Shishane

The Shishane (or Shishana) was a type of musket^[1] widely used in the Balkans and Turkey, produced by official Ottoman arsenals as well as small gunsmith guilds and shops. They were unique in having a pentagonal or hexagonal shaped buttstock, ball trigger without a guard, and aperture rear sights, often with settings for extended ranges.

Shishane
Shishane with Miquelet Lock
Type	Musket
Service history
In service	16th century to 1820's (Military) until early 20th century (Irregulars)
Used by	Ottoman Empire
Wars	Nearly every Ottoman war from the 16th to 20th century
Production history
Produced	16th to mid 19th century
Specifications
Length	30 - 60 inches
Caliber	.44 - .80
Action	Matchlock/Miquelet Lock or Caplock (conversion)

Mechanism

Matchlock: The earliest Shishane muskets, adopted in the 16th century, utilized a Matchlock mechanism.

Miquelet: By the late 16th century, the more reliable miquelet lock was introduced.^[2] It would become standard by the late 17th century. This transition was so complete that many earlier matchlock weapons were retrofitted with miquelet locks in the 17th and 18th centuries.^[3] Despite significant arms trade with Italy, the Ottomans adopted the Spanish-style "Patilla" variant of the miquelet lock, which became characteristic of the Shishane.

Origin and usage

The Shishane was locally produced across the Ottoman region, Bosnia,^[4] Bulgaria,^[5] Kosovo,^[6] Macedonia,^[6] and Serbia.

It was a standard firearm for the Janissary corps until they were disbanded in 1826. Following that, it remained in widespread use with irregular forces, such as the Bashi-bazouks, and in regional conflicts throughout the Balkans. Period photographs confirm its use well into the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Decoration

Palace Guard Rifle with Ivory Decorated Stock & Khatam styled Rosette inlays.

Decoration was a paramount aspect of the Shishane. It was considered a mark of honor and status to possess a well-adorned weapon,^[7] and it is rare to find surviving examples without some form of embellishment. Common decorative techniques included extensive inlay work using materials such as ivory, brass, silver, horn, and bone set into the stock. Metal components like the barrel, lockplate, and frizzen were often engraved, with the designs sometimes filled with gold or silver wire, coral, or colored wax.

Certain styles of decoration are often speculatively attributed to specific regions (e.g., Balkan vs. Anatolian workshops), though these attributions are difficult to confirm definitively. Some surviving specimens bear inscribed dates on various components (barrel, lock plate, or under the mainspring) which aids historians and collectors in authenticating and dating them.

Gallery

• 
  17th Century Matchlock Shishane
• 
  Palace Guard Rifle stocked in Ivory
• 
  Shishane with Gabrovo style lock and barrel
• 
  Trabzon, 1900
• 
  Wall Gun
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