Treatise of artillery

This work is a veritable practical manual of artillery, and it was also written in Spanish in Tunis, by Rivas[1], who fled Spain in 1570 and went to Tunisia, where he was welcomed by the governor ‘Uthmān. Then, on the orders of the Saadian sultan Mawlāy Zaydān, who wanted to develop his artillery corps, the work was translated into Arabic by the copyist Ahmad ibn Qāsim ibn Shaykh al-Hajārī al-Andalusī[2]. It is fully illustrated and entirely consecrated to artillery, which became an established science in Morocco from the fourteenth century onwards. The fabrication methods of the siege engines, their different types (catapults, mangonels, ballistae, trebuchets…) and parts, and advice relating to their use, transport, and erection are described in great detail. The manuscript also describes various models of cannon, and their manufacturing techniques, the nomenclature of their constituent parts, loading, handling, transport, and maintenance procedures. The book also talks of plans of attack, aiming techniques, methods for choosing a straight, curved, short and long range firing trajectories. The various projectiles are also described: cannon balls and explosives, amongst others, and methods for extracting them from the cannons when the cannon dysfunctions, as well as recipes for gunpowder. The manuscript contains many drawings representing firing trajectories, ballistae, stone-projectors, cannons, howitzers, mortars, with all their accessories, ovens for melting down the cannons, levers, and mobile bridges. The pieces are sometimes represented in cross section or diagrams.

The manuscript demonstrates the interest of the Saadians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for arms. The chronicles relate the existence of arms makers specializing in the manufacture of mechanical siege engines and gunpowder cannons (naft), particularly in Fez during the fourteenth century. The Marinid vizier ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Fardudī thus called upon the services of arms merchants in Fez who specialized in fabricating and maintaining artillery and mangonels. From the thirteenth century, the Marinids used rockets on the battle field, especially during the siege of Sijilmasa (1273)[3]. Under the Saadians, the firearms industry expanded greatly. The artillery troops were called the ‘soldiers of fire’ (‘Asakir al-Nār). One of the oldest Moroccan cannons dates back to 1545–1546: it was widely used at the time, as attested by the attack of Muhammad al-Ghālib against the city of al-Brija that was defended by 24 Portuguese canons. According to Leo Africanus, firearms were also made in Fez, and Marmol informed us that in 1539, master Mūsā from Madrid used the mineral from the copper mine of Sousse to cast a 16-foot long culverin[4]. As well as their small field culverins, the Saadians constructed enormous siege cannons, called Mimuna. These made a great impression on the Portuguese, who faced them during the siege of the city of Agadir that they were occupying. The sultan ‘Abd al-Malik even offered the Turks a set of cannons, one of which had seven mouths. When they departed, the Portuguese took one of these stone balls, which is still exhibited in the Museum of Lisbon. With their prosperous economy and financial riches, especially from Sudanese gold and the caravan trade, the Saadian sultans were able to enlist the help of foreign technicians, especially European or Turkish engineers and gunners.

[2] Born in Spain, in Morocco he was the interpreter and secretary of the sultan Mawlāy Zaydān (reigned 1607–1630).

[3] Ibn Khaldūn described these siege machines as follows: ‘a gunpowder cannon that discharged small iron balls. These balls are ejected from a chamber placed in front of a kindling fire of gunpowder. This happens by a strange property which attributes all actions to the power of the Creator.’ (In Histoire des Berbères, De Slane (French translation), Algiers, vol. IV, p. 69.).

[4] Marmol, De l’Afrique, vol.II, Livre 3, p. 27.