![MongolsBesiegingACityInTheMiddleEast13thCentury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/MongolsBesiegingACityInTheMiddleEast13thCentury.jpg)
A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of
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 ...
that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful
siege engine
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...
until the advent of
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weights and further distances than that of a traditional catapult.
There are two main types of trebuchet. The first is the traction trebuchet, or
mangonel
The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel opera ...
, which uses manpower to swing the arm. It first appeared in China in the 4th century BC. Carried westward by the
Avars, the technology was adopted by the
Byzantines in the late 6th century AD and by their neighbors in the following centuries.
The later, and often larger and more powerful, counterweight trebuchet, also known as the counterpoise trebuchet, uses a
counterweight
A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wear ...
to swing the arm. It appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century, and was carried back to China by the Mongols in the 13th century.
Etymology and terminology
It is uncertain what the origin of the word "trebuchet" is. D.J. Cathcart King suggests that it is derived from "''trebucher'', to rock or tilt". The numerous forms of the word that appeared during the
13th century
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar.
The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Eu ...
, including ''trabocco'', ''tribok'', ''tribuclietta'', and ''trubechetum'', have made it impossible to identify the source with any certainty. In Arabic the counterweight trebuchet was called ''manjaniq maghribi'' or ''majaniq ifranji''. In China it was called the ''huihui pao'' (Muslim trebuchet).
The earliest appearance of the term "trebuchet" dates to the late
12th century. The word ''trabuchellus'' appeared alongside ''manganum'' and ''prederia'' in a document in
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
on . ''Trabucha'' is found a decade later with ''predariae'' at the siege of
Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda
Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi.
Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda borders the following municip ...
in an account by
Iohannes Codagnellus. It is unclear, however, whether these referred to counterweight trebuchets. Codagnellus did not specify a specific type of engine with the term and even implied that they were "fairly light in subsequent references". Only in the late 1210s do variations of "trebuchet" in sources, described as increasingly powerful machines or utilizing different components, identify more closely with the counterweight trebuchet. Other terms, such as ''machina maior/magna'', might have also referred to counterweight trebuchets.
''Traction trebuchet'' and ''counterweight trebuchet'' are modern terms (
retronym
A retronym is a newer name for an existing thing that helps differentiate the original form/version from a more recent one. It is thus a word or phrase created to avoid confusion between older and newer types, whereas previously (before there were ...
s), not used by contemporary users of the weapons. The term ''traction trebuchet'' was created mainly to distinguish this type of weapon from 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 ...
'', a torsion powered catapult that is often conflated in contemporary sources with the ''mangonel'', which was used as a generic term for any medieval stone throwing artillery. Both the traction and counterweight trebuchets have been called ''mangonel'' at one point or another. Confusion between the onager, mangonel, trebuchet, and other catapult types in contemporary terminology has led some historians today to use the more precise ''traction trebuchet'' instead, with ''counterweight trebuchet'' used to distinguish what was before called simply a ''trebuchet''. Some modern historians use ''mangonel'' to mean exclusively traction trebuchets, while others call traction trebuchets ''traction mangonels'' and counterweight trebuchets ''counterweight mangonels''.
Basic design
![Trebuchet2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Trebuchet2.png)
The trebuchet is a
compound machine
A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refer ...
that makes use of the
mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. The device trades off input forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force. The model for t ...
of a
lever
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...
to throw a projectile. They are typically large constructions, with the length of the beam as much as , with some purported to be even larger.
A trebuchet consists primarily of a long beam attached by an
axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
suspended high above the ground by a stout frame and base, such that the beam can rotate vertically through a wide arc (typically over 180°). A
sling is attached to one end of the beam to hold the projectile. The projectile is thrown when the beam is quickly rotated by applying
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
to the opposite end of the beam. The mechanical advantage is primarily obtained by having the projectile section of the beam much longer than the opposite section where the force is applied – usually four to six times longer.
![Mangonneau4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Mangonneau4.png)
The difference between counterweight and traction trebuchets is what force they use. Counterweight trebuchets use gravity;
potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.
Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potentia ...
is stored by slowly raising an extremely heavy box (typically filled with stones, sand, or lead) attached to the shorter end of the beam (typically on a hinged connection), and releasing it on command. Traction trebuchets use
human power
Human power is work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power (rate of work per time) of a human. Power comes primarily from muscles, but body heat is also used to do work like warming shelters, food, or other ...
