This article is part of the series on: Military of ancient Rome (portal) 800 BC – AD 476

Structural history

Roman army (unit types and ranks, legions, auxiliaries, generals)

Roman navy (fleets, admirals)

Campaign history

Lists of wars and battles

Decorations and punishments

Technological history

Military engineering (castra, siege engines, arches, roads)

Personal equipment

Political history

Strategy and tactics

Infantry tactics

Frontiers and fortifications (limes, Hadrian's Wall)

The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα - ballistra, from - βάλλω ballō, "to throw", plural ballistae) was a weapon developed from earlier Greek crossbows. Commonwealth English! -->The military of ancient Rome relates to the combined military forces of Ancient Rome from the founding of the city The structural history of the Roman military describes the major chronological transformations in the organization and constitution of Ancient Rome 's armed forces, The Roman army was a set of military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military This is a list of both unit types and ranks of the Roman army from the Roman Republic to the fall of This is a list of Roman legions, including key facts about each legion primarily focusing on Principate (early Empire 30BC - 284AD legions for which there exists Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia = "supports" formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate (30 BC&ndash284 AD A Manius Acilius Glabrio -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC -- Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 91 -- Titus The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state From its origin as a city-state in Italy in 9th century BC the rise as an empire covering much of Eurasia and North The following is a List of Roman wars fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, organized by date The following is a list of Roman Battles fought by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, and sometimes the Byzantine Empire As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted a "carrot and stick" approach to military with an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry The technology history of the Roman military covers the development of and application of technologies for use in the armies and navies of Rome from the Roman Republic to the fall The military engineering of Ancient Rome 's armed forces was of a scale and frequency far beyond that of any of its contemporaries The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military Roman Siege engines were for the most part adapted from Hellenistic Siege Technology. List of ancient Roman Triumphal arches (By modern country France Carpentras Triumphal Arch The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news Roman military personal equipment was produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way Rome's military was always tightly keyed to its political system The strategy of the Roman Military encompasses its Grand strategy (the arrangements made by the state to implement its political goals through a selection of military goals Roman infantry tactics refers to the theoretical and historical deployment formation and maneuvers of the Roman infantry from the start of the Roman Republic to the fall Roman military borders and fortifications were part of a Grand strategy of territorial defense in the Roman Empire. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. Hadrian's Wall ( Latin: perhaps Vallum Aelium, "the Aelian wall" is a stone and turf Fortification built by the Roman Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c A crossbow is a Weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles often called bolts It relied upon different mechanics using instead of a prod two levers with torsion springs, consisting of several loops of twisted skeins. In Solid mechanics, torsion is the twisting of an object due to an applied Torque. Early versions ejected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare. Darts are missile Weapons designed to fly such that a sharp often weighted point will strike first A projectile is any object propelled through space by the exertion of a force which ceases after launch It developed into a smaller sniper weapon, the Scorpio,^[1] and possibly the polybolos. READ DISCUSSION PAGE BEFORE MAKING ANY EDITS TO CAPTION BELOW http//en Scorpio (Dart-thrower ( Polybolos) was a Roman artillery piece invented in 50 BC. The polybolos (from Ancient Greek πολυβόλος, from πολύς - polys "many much" + βάλλω - ballo "to

The Greek Weapon

The early ballistae in Ancient Greece were developed from two weapons known as oxybeles and gastraphetes. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The oxybeles (Οξυβόλος literally "bolt shooter" was a weapon used by the Ancient Greeks starting in 375 BC The gastraphetes (from Ancient Greek γαστραφέτης, English translation: "belly-bow" was a hand-held Crossbow used by the The gastraphetes ('belly-bow') was a hand held crossbow. It had a composite prod and was spanned with both hands, with a ratchet preventing it from shooting while loading. The power available was not sufficient to be used successfully against hoplites and phalangites. The word hoplite ( Greek: hoplitēs; pl hoplitai) derives from hoplon ( plural hopla) meaning an item of armour or equipment thus 'hoplite' Phalangite is the Greek name for an Infantryman deployed in a phalanx (massive rectangular (or square closed formation) of Classical and hellenistic antiquity Bigger and heavier constructions, the oxybeles employed a winch and were mounted on a tripod. They had a lower rate of fire and were used as siege engines.

