Siege engines

Medieval armies made use of numerous special siege engines to take fortified cities. Phocas' expeditionary force employed catapults and ballistae to pound the city, while battering rams weak struck weak points in the enceinte, in the hope of causing a breach. Tall wooden towers as high as the walls surrounded the defences, enabling the Byzantines to rain arrows down on the defenders. Nevertheless, the Arab wall around the city proved highly resilient, forcing the Byzantines to turn to sapping, which eventually enabled them to take the city.