They were fed, clothed, and lodged by their employer, had mostly been brought up and trained by him, and had no other home than his camp. They were recruited chiefly from children taken in war or bought from their parents during times of famine. The great majority were of Hindu origin, but all were made Muslims when received into the body of chelas. These chelas were the only troops on which a man could place entire reliance as being ready to follow his fortunes in both foul and fair weather.[69]

Like the Timurids and other Mongol-derived armies, and unlike other Islamic states, the Mughal empire did not use slave soldiers prominently. Slave soldiers were mainly placed in very lowly positions such as manual labourers, footmen and low-level officers rather than professional elite soldiers like Ghilman, Mamluks or Janissaries. However, eunuch officers were prized for their loyalty.[70]

See also

References

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 This article incorporates text from The army of the Indian Moghuls: its organization and administration, by William Irvine, a publication from 1903, now in the public domain in the United States.

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