Unusual types of ancient weapons. The most unusual ancient weapon The most terrible weapon of antiquity

The need for weapons arose among people from ancient times. The first guns served not only for household needs, but also performed a defensive function. Therefore, from the earliest times, people tried to improve their weapons in a variety of ways, finding more and more ways to injure or destroy the enemy.

And sometimes, the resulting weapon simply boggles our imagination. In this article we will tell you about a dozen ancient and unusual types of melee weapons. Happy reading!

Khopesh (or khopesh)

Translated from the ancient Egyptian language, the word "khopesh" means the foot of a large animal.

This type of weapon first appeared in Ancient Egypt. Its two component parts - the sickle and the hilt, in total, were about sixty centimeters long. The blade most often had both internal and external sharpening. The wounds left by the khopesh were similar to those of a saber.

This type of weapon was very significant during the wars in the Middle East, about two thousand years before Islam appeared in the world. The beginning of the seventeenth century BC in Egypt was marked by the extensive use of new technologies in the manufacture of weapons. And the most “advanced” khopesh in this regard received the status of a symbol of the New Kingdom. And the weapon began to lose its relevance only after three hundred years.

The warriors who used it gave it a second name - liquid fire. This medieval weapon assumed the complete destruction of the opponent, leaving him not the slightest chance of salvation. The first use of Greek fire is attributed to the Byzantines in naval battles.

"Invented" the mixture itself in the year six hundred and seventy-three. The discovery belonged to the Syrian architect Kallinikos. Moreover, he also created a specific device for throwing fire called "siphon". It was a pipe made of copper, through which, with the help of compressed air or bellows, volleys of Greek fire were pushed out.

The peculiarity of this fire brought him fame - eyewitnesses claimed that the flames could not be extinguished, the Greek fire continued to blaze even on the surface of the water.

Interestingly, despite the deep study of such unusual phenomenon, to date, the composition of "liquid" fire is still not known, which suggests that the Byzantines very carefully kept the secret of its manufacture, and, perhaps, took it with them into oblivion.

Chariot with scythes (or scythed)

A rather ancient chariot, actively used in battles by Persia, Ancient Rome and the tribes of the Sahara, in the last century BC.
From similar ones, this species was distinguished by numerous blades, about a meter long, on all sides of the wheels. They performed several functions - from simply intimidation and inducing panic, to the destruction of everyone in the immediate vicinity. It was harnessed by four horses, and the crew consisted of only three - a charioteer and warriors.

They were created and first used by the Persians, in the period from about 467 to 458 BC. They brought to Persia indispensable experience in fighting the heavy infantry of Greece.

Ancient weapon of the Aztecs appearance and properties resembling a simple sword.

The length of the makuahutl was usually from one hundred to one hundred and twenty centimeters. Along the blade, which was usually made of wood, craftsmen fastened pointed pieces of obsidian. The result was that the wounds inflicted by the macuahatl were simply terrible. The reason for this was also the most pointed edges of the weapon, which could be confirmed by the fact that the Aztecs often simply beheaded their opponents. Notches with incredible ease tore the flesh, bringing unbearable torment.

It is interesting that macuahutla has retained its relevance for quite a long time. This can be seen from the records left about her in different years. For example, the most recent note about such a cruel weapon was written as early as one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four. That is, in the nineteenth century, they showed interest in Macuahutla.

Translated from German, the weapon sounds like "morning star". Morgenstern was used as pommel for clubs. It looked like a metal ball, “decorated” on all sides with sharp long spikes. It weighed about one and a half kilograms.

There are several subspecies of this weapon. The chain differed in that it was attached to the handle with a chain. However, although it made the injuries inflicted on the opponent more dangerous, it also had its drawbacks. This manifested itself in the inconvenience of wearing it.

And the infantry morningstar gained popularity among the Swiss infantry in the middle of the fifteenth century.

Ranged weapon made in India. It looks like a ring, pointed on the outside. The diameter ranges from one hundred and twenty to three hundred millimeters. The chakras were brought into action by rotation along the axis of the middle finger and launched into the enemy. This type weapons hit the enemy at a distance of up to fifty meters, and are able to inflict severe injuries on unarmored opponents. For the first time, a certain navigator Duarte Barbosa described this weapon in his writings. He described its combat action in great detail, as well as its form and advantages. According to legend, the creation of the chakra took part indian gods, and it was with him that the head of the powerful demon Jalamdhara was cut off.

A kind of Chinese melee weapons. Also, these blades are known as "paired tiger head hooks". The impressive part of the shuangou is a steel strip, and it ends with a hook, and the other end is pointed. In the area of ​​the handle, with the help of a double fastening, a guard is attached, which is close in shape to the Moon, the sharpened ends of which are directed outward. This weapon was more common for use in two hands. The main strength of the shuangou was chopping, as well as hooking. There was also a way to connect two blades to increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bkill and distance. This weapon received wide publicity with the help of the character Cabal in the famous Mortal kombat fighting game series.

