Editing Arquebus (section)

===Asia===
The arquebus spread further east, reaching India by 1500, Southeast Asia by 1540, and China sometime between 1523 and 1548.{{sfn|Khan|2004|p=131}}{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=169}} They were introduced to Japan in 1543 by Portuguese traders who landed by accident on [[Tanegashima]] (種子島), an island south of [[Kyūshū]] in the region controlled by the [[Shimazu clan]].{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=169}} By 1550, arquebuses known as [[Tanegashima (Japanese matchlock)|''tanegashima'']], ''[[Firearms of Japan|teppō]] (鉄砲)'' or [[Tanegashima (Japanese matchlock)|''hinawaju (火縄銃)'']] were being produced in large numbers in Japan. The ''tanegashima'' seem to have utilized [[snap matchlock]]s based on firearms from [[Goa]], India, which was captured by the Portuguese in 1510.<ref>Rainer Daehnhardt (1994). ''The bewitched gun: the introduction of the firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese'', p. 26</ref> Within ten years of its introduction upwards of three hundred thousand tanegashima were reported to have been manufactured.{{sfn|Nagayama|1997}} The tanegashima eventually became one of the most important weapons in Japan. [[Oda Nobunaga]] revolutionized musket tactics in Japan by splitting loaders and shooters and assigning three guns to a shooter at the [[Battle of Nagashino]] in 1575, during which volley fire may have been implemented. However, the volley fire technique of 1575 has been called into dispute in recent years by J. S. A. Elisonas and J. P. Lamers in their translation of ''The Chronicle of Oda Nobunaga'' by Ota Gyuichi. In Lamers' ''Japonius'' he says that "whether or not Nobunaga actually operated with three rotating ranks cannot be determined on the basis of reliable evidence."{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=354}} They claim that the version of events describing volley fire was written several years after the battle, and an earlier account says to the contrary that guns were fired en masse.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=170}} Even so, both Korean and Chinese sources note that Japanese gunners were making use of volley fire during the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=181}}

====Iran====
Regarding Iranian use of the arquebus, much of the credit for their increase in use can be attributed to [[Shah Ismail I]] who, after being defeated by the firearm-using Ottomans in 1514, began extensive use of arquebuses and other firearms himself with an estimated 12,000 arquebusiers in service less than 10 years after his initial defeat by the Ottomans.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Nourbakhsh|first=Mohammad Reza (Farhad)|date=2008|title=Iran's Early Encounter with Three Medieval European Inventions (875–1153 AH/1470–1740 CE)|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=41|issue=4|pages=549–558|jstor=25597489|doi=10.1080/00210860802246242|s2cid=144208564}}</ref> According to a 1571 report by Vincentio d'Alessandri, Persian arms including arquebuses "were superior and better tempered than those of any other nation", suggesting that such firearms were in common use among middle eastern powers by at least the mid-16th century.{{sfn|Adle|2003|p=475}} While the use of 12,000 arquebusiers is impressive, the firearms were not widely adopted in Iran. This is in no small part due to the reliance on light cavalry by the Iranians.<ref name=":0" /> Riding a horse and operating an arquebus are incredibly difficult which helped lead to both limited use and heavy stagnation in the technology associated with firearms.<ref name=":0" /> These limitations aside, the Iranians still made use of firearms and Europe was very important in facilitating that as Europeans supplied Iran with firearms and sent experts to help them produce some of the firearms themselves.<ref name=":0" /> Iran also made use of elephant mounted arquebusiers which would give them a clear view of their targets and better mobility.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iqtidar Alam |title=Firearms in Central Asia and Iran During the Fifteenth Century and the Origins and Nature of Firearms Brought by Babur|date=1995|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=56|pages=435–46|jstor=44158646}}</ref>

====Southeast Asia====
[[Southeast Asia]]n powers started fielding arquebuses by 1540.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=169}} [[Đại Việt]] was considered by the Ming to have produced particularly advanced matchlocks during the 16–17th century, surpassing even Ottoman, Japanese, and European firearms. European observers of the [[Lê–Mạc War]] and later [[Trịnh–Nguyễn War]] also noted the proficiency of matchlock making by the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese matchlock was said to have been able to pierce several layers of iron armour, kill two to five men in one shot, yet also fire quietly for a weapon of its caliber.<ref>{{citation |url=http://greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2014/11/matchlock-of-ming-dynasty.html |title=Matchlock firearms of the Ming Dynasty |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>

====China====
The arquebus was introduced to the [[Ming dynasty]] in the early 16th century and was used in small numbers to fight off pirates by 1548. There is, however, no exact date for its introduction and sources conflict on the time and manner in which it was introduced. Versions of the arquebus' introduction to China include the capture of firearms by the Ming during a battle in 1523,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Xiaodong|first=Yin|title=Western Cannons in China in the 16th–17th Centuries|date=2008|journal=Icon|volume=14|pages=41–61|jstor=23787161}}</ref> the capture of the pirate Wang Zhi, who had arquebuses, in 1558, which contradicts the usage of arquebuses by the Ming army ten years earlier, and the capture of arquebuses from Europeans by the Xu brother pirates, which later came into possession of a man named Bald Li, from whom the Ming officials captured the arquebuses. About 10,000 muskets were ordered by the Central Military Weaponry Bureau in 1558 and the firearms were used to fight off pirates.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=171}}

[[Qi Jiguang]] developed military formations for the effective use of arquebus equipped troops with different mixtures of troops deployed in 12-man teams. The number of arquebuses assigned to each team could vary depending on the context but theoretically in certain cases all members of the team could have been deployed as gunners. These formations also made use of countermarch volley fire techniques. Firearm platoons deployed one team in front of them at the blast of a bamboo flute. They started firing after their leader fired and fired once at the blast of a trumpet, and then spread out according to their drilling pattern. Each layer could also fire once at the blowing of a horn and were supported by close-quarters troops who could advance should the need arise. To avoid self-inflicted injuries and ensure a consistent rate of fire in the heat of battle, Qi emphasized drilling in the procedure required to reload the weapon. Qi Jiguang gave a eulogy on the effectiveness of the gun in 1560:

{{blockquote|It is unlike any other of the many types of fire weapons. In strength it can pierce armor. In accuracy it can strike the center of targets, even to the point of hitting the eye of a coin [i.e., shooting right through a coin], and not just for exceptional shooters.&nbsp;... The arquebus [鳥銃] is such a powerful weapon and is so accurate that even bow and arrow cannot match it, and&nbsp;... nothing is so strong as to be able to defend against it.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=172}}|''Jixiao Xinshu''}}