Jezail

of a Tajik warrior (Kohistani) and his jezail. which is uncommon in European counterparts (aside from the Spanish of the 15th century), but were common in the American rifles, such as the Kentucky rifle. These American rifles were of a smaller caliber (typically ) as their primary use was hunting, while jezails had a caliber of and larger, making them suitable for warfare. Having a long length, jezail was heavier (typically ) than typical muskets of the time (typically ). This allowed the use of larger calibers. The heavy weight of the jezail also reduced recoil. The jezail has a relatively long range of , A unique feature of the jezail was the handmade stock, which had a distinctive curve and was intricately decorated. The role of the curve is debated. It may have made the stock lighter while still being able to be fired from the shoulder safely. It also allows firing by grasping the weapon near the trigger, like a pistol, while the curved portion is tucked under the forearm (as opposed to being held to the shoulder), allowing firing with one hand while mounted. In this case the flash pan is dangerously too close to the face and the aiming would also be more difficult, therefore this method was probably used only while mounted. The weapon could otherwise be fired from a forked A-shaped rest (which is common in Central Asia), a horn, or a metal bipod, == Operational history ==

In Persia 's forces push the Ottoman army back at the Battle of Yeghevārd. The jazayer ( jazāyer or ''jazā'er) was the primary weapon of the elite military unit jazayerchi ( jazāyerchī'') introduced by the Safavid Shah Abbas II. Due to its heavy weight, it was fired on a tripod. The Safavid general Nader Shah, who later founded the Afsharid dynasty, also maintained and trained an elite jazayerchi troops, which he used in his Wars with great effect. Anglo-Afghan Wars Tribesmen (Afridi) fighters in 1878, pictured with their jezails, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. During this period, the jezail was the primary weapon used by the Pashtuns and was used with great effect during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The range and accuracy of jezail, combined with the sniping tactics of the Afghans, made it superior to the British Brown Bess smoothbore muskets. The latter was effective at no more than 150 yards, and unable to be consistently accurate beyond 50 yards. Because of their advantage in range, Pashtun marksmen typically used the jezail from the tops of cliffs along valleys and defiles during ambushes. A description from the British Library dating to the First Anglo-Afghan War: At any rate, the British histories that focus on the claimed superiority of the jezail as weapon do not explain the failures of the jezailchis to halt British offensives in 1842. The operator of the gun was called ''jazā'il-andāz or jazā'ilchī in Hindustani language. Related words or spellings are gingall, janjal, ganjal, gazail''. Contemporary use The jezail was still in use in Afghanistan in the 20th century. It was replaced by the Martini-Henry and other domestic and foreign rifles. Limited numbers were used by Mujahideen rebels during the Soviet–Afghan War. Jezails can still be found in arms bazaars of Afghanistan. Derivatives of the jezail, barely recognizable, and usually termed "country-made weapons", are in use in rural India—especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh. ==In English literature==

The jezail is the weapon which wounded Dr. Watson—the fictional biographer of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes—in the Battle of Maiwand during his military service in Afghanistan. There are discrepancies regarding the location of the wound, though; in A Study in Scarlet, Watson mentions it to be in the shoulder, while in The Sign of the Four, he mentions his leg, and in "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" he refers to the Jezail bullet being "in one of my limbs". The weapon appears in Rudyard Kipling's 1886 poem "Arithmetic on the Frontier", where the low cost of the weapon is contrasted with the relatively expensive training and education of British officers: In Kipling's novel The Man Who Would Be King, the Kohat Jezail is mentioned along with the more advanced British rifles Snider and Martini. The rifle is also mentioned by Brian Jacques in his adventure novel, Voyage of Slaves. == In popular culture ==

• Team Fortress 2 features the "Bazaar Bargain", a weapon for the Sniper modeled after the Jezail. • In the first case of The Great Ace Attorney, the victim is Dr. John Watson (changed to "Wilson" in the localization). His killer is revealed to be Jezaille Brett, a woman whose name references Watson's wounding by Jezail rifle in the original books. • Jezails are one of the units available for Skaven factions in Total War: Warhammer III == See also ==