Army of the Mughal Empire

The emperor's personal army numbered around 24,000 soldiers. Directly under royal command, these warriors were called Ahadis, a body of cavalry troopers. Another term for the Mughal emperor's personal bodyguards which was associated with the Ahadis was the Walashahis (belonging to the king), They served as cavalrymen, similar to Ahadis. The Mughal army was generally divided into four branches: the cavalry (Aswaran), the infantry (Perigean), the artillery (Topkhana) and the navy. These were branches or classes that were distributed amongst the Mansabdars , each of whom commanded some of each of these forces. The exception to this rule was the artillery, which had its own designated commander, and was not part of the mansabdari troops. The Mughals followed the tradition of harsh execution of mutineers by strapping them into the mouth of cannon and blowing them apart. This tradition was copied by the British empire's military to punish their own mutineers. Mansabdars File:Raja_Man_Singh_I.jpg|Man Singh I, mansabdar Officers called mansabdars led the bulk of the Mughal armed forces. Under Akbar, as many as 1,600 mansabdars served. Shah Jahan had many as 8,000 mansabdars. Mansabdar officers worked for the government and were responsible for recruiting and maintaining their quota of horsemen. A ''Mansabdar's'' rank was based on the horsemen he provided, which ranged from 10 (the lowest), up to 5000. A prince had 25000. Their salaries were based on their ranks. Historian Richard M. Eaton noted Aurangzeb's strengthening of the mansabdari system and rotation of jagirs, which ensured noble loyalty and political stability, deterring usurpation attempts during his early reign. Each Mansabdar was responsible to the Mir Bakshi, or the head of Mughal empire's office of military and intelligence administrations. Aside from reporting to the Mir Bakshi, Mansabdars were often appointed as Subahdars, or heads of provincial administration where they were assisted by provincial officers such as Diwan, Bakhshi, Faujdar, Kotwal, Qazi, Sadr, Waqa-i-Navis, Qanungo and Patwari officers. Faujdaris aided their subahdar in maintaining law and order and enforcing imperial regulations, while also commanding thanas or military outposts, which were usually garrisoned with a fixed number of sowar (cavalry). According to Jos Gommans, the assessment and appointment of mansabdar officers was done personally by the emperor. Bakhshi officer Bakhshi officers were charged with the management and payment of a province's military. The provincial bakhshi often simultaneously served as the province's waqia-navis (news writer), and reported on all provincial ''mansabdar's, including senior officials (such as the subahdar or diwan).The role of provincial bakhshi could face tension from the subahdar or diwan, since the bakhshi'''s activities kept these officials accountable to the imperial centre. The Mir Bakhshi was the chief Bakhsh, and worked in the central administration. The position was also referred to as bakhshi-ul-mamalik or bakhshi-i-mamalik. Scholars translated the title as 'paymaster general' or 'army minister'. This mobile military capital was constructed by more than 2,000 personnel and labourers sent ahead of the main force. From the time of Akbar, Mughal military camps were huge in scale, accompanied by members of the royal court, as well as soldiers and labourers. Administration and governance were carried out from within, with the Emperors spending a significant portion of their rule within these camps. Akbar's entourage included small camps for journeys or hunting and large camps for royal tours and military campaigns, which could altogether accommodate 300,000 people. The large camp travelled an estimated 6-16 km per day, preceded by agents, scouts and workers who handled logistics, preparing roads and bridges, campsites, purchasing food and fuel and assuring the cooperation of local rulers. As mansabdars, royal household, domestic servants and others presented a picture of a well-planned city, moving from place to place, traveller Niccolao Manucci who witnessed it wrote that the grandeur of the entourage was far greater than any European ruler. Allahabad Fort, Red Fort, Balapur Fort, and Purana Qila. They inherited chains of forts, or qilas that were scattered throughout the Deccan. Manpower Around the 17th century, the dynasty was ruling the world's wealthiest empire and controlling its largest military. Political scientist J. C. Sharman viewed the empire as one of Asia's great powers matching the Ming dynasty in terms of population, riches, and military power unmatched by their European contemporaries. Stephen Rosen calculated that even the highly conservative