De strategematibus

 In this book for both construction and use, proceeding in order, we have set it forth, having written it down systematically. and let no nitpicker of

 It is necessary first to go through and inspect the positions of the cities accurately, and having made the protection of one's own people unharmed ab

 From a weaving of freshly-cut willow rods or of tamarisk or linden, these also being pointed at the front up to the ridge at the top. and the so-calle

 To have in exchange. but if we wish to take the city by a theft in the night, with the citizens being ignorant of our arrival and unprepared, when win

 With slender and close-set posts, rather than thick and widely-spaced ones, with a plank placed above and below, so that the posts, giving way at the

 Entering under and turning back upon the so-called socket-plate or a kind of headpiece, with a rule lying on the ground which brings 221 it forward an

 Concerning their limbs and the suspensions belonging to the single timbers at intervals on both ram-bearing tortoises and towers and double ladders, a

 To be brought forward easily and constructed from small pieces of wood, and not one very large one, because it is made from large and hard-to-find tim

 The movement. if we wish to ascertain the thickness of the walls and to observe the actions of the enemy and to survey the host from behind, to see th

 Let them be 30 each and at the height of 20 let them receive the pin and 20 is two-thirds of 30. and let the parts coming down from the uprights be

 They made and on all they always set aside from the top the fifth part of the base. but apollodorus, constructing the tower more impressively at its

 He made these uprights equal, so that their joints might not be near one another, but every joint alternate, being distant from the other, and it migh

 So that both the 60 cubits of the height and the 17 of the length of the base itself will have the same proportion to the feet, and likewise also the

 Of a place, they batter the upper parts of the walls with rams for anything standing up and projecting is easily broken and easily demolished, as it

 Projecting from the mouths to which it is necessary to be wound with the tensioner by means of shoulder or back sinews of all animals except pigs, pa

 Let it admit the construction of the aforementioned ladders. and let the one that is about to be raised be decked with planks over its whole length, a

 From below, in front of the enemy they fall easily and are held fast from behind, but from above they are cut to a fine point, converging at the top a

 Will be shown in the account for the two and a half cubits of the diameter measure the 15 six times, and the 10 four times, and the 30 twelve times,

 The ships, 270 the machine may be preserved upright and without falling, and against the winds it is necessary to have ready the prepared defenses aga

 Places it against the other bank of the river, fitting it along its entire length, with the multitude gathered and ready for the battle line. and thos

it is necessary first to go through and inspect the positions of the cities accurately, and having made the protection of one's own people unharmed above all else, to begin the siege, making a show of fighting the fortress in some places, so that the deceived enemies prepare themselves there, and to bring the siege engines to other places, but to make the assault against the weaker parts of the walls in succession with military units continuously, distracting those inside with a great clamor and sounding trumpets by night against the stronger parts, so that most of them, supposing these parts are being captured, might flee from the spaces between the towers along with the others. And if the cities are situated on high hills or steep cliffs, it is necessary to be on guard against the weights rolled down from above by the enemy, 205 which are such as round stones, columns, wheels, column-drums, four-wheeled wagons weighed down with loads, various wicker vessels full of pebbles or compressed earth, and such things as are fitted together circularly from planks and bound on the outside with bands, which are made for holding wine and oil and every liquid; and as many other things as it is possible to be devised by the enemy for defense. And it is necessary, devising countermeasures against these, to construct wooden caltrops of five cubits, called *labdaraiai* by some, the thickness of each leg having a circumference of about two feet, so that they are not smashed or broken, but withstand the weights brought down; and to construct them sufficient in number, so that their placement may be in a triple or even a quadruple line; for thus by bounding the difficult and hard-to-climb parts of the places, it is possible to ascend safely out of missile range; for the violent downward rush of stones, being carried against the turning of the caltrops, will come to rest. And it is also possible in another way to guard against the harm from things coming down; 206 for it is necessary, beginning from the foot of the mountain below, to dig slanting trenches, and to look towards and ascend to certain parts of the walls, having a depth of about 5 feet, and one upright wall from the same digging being on the left, against which the rolling weights are carried, becoming a rampart and shield for those ascending. And those digging should secure the dug-out place thus: sharpening timbers of about six cubits or saplings at the bottom like stakes to fix them against the aforesaid upright wall of earth on the left so that they hold, slanted towards the downward slope of the hill; and placing planks on them from the outside, embracing and binding around them branches of trees; and casting all the excavated material there, to level straight paths for the ascents of the tortoises. And the tortoises brought forward should be rams in their front part, that is, wedge-shaped, composed of triangular or pentagonal bases toward an acute forward angle, and from the width below ascending in height and proceeding to a point up to the ridge at the top, resembling in front the prows of ships driven ashore; and they should be small and numerous because they are quickly and easily constructed and are easily carried by a few men, having smooth timbers for feet around 207 the base, and instead of wheels, iron nails, so that when placed on the ground they are fixed and not dragged down by the impact; and each should have a transverse timber across the front, just as wagons have on their poles, so that it holds and supports it when it turns back toward the downward slope, and especially when those bringing it uphill grow weary and are about to rest for a short while. Therefore it will happen, that the weights either fall into the slanting trench and are carried aside, or striking the oblique stakes which have a slanting position they are deflected, or striking the rams they are carried aside to the other part, and the space in between is freed from the blow. But it is better also to bring up the so-called wicker-tortoises, being lighter than the aforementioned rams and of similar shape, being constructed

