Presentation on the topic of the army of ancient Rome. War machines of the ancient world

Ancient Rome was one of the greatest empires. An empire that conquered most of the then known world. This state had a tremendous influence on the entire further process of development of civilization, and the perfection of some structures and organizations of this country has not yet been surpassed.

We can safely say that from the moment of its inception, the words Roman Empire and the concepts of “order,” “organization,” and “discipline” became synonymous. This fully applies to the ancient Roman army, the legionnaires, who inspired awe and respect among the barbarian peoples...

A fully equipped and equipped fighter was armed with a sword (in Latin "gladius"), several darts ("plumbatae") or spears ("pila"). For protection, the legionnaires used a large rectangular shield (“scutum”). The battle tactics of the ancient Roman army were quite simple - before the start of the battle, the enemy was pelted with spears and darts, after which hand-to-hand combat began. And it was in such hand-to-hand battles, in which the Romans preferred to fight in a very dense formation, consisting of several rows, where the back rows pressed against the front ones, simultaneously supporting and pushing forward, that the advantages of the legionnaires’ sword were revealed, i.e. gladius

Gladius and spatha

The fact is that the gladius was an almost ideal weapon for working in tight formation: the total length of the weapon (not exceeding 60 centimeters) did not require any room to swing, and the sharpening of the blade itself made it possible to deliver both chopping and piercing blows (although preference was given to strong piercing blows). blows from behind a shield, which gave very good protection). Also, the gladiuses had two more undoubted advantages: they were all of the same type (in modern terms - “serial”), so a legionnaire who lost his weapon in battle could use the weapon of a defeated comrade without any inconvenience. In addition, usually ancient Roman swords were made from fairly low-grade iron, so they were cheap to produce, which means that such weapons could be produced in very large quantities, which in turn led to an increase in the regular army.

A very interesting fact is that, according to historians, the gladius is not originally a Roman invention and was most likely borrowed from the tribes that at one time conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Around the 3rd century BC, the ancient Romans borrowed a straight short sword called Gladius Hispaniensis (i.e. “Spanish sword”) from barbarian tribes (presumably Gauls or Celts). The word gladius itself may well come from the Celtic “kladyos” (“sword”), although some experts believe that this term may also come from the Latin “clades” (“damage, wound”) or “gladii” (“stem”) ). But, one way or another, it was the Romans who “immortalized” this short sword.

Gladius is a double-edged sword with a wedge-shaped tip, used for piercing and cutting blows to the enemy. The durable hilt had a convex handle that could have indentations for the fingers. The strength of the sword was ensured either by batch forging: joining together several steel strips using blows, or by the diamond-shaped cross-section of the blade when manufactured from a single high-carbon steel billet. When manufactured by batch forging, a downward channel was located in the center of the sword.
Very often, the name of the owner was indicated on the swords, which was stamped on the blade or engraved.

Stabbing blows had a great effect during battles because puncture wounds, especially in the abdominal cavity, as a rule, were always fatal. But in some situations, cutting and slashing blows were applied with a gladius, as evidenced by Livy in his reports on the Macedonian wars, which speaks of the frightened soldiers of Macedonia when they saw the chopped bodies of soldiers.
Despite the main strategy of the infantrymen - to deliver stabbing blows to the stomach, during training they were aimed at gaining any advantage in battle, not excluding the possibility of hitting the enemy below the level of the shields, damaging the kneecaps with slashing blows.

There are four types of gladius.

Spanish gladius

Used no later than 200 BC. to 20 BC The length of the blade is approximately 60-68 cm. The length of the sword is approximately 75-85 cm. The width of the sword is approximately 5 cm. It was the largest and heaviest of the gladiuses. The earliest and longest of the gladiuses, it had a pronounced leaf-like shape. The maximum weight was about 1 kg, the standard weighed about 900 g with a wooden handle.

Gladius "Mainz"

Mainz was founded as a Roman permanent camp at Moguntiacum around 13 BC. This large camp provided the population base for the growing city around it. Sword making probably began in the camp and was continued in the city; for example, Gaius Gentlius Victor, a veteran of Legio XXII, used his demobilization bonus to start a business as a gladiarius, manufacturer and dealer of weapons. Swords made in Mainz were sold mainly to the north. The Mainz variation of the gladius was characterized by a small blade waist and a long tip. Blade length 50-55 cm. Sword length 65-70 cm. Blade width about 7 cm. Sword weight about 800 g. (with wooden handle). The Mainz-type gladius was intended primarily for stabbing. As for the chopping, if applied awkwardly, it could even damage the blade.

Gladius Fulham

The sword which gave the type its name was dug up from the Thames near Fulham and must therefore date from after the Roman occupation of Britain. This was after the invasion of Aulia Platius in 43 AD. It was used until the end of that same century. It is considered an intermediate link between the Mainz type and the Pompeii type. Some consider this a development of the Mainz type, or simply this type. The blade is slightly narrower than the Mainz type, the main difference being the triangular point. Blade length 50-55 cm. Sword length 65-70 cm. The blade width is approximately 6cm. The weight of the sword is about 700g. (with wooden handle).

Gladius "Pompeii"

Named in modern times after Pompeii, a Roman city in which many of its inhabitants died - despite the Roman navy's efforts to evacuate the people - which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. Four examples of swords were found there. The sword has parallel blades and a triangular tip. It is the shortest of the gladiuses. It is worth noting that it is often confused with the spatha, which was a longer slashing weapon used by mounted auxiliaries. Unlike its predecessor, it was much better suited for cutting with the enemy, while its penetrating ability during a stabbing strike decreased. Over the years the Pompeii type has become longer and later versions are referred to as semi-spatas. Blade length 45-50cm. Sword length 60-65cm. The blade width is about 5cm. The weight of the sword is about 700g. (with wooden handle).

By the third century, even the Pompeii-type gladius was not effective enough.
The tactics of the legions became more defensive than offensive, as in previous centuries. There was an urgent need for longer swords, suitable for single combat or fighting in a relatively free formation. And then the Roman infantry armed themselves with the cavalry sword, known as the "spata".

