This month's cover design is of an Ottoman Camel Gun taken from an illustration by Marsigli in the book Stato Militare dell'Imperio Ottomano, published in 1732. According to Robert Elgood, in his excellent book, Firearms of the Islamic World, various calibers of camel guns were used in the countries of the Near and Middle East, most of which took their lead from the Ottoman military practice.

He quotes a Frenchman, Francois Bernier, who described seeing "two to three hundred light camels, each of which carried a small field-piece of the size of a double musket, attached on the back of the animal, much in the same manner as swivels are fired on our barks."

These swivel guns were widely known in Arabic, Persian and Turkish as Zamburaqs, meaning a wasp, bee or hornet.

Since other authors mention that the guns were fired, at least during the Napoleonic Era, while the camels were on the move, the picture seems a bit fanciful. I would be surprised if you could fire that gun and not at least knock the camel off its feet. The picture on page 7 by Joshua Shepard is, I believe, more accurate for camel guns of the Napoleonic period.

If you haven't seen Elgood's book I highly recommend it. It's pricey, about $75, but well worth it.

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