ARTILLERY WEAPONS AND NUMBER OF GUN SERVANTS IN FORTRESSES OF THE EASTERN SECTION OF THE BELGOROD DEFANSE LINE AS REGISTERED IN 1678

Abstract

The history of the development and colonisation of the South Russian region of the Moscow State, associated with the construction of fortresses of the Belgorod line and the fortification of a new defensive line in the middle of the 17th century, has been attracting the attention of several generations of historians. Sources preserved on this problem allow researchers to highlight a number of topics, from determining the prerequisites for the emergence of the future Belgorod district, periodization, identifying the features of the formation of military garrisons, to the economic and social aspects of the life of military service people. In this regard, within the framework of this article, an analysis is made of issues related to the definition of various types of artillery guns - arquebuses, as well as the identification of the number and functionality of gun servants listed in the fortresses of the eastern section of the Belgorod line in the second half of the 17th century. To solve these issues, a set of documents was involved - "Inventory of cities of 1678," which made it possible to analyze the features of fortress artillery. During the study, the ratio of the number of fortress towers and the number of artillery units listed in the inventory was established. In addition, it was determined that the weight of the canonballs determined the caliber of the guns, from which they could be divided into medium and small-caliber artillery. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of various types of small-caliber arquebuses, which were rarely found in fortress artillery.

Keywords

• the eastern section of the belgorod line
• fortress artillery
• artillery weapons
• gunsmith
• sluzhily garrison