A long sword invented by the Celts, but extensively used by Roman cavalry. Initially, the spatha was created and used by the Celts as a sword for infantrymen, which had a rounded edge and was intended for delivering slashing blows, but over time, having appreciated the edge of the gladius, intended for stabbing blows, the Celts sharpened the spatha, and the Roman horse warriors admired with this long sword, they took it into service. Due to the center of gravity shifted closer to the tip, this sword was ideal for horse battles.
The Roman spatha reached a weight of 2 kg, the width of the blade varied from 4 to 5 centimeters, and the length from approximately 60 to 80 centimeters. The handle of the Roman spatha was made in the same way as the gladius, made of wood and bone.
When the sword appeared in the Roman Empire, cavalry officers first began to arm themselves with it, then the entire cavalry changed their weapons, followed by auxiliary units that did not have a formation and participated in the battle more in a scattered form, that is, the battle with them was divided into fights. Soon the officers of the infantry units appreciated this sword, and over time they not only armed themselves with them, but also armed ordinary legionnaires. Of course, some legionnaires remained faithful to the gladius, but it soon completely faded into history, giving way to the more practical spatha.

Pugio

A dagger used by Roman soldiers as a personal weapon. It is believed that the pugio was intended as a auxiliary weapon, but its exact combat use remains unclear. Attempts to identify the pugio as a utility knife are misleading because the blade shape is not suitable for this purpose. In any case, there were many knives of various shapes and sizes on Roman military installations, and therefore there was no need to use only the pugio for universal purposes. Officials of the Roman Empire wore ornate daggers while on duty at their workplaces. Some carried daggers secretly, for protection against unforeseen circumstances. In general, this dagger served as a weapon of murder and suicide; for example, the conspirators who dealt a fatal blow to Julius Caesar used pugio for this.

Ultimately the pugio was derived from Spanish originals of various types. However, by the early 1st century AD, replicas of this Roman dagger typically had a wide blade, which could be leaf-shaped. There could also be an alternative blade shape with the tip narrowing towards the tip of the wide blades from approximately half the length of the blade. The blades range in size from 18 cm to 28 cm in length and 5 cm or more in width. The central rib stretched the entire length of each side of the blade, either located in the middle or forming an extension in both directions. The tang was wide and flat, the handle linings were riveted onto it, as well as onto the shoulders of the blade. The pommel was originally round in shape, but by the early 1st century AD it had acquired a trapezoidal shape, often topped with three decorative rivets.

The pugio had its own sheath. During the second quarter of the 1st century AD, three types of scabbard were used. All had four rings for fastenings and a convex extension to which a large rivet was attached. Judging by the examples of wearing that have survived to us, the two lower rings were not used to secure the sheath. The first type was made from curved metal (usually iron) plates. These plates were located on the front and back sides of the scabbard and seemed to seal the wooden “lining”. The front part was usually richly decorated with brass or silver inlay, as well as red, yellow or green enamel. A feature of these scabbards was the free movement of ring pendants attached by riveted forked fasteners. Modern reconstructions of these scabbards, which are made of copper plates secured with rivets, are incorrect; examples of this type have never been found. This common error occurs due to the misinterpretation of the line drawing in the archaeological report of the type "A" iron scabbard, which was simply decorated with silver inlay and decorative rivets.
The second type of scabbard was made of wood and, presumably, covered with leather. Metal plates (almost always iron) were attached to the front of such sheaths. This plate was made quite smooth and richly decorated with inlay with silver (sometimes tin) and enamel. The pendant rings resembled small Roman military buckles and were hinged to the sides of the case. The third type (the "frame type") was made of iron and consisted of a pair of curved runners that ran together and flared at the lower end of the scabbard to form a spherical end. The runners were connected by two horizontal stripes in the upper and middle parts of the scabbard.

Gasta

The main type of infantry spear in ancient Rome, although at different periods of time the name ghast denoted different types of spears, for example, the Roman poet Ennius, around the 3rd century BC, mentions ghast in his works as a designation for a throwing spear, which actually meant time is the generally accepted meaning. Following the modern judgment of historians, it was initially customary to arm legionnaires with heavy spears, which are now commonly called ghasts. At a later time, heavy spears were replaced with lighter darts - pilums. Ghasts are divided into three types, each of which can be safely called a separate type of spear:
1. A heavy infantry spear intended exclusively for close combat.
2. A shortened spear, which was used both as a melee weapon and as a throwing weapon.
3. A lightweight dart intended exclusively for throwing.

Until the 3rd century BC, the ghasta was in service with heavy infantry soldiers who marched on the front line. These soldiers were called so, in honor of the spear with which they went into battle - hastati, although later the spear went out of general use, the warriors continued to be called hastati. Despite the fact that the hastu was replaced by a pilum for ordinary soldiers, the heavy spear remained in service with the principles and triarii, but this also lasted until the beginning of the 1st century BC. There was light infantry (velites), which did not have a formation order, which was always armed with light throwing ghasts (hasta velitaris).
The length of the ghast was approximately 2 m, of which the lion's share was taken by the shaft (a completely different ratio compared to the pilum), which was approximately 170 cm long and was made mainly of ash. The tip was initially forged from bronze, but later bronze was replaced by iron (as in many other cases associated with weapons in the ancient Roman army), the length of the tip averaged 30 cm. Senior soldier ranks: beneficiaries, frumentaries, speculators, who often performed special assignments, had spears of a special shape, emphasizing their status. The tips of their spears were decorated with iron rings. It is known that the Romans had a special military award - a golden or silver spear (hasta pura). In the era of the Empire, it was awarded, as a rule, to officers of the legions, starting with senior centurions.

Pilum

A polearm bladed weapon of Roman legionnaires, a type of dart designed to be thrown from a short distance at an enemy. Its exact origin has not yet been clarified. Perhaps it was invented by the Latins, or perhaps borrowed from the Samnites or Etruscans. The pilum became widespread in the Republican army of Rome and was in service with legionnaires until the beginning of the 4th century AD. e. It is mainly used by infantrymen, and during the period of the Republican army (late 6th century BC - 27 BC) it was used by a certain type of army - lightly armed velites and heavy infantry hastati. Around 100 BC. General Marius introduces the pilum as part of the equipment of every legionnaire.

