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History Of Crossbows
It is not clear where and when the crossbow originated, but it is believed to have appeared in China and Europe around the 7th to 5th centuries BC. In China, the crossbow was one of the primary military weapons from the Warring States period until the end of the Han dynasty, when armies were composed of up to 30 to 50 percent crossbowmen. The crossbow lost much of its popularity after the fall of the Han dynasty, likely due to the rise of the more resilient heavy cavalry during the Six Dynasties. One Tang dynasty source recommends a bow to crossbow ratio of five to one as well as the utilization of the countermarch to make up for the crossbow's lack of speed. The crossbow countermarch technique was further refined in the Song dynasty, but crossbow usage in the military continued to decline after the Mongol conquest of China. Although the crossbow never regained the prominence it once had under the Han, it was never completely phased out either. Even as late as the 17th century A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Martin, ''Ancient Greece'', Yale University Press, 1996, p. 94). marked by much of the eastern Aegean and northern regions of Greek culture (such as Ionia and Macedonia) gaining increased autonomy from the Persian Empire; the peak flourishing of democratic Athens; the First and Second Peloponnesian Wars; the Spartan and then Theban hegemonies; and the expansion of Macedonia under Philip II. Much of the early defining mathematics, science, artistic thought (architecture, sculpture), theatre, literature, philosophy, and politics of Western civilization derives from this period of Greek history, which had a powerful influence on the later Roman Empire. Part of the broader era of classical antiquity, the classical Greek era ended after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Gunpowder
Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been developed. Popularly listed as one of the "Four Great Inventions" of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the Wujing Zongyao, earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century). Knowledge of gunpowder spread rapidly throughout Asia and Europe, possibly as a result of the Mongol conquests during the 13th century, with written formulas for it appearing in the Middle East between 1240 and 1280 in a treatise by Hasan al-Rammah, and in Europe by 1267 in the by Roger Bacon. It was employed in warfare to some effect from at least the 10th century in weapons such as fire arrows, bombs, and the fire lance before the appearance of the gun in the 13th century. While the fire lance was eventually supplanted by the gun, other gunpowder weapons such as rockets and fire arrows continued to see use in China, Korea, India, and this eventually led to its use in the Middle East, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Longbow
The English longbow was a powerful medieval type of bow, about long. While it is debated whether it originated in England or in Wales from the Welsh bow, by the 14th century the longbow was being used by both the English and the Welsh as a weapon of war and for hunting. English longbows were effective against the French during the Hundred Years' War, particularly in the battles of Sluys (1340), Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415). They were less successful later on, as longbowmen had their lines broken at the Battle of Verneuil (1424), although the English won a decisive victory there; they were completely routed at the Battle of Patay (1429) when they were charged by the French mounted men-at-arms before they had prepared the terrain and finished defensive arrangements. The Battle of Pontvallain (1370) had also previously shown longbowmen were not particularly effective when not given the time to set up defensive positions. No English longbows survi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English People
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxons, when they were known as the , meaning "Angle kin" or "English people". Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who invaded Great Britain, Britain around the 5th century AD. The English largely descend from two main historical population groups: the West Germanic tribes, including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who settled in England and Wales, Southern Britain following the withdrawal of the Ancient Rome, Romans, and the Romano-British culture, partially Romanised Celtic Britons who already lived there.Martiniano, R., Caffell, A., Holst, M. et al. "Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Warfare
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery (see military history). In terms of fortification, the Middle Ages saw the emergence of the castle in Europe, which then spread to the Holy Land (modern day Israel and Palestine). Organization The medieval knight was usually a mounted and armoured soldier, often connected with nobility or royalty, although (especially in north-eastern Europe) knights could also come from the lower classes, and could even be enslaved persons. The cost of their armour, horses, and weapons was great; this, among other things, helped gradually transform the knight, at least in western Europe, into a distinct social class separate from other warriors. During the crusades, holy orders of Knights fought in the Holy Land (see Knights Templar, the Hospitalle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senlis
Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other historical monuments. Its inhabitants are called "Senlisiens" and "Senlisiennes". Geography Senlis is situated on the river Nonette, between the forests of Chantilly and d' Ermenonville in the South and d'Halatte on the North. It is located 40 kilometers to the north of Paris, 44 km from Beauvais and 79 km from Amiens. The highest point of the town (140m) lies at the heart of the forest Halatte and the lowest point is located on the banks of the Nonette, west of the city. Geologically, the area is occupied by a vast limestone plateau of the Lutetian covered mostly in silt. History Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus and later as Civitas Silvanectium ("City of the Silvanectes"). During the 3rd centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballista
The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon that launched either Crossbow_bolt, bolts or stones at a distant target. Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion springs instead of a tension prod (the bow part of a modern crossbow). The springs consisted of several loops of twisted Hank (textile), skeins. Early versions projected heavy dart (missile), darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare. It developed into a smaller precision weapon, the ''Scorpio (weapon), scorpio'', and possibly the ''polybolos''. Greek weapon The early ballistae in Ancient Greece were developed from two weapons called oxybeles and gastraphetes. The gastraphetes ('belly-bow') was a handheld crossbow. It had a composite p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Scotland
Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series of kingdoms. Of these the four most important to emerge were the Picts, the Gaels of Dál Riata, the Britons of Kingdom of Strathclyde, Strathclyde and the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia, later taken over by Northumbria. After the arrival of the Vikings in the late eighth century, Scandinavian rulers and colonies were established along parts of the coasts and in the islands. In the ninth century the Scots and Picts Origins of Scotland, combined under the House of Alpin to form a single Kingdom of Alba, with a Pictish base and dominated by Gaelic culture. After the reign of King David I in the twelfth century, the Scottish monarchs are best described as Scoto-Norman, preferring French culture to native Scottish culture. Alexander II of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pictish
Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographical and personal names found on monuments and early medieval records in the area controlled by the kingdoms of the Picts. Such evidence, however, shows the language to be an Insular Celtic language – probably a variant of the Brittonic language once spoken in most of Great Britain. The prevailing view in the second half of the 20th century was that Pictish was a non-Indo-European language isolate, or that a non-Indo-European Pictish and Brittonic Pictish language coexisted. Pictish was replaced by – or subsumed into – Gaelic in the latter centuries of the Pictish period. During the reign of Donald II of Scotland (889–900), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than the kingdom of the Picts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxybeles
The oxybeles () was a weapon used by the Ancient Greeks starting in 375 BC. The word is derived from Ancient Greek: οξύς (''oxys'' = sharp, pointed) and βέλος (''belos'' = arrow). The weapon was basically an oversized gastraphetes, a composite bow placed on a stand with a stock and a trigger. It was supplanted by the scientifically engineered ballista. The difference between the two is the use of torsion power by the ballista. The most notable use of the oxybeles was under Alexander the Great's rule. See also * Ballista * Gastraphetes * Scorpio (weapon) The ''scorpio'' or scorpion was a type of Roman torsion siege engine and field artillery piece. It was described in detail by the early-imperial Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius in the 1st century BC and by the 4th century AD officer an ... Notes References *Duncan B. Campbell and Brian Delf, ''Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC–AD 363'', New Vanguard series 89, Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford 2003. *J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vegetius
Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also referred to as '' De re militari''), and the lesser-known ''Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae'', a guide to veterinary medicine. He identifies himself in the opening of his work ''Epitoma rei militaris'' as a Christian. Dating of work The latest event alluded to in his ''Epitoma rei militaris'' is the death of the Emperor Gratian (383); the earliest attestation of the work is a ''subscriptio'' by Flavius Eutropius, writing in Constantinople in 450, which appears in one of two families of manuscripts, suggesting that a division of the manuscript tradition had already occurred. Despite Eutropius' location in Constantinople, the scholarly consensus is that Vegetius wrote in the Western Roman Empire.Walter Goffart. "The date and purposes of Vegetius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
