The catapult (katapeltikon) was developed around 400 BC by engineers and craftsmen assembled by Dionysius I of Syracuse. Catapults are mentioned in Athens in the 360s and 350s BC, and by the 330s young men were routinely trained in their use. During these years, artillery appears to have been considered as a defensive weapon. They finally appear in the hands of an aggressor in 340 BC when Philip of Macedon assaulted Perinthus, but it was left to Alexander to fully develop the use of catapults. Under the Romans, catapults initially went through some minor variations with a view to improving their performance. This title decribes the development and operational use of siege artillery throughout the classical period.

Author Biography

Duncan B Campbell is a Roman military specialist currently finishing a PhD on Roman siegecraft. He has been published widely in international journals (e.g., Bonner Jahrbucher, Britannia, Historia, Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik), and is a contributor to Robin Cross's Guinness Encyclopedia of Warfare. Duncan lives near the Antonine Wall in Scotland with his wife and son. Brian Delf began his career working in a London art studio producing artwork for advertising and commercial publications. Since 1972, he has worked as a freelance illustrator on a variety of subjects including natural history, architecture and technical cutaways. Some of his recently illustrated books have been published in over thirty countries. Brian lives and works in Oxfordshire.