Initially it consists of a long iron tip, equal in length to the shaft. The shaft was half driven into the tip, and the total length was about 1.5–2 meters. The metal part was thin, up to 1 cm in diameter, 0.6-1 m in length and with a serrated or pyramidal point. During the reign of Caesar, there were various versions of the original type - the tip was either lengthened or shortened. Pilums were also divided into light (up to 2 kg) and heavy (up to 5 kg). Its main difference from a spear was the long iron part. This served to ensure that if the enemy’s shield was hit, it could not be cut with a sword.

The tip of the pilum could be attached using a tube at the end or a flat tongue, which was attached to the shaft with 1-2 rivets. Many darts with a “tongue” along the edges of the flat part of the edges were bent and covered the shaft so that the tip would fit better to it. A well-preserved pilum (about 80 BC) with a second variant of fastening the tip was found in Valencia (Spain) ) and in Oberraden (northern Germany). Thanks to these finds, it is confirmed that by the middle of the 1st century BC. the pilum becomes lighter. Earlier copies of it were discovered in northern Etruria, near Telamon. The tips of these samples were very short - only 25-30 cm in length. There were also pilums with a flat part 57-75 cm long. During the famous military reforms of the military leader Gaius Marius, he noticed that the spear did not always bend when struck, and the enemy could pick it up and use it. To prevent this, one of the rivets is replaced with a wooden pin, which breaks upon impact, and the sides of the tongue are not bent.

Heavy pilums have a shaft that tapers towards the end; at the junction with the tip there is a round heavy counterweight, which should increase the striking force of the spear. This type of pilum is depicted on the Cancilleria relief in Rome, which shows Praetorians armed with them.
Basically, the spear was intended for throwing at the enemy, as a piercing weapon it was used much less often. They threw it before the start of hand-to-hand combat at a distance of 7 to 25 meters, lighter samples - up to 65 meters. Even though the pilum simply got stuck in the enemy’s shield without causing significant damage, it made it difficult for the enemy to move in close combat. In this case, the soft shaft of the tip often bent, making it impossible to quickly pull it out or cut it. Using the shield after this became inconvenient and had to be discarded. If the shield remained in the hands of the enemy, the legionnaire who arrived in time stepped on the shaft of the stuck pilum and pulled the enemy’s shield down, forming a convenient gap for striking with a spear or sword. Heavy pilums could, with the force of the blow, penetrate not only a shield, but also an enemy in armor. This has been proven by modern tests. From a distance of 5 meters, the Roman pilum pierces a three-centimeter pine board and a two-centimeter layer of plywood.

Later the pilum gives way to a lighter spiculum. But there is a possibility that these are different names for the same type of weapon. With the decline and collapse of the Roman Empire, regular infantry - legionnaires - become a thing of the past, and along with them, pilums disappear from the battlefield. The era of dominance on the battlefield by heavy cavalry and the long spear begins.

Lancea

Roman cavalry spear.

Josephus mentions that the Roman cavalry defeated the Jewish cavalry thanks to long lance spears. Later, after the crisis of the 3rd century, new models of spears were introduced into the infantry, replacing pilums. New types of throwing spears (appearing after the reforms of Diocletian), according to Vegetius, are vertullum, spicullum and plumbata. The first two were meter darts, and the plumbata was a 60 cm lead-weighted feathered dart.
The Praetorians were supplemented by detachments of lanciarii - bodyguards-spearmen; similar units appeared in the legions to protect especially important persons. The lancea was a service weapon, but a spear was not used indoors, and the lanciarii were not limited in the choice of additional weapons; during the collapse of the empire, such a guard was an attribute of any important commander or, less often, a senator.

Plumbata.

The first mention of the combat use of plumbats dates back to ancient Greece in which warriors used plumbats from about 500 BC, but the most famous use of plumbats in the late Roman and Byzantine armies.

In the description, Vegetia plumbata is a long-range throwing weapon. The heavily armed warriors who served in the Roman legion, in addition to traditional equipment, were equipped with five plumbats, which they wore on the inside of the shield. Soldiers used plumbats as an offensive weapon during the first onslaught and as a defensive weapon during an enemy attack. Constant exercise allowed them to achieve such experience in handling weapons that enemies and their horses were amazed before it came to hand-to-hand combat, and even before they came within range of a dart or arrow. Thus, at the same time, warriors on the battlefield combined the qualities of heavy infantry and riflemen. The skirmishers, who fought in front of the formation at the beginning of the battle, also had plumbats in service. Moving back with the start of hand-to-hand combat under the cover of their own, they continued to fire at the enemy. At the same time, the plumbats threw them along a high trajectory, over the heads of those in front. Vegetius specifically stipulates the need to arm the triarii standing in the rear ranks of the formation with plumbats. He also recommended to his readers to use plumbats in siege warfare - both when protecting walls from enemy attacks and when storming enemy fortifications.

The appearance of the plumbata occurs as a result of the development of the same tendency to increase the mass of the weapon to enhance the energy of its throw. However, if the pilum, equipped with a lead sinker, could be thrown only at 20 m, and at this distance it pierced through the shield and the shield-bearer hiding behind it, then the lighter one due to the reduction in the size of the shaft and the massiveness of the iron part of the plumbat tip flew at 50-60 m , which is comparable to the throw range of a light dart. The plumbatu is distinguished from the latter by its smaller size and a special throwing technique, in which the warrior took the shaft with his fingers by the tail and threw it with a shoulder swing of his arm, like throwing a throwing club or club. In this case, the plumbat shaft became an extension of the thrower’s hand and increased the throwing leverage, and the lead sinker imparted additional kinetic energy to the projectile. Thus, with a size smaller than that of a dart, the plumbata received a larger initial supply of energy, which made it possible to throw it at a distance at least not inferior to the distance of throwing a dart. Moreover, if the dart at the end almost completely wasted the initial throwing energy imparted to it and, even when hitting the target, could not cause any noticeable damage to it, then the plumbata, even at the maximum range of its flight, retained a supply of energy sufficient to hit the victim.

