15 GENIUS Ancient Siege Weapons

[@vincentblair4019]

Archimedes was the greatest mathematician and engineer of the ancient world. It's the combination of the two that truly set him apart. He was SO CLOSE to inventing calculus as well, but he was killed by a Roman foot soldier during the siege of Syracuse even though they had been ordered not to harm him..

[@midosch7639]

This soldier surely got crucified for killing ancient Einstein

[@sameerthakur720]

@@midosch7639 The soldier followed orders. They had been instructed to ask, "What is your name?" in Greek (though most common legionaries did not know Greek). The soldier asked the question to Archimedes. Archimedes (busy with his work) said, "Don't disturb me." in Greek. The soldier thought his name was "Dontdisturbme" and killed him.

[@midosch7639]

@@sameerthakur720 oh damn such a bad luck :(

[@WE-WUZZING-KANGS-N-SHEEOYT]

Pos we would have better mathematical instruments by now.. Smh😠

[@sudhamishra6753]

False

[@robhicks2117]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[@Aundrich]

Hey! It's the simple history dude! Lol

[@sharlondelosreyes2842]

How many channels do this guy have... Hahahahahaha

[@louisonggo1147]

Yeah I was wondering why his voice was so farmiliar

[@louisonggo1147]

How many channels does this guy need

[@eacio4548]

Cool i the voice is familiar

[@minnotmax65]

I think so

[@giantdad1661]

Archimedes was that one guy who invented weird things that were surprisingly effective.

[@jomangeee]

urbam myth! the claw of my azz

[@jimmyohara2601]

What is weird about anything being effective ?? Maybe your thoughts are 😐🤐.

[@giantdad1661]

@@jimmyohara2601 OH I'm sorry I didn't create a hammer that lifted ships out of the fucking ocean and drop them back down.

[@andrew3203]

Archimedes' death ray wasn't a simple mirror. Even concave mirrors would lack the focus and range to track and lit up ships at a distance. He most likely used focus lenses, much like a telescope, on movable gears. Seeing the Mythbusters attempting to replicate that with a hundreds kids holding mirrors was quite funny though.

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

They did not have technology to create a lens that big - concave metal mirrors are the most likely.

[@dominiccassidy9708]

Archimedes did not invent a death ray. it's a total myth

[@aaroncapricorn5867]

i wouldnt bother watching mythbusters. those fools won't know anything and neither till we until we go back in time and see every little meticulous detail. these documentaries are good enough

[@raymondready7496]

I've read that it was hundreds of mirrors held and aimed at one point. Multiplying the suns reflection.

[@doowappable]

Even then theres no way to make a ship burn with that. It needs a still point, not a ship that goes up and down and back and forth. If you ever used a lens to make a fire you would know that it doesnt burn instantly, it needs to be exactly right on focus and then it still takes a bit. Even if that works once like a miracle, it would never work multiple times. If they ever had this device as the legend has it, it would probably be more blinding than doing any damage.

[@yasiluck5056]

I hope everyone reading this is in good spirits and know that someone loves you .

[@nicholasbaker7159]

False otherwise I wouldn't be hungry

[@marioacevedo5077]

The last siege tower used in combat was by the US Army in WW2 to re-capture Fort Drum from the Japanese in Manila Bay.

[@donHooligan]

everything becomes illegal right after the USA gets away with doing it. 60 million indigenous taught Hitler how to kill 6.

[@danielciocilteu3545]

How do you know? Were you there?

[@ckl9390]

@@danielciocilteu3545 Such actions would have had records. Not just someone recording "oh we did this" but everything from the cost of materials to the work-hour records for the engineers who did the construction.

[@watchthe1369]

Limestone is a popular building material. Vinegar can dissolve limestone, the Beotian Flame thrower opened up cracks to allow it inside the wall.

[@kingghidorah102]

Wait a minute, i think i know this voice, IT'S THE SIMPLEHISTORY DUDE..!!! 😲😲

[@nightzulu7615]

Yeah

[@terrorcop101]

Thought so.

[@elijahjamescomia6331]

I didn't know a kaiju watches youtube

[@kingghidorah102]

@@elijahjamescomia6331 nah nah nah nah, titan, not kaiju

[@elijahjamescomia6331]

@@kingghidorah102 oww ok ok

[@caturbayu406]

I learned all these technologies from the game AOE II 😅

[@josiahscarrmusic6750]

This video was very interesting there needs to be more of these

[@davidodonovan1699]

Thank you very much for this information. I had heard of most of these things, but it's very good to have them all together in one quick video like this. Thank you very much. Well done sir. God bless you.