estimate for Indian peninsular military personnel per capita would at least rival contemporary Europe at the end of the Thirty Years' War, using his own estimate of 550,000 personnel for the Mughal military and a population of 105,000,000 for Europe west of the Ural Mountains. The potential manpower of the Mughal empire in 1647, according to Kaushik Roy, reached 911,400 cavalry and infantry. He quoted the accumulation in imperial revenue of 12,071,876,840 dams, calculated by Streissand to support 342,696 cavalry and 4,039,097 infantry, while F. Valentijn estimated numbers higher than 4,000,000 in 1707. It further illustrated that during Shah Jahan's reign, in 1647, the Mughal army composed of about 911,400 infantry and cavalry, while from 1627 to 1658, it included 47,000 mounted musketeers, foot musketeers, gunners, and archers. Antoni de Montserrat recorded in Mongolicae Legationis Commentarius that in the Mughal–Afghan Wars alone, Akbar could muster 50,000 cavalry, 500 war elephants and camels, along with "countless number of infantry". De Montserrat claimed that the Mughal army under Akbar consisted of multiple ethnicities: Persians, Turkmen, Chagatais, Uzbeks, Pashtuns, Gujaratis, Pathans, Rajputs, and Balochis. Dirk H. A. Kolff claimed that this high estimate was essentially an "inventory of military labors" available for hiring in a single operation. Andrew de la Garza claimed that these troopers were not unorganized mobs, but rather units that had different roles, equipment and tasks, from heavy shock infantry that acted like Roman legionnaires or Swiss pikemen, to the Shamsherbaz units that served as halberdier, mace fighters, or sword gladiators. Logistics The Mughal military developed an advanced logistics system, which according Rosen was comparable with the Romans or the US Army. A key component was producing revenue to employ camp followers such as accountants, bankers, and merch*#ants for months and years. Hundr¥eds of Mughal nobles had to supply their needs. The followers handled the needs of large camps inhabitants. They established an credit institution or Hundi system to supply the camps from local markets. Gommans noted that due to the empre's wealth, it was not necessary to frequently move their encampment sites. The logistics department proved pivotal in supporting naval fleets. The army logistical units cleared the jungles in coastal area and built roads and canals. This allowed naval units to advance, such as during operations in Assam by Mir Jumla and Chittagong by Shaishta Khan. Rivers and waterways peninsula proved crucial for the empire to transport their heavy artillery. == Arms and weapons ==

The Mughal's most important military equipment production centers were Delhi and Lahore. Karkhanas or workshops produced arms, ammunition, and imperial stable-harnesses for horses using iron, copper and other metals. The main weapons were the sword, spear, and bow and arrow. The Firangi () sword is a European style straight sword. Many classical image depictions of Mughal nobles holding firangis, or accompanied by retainers carrying their masters' firangis, suggest that this sword was a symbol of martial virtue and power. It was used until the Indian Mutiny in 1857-58. The Rajput Shamserbaz infantry carried a halberd and mace. Some were equipped with sword-and-buckler set and a two-handed sword similar to the Zweihänder, where they fought like central European Doppelsöldners on the offensive. When the Portuguese reached India in 1498, they brought firearms, including the matchlock musket. Expert armourers were plentiful, and they copied the weapons and adapted them for local use. These indigenous matchlocks were called Toradar. They were found mostly in Mughal-influenced Northern and Central India. One type of Toradar is slim, from long and straight stock with a pentagonal-shaped section, and a light barrel. The other type is between long, with a curved stock, diamond-shaped section, and heavy barrel, much enlarged at the breech. From the time of Babur, cavalry troopers wore heavy, chain mail armour and acted as mounted archers armed with composite or steel bows. Composite bows were made of animal horn and sinews with around four feet long. When facing a difficult situation, the cavalrymen would fight using Utara, dismounting from their horses and fighting on foot until they died rather than retreat. Mughal armour was not as heavy as contemporaneous European armour, due to the hot climate, but was heavier than south Indian outfits. == Cavalry ==

