ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the apparent contradiction in the process of state-formation by focusing on the foremost military developments in medieval and early-modern India. After stressing the longue duree of India's geographical context and military culture, it specifically addresses revolutionary changes in the use of the warhorse and gunpowder. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries India experienced a sudden rise of formerly peripheral but highly mobile warrior tribes. The uprooting effects of the horse-warrior revolution during the eleventh and twelfth centuries began to be experienced even more thoroughly during the following two centuries, mainly as a result of a sudden advance in siege technology. This was also the first time that gunpowder came to play a more prominent role in oriental warfare; rising portions of saltpetre had turned it from a mere incendiary into a far more powerful explosive device.
