An arquebus is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
Japanese Tanegashima arquebuses on a rack at Himeji Castle
A "double arquebus", 15th century
A serpentine matchlock mechanism
Placing the weapon on its rest
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that th
Arquebus
…in their earliest forms defensive weapons mounted on German city walls in the early 15th century. The addition of a shoulder stock, priming pan, and matchlock mechanism in the late 15th century turned the arquebus into a handheld firearm and also the first firearm equipped with a trigger. The exact dating of…
Engraving of musketeers from the Thirty Years' War
Various Japanese (samurai) Edo-period matchlocks (tanegashima)
Jochong (조총/鳥銃), the Korean matchlock musket