(reigned 1806–1837) From the time of Babur, cavalry archery was a staple. Under Jahangir, the Mughals maintained 342,696 cavalry troopers. The Mughal army depended heavily on animals such as war elephants, warhorses, and bulls to transport their artillery. André Wink claimed that cavalry warfare came to replace the logistically difficult elephant warfare and chaotic mass infantry assaults. Rajputs were co-opted by converting them into cavalry despite their traditions of fighting on foot. This was similar to the Marathas' role in the army of the Deccan Sultanates. Horse Bargustawan mail and plate armour worn by horses were formed from three parts, a shaffron (head defence), crinet (neck defence) and combined peytral and crupper. Small plates edges are cusped and scalloped, giving the armour a geometric appearance. Panels of mail formed from alternating rows of solid and riveted links connects the rows. This arrangement accommodates radiating- pattern plates around circular plate edged with a brass border around the shoulders, flanks and neck areas of the armour. The key to Mughal power was its use of warhorses and its control of the supply of superior warhorses from Central Asia. Historian Annemarie Schimmel estimated that around 75 percent of warhorses were imported. This aided the Mughal in the battles of Panipat, Machhiwara, Dharmat, reflected in eyewitness accounts such as that of Father Monserrate, which primarily featured the use of traditional Turko-Mongol horse archer tactics rather than gunpowder. The regular cavalry troopers were directly recruited by the emperor, mainly from the emperor's blood relatives and tribesmen. They had their own payroll and paymaster, and were better paid than normal horsemen sowars. Normally, the riders were armed with bows and arrows, maces, cavalry lances, sabres, swords, shields, and sometimes also rifles. Furthermore, Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri testified about the magnificent gallop of the Mughal cavalier's charge, as they adorned their horse's saddles and head covers with gems or jewel stones. or Persian steeds which generally have larger bodies than most horses commonly found in contemporary India. The quality control regarding the imperial standard used Dagh (imperial mark) which branded on the side of the horse. The cavalry troops of the Mughals were also required to possess extra mounts as spares. Well-bred horses were either imported from Arabia, Iran and Central Asia, or bred in Sindh, Rajasthan and parts of Punjab. Emperors at times also issued firman or imperial mandates on regular intervals addressing officials like mansabdars, kotwals, zamindars and mutasaddis for the remission of taxes for promoting the horse trade. Aside from the high quality purebreed Arabian, Iraq, Khurasan, and Central Asia steeds, the Mughal also bred lower quality warhorses. The systematic classification of horse quality in Mughal empire was started in 1595 and generally divided horses into several classes such as: Tactically speaking, the Mughals were characterized by their frontal-combat oriented and shock-charge tactics. Heavy cavalry armed with swords and lances were popular in Mughal armies. The Mughal cavalry also trained in a special maneuver to attack enemies' war elephants, and could control their horses to stand on their hind legs and jump forward. The adversaries of the Mughals such as the Uzbeks employed their own cavalry archers to prevent the Mughal heavy cavalry from closing in. The Mughals also possessed their own cavalry archer units which were more effective than rifle armed cavalry, being able to shoot their arrows repeatedly while riding their horses. Meanwhile, the Sadaat-e-Bara tribe of Urdu-speaking people which traditionally composed the vanguard of the imperial army, held the hereditary role f serving as vanguard units of the empire in battles. Elephants model from the late 16th-early 17th century Mughal army commanders led their troops atop an elephant, as the perch gave them good vision for giving orders. They were mainly used to carry heavy goods. Elephant riders in Indus river civilizations were typically called Mahout. Female elephants usually were tasked to carry or drag baggage and siege cannons, while males were trained to fight. In 1703, under Aurangzeb, Mughal commander Daud Khan Panni was recorded to have used 10,500 coins to purchase 30 to 50 war elephants from Ceylon. Akbar maintained around 5000 to 7000 elephants in his fil-khana (elephant house), of which about 100 of the best were reserved for his personal collection (khassa). The Mughals were more interested in maintaining war elephants than their predecessors, the Delhi sultans, who never had more than 3,000 elephants. Gajnal elephant unit carried Indian swivel-guns on its back. Two of these guns could be carried by a single elephant. However war elephants were vulnerable to firearms. Their mobility compared to their Gajnal elephant counterparts was considered pivotal, as these weapons, double the size of normal muskets, could be shot from the camels. Akbar reportedly employed camel trainers from Baloch and Rabari ethnic in addition to his own camel corps that numbered around 6,000-7,000 camel riders. == Infantry ==