[@twilightparanormalresearch186]

Having studied ancient warfare, I’m never surprised at the weapons men create to kill each othet

[@chrisrnt2548]

As early as 17th) but as a Greek I m happy hearing almost entirely about Greek warfare😂

[@vojislavdragic5090]

eastern roman.. no such thing as byzantine empire

[@jamescharlesbutlerjr5519]

Ancient technology is awesome very amazing ancient tech and weapons.

[@thisiscrackedbro3567]

Fun fact here in Serbia we call petarde firecrackers

[@dariuscommergnat6313]

Wow, that was a really good video, I really needed this video because I need to do some essay about these siege artilleries. Thank you Top fives!

[@dariuscommergnat6313]

😊😉

[@pranit_33xa91]

When I was a kid I thought that the battering ram mentioned in the books used to be a live or dead ram - goat thrown at the gates of fortresses.

[@eziokill9112]

Da mmm

[@fullarmordiscernment2842]

Same here, lol. I used to imagine a goat running full speed into a wooden city gate... It's all in the name, right?

[@majorgear1021]

then you saw Braveheart and realized the truth. Hey, I used to think Molotov cocktails were called Mazeltov cocktails until a Jewish friend corrected me.

[@TheIceThorn]

Archimedes: because being nerd always had it's advantages. Since ever knowledge has always meant power.

[@wren7195]

The hand powered trebuchets most certainly evolved from staff slings. Despite the general depiction, I fully believe that the sling David used against Goliath, and indeed all shepherds used in their vocation, were simple thong slings fitted onto the ends of their shepherd staves as opposed to a hand sling. Indeed, the Greeks consistently used staff slings (or "one man trebuchets" to help you visualize it) as part of their missile barrages during engagements. Hand slings, although indeed formidable, are far outpowered by staff slings, and it would take nothing for a shepherd to use that instead. It's incredible how much a simple misunderstanding of what was common for a time can shape a tale thousands of years old into something other than it was.

[@m1herrmann160]

Love the show!!

[@gs7256]

In other words:!!! Greeks invented first the majority of these things… I wonder really.. If these people were United and not fighting each other, what would have been… I believe that by far Greeks are the most smart, and they offered the biggest in human history in every aspect if life..Not only in war, but in piece, in mind, in sciences, in everything..everything we value today comes from them.. Huge respect.. We owe them everything…

[@papasfritasduras]

Read "The Red Queen's Race" a Sicence Fiction short story from Isaac Asimov.

[@tweakfreq1982]

And as all things end, we can thank the romans

[@Itsyrm8]

Caltrops were used by greeks against charging persian elephants

[@bigseven8227]

0:47 The fact that people nowadays still don't know exactly how the Greek Fire was made goes to show how excellent their military was at keeping top secrets.

[@dreamguardian8320]

I've never even hear of the Claw of Archimedes, the Exploding Mill Wheel, and Archimedes' Death Ray, until now. That prehistoric Flame Thrower was cool to discover and learn. Scary how they used the Plague as a weapon. I hope people won't find a way to turn Covid-19 into a weapon. Greek Fire truly is a mystery, it makes me want to discover if it was truly made in Greece or why they called it Greek Fire. But hearing how dangerous it was, perhaps it's better that it remains undiscovered and a secret, for the safety everyone. The same goes for all the other ancient siege weapons.

[@sameerthakur720]

Turn Covid into a weapon. Many communist countries have had bio-warfare programs. The Chinese had their premier Virus research facility at Wuhan. They have been researching Coronaviruses at least since 2005. Put two and two together.

[@valkyviktor3228]

@@sameerthakur720 At least we now trying to fight back and have a staging ground against Covid, imagine Resident Evil game turn true and we have deadly undead instead of this

[@johnscanlon2598]

COVID already is a weapon

[@tweakfreq1982]

Napalm was the closest modern man has come to equal Greek fire

[@wesleyhobbs2332]

@@tweakfreq1982 And Napalm is far superior to Greek fire.

[@Dont_cry_my_guy]

The narrator sounds like Charlie Sheen and I cant unhear it

[@adrianaslund8605]

Catapults are torsion engines and not counterweight though. So trebuchets aren't really catapults. They use the stored springy energy of coils of hair to launch projectiles.

