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.
Facts
Weapon ClassSiege engine (counterweight/traction beam catapult) 1 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. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
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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