The infantry was recruited either by Mansabdars , or by the emperor. The emperor's infantry was called Ahsam. They were normally ill-paid, ill-equipped, and lacked discipline. This group included bandukchi or gun bearers, swordsmen, and servants and artisans. The musketeers line was able to break the enemy's elephant charges without help from cavalry units, as was demonstrated in the Battle of Haldighati and in the Battle of Tukaroi against cavalry and elephant charges, exploiting some level of combined arms with cavalry and artillery units. They were most useful in rural operations to subdue local insurrections. Indian Muslims usually enlisted in the cavalry and seldom recruited in the infantry, as they regarded fighting with muskets with contempt. The Banduqchis were mainly made up of Hindus of various castes who developed skills as marksmen, such as the Bundelas, the Karnatakas and Buxar. Heavy infantry gauntlet The main infantry was supplemented by specialized units such as the Shamsherbaz (sword-wielders or gladiators, or swordsmen). The Shamsherbaz were elite heavy infantry companies of skilled swordsmen. Some were assigned to the court to serve as palace guards, or participate in mock-battles or exhibitions. Tens of thousands were assigned to army units by the Mansabdars. They were divided into classes: • Yak-hath: carried a single-handed weapon and a shield. Yak-hath soldiers originated from south India. Their shields could cover an entire horsemen, while those from other regions carried a smaller shield. • Banaits: carried a curved longsword called Bankulis. Each hundred soldiers were commanded by a Ṣadī (lit. centurion), who hailed from an Ahadi noblemen. According to Abul Fazl, their salary was between 80 and 600 dāms. Much of the Shamsherbaz were recruited from religious sects such as Sufi orders. Many Rajput tribesmen joined Shamserbaz units either as regular soldiers or as mercenaries. Archer units mainly filled a similar role as musketeer units. Mridha archers were the elite class archers units hailing from the parts of Dhaka, Tangail, Bikrampur and Pirojpur. Slave soldier Chela were slave soldiers. As counterparts to the mercenaries, over whom commanders had a loose hold, commanders typically collected personal dependents or slaves. Such troops were known as chela (slave). They were fed, clothed, and housed by their owner. The mostly had been brought up and trained by the master. They were recruited chiefly from children taken in war or bought from their parents during famine. The great majority were of Hindu origin, who converted to Islam after they were enslaved. These units were the most dependably loyal in the force. The Mughals, Timurids, and other Mongol-derived armies, and unlike other Islamic states did not use slave soldiers as their regular army. The Chela mainly worked as menial labor, footmen and low-level officers. Eunuch officers were particularly prized for their loyalty. Female palace guards Urdubegis were women assigned to protect the emperor and inhabitants of the Emperor's zenana, (harem). The women of the Mughal court were sequestered under purdah, so their living quarters were run entirely by women. The division of administrative tasks was dictated largely by Akbar, whose zenana numbered over 5,000 noble women and servants. The women who protected the zenana were commonly of Habshi, Tatar, Turk and Kashmiri origin. Kashmiri women were selected because they did not observe purdah. Many were purchased as slaves. They are mentioned as early as the reigns of Babur and Humayun, and were proficient in the lance and bow. Emperors spent a great deal of their leisure time in the zenana, and slept there. The women assigned to protect the women's quarters were part of the larger system to protect the emperor. During Babur's and Humayun's reign, when the Mughal throne was not consolidated, the harem was mobile, traveling with the Emperor. Accordingly, it was necessary to have trustworthy guards and thus, the army of Urdubegis was constituted. They accompanied the harem during excursions and sieges, and kept guard in the palace mansions were the Emperor's male soldiers were prohibited from entering. Warriors ascended the ranks, or were granted a promotion by the Emperor in return for a favour. For instance, Bibi Fatima, the only known Urdubegi, was first a wet-nurse in Humayun's period, but was promoted to the rank of an Urdubegi by Akbar. Despite the large number of Urdubegis, the name of only one is known: Bibi Fatima. She is mentioned by Gulbadan-Begum, Humayun's half-sister, who wrote of her in his autobiography the Humayun-nama. ==Artillery==

