 It was made a Great Office of the Crown in 1601 by King Henry IV for the benefit of Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully.The Grand Master of Artillery had jurisdiction, at the beginning of the 17th century, over all the officers and the artillery of the French army, as well as oversight over sieges and encampments, the making of gunpowder and cannons and management of the arsenals.At the end of the century, the position became merely honorific, and his duties passed to other more specialized officers, most notably the "surintendant des fortifications".