Alexander fights King Porus Invention of firearms reflected in Shahname

[Maziar]

Alexander fights King Porus
Invention of firearms reflected in Shahname
By Maziar Mohajer
Abstract Alexander's battle with King Foor in Shahname is discussed, showing that Alexander invented a kind of firearm (the Metal Army), whereas his opponent probably used the trebuchet (War Elephant). This new war machine was a hollow, sealed iron object similar to a horse and rider, filled with Naft (gunpowder) that could be ignited by hand and used to defeat the enemy. To be more specific, the depicted firearm is the Zamburak, a mobile camel gun utilized in India in the 18th century. As a result, the Shahname is unlikely to have been composed before the 18th century, certainly not earlier than the 16th.

Keywords Shahname, Alexander, Zamburak, trebuchet, Firearm, Chronology.




Alexander the Great is a prominent historical figure. From a non-traditional historical view, he is an interesting character because multiple sources provide paradoxical and unexpected information about his life. In Western countries, these sources are known as the Alexander Romance. In Eastern tradition, these are known as Eskandar-Name-ha. Of course, academic sources regard these stories as false and generally reject them. But what if these books are examined from an untraditional perspective? I'll focus on a small section of Shahname that covers Alexander's war with Porus. I will argue that Alexander used firearms and guns. Analyzing the text allows one to guess the true date and possible place of Shahname's writing. Still, the enigma of the Elephant Army remains unsolved.

As the reader already knows, after conquering Persia, Alexander (Eskandar) moves toward east. He leads his army against the Indian king, Porus (Foor).

Here, I present a translation of this part of Shahname. As others have noticed, the text is vague, so I will do my best. There will be a line-by-line translation for the most interesting parts.

“Eskandar then formed a new battle plan. ... Eskandar had sixty astrologers and sages to advise him on the combat. When Foor became aware of the enemy’s approach, he chose a place suitable for battle, ... with elephants in the front and his warriors behind them. Meanwhile Eskander’s spies told him of the war elephants in Foor’s army, and how a war elephant can kill a horse from the distance of two miles. … the spies also described the elephant trunk – which under protection of Saturn is higher than air (sky). The spies drew a picture of an elephant on a piece of paper and showed it to the king, who in addition had a model of the animal made from wax.

Then Eskandar turned to his advisors and said, “Who can think of some way to defeat this?” The wise men of his court think about … The blacksmiths made a horse of iron, with an iron saddle and an iron rider; They used copper and nails to seal any foramen and seam . Then they heated both the rider and the horse’s body. It was mounted on wheels and inside of it was filled with black Naft. With the wheels(carts) they pushed the horse near to the king, who was pleased by the device and saw that it would be very useful. He ordered that more than a thousand of these iron horses and riders be made. What king had ever seen an army of dappled, gray, bay, and black horses, all of them made of iron? The devices went forward on wheels, and looked exactly like cavalry prepared for war.

As Eskandar approached Foor’s forces, amid clouds of dust a great cry went up from each side, and the warriors advanced on each other. Then Eskander’s men set fire to Naft and iron horses which caused chaos in Foor’s army. Flames flared out from the iron steeds, and as soon as the elephants saw this they rushed hastily. Foor’s army was in turmoil, when their trunks were burned with fire. The guardians of the elephants were astounded. The whole Indian army, including its mighty elephants, began to flee, and Eskandar pursued his enemies like the wind.”

Figure 1: Eskander’s Iron Cavalry Battles King Foor (from the Great Ilkhanid Shahname, 1335 AD)

Let’s analyze it. It is said that a new military tactic was developed to defeat Foor's army, particularly the mighty war elephants.
The idea was for engineers and blacksmiths to build a brand-new weapon. I think the section that discusses wax and paper is actually a part of the production process. Following design, a prototype was developed, and next, a procedure of mass production was established. It is clear that this new weapon is a firearm even in the absence of further explanation or commentary.

The war machine is a hollow, sealed object filled with black Naft. Nowadays, the term Naft is commonly used to refer to oil (petroleum) but it also has another meaning. people used to call gunpowder "Naft." An old dictionary says that Naft, a material developed by scientists, catches fire wherever it is thrown. Shahname says Naft catches fire and explodes with a considerable amount of noise and dust. It is also emphasized that its color is black similar to gunpowder.

Figure 2: غیاث اللغات فارسی. Naft means gunpowder.

The image of a cannon grows clearer when wheels are added to the firearm. We know that Early firearms were usually named after an animal's name. They were also decorated and polished. For example, decoration with the head of a dragon was commonly seen. The interesting point is the presence of a horseman on top of the artillery.
Can we specify the firearm type? It appears that the poet is referring to wheeled cannons. However, we read about the horse and rider who attacks the enemy with fire. Wheeled cannons and even horse artillery could not penetrate the enemy line.

The poet refers to a specific type of mobile firearm known as Zamburak. This is a camel gun. The gun has a swivel attachment to the frame, which allows it to be mounted on a camel's saddle. So, gun is attached to quadruped. There is no serpentine, so the gun is ignited by hand, exactly as the poet says. This gun is not an early firearm; it gained popularity in the eighteenth century on the Indian subcontinent. Please keep in mind that an artist is influenced by his surroundings through what he sees and hears. The poet appears to be attempting to depict an army of Zamburaks here, but the image is unclear, mixed with a wheeled-cannon.

