![Warring States Traction Trebuchet Model](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Warring_States_Traction_Trebuchet_Model.jpg)
The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of
trebuchet
A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weigh ...
used in
Ancient China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
starting from the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
, and later across
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later
counterweight trebuchet
A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weight ...
, the mangonel operated on manpower pulling cords attached to a lever and sling to launch projectiles.
Although the mangonel required more men to function, it was also less complex and faster to reload than the
torsion-powered onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
which it replaced in early
Medieval Europe
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was replaced as the primary siege weapon in the 12th and 13th centuries by the counterweight trebuchet.
A common
misconception about the mangonel is that it was a torsion siege engine.
Etymology
''Mangonel'' is probably derived from the Greek ''mangana'', "a generic term for construction machinery." It could also be derived from ''mangon'', a French hard stone found in the south of France. In Latin it is called a ''manganum'', in French a ''manganeau'', and in English a ''mangonel''. Mangonel was a general term for medieval stone-throwing artillery and used more specifically to refer to manually (traction-) powered weapons. It is sometimes wrongly used to refer to the
onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
. Modern military historians came up with the term "traction trebuchet" to distinguish it from previous torsion machines such as the onager.
The mangonel was called ''al-manjanīq'', ''arrada'', ''shaytani'', or ''sultani'' in Arabic. In China the mangonel was called the ''pào'' (砲).
History
![Jiche Catapult](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Jiche_Catapult.PNG)
China
![SiJiao Pao-t1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/SiJiao_Pao-t1.jpg)
The mangonel is thought to have originated in ancient China.
[Chevedden, Paul E.; et al. (July 1995). "The Trebuchet". Scientific American: 66–71. http://static.sewanee.edu/physics/PHYSICS103/trebuchet.pdf . Original version.][The Trebuchet]
Citation:"The trebuchet, invented in China between the fifth and third centuries B.C.E., reached the Mediterranean by the sixth century C.E. "[PAUL E. CHEVEDDEN]
The Invention of the Counterweight Trebuchet: A Study in Cultural Diffusion
, p.71, p.74, See citation:"The traction trebuchet, invented by the Chinese sometime before the fourth century B.C." in page 74 Torsion-based siege weapons such as the
ballista
The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant ta ...
and
onager
The onager (; ''Equus hemionus'' ), A new species called the kiang (''E. kiang''), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be a subspecies of the onager as ''E. hemionus kiang'', but recent molecular studies indicate it to be a distinct ...
are not known to have been used in China.
The first recorded use of mangonels was in ancient China. They were probably used by the
Mohist
Mohism or Moism (, ) was an Chinese philosophy#Ancient philosophy, ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and science developed by the academic scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (c. 470 BC ...
s as early as 4th century BC, descriptions of which can be found in the
''Mojing'' (compiled in the 4th century BC).
[ According to the ''Mojing'', the mangonel was high with four feet buried below ground, the fulcrum attached was constructed from the wheels of a cart, the throwing arm was long with three quarters above the pivot and a quarter below to which the ropes are attached, and the sling long. The range given for projectiles are . They were used as defensive weapons stationed on walls and sometimes hurled hollowed out logs filled with burning charcoal to destroy enemy siege works. By the 1st century AD, commentators were interpreting other passages in texts such as the '' Zuo zhuan'' and '']Classic of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
'' as references to the mangonel: "the guai is 'a great arm of wood on which a stone is laid, and this by means of a device iis shot off and so strikes down the enemy.'" The ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'' say that "The flying stones weigh 12 catties and by devices iare shot off 300 paces." Mangonels went into decline during the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
due to long periods of peace but became a common siege weapon again during the Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period. They were commonly called stone-throwing machines, thunder carriages, and stone carriages in the following centuries. They were used as ship mounted weapons by 573 for attacking enemy fortifications. It seems that during the early 7th century, improvements were made on mangonels, although it is not explicitly stated what. According to a stele in Barkul
Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County (sometimes Barkul or Balikul in English) is part of Hami Prefecture in Xinjiang and has an area of . It forms part of the China–Mongolia border (bordering the Mongolian provinces of Khovd and Govi-Altai) on the co ...
celebrating Tang Taizong
Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...
