Basilic (cannon)

The Basilic,[1] or The Ottoman Cannon was a very large-calibre cannon designed by Urban, a cannon engineer, Saruca Usta and architect Muslihiddin Usta at a time when cannons were still new. It is considered one of the largest cannons ever built.[2]

Dardanelles Gun is a similar super sized cannon that was built in 1464 by Turkish military engineer Munir Ali and modelled after the Orban.

The cannon was first offered to Constantine XI, who turned it down due to the cost of its construction.[3] It was later offered to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered the cannon built after learning that it can smash through walls using a large projectile.[4][3] When it was completed, the cannon was used by Ottoman Army during the fall of Constantinople and played a key role in damaging The Walls of Constantinople in 1453.[5]

Orban managed to build this giant size cannon within three months at Adrianople. Due to its size, it was dragged by sixty oxen and 400 hundred men to Constantinople.[6] The cannonball, which can be shot at a distance of one mile, weighed 1,200 pounds.[4] It was horribly powerful, and when it hit, it caused massive damage to Constantinople's walls. The cannon also killed some of its operators.[1] Additionally, due to the material the cannon was constructed of, and the intense heat created by the charge, the cannon had to be cooled with olive oil between shots to prevent cracking.[3] The heat also prevented the cannon from being fired more than three times per day. Ultimately, it lasted all of six weeks before becoming non-functional.

  • Length: ~24 feet (7.32 m)
  • Diameter: 2.5 feet (76.2 cm)
  • Cannonball: 600 lb (270 kg)
  • Range: ~1 mile (1.6 km)

References
  1. Tamim Ansary, Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, Page 274, 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2019
  2. Rauf, Don (2016). The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4994-6344-6.
  3. Crowley, Roger (2007-07-30). "The Guns of Constantinople". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  4. Institute, Bathroom Readers' (2012-07-15). Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-60710-203-8.
  5. De Amicis, Edmondo (2018). Constantinople. Surrey: Alma Books. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-84749-266-1.
  6. Ansary, Mir Tamim (2010). Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes. Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Books Group. p. 374. ISBN 978-1-58648-606-8.
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