; on command, men pull ropes attached to the shorter end of the trebuchet beam. The difficulties of coordinating the pull of many men together repeatedly and predictably makes counterweight trebuchets preferable for the larger machines, though they are more complicated to engineer. The trebuchet had further modifications to allow an increase to its range, by creating a slot for the sling and projectile to sit underneath the trebuchet, enabling the sling to be lengthened and thus extending the range, an alteration in the trajectory, or the release point to be changed. Further increasing their complexity is that either
winch
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 (also called "cable" or "wire cable").
In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...
es or
treadwheel
A treadwheel, or treadmill, is a form of engine typically powered by humans. It may resemble a water wheel in appearance, and can be worked either by a human treading paddles set into its circumference (treadmill), or by a human or animal standing ...
s, aided by
block and tackle
A block and tackle or only tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift heavy loads.
The pulleys are assembled to form blocks and then blocks are paired so that one is fixed and one ...
, are typically required to raise the more massive counterweights. So while counterweight trebuchets require significantly fewer men to operate than traction trebuchets, they require significantly more time to reload. In a long siege, reload time may not be a critical concern.
When the trebuchet is operated, the force causes
rotational acceleration
In physics, angular acceleration refers to the time rate of change of angular velocity. As there are two types of angular velocity, namely spin angular velocity and orbital angular velocity, there are naturally also two types of angular acceler ...
of the beam around the axle (the
fulcrum
A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots.
Fulcrum may also refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank
* Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry
* Fulcrum Wheels, a bicy ...
of the lever). These factors multiply the acceleration transmitted to the throwing portion of the beam and its attached sling. The sling starts rotating with the beam, but rotates farther (typically about 360°) and therefore faster, transmitting this increased speed to the projectile. The length of the sling increases the mechanical advantage, and also changes the
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete traj ...
so that, at the time of release from the sling, the projectile is traveling in the desired
speed and angle to give it the range to hit the target. Adjusting the sling's release point is the primary means of fine-tuning the range, as the rest of the trebuchet's actions are difficult to adjust after construction.
The rotation speed of the throwing beam increases smoothly, starting slow but building up quickly. After the projectile is released, the arm continues to rotate, allowed to smoothly slow down on its own accord and come to rest at the end of the rotation. This is unlike the violent sudden stop inherent in the action of other catapult designs such as 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 ...
, which must absorb most of the launching energy into their own frame, and must be heavily built and reinforced as a result. This key difference makes the trebuchet much more durable, allowing for larger and more powerful machines.
A trebuchet projectile can be almost anything, even debris,
rotting carcasses, or
incendiaries
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
, but is typically a large stone. Dense stone, or even metal, specially worked to be round and smooth, gives the best range and predictability. When attempting to breach enemy walls, it is important to use materials that will not shatter on impact; projectiles were sometimes brought from distant quarries to get the desired properties.
History
Traction trebuchet
![Sculpture](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Sculpture.pierriere.cathedrale.Saint.Nazaire.Carcassonne.png)
The traction trebuchet, also referred to as a
mangonel
The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel opera ...
in some sources, is thought to have originated in ancient China.
[Chevedden, Paul E.; et al. (July 1995). "The Trebuchet". Scientific American: 66–71]
Original version.
/ref>[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. "[. "The traction trebuchet, invented by the Chinese sometime before the fourth century B.C."]
The first recorded use of traction trebuchets 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 can be found in the ''Mojing'' (compiled in the 4th century BC).[ According to the ''Mojing'', the traction trebuchet was 17 feet high with four feet buried below ground, the fulcrum attached was constructed from the wheels of a cart, the throwing arm was 30 to 35 feet long with three quarters above the pivot and a quarter below to which the ropes are attached, and the sling two feet and eight inches long. The range given for projectiles are 300, 180, and 120 feet. 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 traction trebuchet: "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." Traction trebuchets 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 traction trebuchets, 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 trebuchets 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 trebuchets 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, trebuchets 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 ...
.
The traction trebuchet 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 traction trebuchet 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 traction trebuchets. 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 traction trebuchet 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. In 652, the Arabs used trebuchets at the siege of Dongola in the Sudan. Like the Chinese, by 653, the Arabs also had ship mounted traction trebuchets. 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 (traction trebuchets) 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 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 traction trebuchet on galleys. Traction trebuchets were also used in India.
