Bot at 05:52, 15 December 2022

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{{short description|Early modern period camel mounted cannons}}
[[File:Camel gun - pg 18 -The last voyage - Annie Brassey.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Zamburak, [[South Asia]].]]

{{Infobox military unit
| unit name =
| native name =
| unit_name =
| image = Camel artillery iran.JPG
| image_size = 200px
| caption = 17th century Persian artilleryman operating a Zamburak
| date =
| dates = After 1499
| country = Greater Middle East, <br> East Asia
| branch = Cavalry
| size =
| garrison =
| colors =
| equipment = [[Arquebus]]/[[musket]]/[[rifle]], [[artillery]]
| battles =
| battles_label = 5,000-7,000 Army killed one time.
}}

'''Zamburak''' ({{lang-fa|زمبورک}}), literally meaning [[wasp]], was a specialized form of [[self-propelled artillery]] from the [[early modern period]], featuring small [[Swivel gun|swivel guns]] mounted on and fired from camels. Its operators was known as a '''zamburakchi'''. It was used by the [[gunpowder empires]], especially the Iranian empires of the [[Safavid dynasty]], [[Timurid Empire]] and [[Afsharid dynasty]], due to the ruggedness of the [[Iranian Plateau]], which made typical transportation of heavy cannons difficult.

The zamburak became a popular mode of warfare in the 18th century in Indian subcontinent. The [[Pashtuns]] used it in the [[Battle of Gulnabad]], routing a numerically superior imperial Safavid army. It was also used successfully in [[Nader's Campaigns]], when the shah and military genius [[Nader Shah]] utilized a zamburak corps in conjunction with a regular corps of conventional cannon to devastating effect in numerous battles such as at the [[Battle of Damghan (1729)]], the [[Battle of Yeghevārd]], and the [[Battle of Karnal]]. A large number of zamburaks were also successfully employed by [[Ahmed Shah Durrani]] during his raid in north Indian plain in [[Third Battle of Panipat|defeating the Maratha forces near Panipat]].

==Use==
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| width = 200
| footer = Camel guns in use by [[British Raj|India]]n cavalry at some time after 1850
| image1 = Camel gunners - pg 54 - India under royal eyes- Henry Francis Prevost Battersby.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Camel Corps Bikanir - pg 54 - India under royal eyes- Henry Francis Prevost Battersby.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
}}

Zamburaks were one of the royal guard units in the Qajar Army. A Persian zamburak regiment was accompanied by musicians with huge camel-mounted drums, to further intimidate the enemy. Zamburaks were also used during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] and the [[First Anglo-Sikh War|First]] and [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]]s.{{fact|date=January 2021}}

By the eighteenth century, usage of Zamburak became popular in the Indian subcontinent as well. In 1761, the [[Durrani]] conqueror, [[Ahmed Shah Durrani]] (also Ahmed Shah Abdali) used around 2000 camel guns in a battle against the Marathas, which proved to be a decisive factor in routing the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] forces [[Third Battle of Panipat|near Panipat]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Iqtidar Alam Khan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4PfAAAAMAAJ |title=Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India |date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=109|quote=At the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), Ahmed Shah Abdali had 2000 shaturnals which indicates that the popularity of these particular type of firearm was growing in the subcontinent down to the middle of the eighteenth century|isbn=978-0-19-566526-0 |language=en}}</ref>

A zamburak consisted of a soldier on a [[camel]] with a mounted [[swivel gun]] (a small [[falconet (cannon)|falconet]]) hinged on a metal fork-rest protruding from the camel's saddle. To fire it, the camel was put on its knees. The name is derived from the [[Persian language|Persian]] word for wasp ''zambur'' (زنبور), possibly in reference to the sound earlier camel-mounted crossbows made. The camel's mobility combined with the swivel gun's flexibility and heavy firepower made an intimidating military unit, although the cannon's accuracy and range were rather low. The light cannon was also not particularly useful against heavy fortifications.

The [[Dzungar Khanate]] used camel-mounted miniature cannons in battle.<ref name=Millward-2007>{{cite book|last=Millward|first=James A|title=Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FVsWq31MtMC&pg=PA89|year=2007|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13924-3}}</ref>{{RP|89}} Gunpowder weapons like guns and cannons were used by both sides during the [[Dzungar–Qing Wars]].<ref name=Millward-2007/>{{RP|95}}

After their invention in 1861, [[Gatling gun]]s were mounted on camels as well.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bibliomania.com/2/3/260/1293/20296/1/frameset.html Biblomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides]
*[https://archive.today/20121211093700/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:460.hobson Hobson-Jobson]
*[http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/sheil/persia/185.jpeg digital.library.upenn.edu/women/sheil/persia/185.jpeg] an image
*[http://www.answers.com/topic/zumbooruk Answers.com entry (citing 1913 Webster's Dictionary)]
*[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/zumbooruk Thefreedictionary.com entry]

[[Category:Artillery by type]]
[[Category:Cannon]]
[[Category:Camel cavalry]]
[[Category:Indo-Persian weaponry]]

Zamburak - Revision history

Bot at 05:52, 15 December 2022