Military Role of the Ottomans in Mughal Warfare in the First Half of the 16th Century

Medieval period witnessed the birth of two empires that dominated battlefields during 16th century with the effective use of firearms. On the one hand, the Ottoman Empire lied Eastern Europe, Balkans, Anatolia, West Asia and North Africa; on the other hand, the Mughal Empire controlled Afghanistan and Indian subcontinent. Although these two empires were well-organised in terms of administrative structure, their military power played key role during their expansion since they were also successful in the applying of firearm technology in their armies along with their cavalry power. When the Ottomans learnt the firearms technology from Europeans, they improved it and became pioneer in its spread to other empires, like the Mughal Empire. This paper aims to explain the role of the Ottoman Turks both as commander, soldier and as gun masters in India and how they used firearms in the Mughal warfare during the first half of the 16th century.