This is a timeline of the history of gunpowder and related topics such as weapons, warfare, and industrial applications. The timeline covers the history of gunpowder from the first hints of its origin as a Taoistalchemical product in China until its replacement by smokeless powder in the late 19th century (from 1884 to the present day).
Pre-gunpowder formula
Major developments: Earliest stage of gunpowder development. Mentions of gunpowder ingredients and their uses in conjunction with each other.
Year
Date
Region
Event
142
China
A Taoist text known as the Cantong qi, or the Book of the Kinship of Three, by Wei Boyang, who lived in the Eastern Han dynasty, mentions a combination of three powders that fly and dance violently.[1][2]
318
China
The ingredients of gunpowder are recorded in the Baopuzi, also known as The Master Who Embraces Simplicity, by Taoist philosopher Ge Hong, who lived in the Jin dynasty (266–420). It describes experiments to create gold with heated saltpeter, pine resin, and charcoal among other carbon materials, resulting in a purple powder and arsenic vapours.[3][4]
492
China
Tao Hongjing, a Taoist alchemist, notes that saltpeter burns with a purple flame.[5]
756
China
The Taoist Mao Kua reports in his Pinglongren (Recognition of the Recumbent Dragon) that by heating saltpeter, the yin of the air can be obtained, which combines with sulphur, carbon, and metals other than gold.[6]
9th century
Major developments: Earliest definite references to a gunpowder formula and awareness of its danger.
Year
Date
Region
Event
808
China
The Taoist priest Qing Xuzi mentions the gunpowder formula in his Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue, describing six parts sulfur to six parts saltpeter to one part birthwort herb.[7]
858
China
The Taoist text Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe (Classified Essentials of the Mysterious Way of the True Origin of Things) contains a warning on the dangers of gunpowder: "Some have heated together sulfur, realgar (arsenic disulphide), and saltpeter with honey; smoke [and flames] result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house burned down."[7]
10th century
Major developments: Gunpowder is utilized in Chinese warfare and an assortment of gunpowder weapons appear. Fire arrows utilizing gunpowder as an incendiary appear in the early 900s and possibly rocket arrows as well by the end of the century. The gunpowder slow match is used for igniting flame throwers. The ancestor of firearms, the fire lance, also appears, but its usage in the 10th century is uncertain and no textual evidence for it exists during this period.
Gunpowder propelled fire arrows, rocket arrows, are invented by Yue Yifang and Feng Jisheng.[12]
975
China
The state of Wuyue sends a group of soldiers skilled in the use of fire arrows to the Song dynasty, which uses fire arrows and incendiary bombs in the same year to destroy the fleet of Southern Tang.[13]
994
China
The Liao dynasty attacks the Song dynasty and lays siege to Zitong with 100,000 troops, but fails due to the defenders' use of fire arrows.[13]
1000
China
Tang Fu demonstrates gunpowder pots and caltrops to the Song court and is rewarded.[14]
A flamethrower from the Wujing Zongyao, supposedly used the gunpowder slow match
An arrow strapped with gunpowder ready to be shot from a bow. From the Huolongjing
Depiction of fire arrows known as "divine engine arrows" (shen ji jian 神機箭) from the Wubei Zhi.
Earliest known representation of a bomb and fire lance (upper right), Dunhuang, 950 AD.[15]
11th century
Major developments: The chemical formula for gunpowder is recorded in the Wujing Zongyao by 1044. Bombs appear in the early 11th century. Gunpowder becomes more common in the Song dynasty and production of gunpowder weapons is systematized. The Song court restricts trade of gunpowder ingredients with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties.
Year
Date
Region
Event
1002
China
Shi Pu demonstrates fireballs utilizing gunpowder to the Song court and blueprints are created for promulgation throughout the realm.[14]
1044
China
The chemical formula for gunpowder appears in the military manual Wujing Zongyao, also known as the Complete Essentials for the Military Classics.[16][17]
Depiction of a' wind-and-dust bomb' (feng chen pao) from the Huolongjing.
12th century
Major developments: Gunpowder fireworks are mentioned. Ships are equipped with trebuchets for hurling bombs. Earliest recorded usage of gunpowder artillery in ship to ship combat, first mention of the fire lance in battle, and the earliest possible depiction of a cannon appears.
Year
Date
Region
Event
1110
China
The Song army puts on a firework display for the emperor including a spectacle which opened with "a noise like thunder" and explosives that light up the night. Considered by some to be the first mention of gunpowder fireworks.[22]
"Molten metal bombs", suspected to contain gunpowder, are employed by Song troops when the Jin army returns with fire arrows and gunpowder bombs made by captured Song artisans. Kaifeng is taken.[24]
Gunpowder is referred to specifically for its military applications for the first time and is known as "fire bomb medicine" rather than "fire medicine".[26]
China
Firecrackers using gunpowder are mentioned for the first time.[30]
A double barreled fire lance from the Huolongjing. Supposedly they fired in succession, and the second one is lit automatically after the first barrel finishes firing.