The traction trebuchet was most efficient as an anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind Armour, armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting Game (hunting), game. The development of defensive fortification ...
, used in a supportive position alongside archers and slingers. Most accounts of traction trebuchets 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 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 traction trebuchets 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, traction trebuchets 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 traction trebuchets on boats claimed a hundred of the defenders' lives.
Some exceptionally large and powerful traction trebuchets 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 traction trebuchet capable of throwing a man in 1089. At the siege of Haizhou in 1161, a traction trebuchet was reported to have had a range of 200 paces (over 400 meters).
West of China, the traction trebuchet remained the primary siege engine until the 12th century when it was replaced by the counterweight trebuchet. In China the traction trebuchet 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.
File:Five whirlwind trebuchets wjzy.jpg, Five whirlwind trebuchets 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:Hudunpao-wujingzongyao.jpg, Crouching tiger trebuchet 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:SiJiao Pao-t1.jpg, Sìjiǎo "Four Footed" traction trebuchet 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, Traction trebuchet 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 traction trebuchet (also called a perrier) next to a staff slinger
File:1285 مقذاف.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 ...
traction trebuchet, 1285
Counterweight trebuchet
Origins
There is little to no consensus as to where and when the counterweight trebuchet, which has been described as the "most powerful weapon of the Middle Ages," was first developed. The earliest known description and illustration of a counterweight trebuchet comes from a commentary on the conquests of Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
by Mardi ibn Ali al-Tarsusi
Mardi ibn Ali al-Tarsusi was a 12th-century Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubid-era writer and expert on military matters. He wrote a number of treatises, including a military manual for Saladin in 1187. His writings have proved an invaluable resource for me ...
in 1187. However cases for the existence of both European and Muslim counterweight trebuchets prior to 1187 have been made. In 1090, Khalaf ibn Mula'ib threw out a man from the citadel in Salamiya
A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995)
Salamieh ( ar, سلمية ') is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located southeast of Hama, northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was t ...
with a machine and in the early 12th century, Muslim siege engines were able to breach crusader fortifications. David Nicolle argues that these events could have only been possible with the use of counterweight trebuchets.
Although al-Tarsusi provided the first description and illustration of a counterweight trebuchet, the text implies that the engine was not new and had previously been built. Al-Tarsusi referred to the counterweight trebuchet as the "Persian" trebuchet whereas the "Frankish" trebuchet was a light traction engine. Later during the 13th century, Muslims used ''manjaniq maghribi'' (Western trebuchet) and ''manjaniq ifranji'' (Frankish trebuchet) to refer to counterweight trebuchets. Paul E. Chevedden suggests that ''manjaniq maghribi'' was used to describe hinged counterweight engines in contrast to previous fixed or hanging counterweight trebuchets. Sometimes counterweight trebuchets are separated into two or three different categories based on how their counterweights are attached. These being fixed, hanging, and hinged counterweights. A fixed counterweight is an intrinsic part of the swinging arm and its trajectory is circular. Hanging counterweights hang below the arm and drop vertically. Hinged counterweights are attached to the arm by a swinging joint. Some fixed counterweights also had a hinged component. The type described by al-Tarsusi was a hanging counterweight. Writing in 1280, Giles of Rome
Giles of Rome O.S.A. (Latin: ''Aegidius Romanus''; Italian: ''Egidio Colonna''; c. 1243 – 22 December 1316), was a Medieval philosopher and Scholastic theologian and a friar of the Order of St Augustine, who was also appointed to the pos ...
claimed that hinged counterweight trebuchets had a greater range than fixed counterweight types.
Chevedden argues that counterweight trebuchets appeared prior to 1187 in Europe based on what might have been counterweight trebuchets in earlier sources. The 12th-century 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 ...
historian Niketas Choniates
Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...
may have been referring to a counterweight trebuchet when he described one equipped with a windlass
The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...
