Date: Issue 61 - May 2015
It is unlikely to think that our defence industry is a newly-established one, considering how rooted our armed forces are. The artilleries that are the first products of the industrialization period within the scope of firearms were used by the Sultan Murad I, at the first Kosovo war in 1389. Moreover, the utilization of gunpowder as a domestic industrial product began during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) and many gunpowder mills were known to be launched in the Ottoman land.
Ottoman Empire’s position as a leading and competent empire especially regarding the defence industry lasted until the end of 17th century; yet this position started to diminish in 18th century due to the economic crises that the empire endured.