Siege towers

[Sargon of Akkad]

Hello, I just need to know wether or not in ancient times, siege towers (huge, mobile, wheeled towers) were used as mobile forts, aside from their normal purpose of carrying units over walls, or knocking out walls etc.

I'm trying to make this as a mod and any help would be apreciated.

 

[Pellaken]

a little off topic, about your name

in history class, we learned about sargon. the teacher told us a story, in brief:
he was teaching, there was a real smart girl in the class. some film crew was filiming at the time. he started talking about sargon, when she rose her hand and insisted that Sargon... was a bastard. that his parents werent hitched, so he was a bastard.
I remembered the story, and at test time, I filled in "Sargon the Bastard" the tests were then recirculated for correcting. when it came to that question. I heard a student ask "is 'Sargon the Bastard' an acceptable answer" at which time everyone laughed...

kinda reminds me of 2 weeks earlier in that class wehn I asked "if humans are decendants of monkeys, then why do we have hairy butts?"

but back on topic, I honestley dont know

 

[philippe]

it would be like a carrier on land
it stats 1/6/3
and should have a load capacity of 3
now you can start working on your unit

 

[No.Dice]

Three movement points is way too fast. They had to be assembled right outside the city under siege, and from there had to be wheeled up to the city walls, in which quite a few people were lost just getting it there. I think one movement point would be accurate.

I can't think of any instances in history where either attackers or defenders had mobile fortress for any purpose other than scaling walls. They often could build a Motte and Baily castle, which was basically a tower surrounded by pallisade walls. While not mobile, it could be built fairly quickly and cheaply.

Civ doesn't really replay history, it shows more like, "what could have happened". While a bit unrealistic, whos to stay some Egyptian (or any other civ for that matter) architectural genius didn't invent just such a thing, using a combination of the construction and mathematics technologies?

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

Towers were very rarely used on an acient battle field oustide siege lines, fortresses, and sometime field fortifications. A mobile equivilent used for a while was the war elephant with a box and several troopers on its back.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

I concur with my learned colleague Sinister Scaevola
Siege towers and their ilk were far too unwieldy to be used outside a siege situation, as they needed good, clear ground to operate on, and could be destabilized or sabotaged.
As happened to those siege engines of the Warlock Lord on the plains outside of Callahorn in "The Sword of Shannara"

 

[History_Buff]

I do believe they were occasionally used by the assyrians to put chariots on walls, but as there were no real forts in Western Europe, so the romans and greeks just used catupults, ballistas and the like.

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Sargon was a bastard. His mother was a priestess called Iannas. In ancient Sumer, female priests were not allowed to marry, much less to have children; so, he was put into a little basket and sent down the river in hope someone would find him, someone, a certain Laipu, palm gardener of the court of Kish (somehow this story seems familiar; as a matter of fact, some historians believe this to be the actual inspiration for the beginning of the biblical tale of Moses).
Sargon was originally cupbearer to the king of Kish, and his original name was Sharrukenu, and as such is named by pre-akkadian sumerian sources...

 

[elfstorm]

Demetrius "the besieger" famously built a colossal 'city-taker' during his siege of Rhodes. It was supposedly Nine Storys high (120-150 feet), heavily armoured (to stop it being burnt) and on the lower floors there were catapults and other siege weapons.

That strikes me as essentially being a mobile fortress; however the point made above about such constructions lacking the ability to manoeuvre in a battle situation is quite right: the 'city-taker' required over 3000 men to move it! Surely any similar unit in Civ3 would cost at least 1 population point?

On a related note - after resisting Demetrius' siege, to celebrate the people of Rhodes build the Colossus. It size was purposely picked to match that of the 'city-taker' as a celebration of their own victory.