Skip to content
ballista

File:Ballista_(PSF)_vector.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ219433· pop 47· linked from 857 articles

thumb|Illustration of a ballista being loaded and drawn

~18 min read

Encyclopedic overview

16 sections
Contents
  • Roman weapon
  • Roman weaponry
  • Early Roman ballistae
  • First invasion of Britain
  • Siege of Alesia
  • Ballistae in the Roman Empire
  • Eastern Roman Empire
  • Carroballista
  • Polybolos
  • Cheiroballistra and manuballista
  • Archaeology and the Roman ballista
  • Middle Ages
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

thumb|Illustration of a ballista being loaded and drawn

The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ballistra and that from βάλλω ballō, "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient projectile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “ballista” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (34)