Figure 3: Zamburak 18th century. Colorful saddles and flags just like the metal army of Alexander.

Figure 4: Zamburak regiment, Late 19th century in Tehran.

Figure 5: Two-gun zamburak dated to 1860s. Guns are attached to the saddle (and the camel)

What about the war elephants? Actually, for several reasons, this question is more interesting. Scholars believe that elephants were used in warfare , and I do not disagree. However, Ferdowsi's description differs. While not as apparent as Alexander's weaponry, elephants also appear to be a kind of weapon. First, the emphasis is on its terrifying killing ability. Then, the poet states it has a trunk that hits the sky and is related to Saturn (in Arabic literature, everything that is tall is compared to Saturn because of its distance and height from the earth).

There are two more clues. The text says that a "war elephant" can slaughter a horse from a two-mile distance. Then in the battle narrative, it is mentioned that the elephant's trunks caught fire easily.

I think the poet is referring to a kind of catapult, which is a device that launches projectiles without the aid of gunpowder. Trebuchets are larger, more advanced version of it. It has the ability to launch a heavy object a distance of over three hundred meters. These medieval monsters have a 15-meter-long beam . During the launch, the beam could rotate vertically in a large arc. These are parallel to Ferdowsi's description of a gigantic, killer elephant with a long trunk that reaches the sky. A wooden trebuchet can easily catch fire.


Figure 6: trebuchet with a body and a long arm resembling an elephant.

Historians believe that even after the invention of gunpowder, trebuchets were used. Accordingly, in this section of Shahname, we read about the first use of firearms against earlier types of mechanical weapons. Trebuchets disappear, and cannons replace them; the elephant army is defeated.

Interestingly, the so-called metal army of Alexander has been mentioned in other sources as well. I will keep this section brief because someone else has already studied it. According to a 12th-century Persian source named Darab-nameh, Alexander, instructed by Aristotle, forged horses and knights from copper, set wheels under their feet, and filled the metal figures' bellies with sand, sulphur, and Naft. Then it says the elephants were burned as they touched the heated metal army, which was pushed to the battlefield. Another source, with an unknown date (12th to 14th century) named Eskandar-Nameh, says that Alexander's army smeared camels with tar, built boxes, and placed them on the camels. Each box was manned by an archer with bows and arrows, and during the attack, they threw flaming Naft bottles at the terrified elephants. The confused author does not mention why the army smeared the camels with tar. The texts of Pseudo-Callisthenes contain a comparable passage to the Persian sources. These are less detailed but are quite similar.

An early military technology book depicts Alexander with Meufaton (kind of rocket?) and A giant war carriage.


Figure 7: Alexander as the inventor of large-scale military hardware, reported by German engineers in 15th century. left is Alexander holding a rocket. Right is a giant tank – or troop carrier- with cannons, scythes, and wheels. The soldiers enter by the front door.

When was Shahname written? This book is a massively significant historical and cultural work. Its dating may cast doubt on historically accepted timelines and events. Should we view Alexander's Metal Army as a type of wheeled artillery, Shahname cannot have been composed before the sixteenth century. Should the poet depict Zamburak, then it is a late 17th- or early 18th-century work. It explains why the first translation into a European language didn't happen until the middle of the 18th century.

Sources:

Different pages of Wikipedia.
- Zamburak
- History of cannons
- Bellifortis
- Catapult
- Trebuchet
- Battle of Karnal

Shahname Translation 484 -8 by Dick Davis.
The Alexander Romance: Here
The “Metal Army” of Alexander. Here.
Fomenko books: Here and Here
Old Persian dictionary Here
Online Shahname Here and Here
Paintings and old Zamburak photography Here , Here , Here and Here


Other interesting topics

- The Army of Elephants اصحاب الفیل

- The Year of Elephant: عام الفيل


- I do not cherry-pick. You can compare the duel between Eskandar and Foor - which comes after the analyzed section – to fight between Tristan and Morholt and also fight between Amr ibn Abd al-Wud and Ali. These three duels are oddly similar.

- Battle of Karnal in 1739. One can compare it to Alexander’s war in India. This war is vividly depicted in abovementioned Eskandar Name, dated to some centuries earlier with tarred camels. Look at the camels in the top corner of this Persian rug with their backs on fire, referencing the myth of the using this tactic to scare the Mughal war elephants.

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Figure 8: Nader Shah fights the Indian king and sets fire to the back of camels to scare the elephants, as a war tactic.

Footnotes

[wlad]

Дорогой Maziar !

Александр Македонский. Попытка наиболее вероятной реконструкции, https://www.academia.edu/42752476, https://dzen.ru/a/Zk5eWX5GAR3PomEV
В.Т.Поляковский. О диалектико-цивилизационных аспектах возникновения коневодства, или могут ли достижения естественнонаучной школы что-то сказать о времени возникновения первой в истории человечества кавалерии? Жаргонное название статьи в пиаре: «лошадки»
https://www.academia.edu/119774851, https://dzen.ru/a/Zk0m5TRpBy62XgjU