Editing Siege tower

{{short description|Mobile structure for attacking walls}}
[[File:Siege_of_Lisbon_by_Roque_Gameiro.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|12th century [[siege of Lisbon]] with siege tower, [[trebuchet]]s and [[mantlet]]s.]]

A Roman '''siege tower''' or '''breaching tower''' (or in the [[Middle Ages]], a '''belfry'''<ref name="Beisty">''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. [[Dorling Kindersley]] Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. {{ISBN|978-1-56458-467-0}}</ref>) is a specialized [[siege engine]], constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a [[fortification]]. The [[tower]] was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow [[archery|archer]]s or [[crossbow]]men to stand on top of the tower and shoot arrows or quarrels into the fortification. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins.<ref name="Beisty"/>

Evidence for use of siege towers in [[Ancient Egypt]] and [[Anatolia]] dates to the [[Bronze Age]]. They were used extensively in warfare of the ancient [[Near East]] after the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]], and in Egypt by [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushites]] from Sudan who founded the [[Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt|25th dynasty]]. During [[Ancient history|classical antiquity]] they were common among [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic Greek]] armies of the 4th century BC and later [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] armies of Europe and the Mediterranean, while also seeing use in [[ancient China]] during the [[Warring States Period]] and [[Han dynasty]]. Siege towers were of unwieldy dimensions and, like [[trebuchet]]s, were therefore mostly constructed on site of the [[siege]]. Taking considerable time to construct, siege towers were mainly built if the defense of the opposing fortification could not be overcome by [[escalade|ladder assault]] ("escalade"), by [[Tunnel warfare|mining]], or by breaking walls or gates with tools such as [[battering ram]]s.

The siege tower sometimes housed [[spearmen]], [[pikemen]], and [[swordsmen]] or [[archery|archers]] and [[crossbow]]men, who shot [[arrow]]s and [[Quarrel (projectile)|quarrel]]s at the defenders. Because of the size of the tower it would often be the first target of large stone catapults, but it had its own projectiles with which to retaliate.<ref name="Beisty"/>

Siege towers were used to get troops over an enemy curtain wall. When a siege tower was near a wall, it would drop a [[Corvus (boarding device)|gangplank]] between it and the wall. Troops could then rush onto the walls and into the castle or city. Some siege towers also had battering rams which they used to bash down the defensive walls around a city or a [[castle]] gate.

==Ancient use==
In the [[First Intermediate Period]] tomb of General Intef at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] (modern [[Luxor, Egypt]]), a mobile siege tower is shown in the battle scenes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Egyptian Warfare: Tactics, Weaponry and Ideology of the Pharaohs|author=Ian Shaw|date=17 December 2019|publisher=Open Road Media |isbn=978-1-5040-6059-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q_CDwAAQBAJ&q=siege+tower+in+ancient+egypt&pg=PT41}}</ref> In modern [[Harpoot]], Turkey, an artistically [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] style stone carved relief dated circa 2000 BC was found depicting a siege tower, the earliest known visual depiction from [[Anatolia]] (although siege towers were later described in [[Hittite cuneiform]] writing).<ref>{{cite web |title=Harput relief changes region's history |publisher=[[Hurriyet Daily News]] |url= https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/harput-relief-changes-regions-history---111027 |date=20 March 2017 |access-date=27 May 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Assyrian Attack on a Town.jpg|thumb|right|[[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] attack on a town with archers and a wheeled battering ram; Neo-Assyrian relief, North-West Palace of [[Nimrud]] (room B, panel 18); 865–860 BC]]
[[Image:MasadaRamp.jpg|right|thumb|The remains of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] siege-ramp at [[Masada]]]]
Siege towers were used by the armies of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in the 9th century BC, under [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (r. 884 BC – 859 BC). Reliefs from his reign, and subsequent reigns, depict siege towers in use with a number of other siege works, including ramps and [[battering ram]]s.
[[File:Young Folks' History of Rome illus106.png|thumb|left|Roman siege tower]]

Centuries after they were employed in Assyria, the use of the siege tower spread throughout the [[Mediterranean]]. During the siege of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]] in the 8th century BC, siege towers were built by [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]] for the army led by [[Piye]] (founder of the [[Nubians|Nubian]] [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|25th dynasty]]), in order to enhance the efficiency of [[Military of ancient Nubia|Kushite archers]] and [[Sling (weapon)|slingers]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Siege warfare in ancient Egypt |publisher=Tour Egypt |url= https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/siegewarfare.html |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> 
After leaving Thebes, Piye's first objective was besieging [[Ashmunein]]. Having assembled his army for their lack of success so far, the King then undertook the personal supervision of operations including the erection of a siege tower from which Kushite archers could fire down into the city.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dodson|first=Aidan|date= 1996|title=Monarchs of the nile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jsq0AHsC-YMC&q=Kushite+siege+towers&pg=PA178|language=en|volume=1|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press |isbn=978-97-74-24600-5}}</ref>

