Thriving the Ottoman Imperial Armory (Tüfekhane-i Âmire): The Role of European Experts in Ottoman Small Arms Manufacture

Abstract

This study examines the role of European experts in the production of muskets and rifles in the Tüfekhane-i Âmire (the Ottoman Imperial Armory), which was established as the light weapons production center of the Ottoman Empire. This paper aims to detail the first time when the rifle-type weapon in the Ottoman army is being used effectively, where they are manufactured and repaired. Within this context, beginning from the use of the rifle for the first time in the Ottoman army until the fall of the empire, who controls the production of the rifle and how it is carried out, the number of personnel employed in the Ottoman armories -particularly in the Tüfekhane-i Âmire-, their nationality and the influence of European experts on the rifle manufacturing process will be under spotlight. Besides, the effects of the European experts employed in the Tüfekhane-i Âmire and the Zeytinburnu Silah Fabrikası (Zeytinburnu Armory) -an extension of the Tüfekhane in the late nineteenth century- on the Ottoman light weaponry, especially in a period when weapons technology has developed rapidly and weapons of war were industrialized, will be examined.