, which is only useful to counterweight machines, at the siege of Zevgminon in 1165. However the source for this was written in the 1180s to 1190s and Niketas may have been placing the engine of his own time anachronistically into the past. At the siege of Nicaea
The siege of Nicaea was the first major battle of the First Crusade, taking place from 14 May to 19 June 1097. The city was under the control the Seljuk Turks who opted to surrender to the Byzantines in fear of the crusaders breaking into the ci ...
in 1097 the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
reportedly invented new pieces of heavy artillery which deviated from the conventional design and made a deep impression on everyone. Illustrations produced later in 1270 depicted fixed counterweight trebuchets used at the siege. Possible references to counterweight trebuchets also appear for the second siege of Tyre in 1124, where the crusaders reportedly made use of "great trebuchets". However the sources for this siege, Fulcher of Chartres Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059 in or near Chartres – after 1128) was a priest who participated in the First Crusade. He served Baldwin I of Jerusalem for many years and wrote a Latin chronicle of the Crusade.
Life
Fulcher was born c. 1059. His app ...
and William of Tyre
William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a former ...
, only mention ''machinae'' and ''machinae iaculatoriae'' that were later translated as ''perrieres'' and ''mangoniaux'' in the ''Estoire d'Eracles
The ''Estoire d'Eracles'' ("History of Heraclius") is an anonymous Old French translation and continuation of the Latin ''History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'' by William of Tyre. It begins with recapture of Jerusalem by the Roman emperor Heracl ...
''. Chevedden argues that given the references to new and better trebuchets that by the 1120–30s, the counterweight trebuchet was being used in a variety of places by different peoples such as the crusader states, the Normans of Sicily
The Italo-Normans ( it, Italo-Normanni), or Siculo-Normans (''Siculo-Normanni'') when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy, are the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to southern Italy in the first half of t ...
and 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 ...
.
The earliest solid reference to a "trebuchet" in European sources dates to the siege of Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda
Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi.
Castelnuovo Bocca d'Adda borders the following municip ...
in 1199. However it is unclear if this referred to counterweight trebuchets since the author did not specify what engine was used and described the machine as fairly light. They may have been used in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
from around 1205. Only in the late 1210s do references to "trebuchet", describing more powerful engines and different components, more closely align with the features of a counterweight trebuchet. Some of these more powerful engines may have just been traction trebuchets, as one was described being pulled by ten thousand. At the Siege of Toulouse (1217–1218)
The siege of Toulouse occurred from 22 September 1217 to 25 July 1218 during the Albigensian Crusade. It was third of a series of sieges of the city during the height of Crusader efforts to put down Catharism (and the local Languedocian nobility) ...
, ''trabuquets'' were mentioned to have been deployed, but the siege engine depicted at the tomb of Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
, who was killed by artillery at the siege, is a traction trebuchet. Though soon after, clear evidence of counterweight machines appeared. According to the '' Song of the Albigensian Crusade'', the defenders "ran to the ropes and wound the trebuchets," and to shoot the machine, they "then released their ropes." They were used in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at least by 1217 and in Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
shortly after 1218. By the 1230s the counterweight trebuchet was a common item in siege warfare. Despite the lack of clearly definable terms in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, it is likely that both Muslims and Europeans already had working knowledge of the counterweight trebuchet beforehand. From the First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...
(1096–1099) onward, there does not appear to be any discernible difference in the technology of siege engines employed by Muslim and Frankish forces, and by the Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
(1189–1192), both sides seemed well acquainted with the enemy's siege weapons, which "appear to have been remarkably similar."
China
Counterweight trebuchets do not appear with certainty in Chinese historical records until about 1268. Prior to 1268, the counterweight trebuchet may have been used in 1232 by the Jurchen Jin Jurchen may refer to:
* Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century
** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty
** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...
commander Qiang Shen. Qiang invented a device called the "Arresting Trebuchet" which only needed a few men to work it, and could hurl great stones more than a hundred paces, further than even the strongest traction trebuchet. However no other details on the machine are given. Qiang died the following year and no further references to the Arresting Trebuchet appear. The earliest definite mention of the counterweight trebuchet in China was in 1268, when the Mongols laid siege to Fancheng and Xiangyang. After failing to take the twin cities of Fancheng and Xiangyang for several years, collectively known as the siege of Fancheng and Xiangyang, the Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
army brought in two Persian engineers to build hinged counterweight trebuchets. Known as the Huihui trebuchet (回回砲, where " huihui" is a loose slang referring to any Muslims), or Xiangyang trebuchet (襄陽砲) because they were first encountered in that battle. Ismail
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
and Al-aud-Din travelled to South China from Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and built trebuchets for the siege. Chinese and Muslim engineers operated artillery and siege engines for the Mongol armies. By 1283, counterweight trebuchets were also used in Southeast Asia by the Chams
The Cham (Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people (Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territo ...
against the Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
.