τῶν πόλεων θέσεις ἀκριβῶς διερχόμενον ἐπισκέπτεσθαι χρὴ πρότερον, καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἰδίου λαοῦ πρὸ πάντων ἀβλαβῆ ποιούμενον φύλαξιν τῆς πολιορκίας ἀπάρχεσθαι, πρὸς ἄλλοις μὲν τόποις καστρομαχεῖν ἐνδεικνύμενον, εἰς τὸ ἐκεῖσε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀπατωμένους παρασκευάζεσθαι, καὶ πρὸς ἄλλους εἰσφέρειν τὰ μηχανήματα, τὴν δὲ προσβολὴν πρὸς τὰ σαθρότερα τῶν τειχῶν ἐκ διαδοχῆς στρατιωτικῶν ταγμάτων κατὰ συνέχειαν ποιεῖσθαι, σὺν πολλῷ θορύβῳ τοὺς ἔνδον περισπῶντα καὶ σάλπιγγας νύκτωρ ἐπὶ τὰ ὀχυρώτερα μέρη ἀνίεσθαι, ἵνα ὑπολαμβάνοντες οἱ πλεῖστοι ταῦτα ἁλίσκεσθαι, ἀπὸ τῶν μεταπυργίων μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐκφύγωσι. Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐφ' ὑψηλῶν λόφων ἢ κρημνῶν δυσβάτων ὦσιν αἱ πόλεις κείμεναι, δεῖ τὰ ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπικυλιόμενα 205 παραφυλάττεσθαι βάρη, ἅτινά εἰσιν ὡς λίθοι στρογγύλοι, κίονες, τροχοί, σφονδύλοι, ἅμαξαι τετράτροχοι φορτίοις βεβαρημέναι, ἀγγεῖα ἐκ πλοκῆς διάφορα κόχλακος ἢ γῆς πεπιλημένης γέμοντα, καὶ οἷα τὰ ἐκ σανίδων κυκλοτέρως συνηρμοσμένα καὶ δεσμοῖς ἔξωθεν περιειλημένα τὰ πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν οἴνου γινόμενα ἐλαίου τε καὶ παντὸς ὑγροῦ· ἄλλα τε ὅσα πρὸς ἄμυναν ἐνδεχόμενόν ἐστι παρὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπινοεῖσθαι. Καὶ χρὴ πρὸς ταῦτα ἀντιμηχανωμένους τριβόλους κατασκευάζειν ξυλίνους πενταπήχεις, ὑπό τινων λαβδαραίας καλουμένους, πάχους ἑκάστου σκέλους τὸν γῦρον ἔχοντος ὡσεὶ ποδῶν δύο, ὥστε μὴ θραύεσθαι ἢ διακλᾶσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀντέχειν πρὸς τὰ καταφερόμενα βάρη· ἱκανοὺς δὲ τῷ πλήθει κατασκευάζειν αὐτοὺς, ἵνα τριπλῆ ἢ καὶ τετραπλῆ ἡ τούτων γίνηται θέσις· οὕτως γὰρ τὰ δυσανάφορα καὶ δυσχερῆ τῶν τόπων περιορίζοντα δυνατόν ἐστιν ἐκτὸς βέλους ἀκινδύνως ἀνέρχεσθαι· ἡ γὰρ τῶν λίθων βιαία καταφορὰ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν τριβόλων ἀναστροφῇ ἐνεχθεῖσα ἠρεμήσει. