The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c12.8

c12.8

Dr. Horn, 29, holds that under Akbar the artillery reached the highest point of efficiency which it ever attained during the existence of the Moghul empire. But judging from the brief account of cannon in the *Āīn-i-Akbarī*, one would surmise that this arm was little, if at all, developed. A great deal is said about matchlocks, but comparatively little about other *bouches à feu*. It would be, I think, a safer opinion to hold that the artillery was much more perfect and numerous in ‘Ālamgīr’s reign, than it was under his great-grandfather, Akbar. The long campaign in the Dakhin and the innumerable sieges, some of considerable importance, such as those of Bijāpur and Jinjī, must have brought the uses of artillery into much greater prominence. And during the 18th century something, if not much, was learned from the example of the French and English armies, and from the European adventurers, who found their way in considerable numbers into the armies of the native powers. As an instance of the hazardous conclusions that are occasionally arrived at, I may quote the suggestion of Mr. D. Mac Ritchie, “Gypsies of India”, p. 207, that the gipsies (whom he identifies with the Jāts) brought the use of artillery into Europe. The history of the arm in India seems to prove on the contrary, that it was introduced there from Europe.