01-15-2010, 01:48 PM
Two question about the development of early Greek siege towers:
1. Chronology: The use of mobile siege towers is well attested for the Neo-Assyrian empire. They were also later employed by the Carthaginians in their struggle for Sicily in the late 5th century BC (in my view, the Phoenician connection is clear enough). But Thucydides tells us of a solitary incidence of a very slightly earlier Greek use, by the Athenians against the walls of Syracuse (413 BC). They, uncharacteristically, employed them mounted on ships.
Now, does this point to a different route of transmission from the Ancient Near East, perhaps even an independent Greek invention, or should we go with the view that the Greeks learned this siege technique from the Carthaginians nonetheless?
2. Technology: Somewhere I read that there is no evidence the Assyrians and early Carthaginians ever used siege towers for forcing their way onto the battlements. Rather, their use seems to be confined to the use of battering rams housed in the structures, or merely as fighting platform for archers and slingers. This I find interesting because subsequent ancient and medieval history of siege warfare amply demonstrated that the main military effectiveness of siege towers lay in scaling the walls, less so in breaking through them.
Were the Greeks indeed the first and how would you call such a mobile siege tower fitted with a bridge in English?
1. Chronology: The use of mobile siege towers is well attested for the Neo-Assyrian empire. They were also later employed by the Carthaginians in their struggle for Sicily in the late 5th century BC (in my view, the Phoenician connection is clear enough). But Thucydides tells us of a solitary incidence of a very slightly earlier Greek use, by the Athenians against the walls of Syracuse (413 BC). They, uncharacteristically, employed them mounted on ships.
Now, does this point to a different route of transmission from the Ancient Near East, perhaps even an independent Greek invention, or should we go with the view that the Greeks learned this siege technique from the Carthaginians nonetheless?
Quote:Las primeras referencias al uso de torres de asedio en las fuentes documentales las encontramos durante la Guerra del Peloponeso en la Magna Grecia. Aparecen en el asedio de Siracusa del 413 a. C., aunque montadas sobre barcos (TUCÍDIDES, VII, 25, 5).
Pero, cuando su uso parece generalizado es en el marco de las operaciones púnicas sobre las ciudades griegas de occidente. Selinunte el 409 a. C. (DIODORO SÍCULO, XIII, 54 - 55) o Akragas el 406 a. C. (DIODORO SÍCULO, XIII, 85) hubieron de sufrir las armas de Cartago. El relevo en el campo de la innovación bélica lo tomaría Dionisio I de Siracusa cuyo máximo ejemplo fue el asedio a Motya el 397 a. C. en el que se pusieron en marcha las torres de mayores dimensiones conocidas hasta ese momento (DIODORO SÍCULO, XIV, 50 – 51).
SOURCE: http://www.rubensaez.com/descargas.htm "Torres de asedio: las mayores máquinas bélicas de la Antigüedad"
2. Technology: Somewhere I read that there is no evidence the Assyrians and early Carthaginians ever used siege towers for forcing their way onto the battlements. Rather, their use seems to be confined to the use of battering rams housed in the structures, or merely as fighting platform for archers and slingers. This I find interesting because subsequent ancient and medieval history of siege warfare amply demonstrated that the main military effectiveness of siege towers lay in scaling the walls, less so in breaking through them.
Were the Greeks indeed the first and how would you call such a mobile siege tower fitted with a bridge in English?
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