An important advantage of the Romans' opponents was the possession of longer-range weapons, which could be used to shoot closely-formed legions from extreme distances. The destructive effect of such shelling was probably quite insignificant, and its effectiveness was achieved by weakening the enemy's resistance and his confidence in his own strength. An adequate response on the part of the Romans was the use of projectiles that had a greater firing distance and destructive power than the enemy. As noted earlier, plumbata was thrown at a distance equal to the flight range of the dart. But if the dart at the maximum distance turned out to be completely powerless, then the plumbata, even at the end, retained enough energy to hit its victim and incapacitate it. In particular, Vegetius points out this property of plumbata when he says that the Romans “wounded enemies and their horses before it came to hand-to-hand combat, and even before they came within range of a dart or arrow.”

The short shaft of the plumbat and the throwing technique, which did not require much space, allowed the rear ranks of the formation to fire at the enemy also during hand-to-hand combat. In order not to hit those in front, the shells were sent upward at a large angle. Due to the high angle of incidence of the plumbat, it pierced the target from top to bottom, at an angle of 30 to 70 degrees, which made it possible to hit the head, neck and shoulders of a warrior hiding behind a shield. At a time when all the attention of the combatants was turned to the enemy, the shells raining down from above were especially dangerous because “they could neither be seen nor avoided.”

During the African campaign of 530, a plumbata thrown by Belisarius' spearman John of Armenia pierced the helmet of the nephew of the Vandal king Geiseric and inflicted a mortal wound on him, from which he soon died, but the helmet was made of the thickest metal.

The rate of fire of rocket launchers is 10 bursts per second, they are considered modern weapons. But researchers have found mysterious references to rocket launchers from the ancient world that fired at almost the same speed. They are almost 2 thousand years old.

There are vague hints in ancient Chinese texts of complex catapults that fired fire at 8 bursts per second. Could the ancient Chinese have invented weapons comparable to modern rocket launchers?

In 200 AD, there was an internecine war in ancient China. The rulers made great efforts to protect themselves from attacks. The Chinese have always been good at building fortified cities, for this reason they spent huge amounts of money on developing ways to destroy and capture fortresses.

In ancient times, a siege was a tactic to wear down the enemy. It took 20 minutes to charge a large catapult. How did the ancients come up with the idea of ​​speeding up this process in order to increase the rate of fire?

In the text of an ancient inventor Mahjong, written in 232 AD, talks about a prototype catapult with the highest rate of fire for that time.

According to historical documents, if the huge wooden flywheel was set in motion, projectiles would be thrown from each rope due to centrifugal force. When the projectile reaches the highest point of the wheel, the blade will cut the rope and the projectile will fly freely forward.

The Chinese kept meticulous records of such inventions. Many military reference books have survived, dating back to the 11th century, which contain drawings of various catapults.

Ancient flamethrower

Researchers accidentally found a mention of ancient weapons that were as powerful as modern ones. One of them was made by the ancient Greeks. They describe an innovative machine that instilled literally primal fear in people.

Fire is one of the main weapon systems even in the 21st century. If a person's clothes caught fire, his comrades forced him to roll on the ground to put out the fire and protect him from burns.

The first machines that began to use deadly fire appeared more than 2 thousand years ago. They were used not only against the military, but also against entire cities.

In 424 BC. The Boeotians made the most of this power. They laid siege to the city of Delium in central Greece to recapture it from the Athenians. The defenders carried trees, roots and other materials to strengthen the earthworks.

The trees near the Athenian walls told the Boeotians what weapon to choose: they came up with a huge flamethrower. Did this weapon system work? Did they manage to defeat the Athenians?

An ancient author writes about this Thucydides- Athenian general and statesman who was demoted in the middle of the Peloponnesian War. Like most demoted generals, he wanted to prove that he had been treated unfairly, and so he wrote a book.

This book is the first serious political study of the phenomenon of war. Not the one about which legends are made, but the one in which real people participate. This is an important text that we still read today.

They cut a large log lengthwise, selected the core from one end to the other, then carefully joined the halves again, hanging a closed cauldron from one end on chains. Then the log was covered with iron and an iron pipe was connected to the boiler. They brought all this on carts from afar to that part of the wall that was built mainly from vines and logs. And when they came close, they attached large bellows to the end of the log and began to blow with them.

A strong stream of air, entering the closed cauldron, which was filled with lit coals, sulfur and resin, produced enormous heat and set the wall on fire. The defenders could not stand it and fled.

It was a very simple design: large bellows, a long tube and fire. The bellows were inflated in the same way as blacksmiths.

The wooden walls of Delium did not save the defending troops. According to Thucydides, the Boeotians used these weapons to set Delium on fire and drive out the Athenians.

Only 200 Athenians died, the rest were allowed to escape. Using this technology, which was ahead of its time, the Boeotians defeated the Athenians - thanks to the power of engineering.

But despite this, Athens became one of the most powerful cities of the Ancient World. This city is still the capital of Greece - 3 thousand years later.

Based on the use of a rapid-fire catapult and through the ingenious use of fire, over a thousand years the military came up with the most fearsome and powerful weapons imaginable.

But these inventions were just the beginning. Modern aircraft carriers could not operate without an important element that is two thousand years old.

Ancient Egyptian texts tell how deadly weapons were powered by the power of air alone.

Modern aircraft carriers are the most advanced weapons. They use technology that was invented in ancient Egypt over 2 thousand years ago. How is this possible?

In the ancient world, the catapult was the technical leader of the arms race. She could store and release more energy than a human. The accumulated energy is called potential energy.

Almost all throwing devices work on the same principle: they convert potential energy into kinetic energy. And potential energy accumulates in an elastic band, which is tied to the catapult. The catapult stores energy in gravity when the load is suspended high. And when you release potential energy, it turns into kinetic energy and shoots out like a rocket.

The standard catapult of the Ancient world was torsion catapult. It works using a twisted rope that holds energy. The mechanism is tilted, the catapult lever is connected to the harness. When it is triggered, the tourniquet unwinds and all the energy is released.

The ropes were made from animal veins, hemp and stretched leather. A typical Roman army torsion catapult, which used organic materials, released 2.5 MJ of potential energy. This was enough to throw a 300 pound projectile 3 miles!

Piston catapult

In 28 BC, in the city of Alexandria on the coast of Egypt, a new science was born that changed the world.

Iron is not a perishable material; it is more reliable than veins, hemp and similar things that quickly wear out and deteriorate. By learning to process metals, people were able to seal pneumatic systems.

We now take pneumatics for granted: buses and cars use air brakes.

There are hints in ancient Egyptian texts about how this power was used during war. The very idea of ​​​​using pneumatics in flamethrowers was advanced for that time.

Modern scientists have constructed, based on ancient texts, a model of a machine that saw the light of day 2 thousand years ago. This is the design of the first piston in history.

The piston used by Ctesibius is the first example of a plunger. It is a cylinder, open on one side. When you move the piston, the air inside is compressed. When a gas is compressed, the air molecules become closer to each other, the pressure increases, and they want to break away from each other. This creates a force that returns the piston to its original position.

But could the first pistons throw a projectile? Such a catapult could throw 14-inch wooden arrows with an iron tip.

But why did the piston catapult disappear from the history books hundreds of years ago? Most likely they did not take root because there was a problem with sealing, this is a very important point. They were unreliable on the battlefield, and it was difficult for soldiers to carry such a weapon.

Aircraft carrier catapult

If they had perfected sealing, the piston catapult could have become an elite weapon of the ancient world, capable of throwing projectiles weighing several tons, a feat that its descendant, the modern piston catapult, accomplishes.

On aircraft carriers, to launch a fighter, I use a steam cannon, which literally shoots the plane into the air, i.e. in the modern world this idea has been brought to perfection.

It has the ability to accelerate 55,000 pound aircraft from 0 to 165 knots over 300 feet in less than 2.5 seconds!

This principle, discovered by Ctesibius, saves many lives every day. The front part of the catapult is called the battery, where the aircraft is attached to the shuttle connected to the catapult. The engine contains motorized cylinders that operate along the entire length of the catapult. The cylinders contain pistons connected to the shuttle, located next to the aircraft.

During startup, a programmed valve opens, releasing steam into the cylinders. The pistons are pushed out, and at the other end the plane flies out from the powerful impact.

Torpedo horse

In ancient texts there is a strange drawing of a horse. The horse was one of the most powerful weapons in history. For centuries, nothing instilled such fear in soldiers as the attack of enemy cavalry.

Someone had the idea of ​​attaching two 20-foot lances to the horses. So the horse turned into a torpedo, spreading terror on the battlefield. It worked, although the living replica of the ancient weapon baffles military historians. How were they used? Was it a success or a failure?

To check this, the researchers turned to the original texts written by the inventor of this weapon.

The public library in Siena houses hundreds of pages of plans and notes from medieval military engineers. One of them was called Takkola.

Mariano Taccola was born in 1382. At that time, an endless war was going on in Italy. Many of Taccola's designs were ingenious inventions, such as the breathing apparatus and the braking keel. From some of the drawings one can judge Taccola's imagination and his abilities as an artist.

But we have another question: was the torpedo horse drawing a brilliant weapon, or just another drawing in Taccola's portfolio?

When scientists found information about the potential weapon, they had no idea whether it would be used or not. They had to use their imagination and imagine what it looked like in practice. Perhaps the narrator observed this with his own eyes.

So you have a 400-pound horse, a rider, and armor, plus a half-ton weapon moving at 35 mph. If it hits you, you won't get up.

The horse terrified soldiers as long as humanity fought on horseback. But in the case of pikes in front of the horse's nose - a barrier, to force the horse to move forward towards the enemy, you need red-hot iron.

On the battlefield, horses rely only on their eyesight. Takkola's weapon blocks the horse's view. And if the horse doesn't see anything, it just stops. The only way to make this weapon work is to sacrifice a horse. There were no antibiotics at that time, and any horse wounded on the battlefield died from infection. This means that they used horses that were no longer needed. Therefore, by attaching burning lances to a horse, they could turn it into a weapon.

Poison as a weapon against cavalry

Horses appear to have been effective weapons without additional accessories. In the Ancient World, the most terrible thing for the enemy was rushing cavalry. Fear could overwhelm an entire army.

Over time, inventors had to come up with newer and better means to stop the cavalry.

Julius African, military strategist and historian, born in Jerusalem in 180 AD, wrote a treatise on the tactics of the Roman emperor Alexandra Severa, which he used in the war with the Persians in 232 AD.

He described a deadly weapon that sent horses into a frenzy: they were sprayed with poison in their faces. They went blind, their noses burned, their skin burned, their horses became uncontrollable, and the army lost its effectiveness.

Africanus writes that poison was superior to all other methods of attack, it was even more effective than arrows. He does not specify what poison was used.

Historians suggest that it was most likely made from a plant called spurge. However, no practical studies have been conducted to clarify this. Up to this day.

Kew, Britain, is home to the world center for plant toxicology. Professor Monique Simmons believes that the active toxic ingredient is contained in the sap of this plant. It is known as latex. If latex gets into your eyes, it will be very painful.

Latex is a milky sap found in many plants, such as dandelions. Not all types of latex are poisonous, however, milkweed sap is dangerous.

To test the toxins derived from milkweed, Monique will prepare a sample of the ingredient. The resulting compound can be tested in a mass spectrometer. This is a machine that helps separate substances and shows what components are present in them.

Monique is looking for a sample of a highly toxic substance, an ester. An ether is a complex organic compound found in many toxins, such as shellfish poison.

The device shows that the sample may contain esters associated with toxic substances. If this is sprayed in front of a horse's face, it will cause terrible irritation.

How did the spurge get on the horse's face?

Historians believe that a device known as siphon pump. From the text of Julius Africanus it is known that these weapons were used by the warriors who were in the vanguard. They sprayed it in front of the horse's face when the enemy was directly in front of them. The horses began to go berserk and threw off their heavily armored riders, who were easily captured or killed.

So, milkweed has been proven to contain a toxic substance and can be sprayed 20-30 feet away. The most difficult thing with poisonous weapons is that if the wind changes suddenly, the sprayer himself may suffer, this must be taken into account.

