The Institutes of Akbar 77.1

77.1

These are in particular favour with His Majesty, who stands unrivalled in their manufacture, and as a marksman. Matchlocks are now made so strong, that they do not burst, though let off when filled to the top. Formerly they could not fill them to more than a quarter. Besides, they made them with the hammer and the anvil by flattening pieces of iron, and joining the flattened edges of both sides. Some left them, from foresight, on one edge open; but numerous accidents were the result, especially in the former kind. His Majesty has invented an excellent method of construction. They flatten iron, and twist it round obliquely in form of a roll, so that the folds get longer at every twist; then they join the folds, not edge to edge, but so as to allow them to lie one over the other, and heat them gradually in the fire. They also take cylindrical pieces of iron, and pierce them when hot with an iron pin. Three or four of such pieces make one gun; or, in the case of smaller ones, two. Guns are often made of a length of two yards; those of a smaller kind are one and a quarter yards long, and go by the name of Dámának. The gunstocks are differently made. From the practical knowledge of His Majesty, guns are now made in such a manner that they can be fired off, without a match, by a slight movement of the cock. Bullets are also made, so as to cut like a sword. Through the assistance of the inventive genius of His Majesty, there are now many masters to be found among gunmakers; e.