During the siege of Syracuse in 413 BC, Athenians erected a siege tower on ship hull. Alexander did the same at Tyre (322 BC) as did Marcellus in Syracuse (214 BC).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Pitassi |first=Michael |title=Hellenistic naval warfare and warships 336-30 BC: War at Sea from Alexander to Actium |date=2022 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |isbn=978-1-3990-9760-4 |location=Barnsley (GB) |page=Chapter 3, 1 |chapter=Chapter 3: Rams, Towers, Artillery and Tactics}}</ref> Towers were used against both land and naval targets. At the time of Emperor Aggripa, ship towers were built with a lighter, collapsible design that could be stowed flat on the deck when not in use, lowering the center of gravity.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pitassi |first=Michael |title=The Roman navy: ships, men & warfare, 350 BC - AD 475 |date=2012 |publisher=Seaforth Publ |isbn=978-1-84832-090-1 |location=Barnsley |chapter=Chapter 2, The Ships: Shipboard Weapons}}</ref>

The biggest siege towers of antiquity, such as the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic Greek]] ''[[Helepolis]]'' (meaning "''The Taker of Cities''" in [[Koine Greek|Greek]]) of the [[Siege of Rhodes (305–304 BC)|siege of Rhodes in 305 BC]] by [[Demetrius I of Macedon]], could be as high as {{convert|40|m|abbr=on}} and as wide as {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}}. Such large engines would require a [[rack and pinion]] to be moved effectively. It was manned by 200 soldiers and was divided into nine stories; the different levels housed various types of [[Onager (siege weapon)|catapult]]s and [[ballista]]e. Subsequent siege towers down through the centuries often had similar engines.

However, large siege towers could be defeated by the defenders by flooding the ground in front of the wall, creating a moat that caused the tower to get bogged in the mud. The siege of Rhodes illustrates the important point that the larger siege towers needed level ground. Many castles and hill-top towns and forts were virtually invulnerable to siege tower attack simply due to topography. Smaller siege towers might be used on top of siege-mounds, made of earth, rubble and timber mounds in order to overtop a defensive wall. For example, the remains of such a siege-ramp at [[Masada]], Israel built by [[Ancient Rome|the Romans]] during the [[siege of Masada]] (72–73 AD) have survived and can still be seen today.

On the other hand, almost all the largest cities were on large rivers, or the coast, and so did have part of their circuit wall vulnerable to these towers. Furthermore, the tower for such a target might be prefabricated elsewhere and brought dismantled to the target city by water. In some rare circumstances, such towers were mounted on ships to assault the coastal wall of a city: at the Roman [[siege of Cyzicus]] during the [[Third Mithridatic War]], for example, towers were used in conjunction with more conventional siege weapons.<ref name="Roman">''Siege Warfare in the Roman World, 146 BC–AD 378'', [[Osprey Publishing]], {{ISBN|1-84176-782-4}}</ref>

One of the oldest references to the mobile siege tower in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]] was a written dialogue primarily discussing [[naval warfare]]. In the Chinese ''Yuejueshu'' (Lost Records of the [[Yue (state)|State of Yue]]) written by the later [[Han dynasty]] author Yuan Kang in the year 52 AD, [[Wu Zixu]] (526 BC – 484 BC) [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|purportedly]] discussed different ship types with King [[Helü of Wu]] (r. 514 BC – 496 BC) while explaining military preparedness. Before labeling the types of warships used, Wu said:

{{blockquote|Nowadays in training naval forces we use the tactics of land forces for the best effect. Thus great wing ships correspond to the army's heavy chariots, little wing ships to light chariots, stomach strikers to [[battering ram]]s, castle ships to mobile assault towers, and bridge ships to light cavalry.|<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 678">[[Joseph Needham|Needham, Joseph]] (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Page 678 (e)</ref>}}

==Medieval and later use==
[[Image:Beffroi.d.assaut.png|thumb|left|upright|Sketch of a medieval siege tower]]
[[File: Imperial Encyclopaedia - Military Administration - pic431 - 臨衝呂公車圖.svg|thumb|Chinese siege tower]]

