Zamburak

Zamburak
17th century Persian artilleryman operating a Zamburak
Active	17th century – early 20th century[1]
Country	Mughal Empire Afsharid Iran Durrani Empire Dzungar Khanate
Branch	Cavalry
Equipment	Arquebus Musket Artillery

Zamburak (Persian: زنبورک, romanized: zanburak, lit. 'culverin', lit. 'little wasp'), was a specialized form of self-propelled artillery from the early modern period featuring small swivel guns mounted on and fired from camels. Its operator was known as a zamburakchi. It was used by the gunpowder empires, especially Safavid Iran, the Timurid Empire, and Afsharid Iran, due to the ruggedness of the Iranian plateau, which made typical transportation of heavy cannons difficult.

The zamburak became a popular mode of warfare in the 18th century in the Indian subcontinent. The Pashtuns used it in the Battle of Gulnabad, routing a numerically superior imperial Safavid army. It was also used successfully in the campaigns of Nader Shah when the shah and military genius Nader Shah utilized a zamburak corps in conjunction with a regular corps of conventional cannon to devastating effect in numerous battles, such as at the Battle of Damghan (1729), the Battle of Yeghevārd, and the Battle of Karnal. A large number of zamburaks were also successfully employed by Ahmad Shah Durrani during his raid in the North Indian plain in the Third Battle of Panipat against the Maratha Confederacy.