A melee weapon ethnically originating in Japan. The design is similar to a sickle, called "kama". An impact load is attached to it with the help of a chain. The handle of the sickle reaches about sixty centimeters, the length of the blade is about twenty centimeters. The blade is perpendicular to the shaft, and sharpened on the inside, and its end is a sharp continuation. The chain is attached to the diametrical end. The tactic of fighting with the kusarigama is to inflict damage with the weight, or disorientate the opponent with the chain, and deliver the finishing blow with the sickle. Also, the design of the weapon represented the ability to throw Kusarigama, and then return it with a chain. This practice was effective in the defense of fortified objects.

A weapon of a throwing kind, created by the peoples of Africa. It represents all kinds of knives or blades that have an original shape. It found its main application in hunting and in battles, and also personified power and social status person. served cash. It is believed that lightning was produced over three thousand years ago. Its analogue is a boomerang. Iron options were not common due to the large work on the metal, the main material is wood. Kpings were used to defeat the enemy from a short distance. The vertical layout of the weapon made it possible to inflict ricochet blows if it came into contact with the enemy's shield, and therefore it is more prudent to evade or jump away from the kpinga than rely on the strength of the shield or armor.

European travelers could not give an unambiguous opinion about such weapons. There is even a reliable fact that kpinga was used for its intended purpose only in emergency cases, due to the fact that there was a significant fear of losing such an expensive attribute. However, the melee weapon from it was unusable, which is why, in the end, the weapon began to have only a symbolic character.

Kakute is a ring with several spikes. They gained their popularity during the Middle Ages, and even captured the Renaissance.

Many of the Europeans who used these rings applied poison to the spikes, which increased the danger of damage from kakute several times. And given the fact that they were rarely worn one at a time, the enemy had almost no chance.

If the spikes were clean, then the kakuets were used mainly for capture, and not for killing, since without poison, it is very difficult to inflict serious damage on them. It was this property of the rings that made them popular among police officers after the sixteenth century.

To date, various variants of kakute are already less relevant and in demand, they are increasingly used as decorations rather than weapons.

This weapon does not modern technologies, it may not be as effective as the current one, but the ingenuity and invention of people in the past should be given credit. We present a list of the most unusual and awesome weapons that were used in antiquity.

Fireballs of the defenders of Bala Hissar

We often learn about what weapons were used in antiquity from historical records made by contemporaries, but this type of weapon was discovered during excavations near the historical fortress of Bala Hissar, which has been standing in the Pakistani province of Peshawar for more than two and a half thousand years. Archaeologists have discovered a charred ball artificial origin, which included components such as barite and flammable resins of pine trees. The analysis showed that this find belongs to the 4th century BC, when Alexander the Great with his army besieged this fortress.

Ancient fortress of Bala Hissar

Most likely, this weapon was used by the besieged against the army of Alexander and represented the first fireballs, which, after launching from catapults, fell on the Greeks, splashing boiling tar in different directions.

Lime dust of Quintus Sertorius

While fighting in Spain, the rebellious Roman general Quint Sertorius suffered from attacks by barbarian tribes living in what is now Portugal. Having plundered many valuables, the barbarians retreated to the limestone caves, where they felt completely safe, laughing at the Romans from the safe natural fortifications.

Quintus Sertorius, during reconnaissance, noticed that his horse and the horses of his bodyguards raised clouds of lime dust, which was carried directly into the caves by a strong north wind.

The next day, Quintus Sertorius ordered his troops to collect as much loose lime dust as possible and cover the bases of the caves with it. The barbarians thought that in this way the Romans were trying to build something like an embankment to get to them and did not attach much importance to this. Meanwhile, the Romans retreated and camped near the entrance to the caves, waiting for favorable weather.

Got up after a few days strong wind, which began to inflate heaps of lime dust, dragging them into the interior of the caves. The barbarians choked on the dust for three days, after which they surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Tear gas from ancient China

The Chinese Emperor Ling Di was a weak ruler who plunged his country into an abyss of corruption and endless riots. But his army was led by truly outstanding generals, thanks to whom the emperor stayed on the throne for 21 years.

During the suppression of another armed uprising Chinese army used tear gas against the rebels, based on the same lime dust. But, unlike the Romans and Quintus Sertorius, the Chinese military was able to make these weapons portable.

