On the Weapons, Army Organisation, and Political Maxims of the Ancient Hindus - With Special Reference to Gunpowder and Firearms (Paperback)

The German Sanskrit philologist and teacher Gustav Oppert (1836-1908) worked for the greater part of his life in British India, as a professor in the Presidency College of Madras (now Chennai) and as a curator in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library. This 1880 book considers, 'with special reference to gunpowder and firearms', the weaponry of the Hindu armies of the Middle Ages. Oppert uses two main sources, the Nitiprakasika and the Sukraniti, the former 'up to now, utterly unknown', the latter having never been 'properly described and published'. Unfortunately, the Sukraniti is now believed to be a nineteenth-century document (though drawing on older sources), and Oppert's claim that gunpowder was being used in India in the twelfth century is probably untenable. Nevertheless, the work remains an interesting study of the size, organisation and weapons of Hindu fighting forces, from bows and arrows to elephants, as well as the more anachronistic firearms.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - Naval and Military History
Release date:	August 2017
Authors:	Gustav Oppert
Dimensions:	220 x 140 x 10mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	176
ISBN-13:	978-1-108-08039-2
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history
LSN:	1-108-08039-1
Barcode:	9781108080392

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