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ κατ' ἄλλον τρόπον τὴν ἐκ τῶν κατερχομένων παρα206 φυλάξασθαι βλάβην· ἐκ γὰρ τῆς ὑπωρείας κάτωθεν ἀρχομένους πλαγίας ὀρύσσειν δεῖ τάφρους, καὶ πρός τινα μέρη τῶν τειχῶν ἀφορᾶν καὶ ἀνέρχεσθαι, βάθος ἐχούσας ὡσεὶ ποδῶν ˉε, καὶ ἕνα τοῖχον ὀρθὸν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὀρύγματος ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ ὄντα, πρὸς ὃν ἐπιφέρεται τὰ κυλιόμενα βάρη, προτείχισμα καὶ ἀσπίδα τῶν ἀνερχομένων γινόμενον. Τὸν δὲ προορυχθέντα τόπον ἀσφαλίζεσθαι τοὺς ὀρύσσοντας οὕτως· ξύλα ὡς ἑξάπηχα ἢ νεάκια κάτωθεν ὀξύνοντας ὡς πασσάλους πρὸς τὸν ῥηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ χώματος ὀρθὸν τοῖχον ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ πρὸς τὸ ἀντέχειν πηγνύειν, λελοξευμένα πρὸς τὴν κατωφερῆ τοῦ λόφου κλίσιν· καὶ σανίδας ἐπ' αὐτὰ ἔξωθεν ἐπιθέντας, κλάδους δένδρων ἀπαγκαλίζοντας περιδεσμεῖν· καὶ τὴν ὀρυσσομένην ἅπασαν ὕλην ἐκεῖσε ἀπορρίπτοντας ὁδοὺς εὐθείας ἐξομαλίζειν πρὸς τὰς τῶν χελωνῶν ἀναβάσεις. Τὰς δὲ προσφερομένας χελώνας ἐμβόλους κατὰ πρόσωπον γίνεσθαι, τουτέστι σφηνοειδεῖς ἐκ τριγώνων ἢ πενταγωνοειδῶν βάσεων συνεστώσας πρὸς ὀξεῖαν κατ' ἔμπροσθεν γωνίαν, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ κάτω πλάτους πρὸς ὕψος ἀνερχομένας καὶ μέχρι τῆς κατὰ κορυφὴν ῥάχεως εἰς ὀξὺ προϊούσας, ὁμοιουμένας ἔμπροσθεν πλοίων πρώραις πρὸς γῆν ἐπισκηφθέντων· μικρὰς δὲ αὐτὰς εἶναι καὶ πλείονας διὰ τὸ ταχέως καὶ εὐκόλως κατασκευάζεσθαι καὶ ὑπ' ὀλίγων ἀνδρῶν εὐκόπως φέρεσθαι, λεῖα ξύλα ποδιαῖα περὶ 207 τὴν βάσιν ἐχούσας, καὶ ἀντὶ τῶν τροχῶν ἥλους σιδηροῦς διὰ τὸ τιθεμένας πρὸς τῇ γῇ πήγνυσθαι καὶ μὴ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐμβολῆς κατασύρεσθαι· ἔχειν δὲ καὶ πλάγιον ξύλον ἑκάστην κατὰ μέτωπον, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς ῥυμοῖς ἔχουσιν αἱ ἅμαξαι, ἵνα ὑποστρέφουσαν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸ κατωφερὲς ἀντέχῃ καὶ ἐπιστηρίζῃ, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν οἱ προσάγοντες αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνωφερὲς ἀτονήσωσι καὶ πρὸς μικρὸν ἀναπαύεσθαι μέλλωσι. Συμβήσεται οὖν, ἢ τῇ τάφρῳ πλαγίᾳ οὔσῃ ἐμπίπτοντα παραφέρεσθαι τὰ βάρη, ἢ τοῖς λοξοῖς πασσάλοις πλαγίαν ἔχουσι θέσιν ἐνσείοντα ἀπορραπίζεσθαι, ἢ τοῖς ἐμβόλοις ἐγκρούοντα πρὸς θάτερον μέρος παράγεσθαι, τὸ δὲ διὰ μέσου χωρίον τῆς πληγῆς ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. Βέλτιον δὲ προσάγειν καὶ τὰς λεγομένας γερροχελώνας, ἐλαφροτέρας τῶν ῥηθέντων ἐμβόλων καὶ ὁμοιοσχήμους οὔσας, κατασκευαζομένας