The mechanism for spraying lime dust was a chariot pulled by several horses. Furs were installed on the site, from where the air was blown directly onto a vat of lime dust. Having waited for a favorable wind, hundreds of such chariots rode out to meet the army of the rebels, which immediately rushed to attack the seemingly defenseless enemy. Then the soldiers on the chariots began to inflate the furs, and soon the rebel army was covered with a dense cloud of dust, in which visibility was 2-3 meters. At this time, the soldiers of the emperor tied bags with incendiary mixtures to the tails of the horses, set them on fire and sent them directly to the disoriented enemy troops, which caused real chaos in their ranks. Finally, the Chinese generals ordered the advance of the archers, who simply bombarded the defenseless, panicking enemies with a hail of arrows.

burning pigs

People began using animals as a means to fight the enemy thousands of years ago, but some examples of this were truly unusual, such as setting fire to pigs to scare away war elephants. With the help of pigs, ancient inhabitants managed to lift sieges from entire cities. Read more in the article "Burning pigs - formidable weapon antiquity".

Bombs with snakes

The snake bomb is another way animals are used in human wars against each other. The method consisted in the fact that different poisonous creatures thrust into ceramic vessels and with the help of catapults fired at the enemy. The effect was especially strong if the enemy was in confined spaces - in small besieged cities or on ships. Success in the use of snake bombs was achieved by the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Barca, when he was able to defeat the fleet of the Pergamon king Eumenes, twice as large, by throwing poisonous snakes on the decks of his ships.

Use of sour gas

In antiquity, people already knew that if sulfur crystals were set on fire, the gases released would be deadly to humans. And this knowledge was successfully applied in practice. Ancient siege equipment was often unable to break through the powerful fortifications of cities, so the besieging army had to resort to the good old method - digging. But the defenders of the cities did not doze off either: as soon as the "rumors" noticed that the enemy began to dig a tunnel under the walls of the city, they began to dig a tunnel towards them. When two tunnels met, the most interesting began, and various tricks and means of mass destruction available to ancient people in a cramped room were used.

For example, sulfur dioxide, which in narrow tunnels could poison dozens of people. This is exactly what the Sasanian warriors did during the siege of the Roman settlement of Dura-Europos in the territory of modern Syria in 256 AD. The Persian army began to dig a tunnel in the hope of bringing down part of the Roman wall and tower, but the Romans began to dig a tunnel towards them. The insidious Sassanids decided to set a trap for the enemy: as soon as the two tunnels connected, they kindled sulfur crystals, the smoke from which began to be drawn into the Roman section, which was facilitated by the special structure of the tunnel. Excavations at the site of Dura-Europos, carried out in 1930, discovered the same dig where 20 dead Roman soldiers and only one Persian soldier lay near a large charred vat: a more than successful result of an ancient chemical attack.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Dream up and imagine the wars of the future: there are no tanks and machine guns, and opponents fire at each other from electromagnetic guns projectiles that can reach the opposite side of the Earth in a few minutes. Some of these plans have already been implemented, so future generations will not be bored. But the most dangerous weapon in the world for sure it has not even been invented yet.

1. Tsar bomb

The most powerful thermonuclear charge Soviet Union blew up at a test site located on Novaya Zemlya, and only a year and a half later, N. Khrushchev "pleased" the world with the news that the USSR had a hydrogen bomb with a capacity of 100 megatons.
The political purpose of the tests was to show America its military power, since it was able to create hydrogen bomb 4 times less power. The test was aerial - the "tsar bomb" (then it was called "Kuzkin's mother" in Khrushchev's language) exploded at an altitude of 4.2 km.
The explosion mushroom rose into the stratosphere (67 kilometers), having a diameter of 9.2 kilometers. Three times the shock wave of the explosion circled Earth, another 40 minutes after it, the ionized atmosphere spoiled the quality of radio communications for hundreds of kilometers around. The heat from the explosion directly below the epicenter was so strong that it turned even stones into ashes. Fortunately, this gigantic explosion was quite “clean”, since 97% of the energy was released due to thermonuclear fusion, and, unlike nuclear decay, it almost does not pollute the territory with radiation.

2. Castle Bravo

It was the American answer to the “kuzkin mother”, but much more “thin” - some miserable 15 megatons. But if you think about it, this figure should impress. With the help of such a bomb, it would be quite possible to destroy a large metropolis. Structurally, it was a two-stage ammunition consisting of a thermonuclear charge (solid lithium deuteride) and a uranium shell.
The explosion was carried out on Bikini Atoll, and a total of 10,000 people watched it: from a special bunker 32 km from the explosion site, from ships and aircraft. The strength of the explosion exceeded the calculated one by 2.5 times due to the underestimation of the fact that one of the lithium isotopes, which were considered ballast, also participated in the reaction. The explosion was ground-based (the charge was in a special bunker) and left behind a giant funnel, but the main thing is that it was incredibly “dirty” - it contaminated a large space with radiation. She suffered a lot local residents, Japanese sailors and even the US military itself.

