Zamburak (, ), was a specialized form of

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

from the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

featuring small

swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...

s mounted on and fired from camels. Its operator was known as a zamburakchi. It was used by the

gunpowder empires The gunpowder empires, or Islamic gunpowder empires, is a collective term coined by Marshall G. S. Hodgson and William H. McNeill at the University of Chicago, referring to three early modern Muslim empires: the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire a ...

, especially

Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

, and

Afsharid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan Province, Khorasan, est ...

, due to the ruggedness of the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. ...

, which made typical transportation of heavy cannons difficult. The zamburak became a popular mode of warfare in the 18th century in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. The

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

used it in the

Battle of Gulnabad The Battle of Gulnabad (; ) was fought between the military forces from the Hotak dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire on Sunday, March 8, 1722. It further cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for de ...

, routing a numerically superior imperial Safavid army. It was also used successfully in the campaigns of Nader Shah when the shah and military genius

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

utilized a zamburak corps in conjunction with a regular corps of conventional cannon to devastating effect in numerous battles, such as at the Battle of Damghan (1729), the Battle of Yeghevārd, and the

Battle of Karnal The Battle of Karnal (Persian Language, Persian: نبرد کرنال) (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persian Empire, Iran, during his Nader Shah's invasion of India, invasion of ...

. A large number of zamburaks were also successfully employed by

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

during his raid in the

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

n plain in the

Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghan (ethnonym), Af ...

against the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

Use

Zamburaks were one of the royal guard units in the Qajar Army. A Persian zamburak regiment was accompanied by musicians with huge camel-mounted drums, to further intimidate the enemy. Zamburaks were also used during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

and the First and

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

Camel gun - pg 18 -The last voyage - Annie Brassey

By the eighteenth century, usage of Zamburak became popular in the Indian subcontinent as well. In 1761, the

Durrani The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...

conqueror, Ahmed Shah Durrani (also Ahmed Shah Abdali) used around 2000 camel guns in a battle against the Marathas, which proved to be a decisive factor in routing the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

forces near Panipat. A zamburak consisted of a soldier on a

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

with a mounted

(a small falconet) hinged on a metal fork-rest protruding from the camel's saddle. To fire it, the camel was put on its knees. The name is derived from the Persian word for wasp ''zambur'' (زنبور), possibly in reference to the sound earlier camel-mounted crossbows made. The camel's mobility combined with the swivel gun's flexibility and heavy firepower made an intimidating military unit, although the cannon's accuracy and range were rather low. The light cannon was also not particularly useful against heavy fortifications. The

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...

used camel-mounted miniature cannons in battle. Gunpowder weapons like guns and cannons were used by both sides during the

Dzungar–Qing Wars The Dzungar–Qing Wars (, ) were a decades-long series of conflicts that pitted the Dzungar Khanate against the Qing dynasty and its Mongol vassals. Fighting took place over a wide swath of Inner Asia, from present-day central and eastern Mong ...

. After their invention in 1861,

Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling of North Carolina. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operatio ...

s were mounted on camels as well.

References

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External links

Biblomania: Free Online Literature and Study GuidesHobson-Jobsondigital.library.upenn.edu/women/sheil/persia/185.jpeg
an image
Answers.com entry (citing 1913 Webster's Dictionary)Thefreedictionary.com entry
Artillery by type Cannon Camel cavalry Indo-Persian weaponry

Use

See also

References

External links