In skillful hands and with a favorable wind, it was possible to spray poison in front of a whole body of Greek cavalrymen.

How Hannibal moved a mountain

But the ideas of the ancients about chemistry gave an even more striking result on an even larger scale. More than 2 thousand years ago, General Hannibal led an army along with horses and elephants through the highest mountains in the world. Where the mountains were impassable, he used a forgotten formula that could dissolve the stones.

The army, consisting of 80 thousand people and animals, crossed mountains 15 thousand feet high. In the ancient world and to this day, the best way to establish the size of your country was to designate clear geographical boundaries.

People relied on natural boundaries considered safe, knowing that no sane general would lead troops over these impenetrable peaks. It is difficult to cross the mountain range: high altitude, cold, many dangers - this is a truly important strategic barrier on the way of a large army.

In 218 AD, Hannibal led 80 thousand men, 10 thousand horses and 38 war elephants through the Alps. His goal was his sworn enemy - Rome. There were many other ways to invade Italy besides the Alps, this was the most implausible option.

In 218, there were only two military forces in the Ancient World: in the north, the mighty Roman Empire, in the south, the great Carthaginian Empire, stretching across northern Africa.

The war went on for decades. Both superpowers wanted to control trade routes through the Mediterranean.

To destroy Rome once and for all, Hannibal and the Carthaginians came up with a daring plan: he wanted to attack from the north, leading his army through the highest mountains in the world.

The Alps are fraught with danger, even if you have modern equipment and modern equipment. There are precipices here; if you slip, you can fall from a height of a thousand feet and die. Landslides may block the road. This is a scary place.

How did Hannibal manage to cross the snowy peaks? We don't know exactly what equipment the Carthaginians had, but the Romans have many references to the equipment they had at the time.

The researchers had to rack their brains. It is unlikely that the Romans had anything that the Carthaginians did not know: we can assume that their equipment was largely similar.

700 miles south in Rome is the Colosseum, the Vatican and thousands of ancient buildings and monuments. At one of the monuments - Arch of Constantine– scientists have found tiny evidence: the equipment is not shown tied to a soldier’s leg, it resembles modern “crampons”.

Crampons are spiked devices that attach to boots and allow modern climbers to walk on snow, ice and rocks. This indicates that the ancients also knew about this.

Boots like Roman hiking sandals were equipped with nails so that they could walk on stones and rocks without wearing out too quickly. Such “cats” are depicted on the Arch of Constantine. In Roman chronicles they are called spy sandals. Perhaps Hannibal’s soldiers also had such sandals when they crossed the mountains.

However, some passes were impassable. Ancient texts say that when Hannibal was descending from Rome, a pass appeared in front of him that he could not cross. The attack could have failed. But his engineers proposed a wonderful solution: they would destroy the stone mountain using an amazing chemical formula.

In the chemical laboratories of the 21st century, compounds are made so complex that it would take an hour to list all their components. But there is evidence of an ancient author Libya that in ancient times the military understood chemistry better than we think, and applied it on a much larger scale than we do today - to a whole mountain.

In 232 AD. The Carthaginian general Hannibal successfully led his army through 15,000-foot mountains using equipment similar to that of modern rock climbers. But an obstacle arose.

Hannibal saw that the path was blocked by a huge stone, which was impossible to get around. There was no turning back: the army would have died of hunger.

Modern historians believe that the road was blocked by either Clapierre Pass or Traverset Pass, both over 8,000 feet high.

Livy writes that due to a collapse, this impassable place was blocked by a stone about 300 feet wide. The limestone rock made the crossing impossible. Hannibal's first thought was to turn back, but, according to Livy, the road turned into an ice field that the animals could not cross. Hannibal had to go forward.

Today, engineers use dynamite to blow up trails and mega-machines to clear obstacles. Hannibal used warmth and cunning.

The stone is hard. When heated it expands and when cooled it contracts. Due to expansion and contraction, it begins to crumble and break. If it is sharply heated and cooled, it becomes brittle, softer, and can be crushed.

Livy clearly writes that Hannibal used vinegar, not water. Vinegar is a salad dressing, it doesn’t seem dangerous. But it seems that Livy is confident in what he writes.

Perhaps the ancients understood the secrets of chemical reactions better than modern scientists. There is one reason he used vinegar rather than water: limestone is an alkali and vinegar is an acid. It's all about chemistry and physics.

If you look at it, the main components of the reaction are an acid and a base. In this case, the base is a stone, i.e. limestone, calcium carbonate, and the acid is vinegar, acetic acid. This falls under a general reaction known as an acid reaction. If we combine them, we will see how the acid releases hydrogen ions, which combine with oxygen and hydrogen from the base and form H 2 O, i.e. water. The remaining components combine to form a salt.

The entire reaction is exothermic, releasing a lot of heat. If you look at it on a larger scale, you can see that the water is heated and steam is produced. If there is carbon, other gases are released, such as carbon dioxide, which causes bubbles to form. In general, the stone was destroyed by salt and water; it breaks when touched.

But for Hannibal this would not be a chemical experiment, but a matter of life and death. He found himself at a dead end: the temperature dropped at night, his soldiers could freeze and die before reaching the fertile plains. He had to cross this stone. They made a fire, heated a stone and doused it with vinegar.

Not only was there a 300-foot wide rock there, but there was also a dangerous cliff. The fire must have been huge: Hannibal’s people had to clear the passage, making way for the animals.

Judging by the size of the stone, it took about 20 thousand gallons of vinegar. Where did they get such a huge amount of vinegar?

Hannibal's warriors drank half a pint of sour wine every day. The army numbered 80 thousand people, i.e. they had 21 thousand gallons of wine vinegar.

Hannibal's men used ice picks to crush the limestone. They made a zigzag hole so that it would be flatter so that horses and elephants could pass through. In 4 days the army would be on the verge of starvation. But Hannibal managed to pave a road through the Alps.

It is believed that it is impossible to move mountains. Hannibal succeeded: with the help of branches, salad dressing, hard work and cunning.

Hannibal marched through northern Italy and reached Rome, inflicting the greatest damage on the Roman army in its entire history.