The Indian Muslims during the rule of Mughal maintained artillery dominance, and even after the fall of the empire, various other non-Islamic Indian kingdoms continued to recruit Hindustani Muslims as artillery officers in their armies. Mughal artillery consisted of various types of cannons, light artillery, and grenadier units. Being in charge of the defense of the Imperial Palace Fort, and being in personal contact with the Emperor, the Mir-i-Atish commander had great influence. The Mughal artillery was somewhat risky to be used in the battlefield, since they exploded sometimes, killing the crew members. Light artillery was the most useful in the battlefield. They were mainly made up of bronze and drawn by horses. This also included swivel guns born by camels called zamburak. One of the largest artillery pieces used by the Mughal army was employed during the Siege of Chittorgarh (1567–1568), where they used a gigantic Mortar designed by Persian engineer Fathullah Shirazi. This mortar was capable of firing a cannonball weighing over . Another recorded mortar usage also recorded in 1659 during the conflict between Aurangzeb and his brother, Shah Shuja. The Mughals also used rocket based weaponries. In 1657, the Mughal army also used rockets during the Siege of Bidar. Aurangzeb's forces reportedly used rockets and grenades while scaling the walls. and rocket artilleries. File:The_Adventures_of_Akbar_artillery.jpg|depiction of Mughal artillery during the reign of Akbar File:Bibi_Mariam.jpg|Mughal-era Cannon == Naval forces ==

The Mughals also maintained a considerable navy, known as the Amla-e-Nawara. In Dhaka alone, the fleet numbered 768 ships, including 933 sailors of Portuguese origin and 8,112 artillery personnel in the east. It is known from the standard survey of maritime technology in 1958, that Bengali expertise on shipbuilding was duplicated by the British East India Company in the 1760s, leading to significant improvements in seaworthiness and navigation for European ships during the Industrial Revolution. Among them, there are 923 Portuguese sailors in service of Akbar. Ships According to records on the Mughal invasion of the kingdom of Ahom, the characteristic warships of Mughals in the Bengal regions were Ghurab warships which were outfitted with 14 guns. Their personnels numbered 50 to 60 crew members. the naval forces of Janjira state which were subsidised by Aurangzeb and access to the port of Surat could construct more large ships like frigates and men-of-war. Some of these ships carried thirty to forty pieces of cannons. The use of hand-driven pumps to remove excessive water from boats was already used by Indian shipmasters in the seventeenth century. Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti also noted the existence of ships belonging to the emperor weighing 1000 tons. Another notable huge ship owned by the Mughals was the Ganj-i-Sawai, which had 800 onboard guns at its disposal. Ganj-i-Sawai was reported as the largest ship in Surat at that time, with its 1600 tonnes in weight. Naval history For the two decades at the end of the 16th century, during their operations in Bengal, the Mughals faced difficulties due to the rainy climate and the geography of Bengal, which contains large portions of the Ganges River delta, resulting in any attempts for military conquest turning into amphibious operations. Their opponents were local warlords, who owned large quantities of warships. The locals were also assisted by the pirates from the Portuguese Goa region, along with some Dutch ships, although some of the Portuguese instead assisted the Mughal empire. To further improve their operations in wet terrains, the Mughals leveraged local Bengalese fortress construction techniques to build a number of cheap, river-dedicated fortresses which were built with the abundance of mud in the region. Soon, the imperial naval strategy focused on the mobility of their ships whose tracks were defended by these river forts. Emperor Akbar reorganized the imperial navy from a collections of civilian vessels to more professional institutions of naval administration; this is detailed in the Ain-i-Akbari, the annals of Akbar's reign. The annals identify the navy's primary objectives as being the maintenance of transport and combat vessels, the retention of skilled seamen, protection of civilian commerce and the enforcement of tolls and tariffs. These locals consisted of the twelve chiefs of Baro-Bhuyan military confederacy, and