page_title: Roman siege engines
section_title: Battering ram
hierarchical_section_title: Roman siege engines / Breaking the walls / Battering ram
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Römischer Mauerbrecher oder Sturmbock
context_page_description: Roman siege engines were, for the most part, adapted from Hellenistic siege technology. Relatively small efforts were made to develop the technology; however, the Romans brought an unrelentingly aggressive style to siege warfare that brought them repeated success. Up to the first century BC, the Romans utilized siege weapons only as required and relied for the most part on ladders, towers and rams to assault a fortified town. Ballistae were also employed, but held no permanent place within a legion's roster, until later in the republic, and were used sparingly.
  Julius Caesar took great interest in the integration of advanced siege engines, organizing their use for optimal battlefield efficiency.
context_section_description: Roman battering rams, or aries, were an effective weapon for breaking down an enemy's walls, as well as their morale.  Under Roman law, any defenders who failed to surrender before the first ram touched their wall were denied any rights.  The moment they heard the ram hit the wall, those inside the city knew that the siege proper had begun and there was no turning back.
  Josephus describes the battering ram used at Jotapata thus:
  It is an immense beam, similar to a ship’s mast, with one end covered with iron shaped into a ram’s head; hence its name.  It is suspended from another beam like a balance arm by cables around its middle, and this in turn is supported at both ends by posts fixed in the ground.  It is drawn back by a huge number of men who then push it forward in unison with all their might so that it hits the wall with its iron head.  There is no tower strong enough nor any wall thick enough to withstand repeated blows of this kind, and many cannot resist the first shock.
  Vitruvius in De Architectura Book X describes the construction and use of battering rams.
  For protection, a battering ram was suspended in a mobile shelter called a tortoise, or testudo.  According to Vegetius, it was given this name because the ram would swing out of the shelter much like a tortoise's head comes out of its shell.  Such shelters would provide the men within protection against missiles and incendiary devices.  They were constructed from a framework of strong timbers with planks and wicker hurdles on the sides.  The entire shelter would then be covered with a fireproof material such as uncured hides. According to Apollodorus of Damascus, the shelter should be fixed to the ground while the ram was being used to both prevent skidding and strain on the axles from the weight of the moving apparatus.  This would also increase the strength of the impact on the walls.
caption: Roman battering ram.
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