| Tiro de Diu | |
|---|---|
 The Tiro de Diu next to the wall of the Pátio dos Canhões | |
| Type | Basilisk |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Gujarat Sultanate Portuguese Empire |
| Wars | First Siege of Diu |
| Production history | |
| Designed | c. 1533 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 20 t |
| Barrel length | 586 cm |
| Caliber | 24 cm (ball diameter) |
The Tiro de Diu is a 16th-century siege cannon, specifically a large-calibre basilisk, which saw action in the First Siege of Diu in 1538.
The Tiro de Diu was cast in bronze in 1533 during the reign of Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and was used during the First Siege of Diu in 1538.
The basilisk is cast in one solid piece and has no ornaments whatsoever except for some laudatory Arabic inscriptions that can be roughly translated as follows:
From our Lord the Sultan of Sultans of all ages; life-giver of the tradition of the Prophet of the Merciful God; the one that fights for the exaltation of the precepts of the Koran; the destroyer of the arguments of the supporters of wickedness; the one that casts away the houses of worshippers of idols; the Victor of the day when the two armies will meet; heir to the kingdom of Solomon; the one who trusts in the God the Benefactor; the possessor of all the virtues – Bahadur-Shah
After the defeat of the Muslim forces, the gun was sent to Lisbon, [1] first being set in the Castle of São Jorge and, after 1640, in the Fortress of S. Julião da Barra, in Oeiras, to defend the mouth of the River Tagus. [2]
By mid 18th century the gun was again removed, this time being sent to the Lisbon arsenal to be melted, so that the metal could be used to cast a statue of king D. José I. However, a scholar noticed the Arabic inscriptions on the gun and, after discovering the historical value of the piece, the gun was spared.
It is now on display on the "Pátio dos Canhões" at the Lisbon Military Museum. [3] [4]
The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah, born Bahadur Khan was a sultan of the Muzaffarid dynasty who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate, a late medieval kingdom in India from 1526 to 1535 and again from 1536 to 1537. He ascended to throne after competing with his brothers. He expanded his kingdom and made expeditions to help neighbouring kingdoms. In 1532, Gujarat came under attack of the Mughal Emperor Humayun and fell. Bahadur Shah regained the kingdom in 1536 but he was killed by the Portuguese on board a ship when making a deal with them.
São Jorge Castle, sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle, is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the freguesia of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while the oldest fortifications on the site date from the 2nd century BC. The hill on which Saint George's Castle stands has played an important part in the history of Lisbon, having served as the location of fortifications occupied successively by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors, before its conquest by the Portuguese in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon. Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal palace, a military barracks, home of the Torre do Tombo National Archive, and now as a national monument and museum.
Diu, also known as Diu Town, is a town in Diu district in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. Diu District is the tenth least populated district of India. The town of Diu lies at the eastern end of Diu Island and is known for its fortress and old Portuguese cathedral. It is a fishing town.
Diu Island is an island off the southern coast of Gujarat's Kathiawar peninsula, separated from the mainland by a tidal creek. It has an area of 38 km², and a population of 44,110.
The Fortress of São João Baptista, also known as the Fort of São Filipe or Fort of Monte Brasil is a historic fortress and defensive emplacement, located in the civil parish of Sé, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo in the Portuguese island of Terceira, archipelago of the Azores.
The Convention of Gramido was an agreement signed on 29 June 1847, in Casa Branca on the town square of Gramido, in Valbom, Gondomar, Portugal, to end the civil war of the Septembrists against the Cartistas known as the Patuleia. The Convention was signed by the commanders of the Spanish and British military forces that had entered Portugal on behalf of the Quadruple Alliance, the representative of the Portuguese government in Lisbon, and the representatives of the Junta in Porto. It sealed the defeat of the Septembrists.
The Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is a Portuguese castle in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, district of Aveiro. Emblematic of Portuguese medieval military architecture, the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is one of the monuments that best reflects the diversity of defenses used during the Middle Ages, having been instrumental in the process of Reconquista and autonomy of the County of Portugal. It has been listed as a National monument since 1910.
The Diu Fortress is a Portuguese-built fortification located on the west coast of India in Diu. The fortress was built as part of Portuguese India's defensive fortifications at the eastern tip of the island of Diu during the 16th century. The fortress, which borders on the town of Diu, was built in 1535 subsequent to a defense alliance forged by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese when Humayun, the Mughal Emperor attempted to annex this territory. It was strengthened over the years, till 1546. The Portuguese ruled over this territory from 1537 until the Indian invasion of December 1961. Today it is a landmark of Diu and one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.
The Capture of Malacca in 1511 occurred when the governor of Portuguese India Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the city of Malacca in 1511.
The siege of Diu occurred when a combined Ottoman-Gujarati force defeated a Portuguese attempt to capture the city of Diu in 1531. The victory was partly the result of Ottoman firepower over the Portuguese besiegers deployed by Mustafa Bayram, an Ottoman expert.
The Castle of Pombal, is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Pombal, municipality of the same name in the district of Leiria in the Centre region of Portugal.
The Lighthouse of São Miguel-o-Anjo is a former hermitage and 16th century lighthouse, in the civil parish of Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde, municipality of Porto, in the Portuguese Norte Region. The lighthouse of São Miguel-o-Anjo is Portugal's oldest existing lighthouse and one of the oldest in Europe. Designed by Italian architect Francesco da Cremona, the project was completed in 1538.
Mustafa Bayram was from Yemen and Selman Reis' nephew. After Selman Reis fell into a dispute with Hayreddin al-Rumi in 1528, he was murdered later on by al-Rumi. The two had fights because Selman Reis was relieved of the duty to lead the Ottoman Navy in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. However he refused to step down and continued to lead the navy. Nonetheless, the post had been given to al-Rumi. Before Selman Reis was killed, he had given an order to Mustafa Bayram and Hoca Sefer. Under Mustafa Bayram's supervision, they would go to Diu and help Bahadur Shah of Gujarat to fight against the Portuguese Empire.
The War of the League of the Indies was a military conflict in which a pan-Asian alliance formed primarily by the Sultanate of Bijapur, the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar, the Kingdom of Calicut, and the Sultanate of Aceh, referred to by the Portuguese historian António Pinto Pereira as the "league of kings of India", "the confederated kings", or simply "the league", attempted to decisively overturn Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean through a combined assault on some of the main possessions of the Portuguese State of India: Malacca, Chaul, Chale fort, and the capital of the maritime empire in Asia, Goa.
Garcia de Sá was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier, explorer, fidalgo of the Royal Household, who was the 14th ruler of Portuguese India as governor from June 1548 to 13 of June 1549.
Khoja Zufar or Coje Çafar, also called Coge Sofar, or Safar Aga in Portuguese, Cosa Zaffar in Italian, and Khwaja Safar Salmani in Turkish or Khuádja Tzaffar in Arabic, was a soldier and local ruler in Western India during the 16th century. He was a leader in the failed Siege of Diu. Zufar was an experienced merchant with the distant markets of the Arabian Gulf around the Strait of Mecca and Lepanto at the Mediterranean.
Jumma Masjid or Jama Masjid is a mosque in Uparkot Fort in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. The mosque was built in 15th century by converting a temple or a palace now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people. There is a controversy surrounding the identification of the structure.
Diogo Kopke (1808–1844) was a Portuguese editor and publisher, mathematician, journalist and soldier of German descent. He was the first person to publish the only existing contemporary report of Vasco da Gama’s first trip to India.