's conquest of what is now Ejin Banner
Ejin or Ejina ( Mongolian: Эжэн-э қосиу ''Ejen-e qosiɣu''; ) is a banner in the far west of Inner Mongolia, China. It is under the administration of Alxa League and is the westernmost county-level division of Inner Mongolia, borderi ...
, the engineer Jiang Xingben made great advancements on mangonels that were unknown in ancient times. Jiang Xingben participated in the construction of siege engines for Taizong's campaigns against the Western Regions.
In 617 Li Mi (Sui dynasty)
Li Mi (; 582–619), courtesy name Xuansui (), pseudonym Liu Zhiyuan (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, politician, and rebel. He was the leader of a rebel movement against the rule of the Chinese Sui dynasty. He initially was t ...
constructed 300 mangonels for his assault on Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
, in 621 Li Shimin
Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...
did the same at Luoyang, and onward into the Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
when in 1161, mangonels operated by Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
soldiers fired bombs of lime and sulphur against the ships of the Jin dynasty navy during the Battle of Caishi
The Battle of Caishi (, approximately ) was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China that took place on November 26–27, 1161. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons.
Soldiers under the ...
. During the Jingde period (1004-1007), many young men rose in office due to their military accomplishments, and one such man, Zhang Cun, was said to have possessed no knowledge except how to operate a Whirlwind mangonel. When the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
The Jin dynasty (,
; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin
in ...
laid siege to Kaifeng in 1126, they attacked with 5,000 mangonels.
Chinese mangonels
The ''Wujing Zongyao
The ''Wujing Zongyao'' (), sometimes rendered in English as the ''Complete Essentials for the Military Classics'', is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044.
The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Ze ...
'' lists various types of the mangonel:
* Whirlwind - a swivel mangonel for shooting small missiles that could be turned to face any direction
** Whirlwind battery - five whirlwind mangonels combined on a single turntable
* ''Pao che'' (catapult cart) - a whirlwind mangonel on wheels
* Crouching tiger - medium sized mangonel considered stronger than the whirlwind type but weaker than the four-footed
* Four-footed - a trestle-frame mangonel for shooting heavier projectiles
** Two-seven component - different weight classes for the four-footed type indicated by the number of poles bound together to create the swinging arm
Spread
The mangonel was carried westward by the Avars and appeared next in the eastern Mediterranean by the late 6th century AD, where it replaced torsion powered siege engines such as the ballista and onager. The rapid displacement of torsion siege engines was probably due to a combination of reasons. The mangonel is simpler in design, has a faster rate of fire, increased accuracy, and comparable range and power. It was probably also safer than the twisted cords of torsion weapons, "whose bundles of taut sinews stored up huge amounts of energy even in resting state and were prone to catastrophic failure when in use." At the same time, the late Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
seems to have fielded "considerably less artillery than its forebears, organised now in separate units, so the weaponry that came into the hands of successor states might have been limited in quantity." Evidence from Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
and Germania
Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...
suggests there was substantial loss of skills and techniques in artillery further west.
According to the ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the hi ...
'', probably written around 620 by John, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, the Avaro-Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
attacked Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
in 586 with mangonel. The bombardment lasted for hours, but the operators were inaccurate and most of the shots missed their target. When one stone did reach their target, it "demolished the top of the rampart down to the walkway." The Byzantines adopted the mangonel possibly as early as 587, the Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
in the early 7th century, and the Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
in the second half of the 7th century. Like the Chinese, by 653, the Arabs also had ship mounted mangonel. The Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
and Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
adopted the weapon in the 8th century. The '' Life of Louis the Pious'' contains the earliest western European reference to mangonels in its account of the siege of Tortosa (808–809)
The siege of Tortosa was a military campaign by King Louis the Pious of Aquitaine in 808–809. It was part of a decade of intense activity by Louis against the Umayyad Emirate in the region of the lower Ebro. The chronology of his campaigns, whic ...
