Essay On Catapults

During the Middle Ages, many weapons were created to help in the winning of battles and unlike today's firearms, they had small weapons such as bows and swords. But as the castle walls became higher and stronger, a new weapon had to be invented to destroy them. This was 399 BC when a Greek historian named, Diodorus Siculus, was the first to document the use of a mechanical arrow firing catapult. The first catapults that were ever built were made in the early attempts to increase the range and power of a crossbow. Now there were various types of catapults that had been used by the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese soon after. During this time period catapults were known to siege warfare and were unstoppable for many armies. Throughout history, Catapults were …show more content…
Lastly, the ballista and this one is a catapult used for hurling large stones and is shaped like a large crossbow. When were these devices first introduced? Catapults, as we think of them, were introduced to Europe during the Middle Ages. With war prevalent throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, the popularity of fortified castle and city walls rose significantly. This made Catapults a necessity for many armies during this era. Catapults were used to launch projectiles which in our society today acted as missiles for them. They destroyed enemy walls and troops in one massive blow. These missiles were either launched directly at the wall to cause huge amounts of damage to the fortifications or were launched over the wall to lay siege on the population within the protective walls. Catapults were also popularly used during the time to throw at soldiers and take out many at a time. Catapults during the time period had many tasks and could harm their opponents very easily. As a matter of fact, the first accounted the act of Biological Warfare actually did involve catapults. The armies