Invented during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605) by the Iranian inventor Fathullah of Shiraz – a talented personality who lived the last seven years of his life at the Mughal court as an imperial minister of finance dabbling in inventions and contraptions of all kinds in his spare time – the multi-barreled cannon is one among the earliest forms of the volley gun known to man.
Light in weight and small in size, it could be easily transported over hilly tracks and inhospitable terrains to be deployed on the front as compared to heavier cannons. Its use was probably against enemy infantry and cavalry units as its thin tubes would have spat out smaller size cannonballs ineffective against strongly built fortifications but advantageous in breaking up formations.
As opposed to the polybolos and repeating crossbows used earlier in ancient Greece and China, respectively, Shirazi's rapid-firing gun had multiple gun barrels that fired hand cannons loaded with gunpowder. Along with war rockets Akbar introduced 17 barreled volley cannon.
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