13th century
Major developments: Bomb shells gain an iron casing. Fire lances are equipped with projectiles and reusable iron barrels. Rockets are used in warfare. "Fire emitting tubes" are produced in the Song dynasty by the mid-13th century and hand cannons are recorded to have been used in battle by the Yuan dynasty in 1287. The earliest extant cannons appear in China. The Mongols spread gunpowder weaponry to Japan, Southeast Asia, and possibly the Middle East as well as Europe. Europe and India both acquire gunpowder by the end of the century, but only in the Middle East are gunpowder weapons mentioned in any detail.
Year
Date
Region
Event
1207
China
Thunderclap bombs are employed by Song forces in a sneak attack on a Jin camp, killing 2000 men and 800 horses.[18]
The Wuwei Bronze Cannon, excavated in 1980, is dated to the Western Xia (1038–1227) period. It is currently the oldest possible extant cannon, however like the Heilongjiang hand cannon it contains no inscription and dating is based on contextual evidence.[33]
The History of Song describes a "fire-emitting lance" employing a pellet wad projectile which occludes the barrel. Some consider this to be the first bullet.[40][41]
China
The city of Qingzhou produces one to two thousand iron cased bomb shells a month and sends them in deliveries of ten to twenty thousand at a time to Xiangyang and Yingzhou.[43]
1264
China
A display of miniature rockets frightens the Song empress.[44]
1267
West
In Europe gunpowder in the form of a firecracker is mentioned in textual sources by Roger Bacon, in his Opus Majus.[45][46]
A suicide bombing occurs in China when Song garrisons set off a large bomb, killing themselves.[49][50]
1280
China
"Eruptors," cannons firing co-viative projectiles, are employed in the Yuan dynasty.[51]
China
A major accidental explosion occurs in China when a Yuan gunpowder storehouse at Weiyang, Yangzhou catches fire and explodes, killing 100 guards and hurling building materials over 5 km away.[52]
Middle East
The Middle East acquires fire lances and rockets.[53]Hasan al-Rammah writes, in Arabic, recipes for gunpowder, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries.[38] He also provides a description and illustration of the world's first torpedo.[54]
The Heilongjiang hand cannon is dated to this year based on contextual evidence and its proximity to the rebellion by Mongol prince Nayan, although it contains no inscription.[58][59]
1293
Southeast Asia
Mongol troops of Yuan dynasty carried Chinese cannons to Java in 1293.[60]
1298
China
The Xanadu Gun, the oldest confirmed extant hand cannon, is dated to this year based on its inscription and contextual evidence.[61]
Major developments: Chinese gunpowder weaponry continues to advance with the development of one-piece cast iron cannons, accompanying carriages, and the addition of land mines, naval mines and rocket launchers. Earliest recorded instance of volley fire with gunpowder weaponry, by the Ming dynasty. The rest of the world catches up quickly and most of Eurasia acquires gunpowder weapons by the second half of the 14th century. Cannon development in Europe progresses rapidly and by 1374, cannons in Europe are able to breach a city wall for the first time. Breech loading cannons appear in Europe.
Year
Date
Region
Event
1307
West
The Armenian monk Hetoum writes about a powerful weapon having been invented in China.[64]
1325
China
Bronze "thousand-ball thunder-cannons" on four wheeled carriages appear in the Yuan dynasty.[65]
Battle of Lake Poyang: Cannons are used in ship combat and a new weapon called the "No Alternative" also appears. It consists of a reed mat bundled together with gunpowder and iron pellets hung on a pole from the foremast of a ship. When an enemy ship is within range, the fuse is lit, and the bundle falls onto the enemy ship spitting iron pellets and burning their men and sails.[84]
Germany's oldest extant firearm is dated to this year.[107]
A "nest of bees" (yi wo feng 一窩蜂) arrow rocket launcher as depicted in the Wubei Zhi.
A 'divine bone dissolving fire oil bomb' (lan gu huo you shen pao) from the Huolongjing.
A bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon" from the Huolongjing.
The 'self-tripped trespass land mine' (zi fan pao) from the Huolongjing.
Naval mine system known as the 'marine dragon-king' (shui di long wang pao) from the Huolongjing.
Oldest known European depiction of a firearm from De Nobilitatibus Sapientii Et Prudentiis Regum by Walter de Milemete (1326).
Battle of Nicopolis 1398
15th century
Major developments: Large-calibre artillery weighing several thousand kg are produced in Europe during the early 15th century and spread to the Ottoman Empire. Modifiable two wheeled gun carts known as limbers and caissons appear, greatly improving the mobility of artillery. The matchlockarquebus, the first firearm with a trigger mechanism, appears in Europe by 1475. Rifled barrels also appear in the late 15th century. The term musket is used for the first time in 1499. Rocket launchers are used in battle by the Ming dynasty and the Korean kingdom of Joseon develops a mobile rocket launcher vehicle called the hwacha. Chinese style bombs are used in Japan by 1468 at the latest.
