The trebuchet is a siege engine that uses a pivoting beam and sling to hurl projectiles at fortifications. The traction (man-powered) form was adopted by Byzantines, Persians, Arabs and Avars by the sixth to seventh centuries. The counterweight trebuchet, the more powerful form in use by Saladin's era, is first illustrated in a commentary on Saladin's own conquests, written in 1187; scholars have little consensus on exactly where and when it was first developed. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Weapon Class Introduced YearThis is the date of the earliest known illustration of the counterweight form, tied to Saladin's own conquests, not a claimed invention date; historians do not agree on where or when the counterweight trebuchet was first developed. Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
The counterweight trebuchet was the dominant siege engine of the Ayyubid armies during the Crusader-era sieges.
Source Wikipedia: Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
Source Wikipedia: Siege
Open Questions
Source Wikipedia: Trebuchet
Operated By
Source Wikipedia: Trebuchet
Used In
Source Wikipedia: Trebuchet
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: the same subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Trebuchet
WikipediaLead section
It spread westward, possibly via the Avars, and was adopted by the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, and other neighboring peoples by the sixth to seventh centuries AD.
mechanism section
The sling starts rotating with the beam...transmitting this increased speed to the projectile
Lead section
The later, and often larger and more powerful, counterweight trebuchet, also known as the counterpoise trebuchet, uses a counterweight to swing the arm.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Introduced circa 1187 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
Lead
It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder.
Used In: Albigensian Crusade, Article text
According to the Song of the Albigensian Crusade, the defenders "ran to the ropes and wound the trebuchets", and to shoot the machine, they "then released their ropes." They were used in England at least by 1217 and in Iberia shortly after 1218.
Operated By: Mongol Army, Article text
Chinese and Muslim engineers operated artillery and siege engines for the Mongol armies.
In Group: Medieval Siege Engines and Cannon, Lead sentence
A trebuchet (French: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile.
View the Source 2. Wiktionary: trebuchet
WiktionaryNoun section, EnglishQuote, Noun section, English
A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end.
Wikidata: Trebuchet
Wikipedia: Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
WikipediaAssociated With: Ayyubid Army, Article textQuote, Associated With: Ayyubid Army, Article text
The walls were constantly pounded by the siege engines, catapults, mangonels, petraries, Greek fire, crossbows, and arrows.
Wikipedia: Siege
Open Questions (1 open question)
Where and when was the counterweight trebuchet first developed?
The earliest known illustration of a counterweight trebuchet comes from a 1187 commentary on Saladin's own conquests, but the source itself states there is little to no consensus as to where and when the counterweight trebuchet was first developed.
What would resolve this Additional dated illustrations, textual descriptions, or archaeological finds from the tenth to twelfth century Islamic or Byzantine world that predate or corroborate the 1187 illustration.
History of siege technologyWikipedia: Trebuchet
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