Abus gun
The Abus gun is an early form of artillery created by the Ottoman Empire. They were small, but often too heavy to carry, and many were equipped with a type of tripod. They fired projectiles weighing between 3 and 9 caps.
Abus guns, despite being a form of howitzer, were primarily used as an anti-infantry weapon.
Development
Its origins are not known. Early artillery such as this gun opened the way for the developments in artillery made across the ages, and spawned more recent and familiar types of artillery. By the Napoleonic era:
Each regiment of foot artillery was made up of 10 cannons; four of the older, heavy and Sahi cannons, two of the older, lighter Abus guns and four of the new French-designed field guns... each of which came in a bewildering range of sizes. The Balyemez were massive, long-range guns...Şahi was the Ottoman word for "field," and therefore Şahi artillery meant simply field artillery... The Abus guns were a form of howitzer and came in 10- and 7-centimeter diameter bores. The French-design guns were known as Sürat Topçusu because of their greater mobility."