A toradar (, , ) is a

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

matchlock primarily found in the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, dating from the 16th century. It was a preferred firearm in India well until the mid-19th century because of its economical and simple design.

History

When the Portuguese reached India in 1498, they brought with them firearms, among them the

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

. However, expert armorers were already plentiful in India, and native craftsmen began to copy the weapons and adapting them for their own needs. Most of these craftsmen started to apply a style of decoration that normally would be applied to their traditional weapon. Soon a distinctive local style evolved, and the toradar was invented in the Indian subcontinent. Toradar matchlock remained to be the preferred firearms mechanism well until about 1830. Part of the reason why the matchlocks were still more popular than the

wheellock A wheellock, wheel-lock, or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock, and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name ...

s and

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

s was because the matchlocks were easier and cheaper to produce. Toradar was sometimes used as a hunting gun.

Description

A toradar is basically an Indian matchlock. They were found mostly in the Mughal-influenced Northern and Central India. Two types of toradar exist: one has a very slim, from to long, straight stock with pentagonal-shaped section, and a light barrel; the other type is always between to long, has a curved stock with diamond-shaped section and a very heavy barrel, much enlarged at the breech. Both have the regular Indian type of lock, which is covered with a pan cover that usually swings on a pin. The iron side plates which reinforce each side of the stock extend for some distance on each side of the lock. The barrel is usually fastened to the stock by wire band or leather thongs which frequently pass over silver saddles on the barrel. The rear sight of the first type have ogival shape, or an open V, while the second usually has a very large open rear sight. Both types' muzzles are generally fastened with moulded ring. The front sight are made very long so as to show above them. This front sights were often shaped into figurative forms e.g. the nose of a man, or shaped like tiger's head. Some toradar have square-shaped barrel, even with square bores. Both types generally have a clevis for a sling strap and some have two. Compared with the European matchlocks, the stock of a toradar has a more simple shape than the fish-tail shaped butt of the European matchlock. The stock is also too small to be placed against the shoulder, so the Indian toradar were normally held beneath the arm. A toradar used for sporting gun had painting of hunting figures, e.g. birds, other animals, and landscapes.

Artistic decoration and depiction

Decoration of a toradar reflects the local culture where the toradar is created. For the toradar, craftsmen produced some very complex ornate art from ivory bone or precious metal inlays on the barrels and the stocks. 16th century paintings, especially in the paintings during Mughal emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

's time, depict a few soldiers using matchlocks. Akbar's reign saw the rise of the '' tufang''. Up to the middle of the 18th century, the weapon was looked on with less favour than the bow and arrow. 17th century Mughal emperor

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

was depicted holding a matchlock with floral decoration. A toradar from 18th-century Mysore, in the southern Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

is exquisitely decorated with incised flowers and foliage. The decorations are entirely gilded. The incised side plates are made of iron. Animal figures are thoroughly represented in the toradar; the match holder of toradar usually has a serpentine

naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions ** Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong River ** Naga, another name for Bakunawa, an ...

-like shape, figures of tiger are impressed in the trigger of the Mysore toradar. A 19th-century toradar from

Narwar Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Narwar w ...

has a tiger's head shaped around the muzzle.

References

Cited works

* * * *

History

Description

Artistic decoration and depiction

See also

References

Cited works

Further reading