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Fire Lances
The fire lance () was a gunpowder weapon used by lighting it on fire, and is the ancestor of modern firearms. It first appeared in 10th–12th century China and was used to great effect during the Jin-Song Wars. It began as a small pyrotechnic device attached to a polearm weapon, used to gain a shock advantage at the start of a melee. As gunpowder improved, the explosive discharge was increased, and debris or pellets added, giving it some of the effects of a combination modern flamethrower and shotgun, but with a very short range (about ), and only one shot (although some were designed for two shots). By the late 13th century, fire lance barrels had transitioned to metal material to better withstand the explosive blast, and the lance-point was discarded in favor of relying solely on the gunpowder blast. These became the first hand cannons. Design The first fire lances consisted of a tube, usually bamboo, containing gunpowder and a slow match, strapped to a spear or othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major political, cultural, and economic hub for the region. Hubei is associated with the historical state of E that existed during the Western Zhou dynasty (771 BCE). Its name means 'north of the lake', referring to Dongting Lake. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui and Jiangxi to the east, Hunan to the south, and Chongqing and Shaanxi to the west. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang in the west of the province. History The Hubei region was home to sophisticated Neolithic cultures. By the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC), the territory of today's Hubei formed part of the powerful Chu (state), State of Chu. Chu, nominally a tributary state of the Zh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Modern Warfare
Early modern warfare is the era of warfare during early modern period following medieval warfare. It is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and firearms; for this reason the era is also referred to as the age of gunpowder warfare (a concept introduced by Michael Roberts in the 1950s). Fortification techniques evolved rapidly due to the development of artillery. Firearms revolutionized warfare, diminishing the role of aristocracies and heavy cavalry. Early firearms, like arquebuses and muskets, gradually replaced bows and crossbows, leading to the introduction and decline of plate armor as firearms became more effective. Flintlock muskets became dominant by the 1690s, and the invention of the bayonet combined pikes and muskets, transforming infantry into the most crucial military force. Warfare also saw a shift towards larger armies and more devastating conflicts. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vannoccio Biringuccio
Vannoccio Biringuccio, sometimes spelled Vannocio Biringuccio (c. 1480 – c. 1539), was an Italian metallurgist. He is best known for his manual on metalworking, ''De la pirotechnia'', published posthumously in 1540. 20th Century translation by Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi Biography Biringuccio was born in Siena as the son of Paolo Biringuccio, presumably an architect, and Lucrezia di Bartolommeo Biringuccio. He was baptised on October 20, 1480. He was a follower of Pandolfo Petrucci, the head of the powerful Petrucci family. Pandolfo employed him as a metallurgist. When Pandolfo died, Biringuccio remained tied to the Petrucci family, being employed by Pandolfo's son Borghese Petrucci. However, the uprising of 1515 forced Borghese to flee from Siena, taking Biringuccio with him. Biringuccio traveled about Italy, and visited Sicily in 1517. In 1523 Pope Clement VII caused the reinstatement of the Petrucci family, and along with them Biringuccio was able to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De La Pirotechnia
''De la Pirotechnia'' is considered to be one of the first printed books on metallurgy to have been published in Europe. It was written in Italian and first published in Venice in 1540. The author was Vannoccio Biringuccio, a citizen of Siena, Italy, who died before it was published. Further editions were published in 1550, 1558, 1559, and 1678, with a (sloppy) French translation by Jacques Vincent being published in 1556, 1572, and 1627. Parts were translated into Latin (by Georgius Agricola), English ( Richard Eden; Peter Whitehorn) and Spanish (Bernardo Perez de Vargas) at various times in the 1550s and 1560s, generally without acknowledgement. The second book on metallurgy, '' De re metallica'', was written in Latin by Georgius Agricola, and published in 1556. Mining was typically left to professionals, craftsmen and experts who were not eager to share their knowledge. Much experiential knowledge had been accumulated over the course of time. This knowledge was consecutively ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wubei Zhi
The ''Wubei Zhi'' (; ''Treatise on Armament Technology'' or ''Records of Armaments and Military Provisions''), also commonly known by its Japanese translated name Bubishi, is a military book in Chinese history. It was compiled in 1621 by （茅元儀 ''Máo Yuányí''; 1594–1640?), an officer of waterborne troops in the Ming dynasty. The ''Wubei Zhi'' contains 240 volumes, 10,405 pages, and more than 200,000 Chinese characters. Structure ''Wubei Zhi'' consists of five sections, "Bing Jue Ping", "Zhan Lue Kao", "Zhen Lian Zhi", "Jun Zi Sheng", and "Zhan Du Zai". *"Bing Jue Ping" (Commentary on Military Formulae) Containing 18 chapters, this section includes military theories from significant figures including, but not limited to, Sun Tzu. Some of these theories date back to the last years of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, more than 1,800 years before the editor. *"Zhan Lue Kao" (Consideration of Tactics) This section consists of 31 chapters, and describes more than 600 specifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Trinidad Valencera
