OTTOMAN GUNNER
An extract from Armies of the Middle Ages, Volume 2
by Ian Heath
13. OTTOMAN GUNNER
This figure does not come from a contemporary ms., being based on a 16th century picture of the Battle of Mohacs (1526),
but it seems highly probable that 15th century Ottoman artillerymen were little different.
He wears a blue coat with a red sash and red trousers and shoes, plus an unusual type of black hat with the brim turned up and split at each side.
The latter also occurs in a 14th century Byzantine ms. and is likely to have been of Balkan or South-East European origin like many of the Empire’s artillerists,
who were of diverse origins including Germans, Hungarians, Bosnians, Dalmatians and Italians (see page 14).
The absence of a turban confirms his non-Turkish background.
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