Mughals at War: Babur, Akbar and the Indian Military Revolution, 1500

330 Pages·2010·0.97 MB·English

Mughals at War: Babur, Akbar and the Indian Military Revolution, 1500 - 1605

A Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By
Andrew de la Garza
Graduate Program in History

The Ohio State University
2010

Dissertation Committee:
John F. Guilmartin, Advisor; Stephen Dale; Jennifer Siegel
Copyright by
Andrew de la Garza
2010
Abstract

This doctoral dissertation, Mughals at War: Babur, Akbar and the Indian Military
Revolution, examines the transformation of warfare in South Asia during the foundation
and consolidation of the Mughal Empire. It emphasizes the practical specifics of how the
Imperial army waged war and prepared for war—technology, tactics, operations, training
and logistics. These are topics poorly covered in the existing Mughal historiography,
which primarily addresses military affairs through their background and context—
cultural, political and economic. I argue that events in India during this period in many
ways paralleled the early stages of the ongoing “Military Revolution” in early modern
Europe. The Mughals effectively combined the martial implements and practices of
Europe, Central Asia and India into a model that was well suited for the unique demands
and challenges of their setting.

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Dedication

This document is dedicated to John Nira.

iii
Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my advisor, Professor John F. Guilmartin and the other members of
my committee, Professors Stephen Dale and Jennifer Siegel, for their invaluable advice
and assistance. I am also grateful to the many other colleagues, both faculty and graduate
students, who helped me in so many ways during this long, challenging process.

iv
Vita

1986................................................................Georgetown Preparatory School
1991................................................................B.A. Journalism, University of Houston
2003................................................................B.A. History, University of Houston
2006................................................................M.A. History, The Ohio State University
2006 to present ..............................................PhD Student and Graduate Teaching
Associate, Department of History, The Ohio
State University

Fields of Study

Major Field: History
Minor Fields: Military History, South Asia, Early Modern Europe

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Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................ ivv
Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: A Mughal Military Revolution? ....................................................................... 8
Chapter 2: Changing Ways of War ................................................................................... 36
Chapter 3: Tools of War - Weapons, Equipment and Technology ................................. 103
Chapter 4: Waging War – Tactics and Operations ......................................................... 133
Chapter 5: Learning War - Organization, Recruitment and Training ............................. 196
Chapter 6: Supporting War - Organization, Logistics and Non-Combat Operations ..... 241
Chapter 7: An Unfinished Revolution ........................................................................... 279
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 307
References ....................................................................................................................... 314
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Introduction

The Mughal Empire was one of the great powers of the early modern era. It
eventually grew to include almost the entirety of South Asia, from Afghanistan to the
southern tip of India and from the Indus River to the frontiers of Burma. It accounted for
more than a fifth of the world’s total economic output. This great expansion in both
political and economic wealth was due in large part to success on the battlefield. The
Mughal Empire was a conquest state dominated by its military elite, with a government
where military and civilian administration were closely interconnected. It devoted a
substantial portion of its total resources to expansion and defense. War and readiness for
war were essential elements in the shaping of the Mughals’ political, social and cultural
identity. Despite these basic facts there have only been a handful of books dedicated to
Mughal military history ever written, with a gap of nearly a century between William
Irvine’s colonial-era study and the works of later scholars like Jos Gommans and Dirk
Kolff. Most general works on the Empire devote relatively little space to military matters,
and even dedicated works of military history in this period primarily address background
and context—how an army was funded, its social and cultural foundations, the political
implications of its expenses and actions. There has been little exploration of how the
Mughals and their enemies actually fought.
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The primary purpose of this work is to bridge that gap. It explores the creation of a
new military system by the Empire’s founder, Babur, its continued evolution under
successors like Humayun and the Afghan usurper Sher Shah Suri and its growth into a
mature institution during the reign of Akbar. The emphasis is on the practical aspects of
Mughal warfare—technology, tactics, operations, recruitment, training and logistics. I
argue that events in India during this period in many ways paralleled the early stages of
the ongoing “Military Revolution” in early modern Europe. The Mughals effectively
combined the martial implements and practices of Europe, Central Asia and India into a
model that was well suited for the particular demands and challenges of their setting.
Contrary to conventional wisdom based on the idea of Western exceptionalism, South
Asia during this era was no backwater. It was a center of military innovation and
achievement. Likewise, the Mughal Empire was not simply a loosely confederated
medieval kingdom expanded to enormous size. It was a highly capable and organized
early modern state, as evidenced by its successful integration of new concepts and
technology and its mastery of complex systems.
This dissertation addresses a number of key questions:
• Technology: From what sources did the Mughals acquire new technology? How
was it integrated and implemented? How did it affect tactics and the conduct of
war?
• Tactics: How exactly did the Mughals conduct battles? How were these processes
learned and/or invented? Did they change over time?
• Operations: How did the Mughals manage campaigns and other events larger
than a single battle?
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• Recruitment and training: Who fought in the Mughal army? How were they
recruited and organized? How were they trained? How was military knowledge
preserved and transmitted?
• Logistics and support: How did the Mughals support their forces in the field?
How were weapons, equipment and other supplies manufactured or procured?
• Comparisons: India experienced a revolution in military affairs under the
Mughals. How similar was this process to the European “Military Revolution?”
How did it differ? Why did India and the Mughals evolve differently and why did
they fail to reach the “mature stage” of their military and political transformations
as Europe would do in the 18th century and beyond?
The text starts with a chapter on theory. The second chapter is devoted to narrative. The
succeeding chapters are thematic, covering different facets of the Mughal military
system.
• Chapter 1 places the Mughals within the context of existing theory and literature.
It discusses the evolution of concepts such as the Military Revolution, Western
Way of War and Gunpowder Empires and how those theories support the idea of
emerging European exceptionalism in the early modern era and corresponding
qualitative deficiencies in contemporary non-Western military establishments. It
also examines the first efforts to expand the Military Revolution narrative to
include similar events in Asia. I assess the military historiography of South Asia
in general and of the Mughals in particular and argue that this body of work has
two important flaws. It mostly focuses on the context of warfare instead of its
actual execution, and it greatly underestimates the military achievements of the
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