. In the 890s, Abbo Cernuus
Abbo Cernuus ("the Crooked"), Abbo Parisiensis, or Abbo of Saint-Germain (c. 850c. 923) was a Neustrian Benedictine monk and poet of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. He was born about the middle of the ninth century.
Abbo was present ...
described ''mango'' or ''manganaa'' used at the Siege of Paris (885–886)
The siege of Paris of 885–886 was part of a Viking raid on the Seine, in the Kingdom of the West Franks. The siege was the most important event of the reign of Charles the Fat, and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty ...
which had high posts, presumably meaning they used trebuchet-type throwing arms. In 1173, the Republic of Pisa
The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...
tried to capture an island castle with mangonels on galleys. Mangonels were also used in India.
According to Leife Inge Ree Peterson, a mangonel could have been used at Theodosiopolis in 421 but was "likely an onager". He also claims that mangonels were independently invented or at least known in the Eastern Mediterranean by 500 AD based on records of different and better artillery weapons, however there is no explicit description of a mangonel. Furthermore mangonels were used in Spain and Italy by the mid 6th century and in Africa by the 7th century. The Franks adopted the weapon in the 8th century. Another theory points to the independent invention of the mangonel through an evolution of the Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
staff-sling, although this has received little support.
Function
The mangonel was most efficient as an anti-personnel weapon, used in a supportive position alongside archers and slingers. Most accounts of mangonels describe them as light artillery weapons while actual penetration of defenses was the result of mining or siege towers. At the Siege of Kamacha in 766, Byzantine defenders used wooden cover to protect themselves from the enemy artillery while inflicting casualties with their own stone throwers. Michael the Syrian
Michael the Syrian ( ar, ميخائيل السرياني, Mīkhaʾēl el Sūryani:),( syc, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great ( syr, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܪܰܒ݁ܳܐ, ...
noted that at the siege of Balis in 823 it was the defenders that suffered from bombardment rather than the fortifications. At the siege of Kaysum, Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani
Abdallah ibn Tahir ( fa, عبدالله طاهر, ar, عبد الله بن طاهر الخراساني) (ca. 798–844/5) was a military leader and the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 828 until his death. He is perhaps the most famous of th ...
used artillery to damage houses in the town. The Sack of Amorium
The Sack of Amorium by the Abbasid Caliphate in mid-August 838 was one of the major events in the long history of the Arab–Byzantine Wars. The Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph al-Mu'tasim (), in retaliation to a virtually unop ...
in 838 saw the use of mangonels to drive away defenders and destroy wooden defenses. At the siege of Marand
Marand ( fa, مرند; ; also Romanized as Morand) is a city and capital of Marand County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
Marand is among major cities in the province. It is located in the north-west of capital of the province Tabriz. Marand ha ...
in 848, mangonels were used, "reportedly killing 100 and wounding 400 on each side during the eight-month siege." During the siege of Baghdad in 865, defensive artillery were responsible for repelling an attack on the city gate while mangonels on boats claimed a hundred of the defenders' lives.
Some exceptionally large and powerful mangonels have been described during the 11th century or later. At the Siege of Manzikert (1054), the Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
' initial siege artillery was countered by the defenders' own, which shot stones at the besieging machine. In response, the Seljuks constructed another one requiring 400 men to pull and threw stones weighing 20 kg. A breach was created on the first shot but the machine was burnt down by the defenders. According to Matthew of Edessa
Matthew of Edessa (, Matevos Uṛhayetsi; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa (, ''Uṛha''). Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank' (Red Convent), near the town of Kaysun, ...
, this machine weighed 3,400 kg and caused a number of casualties to the city's defenders. Ibn al-Adim Kamāl al-Dīn Abū ʾl-Ḳāsim ʿUmar ibn Aḥmad ibn Hibat Allāh Ibn al-ʿAdīm (1192–1262; ) was an Arab biographer and historian from Aleppo. He is best known for his work ''Bughyat al-Talab fī Tārīkh Ḥalab'' (; ''Everything Desirable a ...
describes a mangonel capable of throwing a man in 1089. At the siege of Haizhou in 1161, a mangonel was reported to have had a range of 200 paces (over 400 meters).
