11-10-2019, 10:07 AM
Hello,
I would like to collect useful information about the evolution (and eventually involution) of the usage of roman artillery on the battlefield across the centuries.
We know that Scorpio were already used by Cesar in his Gallic campaigns, and that they were successfully used in siege operations, as we can read for the conquest of Jerusalem in the days of Titus. They were used mainly as antipersonnel weapons.
According to Vegetius, each century of a legion was supposed to have been equipped with a mobile scorpion (or carroballista), whilst every cohort possessed a larger ballista. Usage of the carroballista is well depicted in Trajan's column. But we know that roman army in III/IV century was deeply reorganized, so it is difficult to say if roman armies were still flanked by field artilleries.
At least during the first centuries of the empire, we know that these weapons were effectively used on the battlefield. We have examples for this usage in the second battle of Bedriacum, were a huge Ballista (Tacitus Historie XXIII) created big problems to Marcus Antonius Primus men (and we can see in this battle that pretorian armors were not different from the ones of other soldiers...).
Do we have evidences for the usage of field artillery in III, IV and V century?
I would like to collect useful information about the evolution (and eventually involution) of the usage of roman artillery on the battlefield across the centuries.
We know that Scorpio were already used by Cesar in his Gallic campaigns, and that they were successfully used in siege operations, as we can read for the conquest of Jerusalem in the days of Titus. They were used mainly as antipersonnel weapons.
According to Vegetius, each century of a legion was supposed to have been equipped with a mobile scorpion (or carroballista), whilst every cohort possessed a larger ballista. Usage of the carroballista is well depicted in Trajan's column. But we know that roman army in III/IV century was deeply reorganized, so it is difficult to say if roman armies were still flanked by field artilleries.
At least during the first centuries of the empire, we know that these weapons were effectively used on the battlefield. We have examples for this usage in the second battle of Bedriacum, were a huge Ballista (Tacitus Historie XXIII) created big problems to Marcus Antonius Primus men (and we can see in this battle that pretorian armors were not different from the ones of other soldiers...).
Do we have evidences for the usage of field artillery in III, IV and V century?