With the invention of torsion spring bundle technology, the first ballista was built. The term torsion may refer the following In geometry Torsion of curves Torsion tensor in differential geometry The advantage of this new technology was the fast relaxation time of this system. Thus it was possible to shoot lighter projectiles with higher velocities over a longer distance. For an oxybele, the rules of a crossbow demanded that the more energy could be stored, the thicker the prod had to be and the heavier the projectile, otherwise it would only fly with a share of the stored energy. A crossbow is a Weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles often called bolts The earliest form of the ballista is thought to have been developed for Dionysus of Syracuse, circa 400 BC. Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder (ca 432&ndash367 BC Greek: Διονύσιος) Tyrant of Syracuse, conquered several cities

The Greek ballistae are primarily thought to have been a siege weapon. A siege engine is a device that is designed to Break or circumvent City walls and other Fortifications in Siege warfare. All components that were not made of wood were transported in the baggage train. It would be assembled with local wood, if necessary. Some were positioned inside large, armored, mobile siege towers or even on the edge of a battlefield. A siege tower (or in the Middle Ages a Belfry) is a specialized Siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching For all the tactical advantages offered, it was only under Philip II of Macedon and even more so under his son Alexander, that the ballista began to develop and gain recognition as siege engine and field artillery. Philip II of Macedon, ( Greek: Φίλιππος Β' ο Μακεδών &mdash φίλος = friend + ίππος = Horse Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Polybius reports about the usage of smaller more portable ballistae, called scorpions, during the Second Punic War. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories The Second Punic War (referred to as "The War Against Hannibal" by the Romans lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western

Since these weapons delivered lighter munitions (thus delivering less energy on impact) it is a widely held opinion that they were used more as a counter-battery role, or to destroy lighter offensive or defensive structures. A less accurate weapon like an onager or other single-arm artillery could hit with more force, and thus would be the more useful weapon against reinforced wood or heavy masonry. The onager was a post-classical Roman Siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine similar to that of an Onager (wild ass

Ballistae could be easily modified to shoot both spherical and shaft projectiles, allowing their crews to adapt easily to prevailing battlefield situations in real time.

As the role of battlefield artillery became more sophisticated, a universal joint (which was invented just for this function) was integrated into the ballista's stand, allowing the operators to alter the trajectory and firing direction of the ballista as required without a lengthy disassembly of the machine. A universal joint, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy- Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a

The Roman Weapon

A Roman Ballista

A Roman Ballista (scorpion) on Trajan's Column

After the absorption of the Ancient Greek city-states into the Roman Republic in 146 BC, the highly advanced Greek technology began to spread across many areas of Roman influence. Trajan's Column is a Monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the This included the hugely advantageous military advances the Greeks had made (most notably by Dionysus of Syracuse), as well as all the scientific, mathematical, political and artistic developments.

The Romans 'inherited' the torsion powered Ballista which had by now spread to several cities around the Mediterranean, all of which became Roman spoils of war in time, including one from Pergamum, which was depicted among a pile of 'trophy' weapons in relief on a balustrade.

The torsion ballista, developed by Alexander, was a far more complicated weapon than its predecessor and the Romans developed it even further, especially into much smaller versions, that could easily be carried.

The early Roman ballista

The early Roman ballistae were made of wood, and held together with iron plates around the frames and iron nails in the stand. The main stand had a slider on the top, into which were loaded the bolts or stone 'shot'. Attached to this, at the back, was a pair of 'Winches' and a 'Claw', used to ratchet the bowstring back to the armed firing position. A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up or let out (wind out or otherwise adjust the " Tension " of a Rope or Wire rope In Mechanical engineering, a ratchet is a device that allows linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction

The slider passed through the field frames of the weapon, in which were located the torsion springs (rope made of animal sinew), which were twisted around the bow arms, which in turn were attached to the bowstring. A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of Fibrous connective tissue that usually connects Muscle to Bone and is capable of withstanding tension

Drawing the bowstring back with the winches twisted the already taut springs, storing the energy to fire the projectiles.

Ballista bolt heads.