Decline
West of China, the mangonel remained the primary siege engine until the late 12th century when it was replaced by the counterweight trebuchet. In China the mangonel was the primary siege engine until the counterweight trebuchet was introduced during the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty
The Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty or the Mongol invasion of China beginning under Ögedei Khan (r. 1229 – 1241) and completed under Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294) was the final step for the Mongols to rule the whole of continental East A ...
in the 13th century. The counterweight trebuchet did not completely replace the mangonel. Despite its greater range, counterweight trebuchets had to be constructed close to the site of the siege unlike mangonels, which were smaller, lighter, cheaper, and easier to take apart and put back together again where necessary. The superiority of the counterweight trebuchet was not clear cut. Of this, the Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
stated in 1388: "The old type of trebuchet was really more convenient. If you have a hundred of those machines, then when you are ready to march, each wooden pole can be carried by only four men. Then when you reach your destination, you encircle the city, set them up, and start shooting!" The mangonel continued to serve as an anti-personnel weapon. The Norwegian text of 1240, ''Speculum regale'', explicitly states this division of functions. Mangonels were to be used for hitting people in undefended areas. As late as the Siege of Acre (1291)
The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders losing control of Acre to the Mamluks. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continu ...
, where the Mamluk Sultanate
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...
fielded 72 or 92 trebuchets, the majority were still mangonels while 14 or 15 were counterweight trebuchets. The counterweight trebuchets were unable to create a breach in Acre's walls and the Mamluks entered the city by sapping the northeast corner of the outer wall. The Templar of Tyre Templar of Tyre (french: Templier de Tyr) is the conventional designation of the anonymous 14th-century historian who compiled the Old French chronicle known as the ''Deeds of the Cypriots'' (French: ''Gestes des Chiprois''). The ''Deeds'' was writt ...
described the faster firing mangonels as more dangerous to the defenders than the counterweight trebuchets.
File:Hudunpao-wujingzongyao.jpg, Crouching tiger trebuchet (stationary mangonel) from the ''Wujing Zongyao
The ''Wujing Zongyao'' (), sometimes rendered in English as the ''Complete Essentials for the Military Classics'', is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044.
The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Ze ...
''
File:Five whirlwind trebuchets wjzy.jpg, Five whirlwind trebuchets (swivel mangonels) from the ''Wujing Zongyao
The ''Wujing Zongyao'' (), sometimes rendered in English as the ''Complete Essentials for the Military Classics'', is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044.
The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Ze ...
''
Image:Songrivership3.jpg, Mangonel on a Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
warship from the ''Wujing Zongyao
The ''Wujing Zongyao'' (), sometimes rendered in English as the ''Complete Essentials for the Military Classics'', is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044.
The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Ze ...
File:Liber3.jpg, 12th century depiction of a mangonel (also called a perrier) next to a staff slinger
File:Byzantine Trebuchet Skylintzes.jpg, Sicilian-Byzantine depiction of a mangonel, 12th-13th century
File:Perriere from french book of 1250.jpg, 13th century depiction of a mangonel
File:Muslim traction trebuchet.jpg, Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mangonel, 1285
See also
*Catapult
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...
*Couillard
A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weigh ...
*Springald
A springald, or espringal, was a medieval torsion artillery device for throwing bolts. It is depicted in a diagram in an 11th-century Byzantine manuscript, but in Western Europe is more evident in the late 12th century and early 13th century. It wa ...
* List of siege engines
References
Bibliography
* . Original version.
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External links
''Res Gestae'', 4th century
by Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally Anglicisation, anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Ancient history, antiquity (preceding Procopius). His w ...
Medieval Mechanical Artillery, by the Xenophon Group
Onager Physics.
An analysis of the Onager/Mangonel
{{Medieval mechanical artillery and hand-held missile weapons
Ancient artillery
Artillery of China
Chinese inventions
Medieval siege engines
Roman siege engines