ANCIENT ROMAN ARTILLERY

The army of the Roman Empire was known primarily for its great infantry, held together by iron discipline. However, this great infantry was often supported in battle by quite a wide range of non-fire artillery, which was used both during sieges and in open battle in the field. In the case of the siege of a given city, the weight and mobility of individual machines played a smaller role, hence the classic catapults were widely used, most often referred to as "onager", ballistae, but also specific "variations" of the device invented in the Greek world called lythobolos, used for shooting stone balls in a horizontal or curve trajectory. Of course, these are just examples of Roman siege machines. On the other hand, in the field, a device called a scorpio, called a scorpion in Polish, was often used. It was a relatively light and mobile ballista adapted to firing arrows / bolts. It is worth adding that scorpions are certified in sources as early as the 1st century BC. It is also worth adding that the Roman army in the principate era also used other types of non-fire artillery, such as machines called carroballista or manuballista.