[@OriginalCovfefe]

Simple History man!

[@republicofnoobs7437]

at 16:18 this is Atkins hall in Cork Ireland, it used to be a sanaturium, now it is a rather nice appartment complex, I used to live there :)

[@mrrice63]

This is simple history’s voice

[@trevorbourke3627]

the mithbusters made tested them all and they did what they were supposed to do.

[@erikr968]

Siege towers were not used to put soldiers onto the walls (with some very rare exceptions). Ditches, uneven ground and other defenses would make it impossible to drag such huge structures close enough to the walls. They were simply platforms for archers enabling them to shoot down at the defenders.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

Right? a Rope! and Tug? and Down she Goes! Had to stay out of that Range! maybe a ramp if the opertunity was there, but these dudes Lived and Died with their Smarts!

[@riccardomulazzani7436]

You're wrong man... There are several ancient documents and images confirming... The siege tower or mobile tower is a war machine used to reach the defensive walls of a city or fortress during a siege. The siege towers were made of wood, pulled by oxen and with some walls covered with skins to protect themselves from enemy missiles. Inside there were several floors connected to each other with stairs. At the top there was a "drawbridge" which allowed access to the walls.[1] They had a square base and to ensure they were sufficiently stable, not only did they narrow in height, but the area of ​​the upper platform was equal to 1/5 of the base. They could reach considerable heights, as happened during the campaigns of Alexander the Great where one of these reached the measurement of 120 cubits equal to 53 meters. In Roman times we know that in Masada in 74, one of 60 cubits was built, equal to about 26 meters, also equipped with catapults, ballistae and a large ram. Greetings.

[@Ccc.9125]

Really big fan of simple history and awesome voice 😊😄.

[@bluelionsage99]

The sea claw device seems like it is a myth rather than a reality. It could only reach a little past the walls and there would be little reason for a galley to be cruising just over the submerged rocks right next to the walls. The ship cranes just did not have sufficient range to be an issue. Yeah, supposed those rising boarding ramps were in use but it shouldn't take long to figure out where to avoid the cranes.

[@TenChronicles]

18:21 - "The fact that they tested the Archimedes death ray in modern times and it actually worked is mind-blowing

[@alandemir568]

Anyone know the name of the site around 12:06 , first shot of "circumvallation"?

[@edgardolorenzo1797]

Great vid..thanks!

[@jyzlslazyzyhc3286]

Top Five:15 genius ancient saige weapons

[@ozzylepunknown551]

KEEP IN MIND: there were no tutorial videos online for these

[@greenwave819]

as a city defender, TY for circumvalation!!

[@eaxamed246]

Ancient war is very cool

[@11_damaiteguhs.t_ximipa83]

Archimedes is a real madlad.

Several of these are not ancient, not siege weapons, or even neither -starting with the first one, greek fire- but the video is interesting nonetheless.

[@kieranfogarty778]

Also the Romans managed to take Syracuse

[@Itsyrm8]

Liquid fire

[@misterivandespabiladeras1076]

The first one you mentioned was the modern day flamethrower and they love the trebuchet I love

[@KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain]

I remember siege towers from watching the mysterious cities of gold.

[@donovandelaney3171]

All hail Caesar!!

[@leeedsonetwo]

hoisted by your own Petard refers to sailors being hanged by use of the rope that held up their trousers which was called a petard.

[@robotniqueee]

This is entirely wrong.

[@leeedsonetwo]

@@robotniqueee It is what I had heard and fits the facts. SO what is your explanation.

[@1wor1d]

Archimedes Death Ray has many factors that make it unlikely to be true. Firstly it was never used again, even though many people were needed to pull off this strategy so therefore new how to use or make it, also the equipment to do it was not destroyed. Historians, scientists engineers have all tried to re-create the Death Ray using technology available at the time, but at best all they can achieve is giving a sailor a nice suntan!!

[@wankawanka3053]

Nope they actually have recreated it

[@muhtasimmustafiz7162]

@@wankawanka3053 Mythbusters proved it was impossible. Can you link where they did prove it?

[@bigbob1699]

So many wars and battles we know so little of .

[@alphawolffestudios1169]

Myth busters tried recreating number 1 but came to the conclusion it wasn’t possible with modern engineering

[@PeansINbetweens]

finally someone that mentioned it! yeap proved even with modern tech its useless

[@Irishfrasa]

People up until the 20th century: there's just no way we can comprehend the complicated engineering of the ballista. We aren't caught up. The ballista: BIG SLINGSHOT

[@ArishVanNikon]

Correction: The Counterweight Trebuchet was also invented in China in the 4th century BC

[@mikeropaynus410]

They set water on fire!

