The Colorful History of the Crossbow

The evidence discovered by archeologists showed that the crossbow was first created in the 4^th century BC in imperial China. It was used as sporting equipment and traps for enemies. The remains of the material were also discovered in the final resting place of Qin Shi Huang, which is also popular for the interesting Terracotta Soldiers.   The bow was first used in Greece in the 5^th century and it was named as “gastraphetes”. They were an importation tool used by Greek soldiers during the siege of Tyre and Motya in 332 BC and 397 BC respectively. Heron from Alexandria discussed the gastraphetes in his popular writings, Belopoeica.   Roman armies relied on the weapon to defeat the English army during the siege of Hastings in 1066. They were a weapon of choice compared with other variations of bows since it is easy to carry and manage. Soldiers can master it in just a few weeks while a short bow and long bow takes years of hard work to handle properly. In the past, bowmen are vital to any military formations since they can pierce through the armor of enemy soldiers. They are also great for surprise attacks and knights had no defence against them especially with the creation of high-class shooting mechanisms.   The need for this type of bow started to drop in Europe with the creation of guns. But some armies still prefer to use it since the first gunpowder-powered ammunitions were not very effective.   In Asian countries, this kind of bow was also used during sieges by the Muslim armies against the Christian armies. The Islamic horde in Spain relied on the equipment to defeat their enemies. Scouts in African countries used it to hunt for wildlife like elk and deer.   The tool was introduced in North America due to the rise of the slave trade. The bow variation was used by Native American Indians to kill game for food. Today, the bow is used for tournaments and in countries where hunting is legal. Click to check out more details of PSE TAC 15i.