Kinnagoe Bay () is a beach in Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland. The wreck of a Spanish Armada ship, ''La Trinidad Valencera'', was discovered in the bay in 1971. The sinking of this ship, on 16 September 1588, is memorialised by a plaque in the area. The beach is accessible by a road from the top of the hill. There is a small car park at the beach which gets very busy during the summer. It is one of the places of interest on the Inishowen 100 scenic route. Fishing Kinnagoe Bay attracts fisherman from all around Ireland. The wreck of "La Trinidad Valencera" is favoured by some fish, which can be caught by either spinning from the rocks or casting from the beach. They include pollack, wrasse, coalfish, dogfish, bass and flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuary, estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ... ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storming Of Bristol
The Storming of Bristol took place from 23 to 26 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. The Royalist army under Prince Rupert captured the important port of Bristol from its weakened Parliamentarian garrison. The city remained under Royalist control until the second siege of Bristol in September 1645. Background In the mid-17th century, Bristol was one of the most important cities in England, second only to London in wealth. The Royalists failed to secure it when the war began, leaving it under Parliamentarian control although there were many Royalist sympathisers within the city. In July 1643, the city's garrison was weakened when 1,200 men were sent to reinforce Sir William Waller's Army of the Western Association, which was destroyed at the Battle of Roundway Down on 13 July. The Royalists quickly realised this presented them with a great opportunity to capture important Parliamentarian-held towns in the south-west of England. Only two days after the battle, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court downsized the national army and delegated the security of the countryside to these privately trained warriors. Eventually the samurai clans grew so powerful that they became the ''de facto'' rulers of the country. In the aftermath of the Gempei War (1180-1185), Japan formally passed into military rule with the founding of the first shogunate. The status of samurai became heredity by the mid-eleventh century. By the start of the Edo period, the shogun had disbanded the warrior-monk orders and peasant conscript system, leaving the samurai as the only men in the country permitted to carry weapons at all times. Because the Edo period was a time of peace, many samurai neglected their warrior training and focused on peacetime activities such as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East). The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions. Since the late 20th century, it has been criticized as being too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of West Asia, but without the South Caucasus. It also includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai) and all of Turkey (including East Thrace). Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The list of Middle Eastern countries by population, most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, whil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huolongjing
The ''Huolongjing'' (; Wade-Giles: ''Huo Lung Ching''; rendered in English as ''Fire Drake Manual'' or ''Fire Dragon Manual''), also known as ''Huoqitu'' (“Firearm Illustrations”), is a Chinese military treatise compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Bowen of the early Ming dynasty (1368–1683) during the 14th century. The ''Huolongjing'' is primarily based on the text known as ''Huolong Shenqi Tufa'' (''Illustrations of Divine Fire Dragon Engines''), which no longer exists. History The ''Huolongjings intended function was to serve as a guide to "fire weapons" involving gunpowder during the 1280s to 1350s. Its predecessor, the ''Huolong Shenqi Tufa'' (Fire-Drake Illustrated Technology of Magically (Efficacious) Weapons), has since been lost. The ''Huolongjing'' was one of three early Ming military treatises that were mentioned by Jiao Xu, but only the ''Huolongjing'' remains. Although the earliest edition of the ''Huolongjing'' was written by Jiao Yu, a Ming general, some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bayan Of The Baarin
Bayan of the Baarin (Mongolian language, Mongolian: Баян; 1236 – January 11, 1295), or Boyan () was an ethnic Mongols, Mongol general of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was known to Marco Polo as "Bayan Hundred Eyes" (probably from a confusion with ). He commanded the army of Kublai Khan against the Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279, Southern Song dynasty, ushering in the Southern Song collapse and the conquest of southern China by the Yuan dynasty. "Bayan" literally means "rich" in the Mongolian language. Background Born a grandnephew of Nayagha, a general under Genghis Khan, Bayan came from the Mongol Baarin tribe. Nayagha, together with Bayan's grandfather Alagh and Alagh's and Nayagha's father Shirgügetü Ebügen, appear in the ''Secret History of the Mongols''. Early career His grandfather Alagh was the viceroy in Khorazm province under the Mongol Empire. Bayan's father died during the Mongol siege of the stronghold of the Assassins (sect), Assassins (''Has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