The ballista was a highly accurate weapon (there are many accounts of single soldiers being picked off by ballista operators), but some design aspects meant it could compromise its accuracy for range. The maximum range was over 500 yards, but effective combat range for many targets was far shorter. The ballista's relatively lightweight bolts also did not have the high momentum of the stones thrown by the later onagers, trebuchets, or mangonels; these could be as heavy as 200-300 pounds (90-135 kg). The onager was a post-classical Roman Siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine similar to that of an Onager (wild ass A trebuchet or trebucket is a Siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash Masonry Walls or to throw A mangonel was a type of Catapult or Siege machine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle 's walls The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass

The Romans continued the development of the Ballista, and it became a highly prized and valued weapon in the army of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

It was used, just before the start of the Empire, by Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul and on both of his campaigns in conquering Britain. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Both attempted invasions of Britain and the siege of Alesi are recorded in his own Commentarii (journal), The Gallic Wars (De Bello Gallico). Commentarii ( Latin, Greek: ''hupomnemata'') are notes to assist the memory or Memoranda. The Gallic Wars were a series of Military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes, lasting from Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar 's third-person account of his nine years of war in Gaul.

The first invasion of Britain

The first invasion of Britain took place in 55 BC, after a rapid and successful initial conquest of Gaul, in part as an exploratory expedition to see the land across the sea, and more practically to try and put an end to the reinforcements sent across by the native Britons to fight the Romans in Gaul.

A total of eighty transports, carrying two legions attempted to land on the British shore (the eighteen accompanying cavalry transports had been blown off course on the way over), only to be driven back by the many British warriors assembled along the shoreline. The ships had to unload their troops on the beach, as it was the only one suitable for many miles, yet the massed ranks of British charioteers and javeliners were making it impossible. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples

Seeing this, Caesar ordered the warships – which were swifter and easier to handle than the transports, and likely to impress the natives more by their unfamiliar appearance – to be removed a short distance from the others, and then be rowed hard and run ashore on the enemy’s right flank, from which position the slings, bows and artillery could be used by men on deck to drive them back. This manoeuvre was highly successful.
Scared by the strange shape of the warships, the motion of the oars, and the unfamiliar machines, the natives halted and then retreated a little. (Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul, p99)

The siege of Alesia

In Gaul, the stronghold of Alesia was under a Roman siege in 52 BC, and was famously almost completely surrounded by a fourteen mile long trench filled with water diverted from the local river, then another trench, then a wooden palisade and towers, then the besiegeing Roman army, then another series of palisades and trenches to protect them from any Gallic relief forces. Alesia was the capital of the Mandubii, one of the Gaulish tribes allied with the mighty Aedui, and after Julius Caesar 's conquest a Roman town The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September 52 BC around the Gallic Oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and palisade is a steel or wooden Fence or wall of variable height usually used as a defensive structure As was standard siege technique at the time, small ballistae were placed up in the towers as snipers and other troops armed with either bows or slings. A bow is a Weapon that projects arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow

The ballista in the Roman Empire

During the days of the conquest of Empire, the ballista proved its worth many times, in sieges and battles, on ships and on the land. It was even used to quell riots. It is from the time of the Roman Empire that many of the archaeological finds of ballistae date and in these times that many of the authors, whose technical manuals and journal accounts used by archaeologists to reconstruct these weapons, wrote their accounts.

After the time of Julius Caesar, the ballista was a permanent fixture in the Roman Army and, over time, modifications and improvements were made by successive engineers. This included replacing the remaining wooden parts of the machine with metal, creating a much smaller and lighter machine, capable of even more power than the wooden version, since the metal was not liable to snap like the wood, and which required less maintenance (though the vital torsion springs were still vulnerable to the rain).

The cheiroballistra/Manuballista

External images
	Reenactor with manuballista [2]

The Cheiroballistra and the Manuballista (hereafter Manuballista) are held by many archaeologists to be the same weapon. The cheiroballista, cheiroballistra or manuballista, which translates in all its forms to 'hand Ballista ' was a late Roman siege engine. The difference in names comes from the different languages spoken in the Empire. Latin remained the official language in the Western Empire, but the Eastern Empire predominantly used Greek, which added an extra 'r' in the word Ballista. The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern

The Manuballista was a handheld version of the traditional Ballista. This new version was made entirely of iron, which conferred greater power to the weapon, since it was smaller, and less iron, an expensive material before the 19th century, was used in its production. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar It was not the ancient Gastraphetes, but the Roman weapon. However, the same physical limitations applied as with the Gastraphetes.

