Cast-Iron Muzzle-Loading Cannon, 17th–18th Centuries

This cast-iron muzzle-loading cannon was cast in Russia in the 17th–18th centuries. Guns of this kind were loaded through the muzzle, unlike the earlier breech-loading bombards.

The weapons collection of the Azov Museum holds muzzle-loading cannons of the Azov Fortress from the same period, as well as cannonballs of various calibres found during building work around the fortress. This was the era of the struggle between Russia and the Ottoman Empire for Azov: in 1696, during Peter I's second Azov campaign, Russian troops took the fortress.