The Canon Gallery: A Companinon Guide

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Artillery formed an important weapon in the wars of the Deccan. Though the early history of the manufacture and use of cannons is shrouded in obscurity yet we have references of use of artillery in India in the fourteenth century A.D. The concept of usage of missiles,gun powder etc., Arose in the early 14th Century itself during the times of Kakatiy's of Warangal. Malik Kafur and his men of Ala-u-ddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi had attacked the Warangal Fort with missiles and at the same time the defender Prataparudra, the Kakatiyan ruler also had some misslies in store inside the fort.According to Firishta use of cannons was first ascribed to the Rajas of Vijaynagara against Mahumud Shah Bahmani. The Ras Mala mentions the use of cannons and guns abroad the naval fleet by Muhammad Shah of Gujarat in 1482.

In 1503 the Zamorin's fleet, which attacked Cochin, had on its board 380 pieces of cannons large and small. The Portuguese had two Milanese, John Maria and Peter Anthony who had expert knowledge about casting of cannons and making of gun powder. These two deserted the Portugues and joined the Zamorin's forces and the Calicut artisans mastered this technique and soon the Zamorin started supplying artillery to Malacca and Srilanka. In 1520, Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar conquered Raichur and seized 400 great cannons among other things. In 1526, the Indian subcontinent witnessed an historical dynastic change by the extensive use of cannons in the first battle of Panipat fought by Babur against Ibrahim lodhi.