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Roman Siege Warfare

In ancient warfare open battles were the preferred mode of meeting the enemy, but sometimes, when defenders took a stand within their well-fortified city or military camp, siege warfare became a necessity, despite its high expense in money, time, and men. The Romans became adept at the art of siege warfare employing all manner of strategies and machinery to batter the enemy into submission. Five factors enabled the Romans to be remarkably successful at sieges: sophisticated artillery weapons, formidable siege towers, the engineering experience of fortification construction, superior logistics to ensure long-term supply, and mastery of the seas. Thorough preparation and the careful execution of well-laid plans were second nature to the Romans in warfare, and so when they applied these skills to sieges lasting months or years, they were virtually unstoppable.

Artillery

The Romans copied and improved upon the artillery weapons used by the Greeks, but they were not used in open combat, rather, they were reserved for siege warfare in order to pound the fortifications of cities and strike terror into the defenders. The Roman machines used animal sinews instead of horse hair to increase strength and torsion, allowing them to fire projectiles over several hundred metres. Metal parts (iron and bronze) replaced wood to increase strength, stability, firepower, and durability, and springs were covered in metal cases to decrease wear from the elements.

Stone throwers (ballista) had a single swinging arm and were known by the slang term onager (wild ass) for the violent kick when fired and scorpio (scorpion) because of its form. Stones were roughly circular and could weigh from 0.5 to 80 kilos, which allowed them to carve great chunks out of defensive walls and knock down fortification towers. Another type of artillery, much more accurate, was the carroballista or catapulta which fired heavy arrows, bolts or smaller stones and had two arms like a crossbow (and was also called a scorpio by some Roman writers). Bolts had iron heads and wooden shafts and fletchings and were easily capable of piercing armour. Another type of projectile was fireballs. Naturally, such weapons could be and were used to defend cities as well as attack them.

Legions probably had one artillery piece per cohort, although, some legions are described as having had 55 in some periods reflecting the fact that equipment was very much at the discretion of a particular commander. Artillerymen (ballistarii) were specialised troops exempt from normal fatigues, probably because they needed to practise with and maintain their machines. In addition, hundreds of wagons and mules were required to transport these machines and their ammunition to where they were needed. Some artillery machines were also mounted onto carts as seen in scenes on Trajan's Column.

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