Trebuchet

A trebuchet is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to its tip to launch a projectile, and it served as a powerful siege engine until the arrival of gunpowder weapons. The traction trebuchet, worked by teams of soldiers pulling ropes to swing the arm, originated in ancient China, with descriptions appearing in the Mozi text compiled in the 4th century BC, and it spread westward, reaching the Byzantines, Persians and Arabs by the sixth or seventh century AD. The counterweight trebuchet, which uses a falling weighted box in place of manpower, appeared around the Mediterranean by the 12th century, with the earliest known description dating to 1187, and the weapon remained in military use until cannons superseded it in the 15th century.