Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Magazine (military)
(771 words)

The word “magazine” comes from the Arabic makhâzin, which means “storehouse.” It arrived in the Romance language region from around 1400, initially in this general sense, probably in connection with the commercial relationships of the Italian city states (Italian maggazzino; Spanish magacén; French magasin).

As armies increased in size from the early 16th century, magazines were built, sporadically at first, to supply troops in the field (Charles V 1522). A regulated system of magazines was set up in France from the second half of the…

Cite this page
Kroener, Bernhard, “Magazine (military)”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_023578>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801



▲   Back to top   ▲