Counterweight Trebuchet

Timeline

1. c. 1180–1200Damascus · DamascusIn the late 12th century under the Ayyubid dynasty, craftsmen in the Middle East combined a counterweight box with a long throwing arm to develop the counterweight trebuchet, far more powerful than manpower-driven traction trebuchets, capable of hurling stones and incendiaries to destroy walls.
2. 1211–1220Damietta · DamiettaDuring the Fifth Crusade, both sides deployed large trebuchets in the siege of Damietta; Muslim defenders bombarded the Crusader camp with counterweight engines, while the Crusaders brought trebuchets from Europe or built them on site, making engine warfare the core of the siege.
3. c. 1240–1300Paris · ParisMongol armies made extensive use of counterweight trebuchets in their western campaigns; the technology reached Western Europe through Eastern European and Mediterranean trade networks, and countries such as France and England began copying it in the late 13th century for castle attack and defense drills.
4. 1400–1500Constantinople · ConstantinopleIn the 15th century, gunpowder artillery demonstrated greater destructive efficiency in sieges; the fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the dawn of an artillery-dominated era, and the counterweight trebuchet gradually left the battlefield as the main siege engine, used only briefly in remote regions.