Military history buffs can find siege weapons of Ancient Egypt, Judea, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome, as well as those of the Gauls and Teutons, the Byzantine Empire, the Muslim World, and Medieval Europe, all described with incredible detail and accompanied by illustrations and photographs. Konstantin Nossov offers new ways to reconstruct various siege weapons that are based on his analyses of the works of ancient and medieval authors, including: Vitruvius, Vegetius, Apollodorus, Athenaeus, Heron, Biton, Philon, and many others.

Translated from Russian: Osadnaëiìa tekhnika Antichnosti i Srednevekov§ëiìa.

PART 1. THE HISTORY OF SIEGE WARFARE: 1. Ancient Egypt ; 2. Ancient Judea ; 3. Assyria ; 4. Persia ; 5. Greece ; 6. Rome ; 7. Gauls and Germanic tribes ; 8. Byzantine Empire ; 9. The Arab World ; 10. Medieval Europe -- PART 2. SIEGE WEAPONS: 11. Scaling ladders ; 12. Mobile sheds ; 13. Battering rams ; 14. Borers ; 15. Siege towers ; 16. Sambucas ; 17. Agger (Embankments) ; 18. Undermining ; 19. Ancient and Medieval throwing machines ; 20. Incendiary weapons in siege warfare ; 21. Gunpowder and siege cannon ; 22. Other siege devices -- PART 3. METHODS OF ATTACK AND DEFENSE: 23. Methods of attack ; 24. Methods of defense ; 25. Stratagems -- APPENDICES: Appendix 1. Greek measurements ; Appendix 2. Roman measurements ; Appendix 3. Approximate life spans of some antique and medieval authors.