But although the crossing of the Alps took the enemy by surprise, it also became the reason for the fall of Hannibal. Ironically, Hannibal had superior technology that allowed him to accomplish the incredible task of moving his army over the mountains. But he had no way to take heavy equipment with him, and it was useless to take fortified cities without siege engines that could not be dragged over the mountains. Technology allowed him to get there, but all the doors slammed in his face.

Machines such as carbon flamethrowers, catapults and other siege devices were too important and Hannibal's campaign failed. Rome was in front of him, but he did not attack it.

Regardless of mistakes or resounding successes, the engineers of the ancient world were not much different from modern ones. Ancient engineers had the same problems as modern engineers: you want to go faster and carry more, but use fewer natural resources, and then you want your building to last for centuries.

Some inventions changed the course of great battles and the history of the world we live in today, others pushed the boundaries of invention too far but ended up unused due to ineffectiveness in battle.

The more mysteries of ancient engineers are revealed, the more often our contemporaries ask: how much of what we take for granted do we owe to the genius of the ancients and their incredible military machines?

Organization of Roman troops The social order and political structure of the Roman Republic determined the features of the organization of the Roman army. Every Roman citizen was required to perform military service. Slaves were not allowed into the army. People aged 17 to 45 were selected for military service in the field army. Citizens carried out garrison service during the war. Only those persons who participated in 20 military campaigns when serving in the infantry or in 10 military campaigns when serving in the cavalry were exempted from military service.

At the established signal, all those liable for military service had to gather on the Campus Martius (such a signal was usually a red flag that was hung on the Capitol). In terms of the method of recruitment, it was a militia, not a standing army. The Roman slave militia was assembled to wage war; at the end of the war, it was dismissed to their homes and convened only for training.

Command structure of the army In tsarist times, the commander was the king. During the Republic, the consuls commanded, dividing the troops in half, but when it was necessary to unite, they commanded alternately. If there was a serious threat, then a dictator was chosen, to whom the chief of the cavalry was subordinate, as opposed to the consuls. The dictator had unlimited rights. Each commander had assistants who were entrusted with separate parts of the army. Individual legions were commanded by tribunes. There were six of them per legion. Each pair commanded for two months, replacing each other every day, then giving way to the second pair, etc. The centurions were subordinate to the tribunes.

Each century was commanded by a centurion. The commander of the first hundred was the commander of the maniple. Centurions had the right to punish a soldier for misconduct. They carried with them a vine - a Roman rod; this weapon was rarely left idle. The Roman writer Tacitus talked about one centurion, whom the whole army knew by the nickname: Pass on the other! After the reform of Marius, an associate of Sulla, the centurions of the triarii gained great influence. They were invited to a military council.

Training the Roman Army The training of the fighters of the Roman manipular legion primarily consisted of teaching soldiers to go forward on the orders of the centurion, to fill gaps in the battle line at the time of collision with the enemy, and to rush to merge into the general mass. Performing these maneuvers required more complex training than that of a warrior fighting in a phalanx. The training also consisted of the fact that the Roman soldier was sure that he would not be left alone on the battlefield, that his comrades would rush to his aid.

Only well-trained (trained) soldiers could overcome fear and get close to the enemy, attack a huge mass of the enemy from the rear, feeling only a cohort nearby. Only a disciplined soldier could fight like this. Under Mary, a cohort was introduced, which included three maniples. The legion had ten cohorts, not counting light infantry, and from 300 to 900 horsemen. The appearance of legions divided into cohorts, the complication of maneuver, required more complex training. It is no coincidence that after the reform of Marius, one of his associates, Rutilius Rufus, introduced a new training system in the Roman army, which was reminiscent of the system of training gladiators in gladiatorial schools.

Discipline The Roman army, famous for its discipline, unlike other armies of that time, was entirely at the mercy of the commander. The slightest violation of discipline was punishable by death, as was failure to comply with orders. So, in 340 BC. the son of the Roman consul Titus Manlius Torquatus, during reconnaissance without orders from the commander-in-chief, entered into battle with the head of the enemy detachment and defeated him. He talked about this in camp with delight. However, the consul sentenced him to death. The sentence was carried out immediately, despite the pleas of the entire army for mercy.

Ten lictors always walked in front of the consul, carrying bundles of rods (fasciae, fascines). In wartime, an ax was inserted into them. A symbol of the consul's power over his men. First, the offender was flogged with rods, then his head was cut off with an ax. If part or all of the army showed cowardice in battle, then decimation was carried out. Decem in Russian means ten. This is what Crassus did after the defeat of several legions by Spartacus. Several hundred soldiers were flogged and then executed. If a soldier fell asleep at his post, he was put on trial and then beaten to death with stones and sticks. For minor offenses they could be flogged, demoted, transferred to hard work, reduced in salary, deprived of citizenship, or sold into slavery.

Roman camp Known since the Punic Wars (32 centuries BC). Arranged by the troops of Ancient Rome during military campaigns after each day's march; had the shape of a square, later a rectangle, part of it was allocated for housing consuls and the persons who were with them, as well as for building legions. The soldiers' leather tents (insulated barracks-type rooms in winter) were placed in a strictly defined order in several lines.

Each side of the camp had large gates guarded by guards. During the siege of enemy fortified points or when establishing a permanent, usually winter, camp, a double ditch was torn off and a high earthen rampart was poured, reinforced by a palisade. Sometimes wooden, or less often stone, towers were built, which made it possible to shell the approaches to the camp, which were protected with the help of ambushes made of felled trees and wolf pits.

Military branches Velites Light foot soldiers in the Romans. legion. When the troops were in camp, they performed guard duty, and during the campaign they set up the forward and side chains; when approaching the enemy, they began skirmishes with him and, using throwing weapons, covered the formation of the legion in battle formation. With strong enemy pressure, the velites retreated to the hastati intervals and opened their front. During the battle, the Vlits could act on the flanks, observing the enemy, and thus protected the legion from unexpected attacks and detours, supplied it with spears and removed the wounded from the battle.