Function
While some historians have described the counterweight trebuchet as a type of medieval super weapon, other historians have urged caution in overemphasizing its destructive capability. On the side of the counterweight engine as a medieval military revolution, historians such as Sydney Toy, Paul Chevedden, and Hugh Kennedy consider its power to have caused significant changes in medieval warfare. This line of thought suggests that rams were abandoned due to the effectiveness of the counterweight trebuchet, which was capable of reducing "any fortress to rubble." Accordingly, traditional fortifications became obsolete and had to be improved with new architectural structures to support defensive counterweight trebuchets. In southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during the Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
, sieges were a last resort and negotiations for surrender were common. In these instances, trebuchets were used to threaten or bombard enemy fortifications and ensure victory. On the side of caution, historians such as John France, Christopher Marshall, and Michael Fulton emphasize the still considerable difficulty of reducing fortifications with siege artillery. Examples of the failure of siege artillery include the lack of evidence that artillery ever threatened the defenses of Kerak Castle
Kerak Castle ( ar, قلعة الكرك, Qal'at al-Karak) is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in the 1140s, under Pagan and Fulk, King of Jerusalem. The Crusa ...
between 1170 and 1188. Marshall maintains that "the methods of attack and defence remained largely the same through the thirteenth century as they had been during the twelfth." Reservations on the counterweight trebuchet's destructive capability were expressed by Viollet-le-Duc, who "asserted that even counterweight-powered artillery could do little more than destroy crenellations, clear defenders from parapets and target the machines of the besieged."
In spite of the evidence regarding increasingly powerful counterweight trebuchets during the 13th century, "it remains an important consideration that not one of these appears to have effected a breach that directly led to the fall of a stronghold." In 1220, Al-Mu'azzam Isa
() (1176 – 1227) was the Ayyubid emir of Damascus from 1218 to 1227. The son of Sultan al-Adil I and nephew of Saladin, founder of the dynasty, al-Mu'azzam was installed by his father as governor of Damascus in 1198 or 1200. After his father's ...
laid siege to Atlit
Atlit ( he, עַתְלִית, ar, عتليت) is a coastal town located south of Haifa, Israel. The community is in the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council in the Haifa District of Israel.
Off the coast of Atlit is a submerged Neolithic village. Atli ...
with a ''trabuculus'', three ''petrariae'', and four ''mangonelli'' but could not penetrate past the outer wall, which was soft but thick. 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, including 14 or 15 counterweight trebuchets and the remaining traction types, they were never able to fulfill a breaching role. The Mamluks entered the city by sapping the northeast corner of the outer wall. Though stone projectiles of substantial size (~66kg) have been found at Acre, located near the site of the siege and likely used by the Mamluks, surviving walls of a 13th century Montmusard tower are no more than one meter thick. There is no indication that the thickness of fortress walls increased exponentially rather than a modest increase of 0.5-1m between the 12th and 13th centuries. 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 traction trebuchets as more dangerous to the defenders than the counterweight ones. The Song dynasty described countermeasures against counterweight trebuchets that prevented them from damaging towers and houses: "an extraordinary method was invented of neutralising the effects of the enemy's trebuchets. Ropes of rice straw four inches thick and thirty-four feet long were joined together twenty at a time, draped on to the buildings from top to bottom, and covered with etclay. Then neither the incendiary arrows, nor bombs 'huo pao''from trebuchets, nor even stones of a hundred ''jun'' caused any damage to the towers and houses."
The counterweight trebuchet did not completely replace the traction trebuchet. Despite its greater range, counterweight trebuchets had to be constructed close to the site of the siege unlike traction trebuchets, 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 traction trebuchet continued to serve as an anti-personnel weapon. The Norwegian text of 1240, ''Speculum regale'', explicitly states this division of functions. Traction trebuchets were to be used for hitting people in undefended areas. At the Siege of Acre (1291), both traction and counterweight trebuchets were used. The traction trebuchets provided cover fire while the counterweight trebuchets destroyed the city's fortifications. The counterweight-trebuchet could also be used for cover fire and as an anti-personnel weapon. King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
of Aragon employed this as a defensive tactic in many fortified structures and towns which proved effective. Trebuchets could cause mass casualties due to the destruction of structures. During an assault on Muntcada by King James I a trebuchet was used to target a tower, destroying the structure and causing the consequential deaths of civilians and livestock. But typically the counterweight trebuchet was used against battlements such as parapets, other defensive structures, and the lower section of walls due to its greater accuracy and longer range, which was how it was employed by the Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...