3. Atomic bomb

This type of weapon started new chapter military business. As you know, the Americans were the first to create an atomic bomb, who on July 16, 1945 conducted its first test in the desert in New Mexico. It was a single-stage plutonium device called the Gadget. Not satisfied with the first successful test, the US military hastened almost immediately to test it in a real war.
We can say that the tests in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were successful - both cities were destroyed, thousands of people died. But the world was horrified by the power of the new weapon and the one who owned it. That application nuclear weapons on real targets, fortunately, it turned out to be the only one. In 1950, the USSR got its own atomic bomb, as a result of which an equilibrium was created in the world based on inevitable retribution and mutual nuclear destruction in the event of a “hot war” unleashing.
Having acquired such a powerful weapon, the two countries had to resolve the issues of its prompt delivery to the target. As a result, strategic bombers, ballistic missiles and submarines were developed. Since the air defense system began to outperform aviation, preference was given to missiles, which are now the main delivery vehicle for nuclear charges.

4. Topol-M

This modern missile system is the best in Russian army delivery vehicle. Its 3-stage rockets are invulnerable to any modern look air defense. A missile designed to carry nuclear charges is ready to hit a target 11,000 km away. The Russian army has about 100 such complexes. The development of Topol-M began back in the USSR, and its first tests took place in 1994, with only one of 16 launches ending in failure. Although the system is already on alert, it continues to be improved, in particular, the head of the rocket.

5. Chemical weapons

First mass application chemical weapons in combat conditions happened near the Belgian city of Ypres in April 1915. Then the Germans launched clouds of chlorine at the enemy from cylinders previously installed on the front line. Then 5,000 died and 15,000 Frenchmen, who were not ready for such a turn, were seriously poisoned. Then the armies of all countries indulged in the use of mustard gas, phosgene and bromine, far from always getting the expected result.
Japanese next world war reused chemical weapon in combat in China. For example, when they bombed the city of Woqu, they dropped a thousand chemical shells on it, and another 2,500 bombs were thrown on Dingxiang. The Japanese used chemical weapons until the end of the war. According to rough estimates, about 50,000 soldiers and civilians died from the use of chemical weapons.
The next large-scale use of chemical weapons was distinguished by the Americans in Vietnam, who in the 60s sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants over its jungle, with the help of which they sought to destroy the vegetation in the thick of which the Vietnamese guerrillas, who so annoyed the Yankees, hid. Dioxin was present in these mixtures, which has a cumulative effect, as a result, people developed blood diseases and internal organs genetic mutations have occurred. Almost 5 million Vietnamese suffered from chemical attacks by the Americans, and the number of victims continued to grow after the end of the war.
The last time chemical weapons were used in Syria was in 2013, with the conflicting parties blaming each other for this. As you can see, the ban on chemical weapons by the Hague and Geneva conventions does not stop the military much. Although Russia destroyed 80% of the stocks of chemical weapons it inherited from the USSR.

6. Laser weapons

This is more of a hypothetical weapon under development. So, in 2010, the Americans reported a successful test of a laser gun off the coast of California - a 32 MW device was able to shoot down 4 drones at a distance of over 3 km. If successful, such a weapon will be able to destroy targets hundreds of kilometers apart from space in a matter of seconds.

7. Bioweapon

By antiquity, biological weapons are ready to compete with cold ones. So, one and a half thousand years BC. e. The Hittites struck the enemies with a plague. Understanding the power of biological weapons, many armies, leaving the fortresses, left infected corpses there. The Japanese during World War II, in addition to chemical weapons, did not disdain biological weapons.
The causative agent of anthrax is one of the most dangerous for humans. This bacterium lives for a long time in the ground. In 2001, letters with white powder began to arrive in the American Parliament, and immediately there was a fuss that these were anthrax spores. 22 people were infected, 5 of whom died. Most often, infection can occur through skin lesions, but it is also possible to become infected by swallowing or inhaling bacillus spores.
Now to biological weapons equated both genetic and entomological weapons. The second is associated with the use of insects that suck blood or otherwise attack a person, and the first is able to selectively act on groups of people with a certain genetic feature. In modern biological munitions, strains of various pathogens are usually used - in this way, an increase in mortality among people exposed to it can be achieved. Preference is given to strains that are not transmitted between people, so that an attack on a specific target does not turn into a large-scale epidemic.

The German Union for Technical Inspection annually issues reports on the defectiveness of various brands of machines. Any brand that enters the technical inspection is checked at least ...

8. MLRS "Smerch"

The ancestor of this formidable weapon was the famous Katyusha, which was used with great success against the German army. After atomic bomb This, according to experts, is the most terrible weapon. It takes only 3 minutes to prepare a 12-barreled Smerch for battle, and a volley is fired in 38 seconds. This system effectively destroys modern tanks and other armored vehicles. Rocket projectiles can be launched from a remote control or directly from the cab of a car. "Smerch" can be successfully used in extreme heat and in severe cold, at any time of the day.
This weapon is not selective - it destroys armored vehicles and personnel over a large area. Russia exports this type of weapons to 13 states, including the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, India, Peru, and Kuwait. The machine with the installation is not too expensive for its efficiency - about 12.5 million dollars. But the work of one such installation is capable of stopping the advance of an enemy division.

