Salah

The ancient Romans apparently used a small crossbow for hunting, and by the 4th Century CE may have also adopted it as a light infantry weapon. Likewise, there are apparently Pictish stones dating to the 3rd-5th Centuries that depict crossbows being utilized.

I am under the impression that the crossbow was invented in China. Did this weapon spread to the West via China in the first few centuries CE, or did the Romans and/or Celts invent it independently?

arras

Ancient Greeks were already using crossbow since 5th ct. and as much as I know it was their invention. Romans might get it from them.

Gastraphetes:

whalebreath

Great vid!

DreamWeaver

It is of course possible that the cross bow was invented in two different geographic locations entirely seperately, and that one did not neccessarily stem from one to the other.

Salah

*Bump*

Would like to see more Historumites' opinions on this subject.

Shapur

Pictish crossbows in the 3rd-5th Century?!?!? Do you have a link or pics I'd love to see that. As far as the Roman crossbow is concerned, it appears to be an indigenous design. As far as I know there's no evidence for the spread of the crossbow from the Han to any of the people living between them and Rome. Also, if I remember correctly, Roman and Han crossbows were designed very differently.

HowStuffWorks "How Crossbows Work"

The first page of this article has a diagram illustrating the difference between the Han and Roman trigger mechanisms.

Guaporense

The Romans presumably had the manuballista, which would have been the most powerful handheld crossbow ever as it was not based on tension but on torsion:

this reconstruction has a 100% iron frame:


while this has a wooden frame reinforced with iron: