Hand Cannon
The hand cannon is one of the earliest forms of a portable firearm and the forerunner to the handgun. This simple type of firearm required a direct manual external ignition through a touch hole without any form of firing mechanism. The earliest surviving documented use of these hand cannons were translated from Arabic manuscripts dated to the 14th century. This simple weapon consisted of an iron barrel with some type of handle usually made of wood or metal. In order to fire this weapon the cannon could be held with two hands while an assistant operator would apply the means of ignition, which ranged from smoldering wood or coal, red hot iron rods, or burning rope. The later versions had a flash pan attached to the barrel, and a touch hole drilled through the side of the gun instead of the top allowing for a single operator to use the weapon effectively. These cannons could shoot a wide range of projectiles from pebbles found on the ground to sophisticated ammunition such as balls shaped of stone, iron, or arrows.