The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c12.3

c12.3

The word *top*, the usual name for a cannon, is stated in Persian dictionaries to be of Turkish origin, but apparently Bābar used the word *zarb-zan* (literally, blow-striker). For this see Horn, 27, and his references, Pavet de Courteille, “Mémoires”, ii, 168, *‘arābah ustidakī zarbzan-lār*, “les couleuvres qui étaient sur des chariots”, id. ii, 336, *zarbzan-lik ‘arābah-lār*, “des couleuvres toutes montées sur leurs affûts”, and Budāunī, ii, 194, line 6, *tā zarbzan-hā o zambūrakhā kih bālāe ‘arābahhāe būd*, “to the cannon and swivel-pieces which were upon carts” ¹. I 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 Rūm, that is, Turkey, who were employed in the artillery. The word *top* 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-kalān* and *top-i-khūrd*.