The Elephant Corps of the Mughal Army

The Organisation of the Elephant Corps

The Mughal elephant corps was organised on the basis of the hafila, or herd. Each hafila was a self-contained unit, consisting of a number of elephants together with their mahouts, their handlers, and their support staff, and each hafila was typically assigned to a particular noble or to a particular imperial function. The size of the hafila varied considerably, from a few animals in the case of a junior noble to several dozen in the case of a great mansabdari commander, and the largest hafilas of the imperial household contained upwards of a hundred animals.

The principal officer of the imperial elephant corps was the mir-i-fil, the master of the elephant, who was directly responsible to the emperor for the administration and the operational deployment of the corps. The mir-i-fil was assisted by a number of subordinate officers, the filbakshis, who were responsible for the training and the discipline of the individual hafilas. The mir-i-fil of the imperial household was one of the great officers of the court, and the post was often held by a senior prince of the blood or by one of the most powerful nobles of the empire. The position is examined in the context of the Mughal army organisation and Mughal administration pages.

The Karkhana for Elephant Equipment

The equipment of the war elephants was manufactured in a specialist karkhana, the fil-khana, attached to the imperial household. The principal items of equipment were the howdah, the platform mounted on the back of the elephant from which the soldiers fought, the jhul, the netting and curtain that protected the flanks of the elephant, and the various straps, buckles, and chains that secured the equipment to the animal. The howdah was typically of wood construction, often covered with metal plates, and it was large enough to accommodate the mahout, a complement of two to four musketeers, and a small store of ammunition.

The most prestigious howdahs of the imperial household were elaborate affairs, covered with velvet or silk, decorated with gold and silver embroidery, and set with precious stones. The howdah of the emperor, used on state occasions, was examples of Mughal craftsmanship, and it was often carried in procession even when not in actual use. The manufacture of elephant equipment was a substantial industry, and the fil-khana of the imperial household employed hundreds of craftsmen, including carpenters, metalworkers, weavers, and embroiderers.

The Recruitment of the Elephants

The elephants of the Mughal army were recruited from the principal elephant-catching regions of the empire, particularly from the forests of the northeastern frontier, from the lower Ganges plain, and from the mountainous regions of the Deccan. The capture of wild elephants was a substantial undertaking, and it was conducted by specialist elephant-catching parties, the kheddah operations, in which a large herd of wild elephants was driven into a stockade and the individual animals were secured. The principal kheddah operations of the Mughal period were conducted in the forests of the Brahmaputra valley, in the hill country of the central provinces, and in the forests of the southwestern Deccan.

The Training of the Elephants

The training of a Mughal war elephant was a long and demanding process. The animal was first broken to the saddle and to the howdah, and then progressively accustomed to the noise and confusion of the battlefield. The training was typically conducted by specialist parades, the elephant handlers, in the imperial elephant stables, and the best animals were trained for several years before being put to military use. The training required the close cooperation of the parades and the mahout, and the bond between the two was often close. The mahout, typically a hereditary specialist recruited from the principal elephant-catching regions, was responsible for the day-to-day care of the animal, and the best mahouts were able to direct the elephant in battle with verbal commands and a subtle use of the guiding hook, the ankus. The training of the most prestigious war elephants, including the famous white elephant of Jahangir, was a major court event.

The Use in Battle and in Siege Warfare

The principal military role of the elephant was as a shock weapon, in the charge or counter-charge, and as a mobile fighting platform from which the mahout and a small complement of musketeers could deliver fire. The animal’s thick hide offered considerable protection against arrow and sword, and a charging line of war elephants could disrupt even the most disciplined cavalry or infantry formation. The elephant was particularly effective against infantry in defensive positions, and the use of elephants in the storming of fortified positions was a standard feature of Mughal siege warfare. The great sieges of the dynasty, including the sieges of Chitor in 1568, Ranthambore in 1569, and Asirgarh in 1601, all made substantial use of elephants.

The use of elephants in the open field was more controversial. The elephant was vulnerable to the disciplined fire of matchlock-armed infantry, and a well-trained infantry unit could defeat a charge of war elephants with a few volleys at close range. The use of elephants in the open field therefore declined in the course of the seventeenth century, and by the reign of Aurangzeb the war elephant was used principally in siege warfare and on ceremonial occasions.

The Use as Transport and the Symbolic Significance

In addition to its military role, the elephant was an important transport animal, and the principal baggage of the army, including the artillery train, the ammunition, and the personal effects of the officers, was often carried on elephants. The elephant was also used as a mount for the emperor and for the great nobles on ceremonial occasions, and the elephant procession was features of the Mughal court.

The symbolic significance of the elephant in Mughal visual culture was substantial. The elephant was the traditional mount of the ruler and the warrior, and the image of the elephant in battle, the elephant in procession, and the elephant in the royal hunt was a standard iconographic type of Mughal painting. The most famous example is the elephant procession of Jahangir, painted by Abu’l Hasan, and the painting is one of the masterpieces of the Mughal art tradition. The ceremonial review of the imperial elephant corps was events of the court calendar.

The Decline of the Elephant Corps

Sources

• S.A. Khan, Mughal Art of War (2012), ch. on the elephant corps.