who introduced cannons and guns in india warfare
Mughal artillery Artillery was not widely employed in Central Asia prior to the 16th century, despite Chinese mortars having been known to the Mongols hundreds of years earlier. Even some limited use of cannon at Hisar by the Timurid Sultan Husayn Mirza in 1496 did not lead to a substantial role military role for artillery in India,[3] nor did the presence of Portuguese ship's cannon at the 1509 Battle of Diu.[4] However, following the decisive Ottoman victory over the Safavid Empire at the 1514 Battle of Chaldiran, Babur incorporated artillery and Ottoman artillery tactics into his military.[3] Although authorities disagree about how many cannons he brought to India,[5] Babur's artillery played a "key role" in the establishment of the Mughal Empire.[6] In 1526, the First Battle of Panipat saw the introduction of massed artillery tactics to Indian warfare.[5] Under the guidance of Ottoman gun master[3] Ustad Ali Quli, Babur deployed cannons behind a screening row of carts. Enemy commander Ibrahim Lodi was provoked into a frontal attack against Babur's position, allowing him to make ideal use of his firepower.[7][8] This tactic also panicked Lodi's elephant cavalry, beginning the end of elephant warfare as a dominant offensive strategy in India.[5] These new weapons and tactics were even more important[7] against the more formidable army faced in the Battle of Khanwa the following year.[5]