Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330924 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 344 pages

Synopsis
There is something alluring about ancient methods of warfare that have been made obsolete by this modern era of computers and machines. Before the days of tanks and machine guns, there were scaling ladders, battering rams, siege towers, throwing machines and bores. Weapons such as these symbolize power, protection, control, and defiance. "Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons" allows readers to actually re-create their own medieval weapons with clear, step-by-step instructions. Military history buffs can find siege weapons of Ancient Egypt, Judea, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome, as well as those of the Gauls and Teutons, the Byzantine Empire, the Muslim World, and Medieval Europe, all described with incredible detail and accompanied by illustrations and photographs. Konstantin Nossov offers new ways to reconstruct various siege weapons that are based on his analyses of the works of ancient and medieval authors, including: Vitruvius, Vegetius, Apollodorus, Athenaeus, Heron, Biton, Philon, and many others.

With chapters covering the history of siege warfare, siege weapons, different stratagems and methods of attack and defence, readers will not only walk away with ideas of how to recreate siege weapons, they'll also take with them a better understanding of history from ancient times through the end of the fifteenth century AD.

Customer Reviews

At last a good book about ancient and medieval sieges
I have lots of books about ancient and medieval siege weapons.
Most of those published before 2000 have poor information bout important weapons such as espringal and trebuchets.

This one is very up to date and very comprehensive. It contains as much information as ten Osprey books making it excellent value for money.

I am a bit of an anorak on this subject and have searched for mistakes. So far I found one - the picture on page 181 is from 1507 AD woodcut print by Kölderer not Leonardo da Vinci.

The only thing missing that I have found is that the latest research shows that the Romans used in swinging ballistae from about 100AD.

This is the best value book on the subject that I have found - recommended.
Mick (husband of Mrs C.....