9. Neutron bomb

American Samuel Cohen invented the neutron bomb as a variant of a nuclear weapon with minimal destructive power, but a maximum of radiation that kills all life. The shock wave here accounts for only 10-20% of the energy released during the explosion (in an atomic explosion, half of the explosion energy is spent on destruction).
After the development of the neutron bomb, the Americans put it into service with their army, but after a while they abandoned this option. The action of the neutron bomb turned out to be ineffective, since the released neutrons are actively absorbed by the atmosphere, and the effect of their action is local. Moreover, neutron charges had a minimum power - only 5-6 kilotons. But much more useful were neutron charges in missile defense systems. A neutron anti-missile that explodes near an enemy aircraft or missile creates a powerful neutron flux that disables all electronics and control of the target.
Another direction of development of this idea was neutron guns, which are a generator capable of creating a directed neutron flux (actually an accelerator). The more powerful the generator, the more powerful neutron flux it can provide. Like a weapon now possessed by the armies of the United States, Russia and France.

Cats are not always affectionate and friendly with people or other animals. Cat owners are better aware of these traits. List of the most dangerous...

10. Intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20 "Voevoda"

This is also a Soviet model of strategic weapons. NATO representatives nicknamed this missile "Satan" for its exceptional destructive power. For the same reason, she got into the ubiquitous Guinness Book of Records. This ballistic missile can hit objects at a distance of 11,000 kilometers. Its separable warheads are able to bypass the system missile defense, which makes the RS-20 seem even scarier.

Nunchaku

It represents sticks or metal tubes about 30 cm long connected to each other with a chain or rope. Flails used to thresh rice became the prototype of home-made weapons.

In Japan, threshing flails were considered a tool and did not pose a danger to enemy soldiers, so they were not seized from the peasants.

Sai

This is a stiletto-type piercing bladed melee weapon, outwardly similar to a trident with a short shaft (maximum one and a half palm width) and an elongated middle prong. The traditional weapon of the inhabitants of Okinawan (Japan) and is one of the main weapons of Kobudo. The lateral teeth form a kind of guard and can also play a striking role due to sharpening.

Unusual weapons of antiquityIt is believed that a fork for carrying bales of rice straw or a tool for loosening the soil became the prototype of the weapon.

Kusarigama

Kusarigama (kusarikama) is a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of a sickle (kama) and a chain (kusari) that connects it to a shock weight (fundo). The place of attachment of the chain to the sickle varies from the end of its handle to the base of the kama blade.

Unusual weapons of antiquity Kusarigama is considered to be a medieval invention of the ninja, the prototype of which was an ordinary agricultural sickle, with which the peasants harvested, and the soldiers cut their way through high grass and other vegetation during campaigns. It is believed that the appearance of the kusarigama was due to the need to disguise weapons as unsuspicious objects, in this case an agricultural tool.

Odachi

Odachi ("big sword") - one of the types of long Japanese swords. To be called an odachi, a sword must have a blade length of at least 3 shaku (90.9 cm), however, as with many other Japanese sword terms, there is no precise definition of odachi length. Usually odachi are swords with blades 1.6 - 1.8 meters.

Unusual weapons of antiquity Odachi completely fell into disuse as a weapon after the Osaka-Natsuno-Jin War The Bakufu government passed a law according to which it was forbidden to have a sword of more than a certain length. After the law went into effect, many odachi were cut to fit established standards. This is one of the reasons why odachi are so rare.

Naginata

Known in Japan at least since the 11th century. Then this weapon meant a long blade from 0.6 to 2.0 m long, mounted on a handle 1.2-1.5 m long. In the upper third, the blade slightly expanded and bent, but the handle itself had no curvature at all or it was barely scheduled. They worked with the naginata at that time in wide movements, holding one hand almost at the very edge. The shaft of the naginata had an oval section, and the blade with one-sided sharpening, like the blade of the Japanese yari spear, was usually worn in a sheath or case.

Unusual weapons of antiquity Later, by the XIV-XV centuries, the naginata blade was somewhat shortened and acquired a modern form. Now the classic naginata has a shaft 180 cm long, on which a blade 30-70 cm long is attached (60 cm is considered standard). The blade is separated from the shaft by an annular guard, and sometimes also by metal crossbars - straight or bent upwards. Such crossbars (jap. hadome) were also used on spears to parry enemy blows. The blade of the naginata resembles that of a common samurai sword, sometimes it was it that was planted on such a shaft, but usually the naginata blade is heavier and more curved.

Qatar

Indian weapons gave its owner the claws of a wolverine, the blade lacking only the strength and cutting ability of adamant. At first glance, the katar is one blade, but when the lever on the handle is pressed, this blade splits into three - one in the middle and two on the sides.

Unusual weapons of antiquityThree blades not only make the weapon effective, but also intimidate the enemy. The shape of the handle makes it easy to block blows. But it is also important that the triple blade can cut through any Asian armor.

Urumi

A long (usually about 1.5 m) strip of extremely flexible steel attached to a wooden handle.

Unusual weapons of antiquityThe excellent flexibility of the blade made it possible to wear the urumi discreetly under clothing, wrapping it around the body.

Tekkokagi

A device in the form of claws attached to the outer side (tekkokagi) or the inner side (tekagi, shuko) of the palm of the hand. They were one of the favorite tools, but, to a greater extent, weapons in the arsenal of the ninja.

Unusual weapons of antiquity Usually these "claws" were used in pairs, in both hands. With their help, it was possible not only to quickly climb a tree or wall, hang on a ceiling beam or turn clay wall, but also with high efficiency to counter a warrior with a sword or other long weapon.

Chakram

The Indian throwing weapon "chakra" may well serve as a clear illustration of the saying "everything ingenious is simple." The chakra is a flat metal ring honed along the outer edge. The diameter of the ring on surviving specimens varies from 120 to 300 mm or more, the width is from 10 to 40 mm, and the thickness is from 1 to 3.5 mm.

Unusual weapons of antiquity One of the methods of throwing chakram was to unwind the ring on the index finger, and then throw the weapon at the enemy with a sharp movement of the wrist.

Skissor

the weapon was used in gladiator fights in the Roman Empire. The metal cavity at the base of the scissor covered the gladiator's hand, which made it possible to easily block blows, as well as inflict their own. The skissor was made of solid steel and was 45 cm long. It was surprisingly light, which made it possible to strike quickly.

Kpinga

A throwing knife used by experienced warriors of the Azanda tribe. They lived in Nubia, a region of Africa that includes northern Sudan and southern Egypt. This knife was up to 55.88 cm long and had 3 blades with a base in the center. The blade closest to the hilt was shaped like a male genitalia and represented the male power of its owner.

Unusual weapons of antiquity The very design of kpinga blades increased the chances of hitting the enemy as hard as possible on contact. When the owner of the knife got married, he presented the kping as a gift to the family of his future wife.

The history of humanity's military craft is as addictive as Game of Thrones, only much, much more brutal. Time and time again the wisdom of the ages is used to figure out how to effectively hit, maim, shoot and kill enemies.

And, damn it, how good we are in this craft!

However, the guys in the history books were no less resourceful than we are. In war as in war.

Greek steam gun

In 214 BC. e. The Roman Republic laid siege to the Sicilian city of Syracuse in an attempt to gain strategic control over the island. General Marc Claudius Marcellus led a fleet of 60 quinqueremes - Roman warships - through the Strait of Messina and hit in the forehead, while the second part of the army advanced on land. But as the noose tightened around the city, the mighty Roman army faced an unexpected adversary: ​​Archimedes.

But whatever the Romans threw at him, Archimedes was always three steps ahead. The ballistas on the outer walls routed the advancing cavalry. At sea, the Archimedes Claw lifted entire ships out of the water and shattered them in a rain of wreckage and screaming slaves. The siege dragged on for two years into an epic battle military power and scientific wit.

During this siege, it is believed that Archimedes developed so destructive weapon that it was capable of burning ships to ashes at a distance of 150 meters. And all it took was a few drops of water. The device was deceptively simple: a copper pipe was heated on coals, and inside it was a hollow clay projectile.

When the pipe was warm enough, some water was injected into the pipe under the projectile. The water instantly evaporated, pushing the projectile towards the advancing ships. On impact, the clay rocket exploded, spraying flammable chemicals onto the wooden ships.

Even today, Archimedes' steam gun remains a matter of fierce controversy. The MythBusters said no, but the MIT team was able to build a working - and highly effective - model using the gun's original description.

They calculated that their 0.45-kilogram metal bullet was fired with twice the kinetic energy of an M2 .50 machine gun. If the projectile had not been fired directly into a wall of mud, it could have traveled a distance of 1,200 meters. And all this for half a glass of water.

Vortex Catapult

Catapults are fairly old machines of war, and like modern guns, there were many types of catapults for different purposes. Although movies usually show siege ballistas and powerful catapults used by Greek and Roman troops, China has made a small catapult capable of hitting important targets with extreme accuracy: the xuanfeng, or vortex catapult.

How sniper rifle, the vortex catapult worked in the style of "one shot - one death." It was small enough to be moved quickly across the battlefield, and an entire catapult could be transported at its base until someone could see the target. This gave the vortex catapult a strategic advantage over the heavier catapults and trebuchets, which, although they caused great destruction with a single shot, required time and effort to maneuver.