With the collapse of the [[Western Roman Empire]] into independent states, and the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] on the defensive, the use of siege towers reached its height during the medieval period. Siege towers were used when the [[Pannonian Avars|Avar]]s [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|laid siege]] unsuccessfully to [[Constantinople]] in 626, as the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' recounts:
{{blockquote|And in the section from the [[Walls of Constantinople#Gates|Polyandrion Gate]] as far as the [[Walls of Constantinople#Gates|Gate of St Romanus]] he prepared to station twelve lofty siege towers, which were advanced almost as far as the outworks, and he covered them with hides.|<ref name=Constantinople>''The Walls of Constantinople, AD 324–1453'', [[Osprey Publishing]], {{ISBN|1-84176-759-X}}.</ref>}}
[[Image:Grose-Francis-Pavisors-and-Moveable-Tower-Assaulting-Castle-1812.jpg|thumb|Medieval English siege tower]]

At this siege, the attackers also made use mobile armoured shelters known as sows or cats, which were used throughout the medieval period and allowed workers to fill in [[moat]]s with protection from the defenders (thus levelling the ground for the siege towers to be moved to the walls). However, the construction of a sloping [[Talus (fortification)|talus]] at the base of a castle wall (as was common in [[Crusades|crusader]] fortification<ref name="Castle">''Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1192–1302'', [[Osprey Publishing]], {{ISBN|1-84176-827-8}}.</ref>) could have reduced the effectiveness of this tactic to an extent.

Siege towers also became more elaborate during the medieval period; at the [[siege of Kenilworth]] in 1266, for example, 200 [[History of archery#Medieval history|archers]] and 11 catapults operated from a single tower.<ref name=" Beisty"/> Even then, the siege lasted almost a year, making it the longest siege in all of [[England in the Middle Ages|English history]]. They were not invulnerable either, as during the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, Ottoman siege towers were sprayed by the defenders with [[Greek fire]].<ref name="Constantinople"/>

Siege towers became vulnerable and obsolete with the development of large [[cannon]]. They had only ever existed to get assaulting troops over high walls and towers and large cannons also made high walls obsolete as fortification took a new direction. However, later constructions known as ''battery towers'' took on a similar role in the [[gunpowder]] age; like siege-towers, these were built out of wood on-site for mounting siege [[artillery]]. One of these was built by the [[Russians|Russian]] [[military engineer]] [[Ivan Vyrodkov]] during the [[siege of Kazan]] in 1552 (as part of the [[Russo-Kazan Wars]]), and could hold ten large-calibre cannon and fifty lighter cannons.<ref name="Kazan">''Russian Fortresses, 1480–1682'', [[Osprey Publishing]], {{ISBN|1-84176-916-9}}</ref> Likely, it was a development of the [[gulyay-gorod]] (that is a mobile fortification assembled on wagons or sleds from prefabricated wall-sized shields with holes for cannons). Later battery towers were often used by the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[Cossacks]].

During the [[Imjin War]], the Japanese utilized siege towers to scale the walls of [[Jinju]] but were beaten back several times by [[Korean cannon]]s.{{sfn|Turnbull|2008|p=70}}<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. 2002, pp. 69–70</ref> In the early 19th century, the [[Joseon Army]] utilized siege towers to lay siege to Jeonju where the last of [[Hong Gyeong-rae's Rebellion|Hong Gyeong-Rae's Rebellion]] made their stand but were beaten back several times by the rebels.<ref>{{cite book|title=Marginality and Subversion in Korea: The Hong Kyŏngnae Rebellion|author=Sun Joo Kim|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2007|isbn=9780295989310|pages=159–160}}</ref>

==Modern parallels==
[[File:GIGN40 Domenjod 270918.jpg|thumb|A vehicle used by [[GIGN]] featuring a mechanical assault ladder mounted on its roof, essentially a modern version of a siege tower]]
In modern warfare, some vehicles used by [[police tactical unit]]s, [[Counterterrorism|counterterrorists]], and [[special forces]] can be fitted with mechanical assault ladders with ramps. These are essentially modernized siege towers with elements of escalade ladders, and are used to raid a structure through its upper levels. These assault ladders are not as large or as tall as their predecessors, and are typically only capable of reaching roughly the third or fourth floor of a structure.

On 1 March 2007, police officers entered [[Ungdomshuset]] in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]] using boom cranes in a manner similar to siege towers. The officers were placed in containers that the crane operators raised and placed against the structure's windows, from which the officers then entered.<ref>{{cite web |title=YouTube Video, 0:06–0:24 show the lifts being used and the other 'siege' tactics | website=[[YouTube]] | date=7 March 2007 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iupbxsHGlAA}}</ref>

==See also==

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Ancient Greek military personal equipment]]
* [[Chinese siege weapons]]
* [[Helepolis]]
* [[List of siege engines]]
* [[:Category:Siege equipment]]
{{div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|year=2008|title=The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] Ltd}}

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[[Category:Siege engines]]
[[Category:Roman siege engines]]
[[Category:Medieval siege engines]]