Basilic (cannon)

The Basilic<ref name= TA>Template:Cite book</ref> or Basilica cannon,<ref name= PKD/> i.e. 'royal gun', as the Greeks called it,<ref name= RG/><ref name= TA/><ref name= EdA/> also known as Urban's cannon or the Ottoman Cannon<ref name= EdA/> was a very large-calibre cannon designed by Orban or Urban, a Hungarian cannon engineer, at a time when cannons were still new. It is one of the largest cannons ever built.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The cannon was first offered in 1452 to Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, who was not able to bring up the sum required for its construction.<ref name= RG/> It was then offered to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered the cannon built after learning that it could smash through walls using a large projectile.<ref name= bath/><ref name= RG/> Huge amounts of scrap bronze were needed in order to cast the Template:Cvt long cannon, with Template:Cvt thick walls.<ref name= RG/> When it was completed, the cannon was used by the Ottoman Army during the 1453 siege which led to the fall of Constantinople, and played a key role in damaging the city walls.<ref name= EdA/> It was one of a total of some 70 guns built by Orban for Mehmed.<ref name= PKD/>

Orban managed to build this giant cannon within three months at Adrianople. Due to its size, it was dragged by between 60-90 oxen and 200-400 men over the Template:Cvt distance to Constantinople.<ref name= RG/><ref name= TA/> The cannonball could be shot at a distance of somewhere between Template:Convert and Template:Cvt, and weighed Template:Convert.<ref name= bath/><ref name= EdA/> Mehmed placed his artillery in 14 or 15 batteries facing the city walls.<ref name= RG/> The Basilica in particular was horribly powerful, and when it hit, it caused massive damage to the stone-built fortifications. Due to its tremendous recoil, the cannon also killed many of its operators.<ref name= TA/> The heat developed by each detonation prevented the cannon from being fired more than seven times per day.<ref name= RG/> Additionally, due to the impurities in the cast bronze, the intense heat and shock created by the charge led to hairline fractures, and after each shot the barrel had to be soaked in warm oil to prevent cold air from penetrating and enlarging the fissures.<ref name= RG/> Orban's team had to shoot, maintain, and even repair the many cannons they had built.<ref name= RG/> The Basilica soon split into several pieces, killing many in the process.<ref name= RG/> Quickly fixed with iron hoops, it eventually had to be abandoned.<ref name= RG/> Ultimately, it lasted all of six weeks before becoming non-functional.Template:Cn

The Dardanelles Gun is a similar super-sized cannon that was built in 1464 by the Turkish military engineer Munir Ali and modelled after the cannon built by Orban.