When Mahmud II became Sultan in 1808 he lavished special attention on a small unit of mounted artillery then in existence. He secretly built up its strength until it eventually totaled 1,000 men serving 70 light f~eld pieces. Attached to the unit were 60 teams of transport men.

From its very inception, the unit was fully Westemized in equipment, drill and tactics. As with other Ottoman artillery units, each battery consisted of 10 guns. All members of the force were mounted and each gun was served by 12 men instead of the usual 10 because two men were assigned to hold the horses.

Although the force was routed and largely destroyed by the Russians in 1812, it was subsequently rebuilt and provided the Sultan with a well-trained, well- paid and loyal force as part of his personal guard. It was the unflinching support of this regiment in June 1826 which was the major cause of the Sultan's victory over the Janissaries.

The 1,000-man figure for the unit represents its strength in 1826 at the time of the last Janissary rebellion. No accurate figures for its strength during the Napoleonic Era are available. However, there was at least one 10-gun battery in 1808 and at least several other batteries were added by the end of the War of 1806-1812. While I have no information on gun calibers, it is a safe assumption that it, like all of the new artillery being introduced in this period, was based on the French model.

There is evidence that some of the provincial governors also maintained batteries of horse artillery.

In 1814, in a conversation with J.L. Burckhardt, Mohammad Ali, Ottoman governor of Egypt, proposed defending Egypt against an anticipated English invasion by using his cavalry and horse artillery to conduct a scorched earth policy married to a hit-and-run campaign. Mark Bevis, in his book, Tangiers to Teheran, lists two Egyptian horsegun batteries in his army listing for Mohammad Ali in the 1807-1815 period, each of six 3 - pounders. In a private letter he says these units were raised about 1808- 1809.

CAMEL ARTILLERY

While the Ottomans probably possessed no horse artillery until about 1808, they might have had several units of camel artillery.

Artist's conception of a unit of camel artillery. The sketch is based on a small detail from a French painting of the Battle of Abukir Bay. The harness and hitching are assumptions by the artist as the painting has insufficient detail.

The use of camel-mounted guns had been common in the Ottoman Empire in earlier times, but by the Napoleonic Era no such units remained in the Imperial army. Nonetheless, the evidence is quite strong that these guns remained in service in other parts of the empire, especially around Arabia

In 1814, when Burckhardt was visiting Mecca, he watched the arrival of the pilgrimage caravan from Damascus and remarked that "Among the troops of Suleyman Pasha, about 60 Zamburaqs attracted notice: These are artillerymen, mounted on camels, having a small swivel before them, which turned on a pivot faced to the pommel of the camel's saddle. They fire while at a trot, and the animal bears the shock of the discharge with great tranquility. Would later write, "The practice of mounting upon camels small swivel-guns, which turn upon the pommel of the saddle, is not known in Egypt. I have seen them in Syria; and they appear to be common in Mesopotamia and Baghdad. Although of little real service, yet against Arabs these small swivel-guns are a very excellent and appropriate weapon, more adapted to inspire them with terror than the heaviest pieces of artillery." In his army list for Syria, Bevis lists these guns as one-pounders.

The use of such camel guns had long been common in the Persian Gulf region with both Persia and many of the various Indian states using them. The Persians were especially proud of their camel guns, even including a unit of them in their guard force.

While we don't have any description of the Ottoman camel guns, we do have a description of the Persian guns of this period which were probably very similar.

Artist's conception of a Zamburaq at right. Ammunition bags are hung at the front of the camel and a water skin is slung underneath. Drawing by Joshua Shepherd.

In 1809 James Morier, attached as secretary and translator to the British mission to the court of the Shah, witnessed a demonstration of these guns which he said were made of brass.

"The state elephants were on the ground, on the largest of which the King, seated in a very elegant howdar, rode forth from the city. When he alighted he was saluted by a discharge of the Zamburaqs, the salute indeed is always fired when the King alights from his horse or mounts. In one of the courts of Shiraz we had previously noticed this artillery.

The Zamburaq is a small gun mounted on the back of a camel. The conductor from his seat behind guides the animal with a long bridle, and loads and fires the little cannon without difficulty. He wears a coat of orange- colored cloth, and a cap with a brass front; and his camel carries a triangular green and red flag. Of these there were 100 on the field; and when the salute was fired they retreated in a body behind the King's tent, where the camel~s were made to kneel down. Collectively they made a fine military appearance. This species of armament is common to many Asiatic states, yet the effect at best is very trifling. The Persians, however, place great confidence in their execution; and Mirza Shefeea, in speaking of them to the Envoy, said, 'These are what the Russians dread."'

While such camel guns were becoming increasingly rare by the time of Napoleon, the use of camels, in place of horses, to haul artillery, was common throughout the Ottoman Empire.

The Mamluks are said to have had 10 camel-drawn batteries of artillery which they used against Napoleon during his invasion of Egypt in 1798. Most of these guns were captured in the early stages of the campaign and some were incorporated into the French army. If you look closely at the famous painting of Napoleon's victory over the Ottomans in the Battle of Abukir you will see such a battery of French artillery being drawn by a team of four camels.

Other European powers were equally aware of the usefulness of camel-drawn artillery in the Middle East. As an inducement to declare war on France at the time of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, the British presented the Sultan with 12 brass six-pound cannons especially fitted out for camels. The Sultan is said to have been delighted with the present and immediately sent these guns to the front.

PROVINCIAL ARTILLERY