[@karumovesV]

They recreated that Death Ray where hundreds of children carrying a mirror as large as them and then pointing refracted lights from the mirror in the same direction

[@RonaldTrumpOfficial]

3:06 Is about ballista *continues to show Scorpio firing*

[@godisforever7263]

I mean they are in the ballista category so that counts I guess And crossbows are also mini ballista.

[@MikeBanks2003]

The big and small trebuchet were on wheels or on rails--it increased the range by about a third, and stopped the machine wrecking itself. ,

[@renahernandez5120]

War..a guy thing.

[@MikeBanks2003]

@@renahernandez5120 Nope--just applied physics. Action and reaction are equal and opposite--

[@MikeBanks2003]

@@renahernandez5120 Have you not heard of Queen Hatshepsut?

[@alinvornicu7734]

Archimedes invents death ray. Sun: Bye!

[@ThunderMeow-r1q]

Archimedes gotta be time traveler

[@sadcharles4845]

I love history

[@2ndamendmentsupporter777]

So in 420 dudes were blazing in war

[@trustjesusoursavior4179]

Ballista is a giant slingshot

[@thax321]

Using an image of a hoplite phalanx from 500 BC when talking about Byzantine, Greek, fire....classic.

[@hii7872]

Love it

[@SherriRichLifeJohnson]

👍😀 great video

[@magnussoevgaard8091]

Awesome

[@sneakyturtle1117]

This sounds like simple history's voice.... WAIT IT IS!

[@seanfoltz7645]

You used a screen scrape of Myth Busters proving the death ray didn't work as evidence of it working.

[@LongTail8443]

Nah, English longbow is the best old world weapon in my opinion. People still use them for hunting even today, and it's English, it's badass, mate.

[@TheT3MK4]

thats not even ancient era weapons longbow is from medieval era.

[@amkhjogr5062]

The English longbow was effective only in that it was inexpensive and "easy" to make and when unstrung, doubled as a staff. It had less range and power that the recurve bow - and was too large to be used on horseback. As a "projectile weapon" is was very much inferior to the recurve bow. It is also a lesser weapon to the flatbow (Nth America) which is similar part from the "ends" (which do not taper - therefore adding just that little more tension). The main advantage of these masses ranks of longbow archers was not only in the bow - it was essentially in the men themselves - they were also armed with long knives and were more than effective as light infantry - especially effective against heavily armoured "knights" who'd been de-horsed (this was the real decider at Agincourt).

[@hundun5604]

Caltrops, the simplest and most dangerous of all of them. That's because of the barbs. Hard to get loose without losing your feet. Especially in those times. Patards are still being used in IED's today. Btw, for those 'claws' you need huge counterweights to lift a ship out of the water, a very strong grip and beam, and be able to rotate. I've to see it before I believe it. Same goes for the "death ray". Back then, they didn't have mirrors. Anyway, interesting video. Thanks!

[@DIREWOLFx75]

"Back then, they didn't have mirrors." Yes they did. First known mirror was from 6k BC or something. "Btw, for those 'claws'" My guess is that they exploited leverage far more than the vast majority of modern guesswork shows. I can come up with several options that should work at the very least. And if they placed them in optimal positions, they wouldn't need that many for them to be as effective as written, especially as they probably also surprised the enemy.

[@o.k.productions5202]

#5, if you can’t beat a wall, build a wall.

[@tektoastium7241]

The battering ram really wasn't so genius. Testaments to siege warfare suggest that the battering ram was tried oftentimes just in case the enemy had forgotten to get a strong door for their fortress. And contrary to popular belief, siege towers were not often used to reach castle walls. They were instead used as an elevated firing platform for archers, and had the stunning speed of 1.25 meters per hour. I argue that the most important siege weapon was the shovel. Sieges did not demand the skill of knights, they demanded the skill of engineers. Things like trebuchets and circumvallations could not be made without the skill of siege engineers in one's attacking force, and it could take months to build a single trebuchet.

[@JayM409]

The Romans actually did capture Syracuse, and Archimedes was killed.

[@elvenkind6072]

Drawing circles in the sand, complaining about the soldier that came to stab him to death, were stepping on the formula.

