Ottoman Artellery? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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By Bosnjak
#1847047
What is known about the ottoman Artellery of the 1300-1450

I read that the Ottomans were able with their Artellery to brake the Walls of Konstantinopel, that their guns decided the Kosovo-Battle...


Any Infos about this Artellery?
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By Okonkwo
#1847079
You might take an interest in the following two links:

The Guns of Constantinople
Artillery Trade of the Ottoman Empire (PDF)

In 1453, the first significant and decisive use of cannons occurred at the Siege of Constantinople, the greatest of all medieval fortresses, with 13 miles of city walls.
Called the "Precursor of Antichrist" by Christians because he was allegedly a sadist, a bisexual, and a sodomite, Sultan Mohammed II of the Ottoman Turks laid siege to Constantinople in April, 1453. He brought with him 68 Hungarian-made cannons, the largest of which was a gigantic 26-ft-long gun that weighed 20 tonnes, fired a 1,200-lb stone cannonball, and required an operating crew of 200 men.
For 50 days, the Turkish cannons bombarded Constantinople and ripped holes in its walls, but each time the Turks charged into the gaps, the defenders repulsed them and hastily rebuilt the walls. Finally, on May 29, 1453, a destructive cannonade toppled a wide stretch of the walls, and 12,000 elite Turkish troops successfully rampaged into the city.
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By Igor Antunov
#1870106
Called the "Precursor of Antichrist" by Christians because he was allegedly a sadist, a bisexual, and a sodomite,


:lol:

Propaganda was alive and well in those days.
By guzzipat
#1870815
Can't remember where I heard this so no reference.

I read that early on the Mulims produced finer gun powder and their firearms and cannon were more powerful as a result.

Anyone else heard that?
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By noemon
#1905084
Any Infos about this Artellery?


That it was constructed by a Hungarian designer employed by the Byzantines, who deflected to the Turks for being underpaid.
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By Thunderhawk
#1905139
That it was constructed by a Hungarian designer employed by the Byzantines, who deflected to the Turks for being underpaid

Another, though far earlier, example of how capitalism (selling to the highest bidder) has brought shit and disturbances to the Balkans.
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By Bosnjak
#13068236
Propaganda was alive and well in those days.


Propaganda works.

I am not sure but one of the biggest Ottoman Sultans was a half-Serb (maried the daughter of Car Lazar), probably Fatih Sultan Mehmet.


They had by the siege also Balkan Mercenaries, because Balkanese are well in millitary-tactics.
By Aekos
#13068328

Propaganda works.

I am not sure but one of the biggest Ottoman Sultans was a half-Serb (maried the daughter of Car Lazar), probably Fatih Sultan Mehmet.


You fucking racist :lol:.
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By Doomhammer
#13079731
I am not sure but one of the biggest Ottoman Sultans was a half-Serb (maried the daughter of Car Lazar), probably Fatih Sultan Mehmet

As I recall, his mother was Greek.

They had by the siege also Balkan Mercenaries, because Balkanese are well in millitary-tactics.

The bulk of the army was comprised of Ghazi warriors of various backgrounds. Of the ~ 70,000 attackers, 12,000, or so, were Jannisaries. The Balkan element would have been the people Fatih hired to construct the artillery. Noemon mentioned him, actually. The Hungarian, "Urban", constructed the monster cannons the Ottomans used - you can still see some of those cannons in the Imperial War Museum.
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By Vanasalus
#13235768
^
As far as I know, none of three the great bombards, Urban casted, survived to today. It is widely accepted that Urban himself was killed in one accident when one of the great bombards exploded during the siege of Constantinople, killing many in the vicinity.

That being said, the cannons used during the siege were notoriously lacking precision. Historians’ accounts suggest that most of the shells fired missed the walls. Tough Sultan Mehmet had large number of cannons (in fact, the largest ever assembled till that date) and he had 15-20 times more soldiers compared to the defenders of the city, the wall were not breeched for more than 50 days. Those bits of information suggest that cannons were not quite instrumental for the breaching of the walls of Constantinople.

The turning point of Turkish cannon building is the formation of Tophane-i Amire (Imperial Cannon Foundry) in late 15th century, which had a building still standing in Tophane district in Istanbul. Tophane-i Amire, with its handsome funds, attracted many experts from East and West to the new Ottoman capital. All huge cannons survived till today, which nowadays are called "great Turkish bombards", were casted in Tophane and they were exclusively commissioned to be placed to the fortresses alongside Dardanelle and Bosporus. However, those great bombards did not play much role as they were practically immobile and as nobody attempted to pass through Turkish straits.

The most important accomplishment of Tophane was to design new field cannons and to cast a large numbers of them. And, those field cannons played a pivotal role in later Turkish victories against Safavid Iran, Mamluk Egypt, Hungarians and later Hapsburg Austria.
By Magnus Prometheus
#13384353
The Ottomans made used of a variety of artillery pieces well before their zenith in the 16th century. Enormous Great Bombards had to be dismantled and carried by teams of dozens of oxen and men, only to move an agonizingly-slow 2 miles a day, as they did when moving their forces to siege Constantinople. Also, Turkish forces used Abus Guns - small pieces of hand held smooth-bore guns which fire a shell almost an inch thick - that were operated by the soldier himself, yet constituted as artillery. Additionally, to deal with enemy infantry en mass, Ottomans employed artillery pieces sometimes called Organ Guns, which were constituted of a dozen separate barrels that, when fired in conjunction, would devastate the packed infantry. These pieces, in unison with the Jannisaries, Spahi heavy cavalry, and the Gardener Hussars, provided the Ottomans with the early victories that defined the remainder of their regime.

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