In addition to deadly accuracy, the Chinese built vortex catapults with two slings and two holders, resulting in a projectile bag located exactly in the center. No other culture has done this.

rocket cats

No one had ever heard of rocket cats before 2014. Nobody but Franz Helm, the man who invented them. Somewhere in 1530 AD. e. master of artillery from Cologne in Germany wrote military leadership for the conduct of the siege. Gunpowder was just beginning to have an effect on fighting and this made the book popular. Helm's manual included descriptions of all kinds of conceivable and unthinkable bombs, colorfully illustrated and darkly amazing.

He then added a section advising besieging armies to find the cat. Any cat, he said, will come from the city you are trying to conquer. Attach a bomb to him. In theory, the cat will return to his house and then burn down the entire city. Pigeons are fine too.

Was it or not, it's not for us to decide, but most likely not. According to Mitch Fraas, the University of Pennsylvania scholar who had the pleasure of first translating this siege text, there is no historical evidence that anyone ever tried to implement Helm's proposal. In this scheme, the most likely outcome will be your burnt out camp.

Three bow archballista

Invented and perfected during the heyday of the Greek and Roman empires, the ballista was essentially a giant crossbow mounted on a cart. But its arc did not bend like a conventional crossbow. Instead, solid beams of wood were installed between the twisted coils of rope. When the lever was wound up, the ends of the arc rotated in reverse side and twisted the ropes, creating tension.

It was a very powerful weapon, but one bow was not enough for the Chinese. They wanted three. The evolution of the multi-bow archballist was gradual, beginning in the Tang Dynasty with the crossbow, which used two bows for added power. Records from that period show that this bow could shoot an iron bolt out to 1,100 meters, three times as far as other siege crossbows could.

But after two hundred years the invasion Mongolian yoke inspired the Chinese to add another arc to the arcballista. At the very beginning of the Song Dynasty, they rolled out "sanchong chuanji nu" - "a small bed with three bows."

There are few details about this arkballista. It is believed that the Mongol horde, frightened by these powerful defensive machines, hired Chinese engineers to create their own three-bow monsters. Ultimately, the course of the war was turned in favor of the Mongols and led to the emergence of the Yuan dynasty.

Cannon Shields

Already in the 16th century, when the concept firearms was relatively new, people began to realize that if you combine something with a gun, it will be twice as cool. King Henry VIII was particularly interested in this idea. In addition to the traveling staff, which was combined with a flail and three pistols, his arsenal included 46 cannon shields, as in the picture above.

These shields were essentially wooden discs with a cannon that passed through the center, although they differed in places. Some were studded with iron on the front, others had a metal grill over the cannon for aiming, but all of them were mostly considered more as decorative curiosities, not of much historical interest.

Most of them went to scattered museums, where they gathered dust on stands along with other strange works of the Middle Ages. Recently, the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK examined examples of such shields and found that they may have been more common than most historians originally thought. Therefore, they decided to collect the maximum number of such shields and carefully study them.

It turned out that some of these cannon shields had powder burns, that is, they were used. Some were designed to block the side of a ship, where they were apparently used as an additional protective layer and line of anti-personnel fire. In the end, it probably made more sense to keep the gun and shield separate, so this strange weapon faded into obscurity.

Chinese flamethrower

Like the early prototypes of firearms, the Chinese proto-cannons were a huge arsenal, the individual copies of which are hard to imagine. With no idea what gunpowder weapons should look like, Chinese inventors concocted on their tabula rasa the strangest weapons the world had ever seen.

Fire lances, the first incarnation, appeared sometime in the 10th century. These were spears attached to bamboo tubes that could shoot fire and shrapnel several meters away. Some fired lead pellets, others fired poisonous gas, others fired arrows.

They soon made way for pure fire tubes, as the troops abandoned spears in favor of cheap disposable bamboo cannons that fired only once but could be mass-produced and fired one after the other. The trunks were often combined, resulting in an almost endless stream of death.

From the depths of this creative chaos, a pipe sprinkling fire was born. Historians call this weapon a flamethrower, but this description is not entirely correct. Using a low nitrate form of gunpowder, such weapons could produce continuous bursts of flame for five minutes.

But what made it deadly was the addition of arsenic oxide to the mixture. Toxic smoke caused vomiting and convulsions. In addition, the barrel was often stuffed with razor-sharp pieces of porcelain. The result was an instant rupture accompanied by a bath of poisonous fire. If the enemy of the Chinese did not die on the spot, his insides gradually stopped working due to exposure to arsenic. He eventually lapsed into a coma and died.

Whip gun

On March 17, 1834, Joshua Shaw received a patent for the only thing that could make Raiders of the Lost Ark even better: a riding whip with a gun hidden in the handle of the whip. What made it especially useful - and dangerous at the same time - was the way it was fired.

Instead of using a hammer like most guns, the pistol had a button on the side of the grip that could be pressed with the thumb. This allowed the person to hold the whip normally and have access to the trigger of the pistol. Usually the trigger was flush with the handle, but when cocked it stuck out and insisted on immediate firing.

At least one of these pistol-whips was actually made, although there is no evidence that they were mass-produced. To a greater extent, this is a curiosity, not a weapon. Its main disadvantage was that the gun could only be fired once, but then again, sometimes one shot is all you need.

China fiercely defended its gunpowder weapons during the 14th and 15th centuries. He made the most explosive advance in military technology since the bow and arrow and had no plans to give it up without a fight. China has imposed a severe embargo on gunpowder experts in Korea, leaving Korean engineers to deal with the seemingly endless onslaught of Japanese invaders on their own.

At the turn of the 16th century, however, Korea made significant progress in the development of gunpowder and built its own machines that could compete with Chinese flamethrowers. Korean secret weapon there was a hwacha, a multi-rocket launcher capable of launching over 100 missiles in a single salvo. The larger versions used by the monarch could launch under 200. These things were a significant threat to the samurai, capable of laying down layers of tightly packed samurai with every salvo.

Hwacha ammunition was called singijon and was an exploding arrow. Singijon fuses were adjusted depending on the distance to the opponent, so that they exploded on impact. When the Japanese invasion began in full force in 1592, Korea already had hundreds of fire wagons.

Perhaps the biggest test of the strength of the hwacha was the Battle of Hengchu in 1593. When Japan launched a hilltop attack of 30,000 troops towards Hengchu Fortress, the fortress had barely 3,000 soldiers, citizens, and battle monks standing in its defense. The chances of defense were extremely low, and in confidence the Japanese forces advanced, not knowing that the fortress had one trick up its sleeve: 40 hwachas mounted on the outer walls.

The Japanese samurai attempted to climb the hill nine times, constantly encountering a rain of hellfire. Over 10,000 Japanese died before they decided to abandon the siege, marking the first major Korean victory over a Japanese invasion.

Ax gun

Almost every culture has at least one version of the blade weapon. Not only does it look cool, but it also offers flexibility on the battlefield. Bayonets used during the Crimean War and the American civil war, are the most famous modern examples, but this trend dates back to the time of the first Chinese fire spears in the 10th century.

Nevertheless, no one brought it to such a level as Germany. Among the well-preserved examples of German ax guns, which are kept in historical museum Dresden, there are specimens dating from the mid to late 1500s.

Some could be used as an ax and a gun at the same time, while others became firearms only when the blade attachment was removed. They were apparently developed for cavalry, which explains the extended handles, otherwise they would have been pistols.

Hell burners

It was 1584, the sixth long winter of the Eighty Years' War, and Federiga Giambelli could sense vengeance in the air. Years ago, he offered his services as a weapons designer at the Spanish court, but he was ridiculed. In anger, he moved to Antwerp, where he finally found an opportunity to avenge the offended Italian ego.

Celebrating the victory over the Ottomans, Spain sent the Duke of Parma to lay siege to Antwerp, which had become the center of the Dutch separatists. The duke hoped to strangle the city by blockading ships across the Scheldt River.

Antwerp responded by sending burning ships - literally ships on fire - to blockade. Laughingly, the Spanish army pushed them back with their lances until the ships were burned and scattered in the river. However, wanting to take revenge on the Spaniards, Giambelli asked the city council to give him 60 ships, promising to break the blockade. The city gave him only two.

Not despairing, Giambelli began to make his weapons masterpiece. He cut the hold from each ship, built a cement chamber inside with walls 1.5 meters thick, and loaded 3,000 kilograms of gunpowder. He covered it with a marble roof and stuffed every ship to the brim with "every dangerous missile imaginable."

Finally, he built a clock mechanism that was supposed to ignite the entire load at a predetermined time. These two ships became the world's first remotely detonated time bombs, "hell burners".

As night fell on 5 April, Giambelli sent 32 burning ships ahead of his infernal burners to distract the Spanish. The duke called his men from the blockade to push the ships away. But one of the important ships sank too deep and far from the blockade and sank gently when its igniter misfired. When the burning ships went out, the second important ship easily touched the line of the Spanish ships and seemed to be firmly settled in the water. Some of the Spanish soldiers started laughing.

And then the second ship exploded, killing 1000 people and making a 60-meter hole in the blockade. Cement blocks the size of tombstones rained down from the sky. Importantly, the explosion opened up an artery to replenish the city's supplies.

The shocked Dutch did not even move to try to get the supplies that were placed downriver. A few months later they surrendered to the Spanish. Giambelli did his best. His war with Spain was over, and she remembered his name well.