Medieval Siege Weapons (2), Vol. 2

When it came to non-gunpowder machine development, the medieval period was one of the most inventive in military history. During this era, the pre-existing military-technological traditions from the ancient worlds were brought together. Three civilisations were primarily responsible for this evolution: the Late-Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Islamic World, and latterly the Mongol ‘World Empire’. This book examines the resulting stone-throwing machines from torsion ‘energy storage’ systems, to manpowered and counterbalance sling devices, rockets and others.

When it came to non-gunpowder machine development, the medieval period was one of the most inventive in military history. During this era, the pre-existing military-technological traditions from the ancient worlds were brought together. Three civilisations were primarily responsible for this evolution: the Late-Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Islamic World, and latterly the Mongol ‘World Empire’. This book examines the resulting stone-throwing machines from torsion ‘energy storage’ systems, to manpowered and counterbalance sling devices, rockets and others.

Dr David Nicolle was born in 1944, the son of the illustrator Pat Nicolle. He worked in the BBC Arabic service before going 'back to school', gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies and a PhD from Edinburgh University. He later taught World and Islamic art and architectural history at Yarmuk University, Jordan. He has written a number of books and articles on medieval and Islamic warfare, and has been a prolific author of Osprey titles for many years. He currently lives and works in Leicestershire.