Invention

Yuan Invention: Counter-Weighted Catapult

    When Kublai Khan ordered an attack on Southern China, he and his generals had to adapt their fighting strategy a little bit. There were too many rivers and rice paddies in Southern China for them to just ride through on horseback, as was their usual style. Kublai Khan ordered Muslim engineers to construct huge, counter-weighted catapults that could throw a barrage of rocks weighing up to a hundred pounds. These massive catapults took out the high, thick walls of the cities of Fancheng and Changzhou. They were also used against the Song’s fleet of 2500 warships. The Mongols put their catapults ashore on both banks of the river, covering the enemy vessels with barrages of missiles. The invention of this catapult is important because without it Northern China and the Mongol Empire would not have been able to take control of the Song.

An example of a counter-weighted catapult