.
There is some evidence that the counterweight trebuchet could be transported. Armies employed a magister tormentorum ('master of trebuchets') for the reconstruction of trebuchets after they were deconstructed for transportation to their destination, whether on carts or by ship. They could also be equipped with their own wheels, as shown in two 17th- and 18th-century Chinese illustrations, which are also the only Chinese depictions of counterweight trebuchets on land. According to Liang Jieming, the "illustration shows... its throwing arm disassembled, its counterweight locked with supporting braces, and prepped for transport and not in battle deployment." However according to Joseph Needham, the large tank in the middle was the counterweight, while the bulb at the end of the arm was for adjusting between fixed and swinging counterweights. Both Liang and Needham note that the illustrations are poorly drawn and confusing, leading to mislabeling.
The counterweight and traction trebuchets were phased out around the mid-15th century in favor of gunpowder weapons.
File:CrusadersThrowingHeadsOfMuslimsOverRamparts.jpg, Counterweight trebuchets at the siege of Nicaea
The siege of Nicaea was the first major battle of the First Crusade, taking place from 14 May to 19 June 1097. The city was under the control the Seljuk Turks who opted to surrender to the Byzantines in fear of the crusaders breaking into the ci ...
(1097), c. 1270
File:Siege de Nicée (1097).jpg, Counterweight trebuchet at the siege of Nicaea (1097), 1337
File:Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin attacks the rebel fortress (Arg) of Zarang in Sijistan in 1003 AD. From the illuminated manuscript of Rashid ad-Din's Jami al-Tawarikh, written in about 1307. Edinburgh University Library.jpg, Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
attacks the rebel fortress (Arg) of Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang (Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkargah ...
in Sijistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan (N ...
(Nimruz province
Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also border ...
) in 1003 AD, from the ''Jami' al-tawarikh
The ''Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh'' (Persian/Arabic: , ) is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work h ...
'', c. 1306-18
File:Ms.Thott.290.2º 016v.jpg, 15th-century depiction of a counterweight trebuchet
File:Vier Bücher der Rytterschafft p33.tif, 16th-century depiction of a counterweight trebuchet
File:Counterweight trebuchet 1726.jpg, Possibly a counterweight trebuchet (however text says cannon) from the Chinese encyclopedia ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng
The ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng'' (), also known as the ''Imperial Encyclopaedia'', is a vast encyclopedic work written in China during the reigns of the Qing dynasty emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng. It was begun in 1700 and completed in 1725. The work w ...
'', 1726
File:Imperial Encyclopaedia - Military Administration - pic062 - 樓船圖.png, Early 18th-century depiction of a Chinese ship armed with three counterweight trebuchets
Decline of military use
With the introduction of gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
, the trebuchet began to lose its place as the siege engine of choice to the cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
. Trebuchets were still used both at the siege of Burgos
At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...
(1475–1476) and siege of Rhodes (1480)
In 1480 the small Knights Hospitaller garrison of Rhodes withstood an attack of the Ottoman Empire.
Attack
On 23 May 1480 an Ottoman fleet of 160 ships appeared before Rhodes, at the gulf of Trianda, along with an army of 70,000 men under the c ...
. One of the last recorded military uses was by Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
, at the 1521 siege of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. Accounts of the attack note that its use was motivated by the limited supply of gunpowder. The attempt was reportedly unsuccessful: the first projectile landed on the trebuchet itself, destroying it.
In China, the last time trebuchets were seriously considered for military purposes was in 1480. Not much is heard of them afterwards.
Other trebuchets
Hand-trebuchet
The hand-trebuchet ( el, χειρομάγγανον, cheiromanganon) was a staff sling mounted on a pole using a lever
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...
mechanism to propel projectiles. Basically a one-man traction trebuchet, it was used by troops of emperor Nikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...
around 965 to disrupt enemy formations in the open field. It was also mentioned in the Taktika of general Nikephoros Ouranos
Nikephoros Ouranos ( el, Νικηφόρος Οὐρανός; fl. c. 980 – c. 1010), Latinized as Nicephorus Uranus, was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). One of the emperor's clo ...
