After the discovery of gunpowder by the 9th century, human wars and rivalry were transformed. Man realized the art of mass killing by scorching people out of their lives. However, the firearms followed a trend, beginning from China, Middle East and entered Europe, their mainstay. As early as the 12th century, firearms were already in use in China.

1. Fire lance

Fire-lance is the ancestor of the modern sophisticated firearm. It was a tube filled with gunpowder and was usually attached to a spear or made in the form of a flame-thrower, with shrapnel at the tip to fly with the explosion and appeared in the 10th century in China.

2. Earliest Gun

This was used at Sichuan, in China, sculptor dated 12th century with a bombarded shaped vase emitting flames with a cannonball thrown out.

3. Oldest Gun Still Around

There is a gun, the oldest still around, used in 1288 and bronze made discovered in China, Acheng District, a place where historical records depict wars took place in the area.

4. Arabs Firearms

Firearms came into the hands of Arabs by the 14th century, used in 1260 in the famous battle of Ain Jalut where gunpowder formulae were used as an element in the explosives.

5. Europes Oldest Surviving Firearm

The oldest and surviving firearm across European nations was excavated in Estonia, Otepaa and believed to point back to the year 1396.

6. Handheld Cannons

They came into use in Europe in the 14th century and were hand held due to their portability. They were the first ever-personal smooth bore firearm in the world and used in the Ottoman Empire by the 15th century.

7. Oldest Repeating Firearm

In this category, the revolver is the earliest and these types of rifles were referred to as turret guns. Their earliest design goes back to 1836 after the Colt Paterson introduction.

8. English Cannon

Came into use in 1346 in the battle of Crecy in what was known as the Hundred Years War, when the cannon as a firearm became a standard and effective arsenal in sieges and anti-infantry advance.

9. Hand Cannon

Oldest portable firearm and believed to be the direct ancestor of the handgun. Some historical manuscripts in Arabic put it in usage as early as the 14th century.

10. Moorish Cannon

Used by the Andalusians in 1248 in the siege of Seville and 14 years later in Niebla, a time when handguns are believed to have been in use. By 1281, it was being used together with cross-bowmen. Artillery masters were introduced in Spain by this time.