After the battle, the Velites, together with the cavalry, pursued the enemy or tried to cover the retreat. The velites consisted mainly of young recruits and were armed with a leather or felt helmet, a small wooden shield, a sword and 7 light darts, with such a thin tip that it bent when struck, making it impossible for the enemy to send the darts back.

In the legion, the Velites did not form separate maniples, but their entire number (1200) was divided into equal parts (30-40 people each), and were assigned to the maniples of the line infantry. Velites first appeared in 221 BC during the siege of Capua. Under Maria, the Velites were destroyed and replaced by light squads of archers, with bows and slings. These arrows were recruited from subject peoples.

Centurion Centurions had silver-plated helmets, did not have shields and carried the sword on the right side. They had greaves and, as a distinctive sign on the armor, on the chest they had an image of a grapevine rolled into a ring. During the times of manipular and cohort formation of legions, centurions were on the right flank of centuries, maniples, cohorts. The cloak is red, and all legionnaires wore red cloaks. Only the dictator and senior commanders had the right to wear purple cloaks.

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Slide captions:

Army of Ancient Rome.

Roman warriors from the time of Romulus. In early Rome, only wealthy citizens - people from noble patrician and plebeian families - could serve in the army. The legionnaires bought all their equipment at their own expense. There was no provision for salary, but in case of victory, everyone counted on part of the spoils of war. The army was neither professional nor regular.

Manipulative system. Maniple (handful) - a unit of the Roman army, 60 soldiers lined up in a close formation in 6 ranks 10 rows deep. They lined up on the battlefield in a checkerboard pattern.

Principle, triarium, hastat. Period of the Punic Wars.

In the late Republic and Empire, anyone could become a legionnaire; equipment was provided by the state. Recruits were trained before enlisting in the legion. The service life was 16 years (or 18 campaigns). The legionnaires' salaries were paid by the military commander; upon completion of service, the soldier received Roman citizenship and a significant monetary reward.

Legion during the Empire. Number of people: about 12,000 people in 10 cohorts; The 1st cohort is 2 times larger than the others. In total, there were about 200 legions in the Roman army, the total number of the army was over half a million people.

The total weight of the legionnaire's weapons was about 30 kilograms. During the campaign, the weight of the tools necessary for setting up the camp, firewood for the fire, food and drinking water was added to the weapons - about another 12-15 kg. The legionnaire carried all this equipment himself. For this they were figuratively called “Mary’s mules” - after one of the prominent military leaders of the late Republic.

In peacetime, legionnaires continuously practiced using weapons and were engaged in combat and physical training. Three times a month, 30-kilometer marches were carried out with overnight stays and the establishment of a temporary camp similar to the fort shown here (although without long-term defensive structures) Permanent camp - legion fort in Gaul

Battle tactics

The Romans actively used technical means for attack and defense and were masters of siege.

Roman siege weapons: ballista, scorpion, siege ladder

The final episode of the siege: testudo in action

What to read: Vary D. Wars of Antiquity. M., 2009. Dando-Collins S. Legions of Rome M., 2013. Connolly P. Greece and Rome. Encyclopedia of Military History. M., 2000. McNally. M. Teutoburg Forest. M., 2014. Penrose J. Rome and its enemies. M., 2008.

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Route sheet "Culture of Ancient Rome" for visiting the hall of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin

The route sheet "Culture of Ancient Rome" was developed for an independent visit to the hall of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin. The tasks proposed in it are used for independent work of students or...

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Roman army As a result of continuous wars, the Romans created a large and combat-ready army, which was divided into legions. The bulk of the legionnaires were farmers: poor people who did not own land were not taken into military service. Thanks to the correct formation and competent management of troops, the Romans conquered vast territories.

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The backbone of the Roman army The Roman infantry was very powerful. The legionnaire was protected by a helmet, armor, and a leather belt with metal plaques. The shield had a semi-cylindrical shape, was made of wood and covered with ox leather. The lower parts of the legs were protected from blows by soldiers' leather boots.

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Weapons of the Romans The Romans had perfect offensive weapons: sharp and strong swords with which they could chop and stab. But the main innovation was a special spear, which was suitable for both throwing and close combat. It consisted of a sharp and thin iron tip mounted on a shaft.

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Roman battle formation Before the battle, the Romans formed in three lines, each of which consisted of ten detachments. In the first line are young men of military age, in the second are older and stronger warriors, in the third are the most reliable, whose courage has been tested in practice more than once. Construction in the form of rectangles - legions. This formation system proved to be very effective in battles with the enemy. While the enemy was smashing the first 2 lines, he himself was running out of steam. At the 3rd line, professional Roman fighters finished him off.

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Experienced warriors Experienced warriors Experienced warriors Experienced warriors Youths Youths Youths Youths Older Older Older Older The cavalry covered the Roman army from the flanks so that it would not be surrounded by opponents. If an army found itself surrounded, then in many cases it lost the battle. The commander had to take into account the terrain when forming an army. By forming legions, the Roman army often won battles. Formation of the Roman army

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Discipline in the Roman army The Roman army was distinguished by strict discipline. If a legionary showed cowardice, then every tenth member of the legion was executed. A sentry who fell asleep at his post was stoned to death. And if the warriors distinguished themselves, their share of military spoils was increased and they were awarded honorary weapons. A crown with a battlement was awarded to the one who first climbed the wall or rampart of an enemy fortress.

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Roman military camp During campaigns, legions spent the night building a fortified camp in the shape of a quadrangle. A huge ditch was built around the camp, an earthen rampart was erected and reinforced with a palisade. The tents were set up so that enemy arrows could not reach them. The camp was divided into streets and blocks. Two intersecting main streets ended at the camp gates.

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Roman cavalry Traditionally, in the Roman army, cavalry played a significantly smaller role than legionary infantry. The reforms carried out by Emperor Gallienus (253-268 AD) were of great importance in creating a qualitatively new cavalry. The number of legionary cavalry gradually increased from 120 to 726 people. The cavalry covered the infantry from the flanks.

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Roman siege weapons A siege weapon is a machine for destroying or weakening fortified defensive structures during a siege. The range of siege weapons extended from extremely complex apparatus brought by the attackers to primitive structures created on the spot.