Glossary · Term · weapon

Matchlock

The matchlock was an early firearm mechanism in which a slow-burning match was lowered onto the priming powder to fire the gun. Matchlock muskets spread across Eurasia in the sixteenth century. In the Mughal Empire, musketeers armed with matchlocks fought alongside cavalry and artillery.

Matchlock
Image: Archiv WTS-Koblenz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 7 profiles

Adal SultanateMilitaryDelhi SultanateMilitaryMughal EmpireMilitaryKazakh KhanateMilitaryDzungar KhanateMilitaryUdaipur StateMilitaryAhom kingdomMilitary

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Matchlock. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matchlock
MLA
“Matchlock.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matchlock. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Matchlock.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matchlock.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Matchlock’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matchlock (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