Lansquenet Gunner with 30 pound Cannon XVI/XVII cent.

The development of artillery was the first major change in military techniques after the Middle Ages. With the Renaissance age the development of artillery involved the scientific study of other subjects, such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, and also involved all other firearms, such as pistols, rifles, machine guns. Towards the end of the 16th century, bursting shells were introduced in place of solid ones, and the range of guns was limited mainly to cannon, mortar and howitzer. The needs imposed by the new weapon developed a whole series of new disciplines, such as modern fortification, scientific siege, the development of new means of transport, new tactics of deployment and use of troops. It was consequently one of the elements of the crisis of the feudal order and of the rise of nation states.