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Prangi

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Four breechloading cannon of the Mughal empire depicted in the Akbarnama.

The prangi, paranki, piranki, pirangi, farangi, firingi, or firingiha was a type of cannon produced by Ottoman Empire. It was subsequently copied and produced in other place such as by Mughal empire under Babur. Prangi was a breech-loading swivel gun.[1]: 143 

Etimology

Lowermost: A breech chamber of a Maratha cannon.

Prangi was written in Ottoman sources in various words as prankı, pirankı, parangi, parangı, pranga, pranku, prangu, and parangu. The Ottoman term goes back to the Italian/Spanish braga, short for "petriero a barga" and "pedrero de braga", a small breech-loading swivel gun.[2]: 100  Braga itself means "pants" or "breech".[1]: 143  Babur emperor in India called this weapon firingiha and farangi.[3]: 219  Tamil and Telugu speakers call it pīranki and pīrangi.[2]: 100 

History and description

Prangi is a small Ottoman breech-loading swivel gun, firing 150 gram shots, they were built mostly by cast bronze, but iron ones is also used. The Ottomans used the prangi from the mid-15th century onwards in field battles, aboard their ships, and in their forts, where prangis often comprised the majority of the ordnance.[2]: 100  At the end of the 15th century Ottoman galley had a big cannon and 4 guns (darbzen) and 8 prangi cannons. These ships were 42-43 meters long with three sails carrying about 328 people.[4]: 12  Prangi was a standard piece of Ottoman secondary naval armament.[5]: 222  An Ottoman naval record book of inventory and survey dated 10 April 1488 mentioned that Ottoman barça (barque) had 35 prangi, agrıpar (galleas) had 16 prangi, kadırga (galley) had 8 prangi, kalıt (galliot) and kayık (fusta) had 4 prangi.[6]: 173–174 

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Chase, Kenneth (2003). Firearms: A Global History to 1700. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521822749.
  2. ^ a b c Agoston, Gabor (2019). Firangi, Zarbzan, and Rum Dasturi: The Ottomans and the Diffusion of Firearms in Asia. In Pál Fodor, Nándor E. Kovács and Benedek Péri eds., Şerefe. Studies in Honour of Prof. Géza Dávid on His Seventieth Birthday, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Budapest: Research Center for the Humanities, 89–104.
  3. ^ Partington, J. R. (1999). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801859540.
  4. ^ Bostan, Idris (2007). Ottoman Maritime Arsenals and Shipbuilding Technology in the 16th and 17th centuries (PDF). Manchester: FSTC Limited.
  5. ^ Shai Har-El, Struggle for Domination in the Middle East: The Ottoman-Mamluk War, 1485-1491 (Leiden, New York, and Cologne: E. J. Brill, 1995) Pp. 238. In Mamlūk Studies Review Volume 5.
  6. ^ Har-El, Shai (1995). Struggle for Domination in the Middle East: The Ottoman-Mamluk War, 1485-91. E.J. Brill. ISBN 9789004101807.
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