Cannoneers in the Safavid Era: From Art to Profession

The title Cannoneer (Tūpchibāshi) became widespread with the increasing use of firearms since the early Safavid Era. According to the first references to this position during the reign of Shah Tahmasb I, a cannoneer was a skilled professional who was able to both cast (TūpRizi) and fire (TūpAndāzi) cannons. Since cannons were essentially in the hands of the central government, cannoneers soon became important people in the court. With the military reforms of Shah Abbas I, Cannoneer, maintaining the two aforementioned responsibilities, entered the military hierarchy and became one of the leaders of the army. After the two important wars of Yerevan (1635) and Qandahar (1648), both of which were won by means of the artillery, the standing of the artillery improved so that the office of cannoneer and the artillery unit were officially created in 1654. Since then, until the end of the Safavid Era, a cannoneer was a military official who commanded the artillery in war. Thus, Cannoneer and three other offices, namely Qurchibāshi (Commander of the Royal Bodyguards), Qullar Āghāsi (Commander of the Royal Slaves), and Tofangchi Āghāsi (Commander of the Royal Musketeers), became the four pillars of the Safavid army. This paper studies the emergence of Cannoneer in the army of the Safavid dynasty to clarify its position and tasks in the military ranks of that era.