(c. 1000), and listed in ''De obsidione toleranda'' (author anonymous) as a form of artillery.
In China, the hand-trebuchet (''shoupao'') was invented by Liu Yongxi and presented to the emperor in 1002. It was a pole with a pin at its upper end that acted as a fulcrum for the arm. The pole was used as a shot for fixing in the ground and the user could then throw missiles at the enemy from a static position.
Hybrid trebuchet
According to Paul E. Chevedden, a hybrid trebuchet existed that used both counterweight and human propulsion. However no illustrations or descriptions of the device exist from the time when they were supposed to have been used. The entire argument for the existence of hybrid trebuchets rests on accounts of increasingly more effective siege weapons. Peter Purton suggests that this was simply because the machines became larger. The earliest depiction of a hybrid trebuchet is dated to 1462, when trebuchets had already become obsolete due to cannons.
Couillard
The couillard is a smaller version of a counterweight trebuchet with a single frame instead of the usual double "A" frames. The counterweight is split into two halves to avoid hitting the center frame.
Comparison of different artillery weapons
Roman torsion engines
Chinese trebuchets
Counterweight trebuchets (estimates)
Siege crossbows
Reconstructed traction trebuchets
Reconstructed counterweight trebuchets
Modern use
Recreation and education
Most trebuchet use in recent centuries has been for recreational or educational, rather than military purposes. New machines have been constructed and old ones restored by living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...
enthusiasts, for historical re-enactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...
s, and use in other historical celebrations. As their construction is substantially simpler than modern weapons, trebuchets also serve as the object of engineering challenges.
The trebuchet's technical constructions were lost at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1984, the French engineer Renaud Beffeyte made the first modern reconstruction of a trebuchet, based on documents from 1324.
The largest currently-functioning trebuchet in the world is the 22-tonne machine at Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...
, England, constructed in 2005. Based on historical designs, it stands tall and throws missiles typically 36 kg (80 lbs) up to . The trebuchet gained significant interest from numerous news sources when in 2015 a burning missile fired from the siege engine struck and damaged a Victorian-era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
boathouse
A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
situated at the River Avon close by, inadvertently demonstrating the weapon's power. It is built on the design of a similar trebuchet at Middelaldercentret
Middelaldercentret () is an experimental living history archaeological open-air museum in Denmark, which depicts the middle ages in the Denmark of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It is located in Sundby Lolland, some 4 km northwest ...
in Denmark.[June 14, 200]
Reconstructing Medieval Artillery
archive.archaeology.org. Retrieved 12 September 2013 In 1989, Middelaldercentret became the first place in the modern era to have a working trebuchet.
Trebuchets compete in one of the classifications of machines used to hurl pumpkins at the annual pumpkin chucking
Punkin chunkin, or as it is sometimes called pumpkin chucking, is the sport of hurling a pumpkin solely by mechanical means for distance. The devices used include slingshots, catapults, centrifugals, trebuchets, and pneumatic (air) cannons.
P ...
contest held in Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown.
The first European settlement in the state of Delaware w ...
, U.S. The record-holder in that contest for trebuchets is the Yankee Siege II from New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, which at the 2013 WCPC Championship tossed a pumpkin 2835.8 ft (864.35 metres). The , trebuchet flings the standard pumpkins, specified for all entries in the WCPC competition.
A large trebuchet was tested in late 2017 in Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
as part of the set for the television series ''Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
.''
A large trebuchet based on Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
's "Warwolf
The Warwolf, or War Wolf or Ludgar (french: Loup de Guerre), is believed to be the largest trebuchet ever made. It was created in Scotland by order of King Edward I of England, during the siege of Stirling Castle, as part of the Scottish Wars ...
" was constructed for a scene in David Mackenzie's movie ''Outlaw King
''Outlaw King'', stylized as ', is a 2018 historical action drama film about Robert the Bruce, the 14th-century Scottish King who launched a guerilla war against the larger English army. The film largely takes place during the 3-year period from ...
'' (2018) about Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
, King of Scots. During the film, it hurls an incendiary projectile at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
. It recreates the true story that it took some three months to build and Edward would not let his enemy surrender until he could use it.
