"Can anyone recommend..." Topic

…any useful on-line sources for Moghul armies of the 1550-1650 era? I have read the relevant section of the George Gush series of articles over on the Renaissance Forum, which is what has whetted my appetite.

(Can I just check – is this actually the correct forum for Indian armies? "Asian" means the Indian Sub-Continent to us UK types, with anything further east being "Oriental".)

Oh,dont say "Oriental",because there are(or at least were) some sensitive types who will tell you that is a type of furniture,despite the fact that you are using it in a historical context.I'm surprised they dont get upset if you say Peking versus Beijing. I myself would consider Asian to be correct for Southern and Eastern.

The QRF Moghul range is closely modelled on Gush who in turn was informed by the work of Bamba Gascoigne who currated a lovely set of Moghul military images for the British Museum post card collection and wrote a book for them.

Anyhow that's a longwinded way of saying have a look at the QRF range because that's the type of figures you want in whatever scale you choose.

Found these:

link

link

Not free, but if you want "novelisation" there is this series:

link

Oh B ugger – Thanks for that info. Bamber Gascoigne, eh? Who'd have thought it! Btw, am I right in thinking QRF is what used to be Frei Korps?

Pedrobear – All very useful links, the first two especially.

I really enjoyed the Alex Rutherford books, definitely have a feel of the period

QRF is indeed what used to be Freikorps but with a better quality of metal.
I looked briefly at Mughals too for FOGR but as far as I know SM no one at WWS has suitable army to go against them(and they don't use cuirassiers)

Yeah SM as said above that's them. And yeah Bamber, who knew?

I guess that's the end for this thread – so a big "thank you" to all who contributed, especially with those useful links.

Online resources, I don't know, but there are some good books if you're interested.

Mughal Warfare (Gommans). The best recent book.

The Mughal Army (Irvine). The classic work; covers later Mughal armies.

Armies of the Great Mughals (Puhl). Difficult to find, similar to Irvine's but covers the earlier armies.

The Mughal Throne (Eraly). Good general history of the first six emperors.

The Adventures of Hamza. This is the book of an exhibition that was on at the Victoria and Albert Museum some years ago. It's chock full of manuscripts in full colour, and with quite a few battle scenes. Get your library to get it!

Post script to my message. Check out an Indian publisher, Low Price Publications. They do a lot of reprints of stuff like Irvine, and the Beveridge translation of the Baburnama at very reasonable prices. I have a lot of books on the Mughals, including many of theirs.

Thank you for that info.

(Whilst you're here, do you hear confessions……?)

(Can I just check – is this actually the correct forum for Indian armies? "Asian" means the Indian Sub-Continent to us UK types, with anything further east being "Oriental".)

I've posted Byzantine items to the 'Classical Asian Warfare Message Board'. Asia is big.

There are lots of contemporary illustrations:
Prince Akbar Hunting a Nilgae, c.1555 – 1560
The Hamzanama [Adventures of Hamza] of Akbar, c. 1570
A prince riding an elephant in procession, north India, c. 1570
Hunter shooting a leopard, from the 1570-75 Anwar-i Suhaili
Moghul soldiers in the Akbarnama (painted 1590-95)
Tayang Khan presented with the head of the Mongol leader Ong Khan from Rashid al'Din Jami al Tavarikh, painted 1596
Arik Buka defeats Alghu from Rashid al'Din Jami al Tavarikh, painted 1596
Toda Mongke and His Mongol Horde, from a Chingiznama (History of Genghis Khan), painted 1596
Hulagu Khan Destroys the Assassin's Fortress at Alamut, from a Chingiznama (History of Genghis Khan), painted 1596
Timur defeats the sultan of Delhi from the Zafarnama painted for Akbar 1595-1600
Prince Riding Prancing Horse
Elephant attacked by four men with fireworks
The Pandava brothers do battle with the King of Anga, 1598, from the Razmnama
An Elephant with Mahout and a Unarmoured Cavalryman with Lance with Pennant, late 16th century
Illustrations to the 1590s Persian translation of the memoirs of Mughal Emperor Babur: the Baburnama

Illustrations of Soldiers from the Padshahnama of Shah Jahan, 1636
Illustrations of Moghul Soldiers & hunters of the reigns of Jahangir, Shah Jahan & Aurangzeb/Awrangzeb/Awrangzib:

There is a difference in the look of Moghuls of the 17th compared to the 16th century.

Druzhina
Moghul Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers

I guess that's the end for this thread

Only because the topic title is non-specific.

Druzhina
Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers

Druzhina,

Wow! Many, many thanks for those links – absolutely perfect for my needs. I am looking to create an army with firearms, so it will be more 17th Century than 16th, but it is still very useful to have the earlier clothing/equipment styles.

One thing I noticed was how dark the elephants are – almost black. Do you know if this Was an artistic style of the time, or if the elephants themselves were painted, or was it simply a darkening of the original grey paint over time (you can see the "normal" elephant grey elsewhere, so they obviously had the correct pigment)?

Thanks once again for a veritable treasure trove of items!

I think it's just artistic convention. For some ideas on elephants, look at

link

And sorry, I don't do confessions.

There are firearms depicted in the late 16th century illustrations. As the infantry is secondary, leaders, cavalry and elephants tend to be chosen for illustrations.

Most of the 16th century illustrations and the Padshahnama are from the royal atelier, which would have a style conventions. I don't know if the colours have changed with time. Elephants come in a range of colours, lighter ones (white elephants) being considered special. I don't think they painted their elephants dark grey.

Druzhina
17th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers