TURKISH FIELD ARTILLERY (XVI-XVII CENTURY)

In the course of the 17th century, the Turkish Ottoman army took part in numerous armed conflicts, such as the war with the Commonwealth (1672-1676) or the war with Austria, and later the Holy League (1683-1699). Of course, this army changed in the course of the 17th century, and its artillery changed with the changes in the army. It is worth mentioning that the traditions of using fire artillery by the Turkish army date back to the first half of the 15th century, and some historians claim that this type of artillery was used by the Turks as early as the end of the 14th century. These traditions continued in the 17th century, and the size of the artillery corps was constantly growing - from approx. 6,500 people in 1598 to approx. 15,300 people in 1699. It is worth adding that the Turkish artillerymen (Turkish topcu) were treated as part of the standing army (Turkish kapu kulu), similarly to e.g. Janissaries, which in turn translated into their often good training and considerable combat value. Another interesting fact is that Christians were very often recruited as artillerymen. On the battlefield, or even more so during sieges, Turkish artillery played a significant role. Examples include the Turkish victory at Baghdad in 1638, or the Battle of Vienna (1683), ignominiously defeated by the Turkish leader Kara Mustafa.