In recent years several trebuchets has been created capable of throwing cars. In the episode "Carnage A Trois" in series 4 Series 4 could refer to:
* Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model
* BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line
* GeForce 4 series, line of nVidia video cards
* Scania 4-series, the truck model line
* South African Class 6E1, Series 4, e ...
of ''The Grand Tour
''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 Novembe ...
'' the presenters uses a trebucet to allegedly sling a Citroën C3 Pluriel
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 8 ...
from the White Cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...
across the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The Stamford based YouTube personality
A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006.
Influence
Influent ...
and inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
Colin Furze
Colin Peter Furze (born 14 October 1979) is a British YouTube personality, stuntman, inventor, and filmmaker from Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. Furze left school to become a plumber, a trade which he pursued until joining the Sky1 programme ...
created a 14 metres high trebuchet capable of throwing a washing machine
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...
in December 2020.
Developments
Although rarely used as a weapon today, trebuchets maintain the interest of professional and hobbyist engineers. One modern technological development, especially for the competitive pumpkin-hurling events, is the " floating arms" design. Instead of using the traditional axle fixed to a frame, these devices are mounted on wheels that roll on a track parallel to the ground, with a counterweight that falls directly downward upon release, allowing for greater efficiency by increasing the proportion of energy transferred to the projectile. A more radical design; Jonathan, Orion, and Emmerson Stapleton's "walking arm", described as ''"...a stick falling over with a huge counterweight on top of the stick..."'' debuted in 2016 and in 2018 won both the Grand Champion Best Design and Middleweight Open Division of the 10th annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin Festival.[ Another recent development is the "flywheel trebuchet," in which a flywheel is spun into rapid rotation to build up momentum before release.
In 2021, an individual named David Eade designed a trebuchet reaching ]supersonic speed
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
. He demonstrated the device on YouTube and published his simulation software on GitHub.
Uses in activism and insurgency
In 2013, during the Syrian civil war, rebels were filmed using a trebuchet in the Battle of Aleppo
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. The trebuchet was used to project explosives at government troops.
In 2014, during the Hrushevskoho street riots in Ukraine, rioters used an improvised trebuchet to throw bricks and Molotov cocktails
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
at the Berkut.
Gallery
File:Trebuchet Model, Mongol Empire (19654279900).jpg, Modern recreation of a Mongol-era traction trebuchet, Inner Mongolia Museum
File:Trebuchet1.png, 19th century French drawing of a medieval counterweight trebuchet
File:Nykøbing Falster - kastemaskine, en blide.jpg, Trebuchet at Middelaldercentret
Middelaldercentret () is an experimental living history archaeological open-air museum in Denmark, which depicts the middle ages in the Denmark of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It is located in Sundby Lolland, some 4 km northwest ...
, Denmark
File:Kyivtrebuchet.JPG, A modern improvised trebuchet erected by rioters in Hrushevskoho Street, Kiev, Ukraine, 2014
File:Trebuchet.jpg, Counterweight trebuchet at Château des Baux
The Château des Baux is a fortified castle built during the 10th century, located in Les Baux-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, southern France.
History
Although already inhabited in the Bronze Age, Les Baux-de-Provence did not really start gro ...
, France
File:Stirling Warwolf Trebuchet.jpg, A scale model of a trebuchet, based on the design of the "Warwolf
The Warwolf, or War Wolf or Ludgar (french: Loup de Guerre), is believed to be the largest trebuchet ever made. It was created in Scotland by order of King Edward I of England, during the siege of Stirling Castle, as part of the Scottish Wars ...
"
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 ...
* Mangonel
The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel opera ...
* Medieval warfare
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery ( ...
* Onager (siege weapon)
The onager (British , , U.S. /ˈɑnədʒər/) was a Roman torsion powered siege engine. It is commonly depicted as a catapult with a bowl, bucket, or sling at the end of its throwing arm. The onager was first mentioned in 353 AD by Ammianus M ...
* Siege engine
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...
Notes
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External links
Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege (building of and history of trebuchets)
from the NOVA
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
website
Warwick trebuchet
Video Demonstration
of the Medieval Siege Society's trebuchet
Caerphilly Castle trebuchet shooting
Trebuchet plans
Virtual Trebuchet
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Super Trebuchets
website about trebuchets with particular focus on modern uses and developments.
{{Medieval mechanical artillery and hand-held missile weapons
Artillery of China
Chinese inventions
Medieval artillery
Medieval siege engines
Obsolete technologies
Song dynasty