A "serpentine" lever is added to the stocks of hand cannons in Europe to hold matches. The resulting firearm, the hook gun, becomes known as the arquebus.[113]
During the Lantern Festival, the Ming imperial palace puts on a display of pyrotechnics involving rockets running along wires which light up lanterns, illuminating the palace.[99]
A master gunner in Europe is forced to make a pilgrimage to Rome after scaring his fellow soldiers, who accused him of satanic devilry, with an astounding rate of fire of three rounds in one day.[125]
A Chinese "thunderbomb" made of paper and bamboo wrapping two pounds of gunpowder and iron filings is mentioned to have been in use in Japan; Chinese style bombs are used as trebuchet shots until at least 1500[132]
Henry VII of England's ships, the Regent and Sovereign, are among the first to carry enough cannons to deliver a 'ship killing' blow at a distance.[142]
1498
West
Specialized hunting firearms with rifled barrels appear in Europe.[143]
Early arquebuses prior to the matchlock were just hand cannons with a hook
A serpentine matchlock mechanism
A hwacha assembly and disassembly illustration from the Gukjo Orye Seorye, 1474
16th century
Major developments: Matchlock firearms spread throughout Eurasia, reaching China and Japan by the mid-16th century. The volley fire technique is implemented using matchlock firearms by the Ottomans, Ming dynasty, and Dutch Republic by the end of the century. The arquebus is replaced by its heavier variant called the musket to combat heavily armoured troops. "Musket" becomes the dominant term for all shoulder arms fireweapons until the mid-19th century. The wheellock and flintlock trigger mechanisms are invented. Pistols and revolvers both appear during this period. Ottoman troops attach bayonets to their firearms. Both Europe and China develop handheld breech loading firearms. The star fort spreads across Europe in response to increasing effectiveness of siege artillery. The Ming dynasty uses gunpowder for hydraulic engineering.
The large arquebus known as the musket becomes obsolete due to lack of armor, but continues as the most widely used term for similar firearms in Europe.[169]
Ming cavalry experiments with firing a three-barreled matchlock before using it as a shield while they attack with a saber using their other hand.[180]
Middle East
The first mention of a bayonet occurs in the Shenqipu describing a knife attached to an Ottoman musket.[181]
In Japan Date Masamune orders the construction of the Date Maru, a ship built in the style of a Spanish galleon, capable of carrying large cannons.[187]
The Dutch attempt to trade flintlock firearms with the Japanese but the new firing mechanism doesn't catch on in Japan.[78]
1637
Sinosphere
Shimabara Rebellion: In Japan the last major military engagement involving muskets, before firearm suppression policies are enacted, is conducted against an uprising of peasant-farmers and landless samurai.[193]
1642
20 January
China
Li Zicheng's rebels manage to create a two zhang breach in Ming fortifications using cannons.[194]
Major developments: Flintlocks completely displace matchlock firearms in Europe both on land and at sea. Sir William Congreve, 1st Baronet discovers "cylinder powder", gunpowder produced using charcoal in iron cylinders, which is twice as powerful as traditional gunpowder and less likely to spoil. He also invents block trail carriages, the most advanced artillery transport of the time. James Puckle invents a breechloader flintlock capable of firing 63 shots in seven minutes. The Kingdom of Mysore deploys iron cased rockets known as Mysorean rockets.
Year
Date
Region
Event
1702
West
In Europe telescopes are used to aid in the aiming of artillery.[200]
1715
West
Jean Maritz introduces the horizontal drilling technique for casting cannons, increasing their reliability and accuracy while reducing the amount of metal needed for the barrel.[201]
Sir William Congreve, 1st Baronet improves gunpowder production by constructing dedicated testing ranges, new saltpeter refineries, and special proving houses. He also discovers "cylinder powder", gunpowder produced using charcoal sealed in iron cylinders, which is twice as powerful as traditional gunpowder and less likely to spoil, giving British gunpowder a reputation as best in the world.[207]
^天佑初,王茂章征安仁义于润州,洎城陷,中十余创,以功迁左先锋都尉。从攻豫章,(郑)璠以所部发机「飞火」,烧龙沙门,率壮士突火先登入城,焦灼被体,以功授检校司徒。(Rough Translation: During the beginning of Tianyou Era (904–907), Zheng Fan followed Wang Maozhang in a campaign against Runzhou, which was guarded by rebel An Renyi. He was severely injured in the process and as the result he was promoted to Junior General of Left Vanguard. At the campaign of Yuchang, he ordered his troops to shoot off a machine to let fire fly and burn the Longsha Gate, after which he led his troops over the fire and entered the city. His body was scorched, for which he was appointed Prime Minister Inspectorate.) Records of Nine Kingdoms ch. 2
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