Greek and Roman Siege Machinery 399 BC-AD 363

Siege machinery first appeared in the West during the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in the late 5th century BC, in the form of siege-towers and battering rams. After a 50-year hiatus they re-appeared in the Macedonian armies of Philip II and Alexander the Great, a period that saw the height of the machinery's development in the Ancient World. Experience of Carthaginian practice during the later 3rd century, and familiarity with the operations of Philip V of Macedon during the early-2nd century, prompted the introduction of the siege-tower and the battering-ram to Roman siegecraft. This title traces the development and use of these weapons across the whole of this period.