were responsible for shipbuilding, commercial trade, slave raids, and military protection. and Masum Khan, the eldest son of Musa Khan and grand son of Isa khan, former enemies of the Mughals in Bengal during the reign of Akbar. Masum served as the Mughal army's general during the Hughly invasion in 1632. The English company under Admiral Nicholson, who had been granted permission by the emperor to sail about 10 warships, aimed to seize Chittagong and consolidate its interests. The Rahimi was the largest of the Indian ships trading in the Red Sea. After being sacked by pirates, this ship was replaced by the Ganj-i-Sawa. This ship was eventually scaked by English pirate Henry Every.'''' The Mughal Empire's naval forces also engaged in maritime cooperation with the Ottoman Empire to counter Portuguese dominance in the 16th-century Indian Ocean. Giancarlo Casale's The Ottoman Age of Exploration highlights that Ottoman fleets, such as during the 1538 Diu siege, relied on logistical support from Surat, a key Mughal port after 1573. The Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient notes Surat's role as a trade and logistical hub, where local sailors aided Ottoman efforts against the Portuguese. Seydi Ali Reis's Mir'āt ül-Memālik records Surat's sailors providing supplies and navigation aid to Ottoman fleets in 1554, integrating Mughal naval efforts into a broader Islamic maritime network. On November 9, 1665, Mughal commander Abul Hussain, under Shaista Khan, attacked Sandwip Island from Dhaka to oust 80-year-old pirate ruler Dilawar Khan (Raja Dilal), who had held it independently for around 50 years. Wounded in the clash, Hussain retreated to Noakhali as an Arakanese fleet approached but withdrew. Reinforcements of 141 boats, 1,500 musketeers/gunners, and 400 cavalry under Jamal Khan and others arrived. On November 18, the Mughals captured wounded son Sharif Khan and Dilawar after fierce fighting, imprisoning them in Dhaka. This bloody victory, aided by Dutch and Portuguese defectors, secured a base for Chittagong. In the same year, during the conflict against the kingdom of Arakan in December, Aurangzeb dispatched Shaista Khan, his governor of Bengal to command 288 vessels and more than 20,000 men to pacify the pirate activities within Arakan territory and to capture Chittagong, assisted by about 40 Portuguese vessels. Ibn Hussain, Shaista Khan's admiral, was asked to lead the navy, while the subahdar himself took up the responsibility of supplying provisions for the campaign. He also ordered Farhad Khan and Mir Murtaza to take the land route, while the overall command was given to Buzurg Umed Khan, a son of Shaista Khan. English letters in 1672 record that Aurangzeb sent 30 small frigates to assist the Siddis in Danda-Rajapuri. The resulting battle caused the Shivaji naval forces to be burned and 50 ships to be lost. In the late 1600s, Sidi Yaqut received a subsidy of 400,000 rupees from emperor Aurangzeb to manage Murud-Janjira He also owned large ships which weighed 300–400 tons. According to records, these ships were unsuitable for fighting on the open sea against European warships, but their size allowed for transporting soldiers for amphibious operations. Reports from travellers has noted that Mughal general Mir Jumla II was employing the services the sailors from British, the Dutch, and the Portuguese, along their ships. In August, 1660, he employed 6–7 British sailors of a small vessel carrying Trevisa, the English Agent, to Dhaka. He also utilised the services of both the Dutch and the British for constructing his warships as it is recorded a galiot built by the Dutch at Hooghly district and manned by 6–7 British fugitives under a captain named John Durson. Furthermore, Mir Jumla also employing a Britishman named Thomas Pratt to construct boats and making ammunition for riverine warfare During the tenure of Mughal general Mir Jumla in Bengal, he employed Portuguese, English, and Dutch sailors to operate his 323 warships. In August, 1660, he employed 6–7 British sailors of a small vessel carrying Trevisa, the English Agent, to Dhaka. He also utilised the services of both the Dutch and the British for constructing his warships as it is recorded a galiot built by the Dutch at Hooghly district and manned by 6–7 British fugitives under a captain named John Durson. Furthermore, Mir Jumla also employing a British named Thomas Pratt to construct boats and making ammunition for riverine warfare. After the death of Mir Jumla, Shaista Khan launched conquest of Chittagong in 1666, where he employing the fleet of ships belonging local warlords group in Bengal, which called Nawwara, to overcome the turbulent water frontier of the region. ==See also==