Humbaracı corps were bombardier and mortar troops of the

Ottoman army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

. It is considered as the first organized and specialized troops in the corps level for this class in the military history of the world.

Name

''Humbara'' (also pronounced ''kumbara'') was derived from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word ''hum-i pare'' (metal bowl or casing to store money). Due to the similarity of the shape of the projectiles, in

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

, it was used to name the bombshells cast from iron or bronze. In modern Turkish, it also denotes the earthenware money box used by kids, basically a metal piggy bank.
Humbaraci nedir?

History

In the 16th century, Mustafa, an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

officer in the Ottoman army established a workshop to cast humbaras in order to give the fire power of the artillery to the mobilized

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

groups. On 1729,

Claude Alexandre de Bonneval Claude Alexandre, Comte de Bonneval (14 July 1675 – 23 March 1747), was a French army officer who later went into the service of the Ottoman Empire, eventually converting to Islam and becoming known as Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa. Life He was the ...

() established a humbara school and reorganized all humbaracı soldiers in a corps-level military formation, founding the Humbaracı Corps. On 1731, corps' size reached a little bit over of 600 soldiers, arranged in teams of 25, to serve as a detachment to armies. On 1826, during the

Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye The Mansure Army ( ota, عساكر منصورهٔ محمديه, ''Asâkir-i Mansûre-i Muhammediye'', "The Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad") was an ''ocak'' (military unit) of the Ottoman army. It was established by who also disbanded the Janissa ...

movement to modernize the Ottoman Army, corps were dissolved.

Ammunition

''Humbara''s could be cast by two ways: *''Humbara-i dest'': thrown by hand *''Humbara-i kebir'': thrown with an apparatus

Garrison

Humbaracı Kışlası or Kumbarahane ("Humbaracı Garrison") was located in the

Hasköy Hasköy may refer to the following places in Turkey: * Hasköy, Istanbul, a quarter or neighborhood of the district of Beyoğlu in Istanbul * Hasköy, Ardahan, a village in the district of Ardahan, Ardahan Province * Hasköy, Çınar * Hasköy, ...

district of the

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, on the coast of

Haliç The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

. The street in front of the barracks are still called "Kumabarahane Street". As considered one the first example of military garrisons, it included casting workshop, stable, training ground, kitchen, mosque, hospital, and shops. Garrison was also home , corresponds to

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

in modern armies. On 1795, the garrison was expanded to include the

Imperial School of Military Engineering The Imperial School of Military Engineering ( ota, script=Latn, Mühendishâne-i Berrî-i Hümâyun) was an Ottoman military engineering academy in Hasköy, Constantinople. It was opened in 1795 during the reign of Selim III and continued functio ...

. After the modernization of the Army and dissolving of the corps, barracks were used as a medical school: the .
Humbaracılar Kışlası Tarihi

References

External links

* (''humbaracı'') * (''humbara'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Humbaraci Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire