Ballista/Scorpion

Timeline

1. c. -100–200Territory of the Roman Empire · MediterraneanThe Roman scorpio was standard legionary equipment: each century could be equipped with one or two, used to suppress enemy archers and pierce shield walls; larger catapultae and onagers were used for sieges, forming a complete torsion projectile system.
2. c. 1000–1340Western Europe · Western EuropeMedieval Europe developed devices such as the espringale (springald) on the basis of classical torsion principles, storing energy in torsion bundles or levers to fire crossbow bolts; siege literature and armory lists still distinguished bolt-shooting from stone-throwing projectors.
3. c. 1341–1350France and the Low Countries · FranceBetween 1341 and 1350, both English and French forces still deployed torsion ballista-type devices in sieges in Gascony, Flanders, and elsewhere, for precise shooting at battlements and personnel; meanwhile early firearms (pot-de-fer etc.) began to appear, forming a multi-layered siege firepower of 'ballista + cannon + trebuchet'.
4. c. 1450–1500Europe · EuropeBronze and iron cannon and improved gunpowder gradually put large torsion ballistae at a disadvantage in destructive power and logistics; but the torsion projectile principles and ordnance classification tradition represented by the scorpion still influenced early modern artillery terminology and the compilation of siege engineering manuals.