[@omaralaaeldeenelsadany5527]

I was searching for u through the comments

[@fifa4lifeunknow795]

@@elvenkind6072 the soldiers had orders not to harm him, but Archimedes said he had to finish his work before he goes but roman foot soldier got mad and killed him

[@donquijote7463]

DAVID : HOLD MY BEER.

[@robloxandgachalifemobileta9976]

The greek fire was the first flamethrower cuz it shoots fire like a flamethrower

[@kirgan1000]

18:30 You use a photo from Mytbusters then they tested the archimedes death ray. They draw the conclusion that the death rey do not work, even using modern mirrows and optimal condition. If you want to claime it work, thats up to you, but do not use photo from someone else's work and totaly twist there conclustion.

[@Flintynicomod]

imagine attacking a city in 214 bc and seeing a ray of light scorching your ship in seconds

[@TheBubblybobby]

Wow the death Ray !

[@wtfmanicanthaveaname]

Interesting, greek fire was obviously the inspiration for the "Wildfire" in Game of Thrones.

[@7ThePrimagen]

If I remember much like the painting There was very lil info But I think somebody wanted to make a handheld version of it for normal troops The fuckin Greeks were about to set tranches ablaze a couple centuries before the Germans XD

[@SirGalahadCtny]

17:39 - fun fact, this picture is actually medieval Bohemian book of prayers or rather some kind of instructions for women on how to make atonements. I can read entire parts with only fragment of difficulty. The POV is female. (Yes, in Czech we can tell difference from text, as there are small differences mostly in last one to three letters in a word.) It reads: "...from which is... ...my conscience. ...heart, God! I the fierce one and ...I did again today against ...you I sinned, and in a way ...in front of you, which you ...brought to my path, and a bit..." "you, I wrongly... ever, Oh my God, that I did you, the good ness vast and eternal, enraged. I plead, merciful father, for the love of son of yours, for the blood innocent and for the bitter death oh his, forgive me mercifu lly, whatever I did today, or whenever I have wronged You, Amen."

[@aceshott3548]

I’m not sure if there was one thing on here that everybody I know didn’t already know about

[@anyoneanywhere8212]

Onager spam ALWAYS wins. No exceptions.

[@aaronharper1209]

I wonder how strong a spring loaded battering ram would have been.

[@rhuonaChanel]

Would have needed a really large spring and maybe some gears. Maybe a leaf spring design might be simpler. This is definitely an interesting idea

[@MrOlgrumpy]

Taking iron back to the bronze age is quite a feat.

[@MukiBlalock-t9y]

I love how it's "Top 5s" but they always do 15

[@richardhawkins4621]

Most sieges was a case of surrounding the castle and then starving them out

[@mordechaimandel8118]

Rome, Rome, Rome. It's all fucking Rome!

[@TheBlackjack54]

Most of these are Greek? Some Syracuse too

[@spectrerevenant7655]

I love to play strong hold crusader 😎😍

[@majorgear1021]

great game!

[@محمد-س1ل2ص]

Damn🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@-buser]

420bc blaze it

[@repentnowjesusiscomingsoon7356]

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes.

[@IIIAnchani]

2:25 look closely to the longbowman on the right with the flaming arrow. [when you get friendzoned by your crush]

[@DIREWOLFx75]

Ancient people were exactly as smart as we are today. They just didn't have as easy access to KNOWLEDGE and TOOLS and MATERIALS as we do today. And you forgot the Hwa'cha. The MRLS of the past.

[@fernandes5986]

Very good, concise and informative. Your calm voice also helps delivering the message. I already subscribed. Btw what's the music on background?

[@amadomarceseo3022]

Heeeeeeey simple history what's up man

[@adrianmedyanik8814]

Rome won battle of Syracuse at 212 bc....thats how archimedes died

[@MrHide-ty1qk]

Hey this voice is familiar from simple history i subscribe on that channel

[@AKSnowbat907]

How was that ancient sailing ship in the beginning moving with its sails closed?

[@zachmoyer1849]

probably has an engine now or is being moved by a tug which could be that dingy you see

[@Flankgotnolife]

Coooool

[@jayav1738]

There are many techniques used in Indian sub continent not mentioned here

[@mrvn000]

Make your own channel and coment it.

[@_MaxHeadroom_]

The name of the chapter for "The Claw of Archemedes" has a typo it says The Claw of Aristotle

[@reichtangle4146]

Hi Simple History