Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC–AD 363

Siege machinery first appeared in the West during the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in the late 5th century BC, in the form of siege-towers and battering rams. After a 50-year hiatus they re-appeared in the Macedonian armies of Philip II and Alexander the Great, a period that saw the height of the machinery's development in the Ancient World. Experience of Carthaginian practice during the later 3rd century, and familiarity with the operations of Philip V of Macedon during the early-2nd century, prompted the introduction of the siege-tower and the battering-ram to Roman siegecraft. This title traces the development and use of these weapons across the whole of this period.