Museum Siegecraft

Siegecraft

Shobak’s walls were strong, but its defenders also needed powerful war machines to fight off attackers. They used manjaniqs, giant wooden catapults with a long arm and a heavy counterweight that swung down to launch stone projectiles through the air. Since wood doesn’t survive well over time, archaeologists have only found the stone counterweights and projectiles, but these remains tell us how the machines once worked.

 

In 1297–1298, the Mamluk sultan Al-Lajin rebuilt Shobak’s defenses, adding big towers where these weapons could be placed. Archaeologists have found parts of two manjaniqs from this time. One was larger and stronger, with a 450 kg counterweight, while the other was smaller and lighter, with a 62 kg counterweight.

 

These machines could launch stone balls weighing up to 50-60 kg as far as 200 meters, hitting enemy camps on the hills around the castle. Many stone projectiles have been found at Shobak, showing the extraordinary attack power the fortress had during the Mamluk period.

 

Shobak’s defensive system combined long-range and close-range attacks. While the manjaniqs struck enemies from a distance, rows of arrow slits built into the castle walls allowed defenders to fire at attackers as they got closer.