New Cannon Of The Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire, Agra

An unusual man, rarely seen in Agra, walked into the imperial palace this morning. This man had a pale complexion similar to that of the Europeans, but he still had some features that could be seen in Arabs, like black eyes and black hair. 

"Your Highness, the task that you have asked has been completed."

"Good, good, very good. Let's go see this new Cannon," Mohammed said, overjoyed and unable to wait. The moment Vijayanagar took control of four important regions in the empire with the help of more advanced artillery, he knew this couldn't go on. So he sent his servant on an expedition to find a capable craftsman talented enough to match or even surpass the canons of Vijayanagar.

For this reason, he even came to an agreement with the Safavid dynasty to settle their territorial dispute and accepted the new border conditions proposed by King Abbas II. Despite facing disagreement from many of his courtiers, he decisively cut them off without even a second thought, recognizing that Vijayanagar posed a more formidable threat than the Safavids. From his perspective, he considered India as part of his empire, and Vijayanagara's occupation of his land made it an internal conflict, a more pressing concern according to him. The Safavid Kingdom is situated in the Northwestern part of the Mughal Empire, and a small stretch of land has been a point of contention between both parties. Pashtuns inhabit this disputed land, but due to the tensions between the two empires, no decisive move has been made to fully conquer the region, which corresponds to modern-day Afghanistan.

Pashtuns, who used to be ancient Hindu tribes, over the course of 250 years, were slowly converted into Muslims by various means. This is one of the problems with Islam; it is very dominating in that wherever the Islamic faith gains power, all the other belief systems tend to go extinct. You can see this phenomenon even with the greatest empires in the ancient world like the Persian Kingdom, which used to have their own faith systems, completely forgotten after the fall of the kingdom. Even the Egyptians, who were one of the four greatest ancient civilizations, completely forgot about their culture in the wake of Islam.

It is like the whole religion of Islam is designed to expand while destroying anything in its wake.

With the border disputes settled, the northern reaches of the land where Pashtuns lived were ceded to the Safavids. Mohammad knew this choice of his would bite him in the back someday, but in his opinion, if he could conquer Vijayanagara, he could easily take back the land and then some.

Anyway, his servant crossed the Afghan region and entered the kingdom of Safavid. Unfortunately, the person he needed was not available, as the Safavid Kingdom and Mughal Empire had a similar technology level, and in some cases, the Mughal Empire excelled.

But it was not in vain, as there was a great empire that bordered the Safavid dynasty – the great Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire, tracing its roots to the 13th century, emerged under Osman I. Initially a small Anatolian state, it expanded rapidly under subsequent rulers, notably Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople in 1453. This triumph marked the empire's zenith, spanning three continents. The Ottomans, under Suleiman the Magnificent, further flourished in the 16th century, reaching cultural and military peaks. Istanbul became a cultural centre, hosting the magnificent Topkapi Palace. The Ottoman Empire conquered some areas in the Balkans, establishing a firm hold in the region. Due to this, its weapon technology was not much different from that of European countries. 

Muhammad's servant had a tough time getting into the Ottoman Empire, but finally, he found a skilled craftsman with a mix of Greek and Arab Blood.

The craftsman, named Adam, was quite famous in his hometown for his craftsmanship. Hence, the servant officially invited him to work in the Mughal Empire. Originally, Adam did not want to go because the Mughal Empire was a very faraway place. However, he was later convinced by the title of chief craftsman he would hold, along with a minor noble title. Becoming a person of a higher class in the Islamic class system was not easy, similar to the Western class system.

With the craftsman in tow, the assistant quickly made his way back to the Mughal Empire, and the trip took a whole three months. By the time they reached back to the Mughal Empire, Mohammed was able to procure the giant cannon of Vijayanagara, which they painstakingly managed to steal from the Vijayanagar Empire.

The craftsman was ordered to replicate the giant cannon, which had been nothing but a pain in the ass for the Mughal Empire. With the existence of these cannons, the walls might as well not be there. With Adam's previous experience as a metal craftsman, he quickly figured out the working and the design of the Vijayanagara cannon. This process surprised him, not because the cannon was brilliantly designed, No! on the contrary, the design did not stand out that much in his opinion, as many European countries had better designs. However, it was the metal that caught his attention. It felt like some altered version of an iron alloy, but the strength was 20% more than the typical iron alloys. In the past, he knew that India had the best steel industry, and it had gone downhill after that, but he did not expect such strong alloys to come out of India.

Setting the surprise aside, he proved that he had superior craftsmanship. From the time he arrived, it only took him three more months to produce a prototype for his majesty to inspect.

And that is how we came to this present day, six months after the battle started, in the outskirts of Agra. Mohammed made his way to the wasteland to inspect the cannon.

"Welcome, your majesty. It is my greatest wish that my creation will satisfy your desire," he said as he bowed in order to show respect.

Muhammad gave a nod and swiftly shifted his focus to the big cannon sitting right in front of him. At first sight, he could see that this cannon had many differences from that of Vijayanagar. Although he did not know the principles of how this cannon was made, he could see that it was more refined than the one made in Vijayanagara. He quickly got excited and ordered his men to test it.

"Boom!"

The cannon roared to life, sending out a thick black smoke ring from its barrel as the wall 500 meters away crumbled into pieces. Mohammed's face lit up with joy at the sight, and without wasting a moment, he commanded the production of 50 more of these powerful cannons. It took a solid four months to fulfil his majesty's hefty order.

In addition to the colossal cannon's success, Adam also managed to enhance the smaller cannons, bringing them up to par with the calibre of Vijayanagar cannons.

As for the muskets and flintlocks, he had no experience with such weapons, but he could grasp that the cannon and the musket had the same principle. When he built a musket, which seemed to be easier to replicate by hand, he was successful. However, he couldn't get the ratio of gunpowder right at times, and the more challenging thing was he couldn't figure out how the Vijayanagar Empire managed to build these guns so uniformly.

By the end of the production of the newly upgraded cannons, Mohammed received news about the fall of the Maharashtra region.

"Ah," he growled, his frustration becoming clear. This was the region his father had conquered, and now, it slipped away under his watch. He was already on edge when he learned about Odisha falling four months ago, but back then, he managed to keep his anger in check by telling himself that Odisha didn't bring significant economic benefits to the Mughal Empire. Now, it was a different story; Maharashtra was one of the most lucrative parts of the Empire, and losing it was something he couldn't just let happen.

Thinking about the new cannons in the arsenal, he gradually gained a cruel smile on his face as he ordered his new minister of war, Iqbal.

"Come, let's take it back."