ASSYRIAN RAMS

The Assyrian army, and more precisely the army of the neo-Assyrian state (from around 930 to 612 BCE), was famous for its considerable possibilities of besieging and conquering fortresses or fortified cities. The cheapest and most commonly used tool in fighting for a given fortified object was, of course, a ladder. However, the Assyrians used, on a large scale, excavations, which were primarily to damage the structure of the defensive walls and their foundations. The Assyrians also used battering rams. It is often assumed that the Assyrian army was the first to use rams on a large scale and in an effective manner. The rams most often moved on a wooden frame, with four wheels, covered with fresh skins. Sometimes a special turret for archers was mounted on the top of the ram. Interestingly, the rams were used not only to breach the gates of a given city or fortress, but also to break walls. Mobile siege towers were also used. With successive campaigns, the Assyrian army became more and more proficient in the art of siege, and you can risk a statement that at the turn of the eighth and seventh centuries BC it almost came to perfection in this matter.