gunpowder empire

noun

Any of the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires, which all had considerable military success using then-innovative firearms, especially cannon and small arms.

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Meanings

noungunpowder empire (plural gunpowder empires)

plural gunpowder empires

  1. historicalAny of the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires, which all had considerable military success using then-innovative firearms, especially cannon and small arms.

Origin

Coined by Marshall G. S. Hodgson and William H. McNeill at the University of Chicago. Hodgson used the phrase as a title in The Venture of Islam (1974).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch buskruitrijk
  • buskruitrijkgunpowder empire
Finnish ruutivaltakunta
  • ruutivaltakuntagunpowder empire
Russian порохова́я импе́рия
  • порохова́я импе́рия (poroxovája impérija)gunpowder empire
Cite this entry
APA

gunpowder empire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunpowder%20empire

MLA

“gunpowder empire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunpowder%20empire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gunpowder empire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunpowder%20empire.

Source: gunpowder empire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.