Ancient weapons. Kinds and properties of weapons

Since ancient times, people have produced and used various types of weapons. With his help, a man procured food, defended himself from enemies, guarded the dwelling. In the article we will consider the ancient weapons - some of its types, preserved from the past centuries and located in the collections of special museums.

From stick to club

Initially, the first human weapon was an ordinary strong stick. Over time, for convenience and greater efficiency, it began to weight and give it a comfortable shape. Moving the center of gravity to the end of the gun, they achieved maximum acceleration and a heavier strike. So there was an old weapon - a mace. To use in a collision with enemies in the branch, wedges were driven from a stone or metal. Manufacturing was cheap and did not require any specific skills in the application. Any strong man could use it, unlike a spear, in the throwing of which it was necessary to train in advance.

Bogatyr's mace

In connection with the constant conquest of territories and the emergence of wars, the requirements for weapons as a striking instrument grew. The palette of wood could not cope with the tasks assigned to it. Therefore, it was bound with iron and equipped with spikes. So there was the following ancient Russian weapon, which began to be called a mace. At the end of its handle was a stone or metal pommel, which had thorns or iron feathers. A reasonable distribution of power made it possible to shorten the gun. There was no need to carry it on his shoulder, it was enough to put the mace on the belt. In addition, its effectiveness sometimes surpassed the quality of the sword. The impact of the mace stopped the enemy faster than striking the sword in the armor.

Melee weapons

Along with the club, warriors used such ancient cold weapons as an ax and a sword. The ax is a battle ax used in close combat. The cutting part of this tool is made in the form of a crescent moon. The usefulness of the ax was that a rounded blade could cut the helmets and shields without getting stuck in them. The handle of the ax was different from the ax ax in that it was straight and convenient for interception from one hand to the other. The balance was maintained at the expense of either the weight of the shoe or the presence of a second blade. The chopping blows of the ax were very effective, but they spent a lot of the warrior's forces. It was impossible to swing it as often as with a sword. Advantages were that it was easy to forge the ax, and besides the stunned blade did not reduce the force of the impact. The ax was able to break the neck and ribs under the armor.

Here it is worth noting that such an ancient weapon as a sword, although it was military, but was created by expensive technology, and it had only mercenaries and aristocracy. He was able to apply cutting, chopping and piercing strokes. In Russia swords appeared in the middle of the VIII century thanks to Scandinavian warriors who changed them to beaver and fox fur. Their origin is evidenced by the stigma attached to the blades found on Russian lands. The remaining details of the swords were made or perfected by ancient Russian masters. Later the sword replaced the saber, which the Russian soldiers borrowed from the Tatars.

When the smell of gunpowder

With the invention of gunpowder in the X-XII centuries, an ancient firearm appeared, which was used in China. The first use of guns in Russia is mentioned in the description in a collision with Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382. Such a weapon was called a hand. It was a metal tube with a handle. Gunpowder, poured into the trunk, was set on fire through a special hole with a hot rod.

At the beginning of the XV century in Europe for firing the contents appeared wick, and then the castle lock. When you press the trigger, the sprung spring starts the wheel, which, in turn, rotates, rubbing against the flint, cutting sparks. At the same time, the powder ignited. It was a complex ancient weapon, which could not replace the fuse ignition, but became the prototype of the pistols.

The shock-silicon castle appeared in the middle of the 16th century. In it, sparks, igniting the powder, carved flint, which is inside the trigger and striking about the flint. The cartridge, in which there was a lead bullet and a charge of gunpowder, was put into use at the end of the 17th century. Later, the weapon was equipped with a bayonet, which allowed me to participate in close combat. In the Russian army, the principle of the operation of weapons did not change, the differences were only in certain types of designs corresponding to each kind of troops.