The carroballista

External images
	Drawing of two carroballistae[3]
	Relief of a carroballista on Trajan' column[4]

The Carroballista was a cart-mounted version of the weapon. This gave it a great deal of flexibility and much more ability as a battlefield weapon, since the increased maneuverability allowed it to be moved with the flow of the battle. This weapon features several times on Trajan's Column. Trajan's Column is a Monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus

The polybolos

External images
	Trigger of the polybolos[5]
	Side elevation of the polybolos[6]
	From above with magazin removed[7]
	Another view of the trigger[8]

According to some sources, the Roman military, at one time in its history, also fielded 'repeating' ballistae, also known as a polybolos. The polybolos (from Ancient Greek πολυβόλος, from πολύς - polys "many much" + βάλλω - ballo "to Reconstruction and trials of such a weapon carried out in a BBC documentary 'What the Romans Did For Us' showed that they "were able to shoot eleven bolts a minute, which is almost four times the rate at which an ordinary ballista can be operated". ^[9] However, this has not yet been found archaeologically. They operate using a cam to pull the mensa (the place where the projectile travels on) backwards and the string along with it. At the rearmost position, the string is unlocked and propels the projectile forwards. The mensa is then pushed forward and pushes a bolt out of the magazine above it, and latches on to the string, all done with the rotating cam. The cycle then repeats.

Archaeology and the Roman ballista

A small ballista (nine feet long). Note: The torsion springs are shorter than would be historically accurate.

IV Century AD ballista

Archaeology, and in particular Experimental archaeology has been particularly influential on this subject. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Experimental archaeology employs a number of different methods techniques analyses and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses or an interpretation based upon archaeological Although several ancient authors (such as Vegetius) wrote very detailed technical treatises, providing us with all the information necessary to reconstruct the weapons, all their measurements were in their native language and therefore highly difficult to translate. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a writer of the Later Roman Empire.

Attempts to reconstruct these ancient weapons began at the end of the 19th century, based on the rough translations of these ancient authors. It was only during the 20th century, however, that many of these reconstructions began to make any sense as a weapon. By bringing in modern engineers, progress was made with the ancient measurement systems. By redesigning the reconstructions using the new information, archaeologists in the field were able to recognize certain finds from Roman military sites, and identify them as ballistae. The information learned from the excavations then went back into the next generation of reconstructions and so on.

Sites across the empire have yielded information on ballistae, from Spain (the Ampurias Catapult), to Italy (the Cremona Battleshield, which proved that the weapons had decorative metal plates to shield the operators), to Iraq (the Hatra Machine) and even Scotland (Burnswark siege tactics training camp), and many other sites between.

The most influential archaeologists in this area have been Peter Connolley and Eric Marsden, who have not only written extensively on the subject but have also made many reconstructions themselves and have refined the designs over many years of work.

The Middle Ages

With the decline of the Roman Empire, resources to build and maintain these complex machines became very scarce, so the ballista was supplanted by the simpler and cheaper onager. The onager was a post-classical Roman Siege engine, which derived its name from the kicking action of the machine similar to that of an Onager (wild ass

Though the weapon continued to be used in the Middle Ages, it faded from popular use with the advent of the trebuchet and mangonel in siege warfare. A trebuchet or trebucket is a Siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash Masonry Walls or to throw A mangonel was a type of Catapult or Siege machine used in the medieval period to throw projectiles at a castle 's walls The crossbow and eventually the longbow supplanted it as sniper weapon. A crossbow is a Weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles often called bolts To see other senses of this word see Longbow (disambiguation. They all were simpler to make, easier to maintain (no anointment) and much cheaper. Due to the limited influence of the (now mostly dissolved) Roman Empire, the ballista could rarely be found in use across both Europe and the Middle East in the Middle Ages.

See also

• Catapult

Notes

References

• Caesar (tr Handforth), 1982, The Conquest of Gaul, London: Penguin Books
• Campbell, D; 2003, Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC – AD 363, Osprey
• Connolly, P; 1975, The Roman Army, Macdonald Educational
• Connolly, P; 1998, Greece and Rome at War, Greenhill Books
• Feugère, M; 2002, Weapons of the Romans, Arcadia
• Goldsworthy, A; 2003, The Complete Roman Army, Thames and Hudson
• Marsden, E. W; 1971, Greek and Roman Technical Treatises, Clarendon
• Warry, J.  ;1995, Warfare in the Classical World, Salamander Books Ltd. , London: United Kingdom. ISBN 0-8061-2794-5
• Wilkins, A; 2003, Roman Artillery, Shire Archaeology

External links

• Ancient Greek Artillery Technology
• Reconstructions and Plans of Greek and Roman Artillery