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| cannon Malik-i-Maidan,Bijapur |
Looting war trophies, etc was more common during the British rule in India and most of them were taken to England to be kept in the museums as a mark of the british empire and its superiority. During their heyday, the subcontinent had thousands of artifacts, gemstones, arma, idols, etc and the Europeans were curious and hoarded them.
Incidentally, the world famous Koh-i-noor diamond (of Kollur mines, Andhra) and world's largest red stone - Timur Ruby (actually Spinel) were not gifted by the young Raja of Punjab, rather, they were looted by the British company. Later EIC through the Punjab royal family gifted them to Queen Victoria in a ceremony in London in the 19th century.
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| symbol of power cannon Malik-i-Maidan thehindu.com |
Malik-E-Maidan", a 55 ton bronze cannon made of an alloy of copper, iron and tin - bell metal (length: 14.6 ft), muzzle gauge:728 in) with 4 ft 11 in) overall diameter.) was cast in 1549 in the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar (now in Maharashtra)'. It is on display at Burj-E-Sherz (Lion tower), Bijapur Fort in Karnataka, Then it was one of the largest and powerful medieval guns ever made.When in use, the cannon was mounted on a swivel mechanism which allowed it to turn 180 degrees to aim the target.
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| Map of the Deccan sultanates/en.wikipedia.org |
The battle of Talikota (near the Krishna river (Andhra) in January 1565 was a watershed battle and with the death of Rama Raya, the allied sultanate forces came out victorious and the Muslim rulers in certain regions established their hegemony.
Far before the arrival of Europeans in the Indian subcontinent, the Indian rulers were well-versed in military warfare, technology, defensive fortification, etc. They did not lag behind in artillery warfare, innovative arms and ammunition. The multi walled huge forts with well designed semi-circled bastions resounded with the boom of gunpowder. Then India was a major producer of gun powder. So, possessing powerful cannons and guns as part of offencive and defensive strategy was more an asset and responsibility than a liability because they acted as deterrents to yjr raiders in case of enemy invasions.
The correct use of combined artillery power and positioning of Massive Malik-E-Maidan" bronze cannon at vantage points helped the Deccani sultans win the war. It wracked havoc and thr Vijayanagara army did not expect its introduction in the battle. After the victory Sultanates named the cannon as "The Malik-i-Maidan" meaning Master of the Field or Master of the Battlefield,
Paranda Fort, MH .mtdc.co.in
Above image: Paranda Fort in Paranda, a small town in the Osmanabad district in the state of Maharashtra, is said to have been built in the 15th century by Mahmud Gawan of Bahmani Sultanate or by Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar (in 1600), Malik-E-Maidan" was on top of one of 28 rounded bastians in the fort.....
When the fort of Paranda (now in Maharashtra), where this gun was installed, came under the Bijapur rulers,, General Murari Pandit brought the gun to Bijapur as a trophy of war and set it up on the present bastion with the help of several elephants, hundreds oxen and hundreds of soldiers. To prevent accidental firing toward Bijapur, massive walls on the rear side were built as a precaution. Tp prevent unbearable loud noise and heat generated by the cannon, the gunner, upon lighting the fuse, had to submerge himself in a nearby water tank to avoid injuries The water tank can be seen even to day, but it is fully covered.
Carving on Malik Maidan , Bijapur.fort gunhistoryindia.com
Fascinated by its fire power and missive size of Malik–i-Maidan, the 55 ton bronze cannon that never showed signs of rusting. Keenly interested in the metallurgy and production process the British had their eyes glued on this cannon, then among world largest in its category. The EIC East India Company tried hard to take it to England as a war trophy, but their efforts ended in failure due to its enormous size and poor transportation infrastructure,
Had it been looted by the wily British, the giant bronze cannon of Ahmednagar would have been on display with all the other "looted" Indian stuff, idols, artifacts, sculptures, etc in the British Museum,London where it would have been kept in a special enclosure with display lights or in the Windsor Castle (owned by the British Royals) with an information board saying "Gifted by the Adil Shahi kings" to the British Royalty). Incidentally, the Koh-i-noor diamond (of Kollur mines, Andhra) and world's largest red stone Timur Ruby (actually Spinel) were not gifted by the young Raja of Punjab, rather, they were looted by the British company. Later EIC through the Punjab royal family gifted them to Queen Victoria in the 19th century. East India Company invaded Punjab in 1849 and took possession of the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Duleep Singh. Acquisition by Queen Victoria. On 29 March 1849, following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Kingdom of Punjab was formally annexed to Company rule, and the Last Treaty of Lahore was signed, officially ceding the Koh-I-Noor to Queen Victoria and the Maharaja's other assets to the company. It also included Timur Ruby.
The historical cannon is said to have been put up for an auction by a Magistrate of Bijapur bu it was cancelled by the Satara commissioner for unknown reasons. Finally, they left the cannon, as transportation of a massive cannon in the ship on the high seas was a risky one. The Malik-e-Maidan is atop the Bijapur fort' s lion tower -the Sherzi-Buruz; at the entrance that leads to the tower platform
https://diksoochi.blogspot.com/2006/12/trip-to-bijapur-malik-e-maidan.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik-E-Maidan
https://www.mtdc.co.in/forts/paranda-fort
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