Latest / The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History
Safavid Firepower: The Topkhaneh That Made Persia a Gunpowder Empire
Long before the gholam revolution, the Safavids learned a brutal lesson at Chaldiran in 1514: their Qizilbash cavalry, no matter how fierce, could not stand against Ottoman cannon and musket fire. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Shah Abbas I built Persia's first modern arsenal — the Topkhaneh, or 'cannon house' — and transformed the empire's military. They trace the careers of the master artillerymen, or tupchi, who staffed this new corps, and examine the foundries, gunpowder mills, and casting techniques that produced bronze cannon on a scale never before seen in Iran. The…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.