M6: Siege Warfare in the Hellenistic World

Peter Freund

HIST134 122921

5/25/2017

When you think of siege engines most tend to imagine the catapult. This is by far the

most recognizable because of its use in the medieval ages. Most people dont recognize the

ladder they climb to change a light bulb, was at one point a weapon of war. Siege engines were

designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications when preforming siege

warfare (OMICS international). Siege engines would prove to be one of the most vital tools of

war, helping Alexander to conquer the ends of Persia making their way through to the present

day.

To give some background on the development of the siege engine we start in Assyria. The

earliest siege engine was the battering ram developed by the Assyrians. Soon thereafter siege

towers were designed and used by the Carthaginians which influenced the ruler of Syracuse,

Dionysius I who supposedly developed the catapult (399BCE), in ancient Greece (OMICS).

Known use of the battering ram started in Sparta but they were more commonly seen using

ladders (OMICS). Although battering rams and siege towers (like the Trojan Horse - which acted

more as a surprise birthday cake, albeit much less tasty, but was a siege tower in concept) had

been developed by the time of ancient Greece, they were not seen in Greek warfare. In fact, the

most common siege tactic was starvation as climbing walls and using battering rams proved

unsuccessful (Cartwright). Siege engines were not commonly put to use until Phillip II and his

son Alexanders reign.

 Many of the siege tactics in antiquity were developed by Phillip II (World Heritage

Encyclopedia). Macedonia represented a massive shift from earlier warfare, instead of using

ladders - real siege tactics combining towers, rams, and catapults was beginning to emerge

(W.H.E). With this technology in hand Alexander would be the first to amaze the world at how

regularly and rapidly he could take walled cities (Hacker, pg41). Torsion-power was the

technique of artillery around this time combined with siege towers and battering rams. Alexander

was fortunate to have such impressive technology waiting for him to use on his crusade to

conquer the world. There is no doubt, regardless of how powerful and well trained his army was,

siege engines were a focal point of his conquests. Alexander thought highly of his new machines,

carrying them to the ends of his campaign (Hacker, pg43).

One of Alexanders first and most prominent battles, the Battle of Tyre, involved siege

towers. These towers were designed to carry men and protect them from incoming fire; usually

made of wood and covered with wet hide or metal sheathing (W.H.E), for wood likes to catch

fire. Siege towers were multiple stories tall and had wheels so that they could be moved to the

walls of a city (W.H.E). Given the size of siege towers, they were clearly not easy to transport

from place to place. According to Diodorus Siculus, in his book Library of History, siege

towers in Macedonia were made in parts to be reassembled in different shapes where they were

to be used(Skelton, Pamela pg26). Macedonian siege towers were usually made with a metal

layer instead of hide, also according to Diodorus (Skelton, Pamela pg26). Once in place the siege

tower would deliver the men onto the walls which would allow more men and protection to reach
the enemy lines than single file ladders. It was not easy to breach city defenses - without these

technologies the Spartans, during the Peloponnesian War, were never able to take Athens even

though they had surrounded the city (W.H.E). Alexanders military genius comes from the proper

use of these machines, which aided him greatly on his 12 year campaign.

Macedonian military made use of battering rams in their arsenal (W.H.E), although they

were not the first to develop or make use of them. These were deployed in various forms of

suspended, metal tipped, ramming objects (W.H.E). Rams were not only used on city gates as

commonly thought of, but also on city walls to dislodge masonry which could cause a breech for

soldiers to funnel through (W.H.E). Like the siege towers they had wheels to move to position;

Macedonian rams were covered with roofing to protect the men rolling it towards the city

(W.H.E), an addition which probably made the ram a more capable device. Previously an

ineffective tool of war for the Greeks, Macedonia had much more success. Combining battering

rams with other siege weapons likely led to the increased use of them in warfare.

Catapults, however, are the shining star of siege engines. The first real concept of artillery

which still has its place today, even though modern artillery resembles almost nothing of a

classic catapult the concept remains the same. Only until the development of the torsion-

catapult did breaking through city walls really become possible (Cartwright). Macedonia had 2

types of torsion-powered artillery, a smaller bolt shooting type called oxybeles and a larger

stone throwing type called lithobolos (W.H.E). The largest lithoboloi could fire stones up

to 80kg in weight (W.H.E). A major problem with the catapult, however, was transportation. In
order to make use of these weapons you needed the necessary troops, the siege engines, and the

transportation vehicles; called a siege train (OMICS). During the Battle of Tyre it is likely that

Alexander used 120 ships and put siege engines on the decks (Skelton, Pamela pg26).

Transportation was not the only problem with torsion-catapults, twisted skeins (or rope)

happened frequently, as they had to be loosened and tightened after every use (Hacker, pg44).

Until Phillip II use of these siege engines was relatively unheard of. Alexander is reportedly the

first one to use catapults during field battle, not just for the siege of cities (W.H.E). Using a

bombardment across a river at the Scythian army, he forced them to move away from the flying

stones offering an opportunity for his troops to cross (W.H.E). Undoubtedly artillery is one of the

most important pieces of a military; soldiers can only do so much under fire from archers and in

todays world, gunfire. Its no wonder this technology has stood the test of time.

Siege engines were and are one of the most important pieces of war. Catapults changed

the way we strategize assaults, it changed the way cities were designed and how conflicts ran

their course. From pulley to catapult, catapult to shelled artillery, to the missile. Standing the test

of time, artillery made an impact on Alexander the great and rode through time to still be in use

today; arguably one of the most important military inventions.

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