Prepare for a journey through history's most brutal and ingenious weapons of destruction. From ancient innovations to medieval monstrosities, we'll explore the most terrifying tools of warfare that pushed the boundaries of human creativity and devastation.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the historical weapons
00:09that packed a deadly punch.
00:10The Washa works well, and with many of them firing away on the battlefield, the resulting
00:16chaos would be terrifying.
00:19Number 10.
00:20Moutriere, aka Murder Holes.
00:22What's in a name?
00:23Well, it feels sort of self-explanatory when we're discussing Moutriere, otherwise known
00:26as Murder Holes.
00:29Although not weapons in the strictest of senses, this architectural design was achieved
00:33with some seriously bad intentions.
00:37Those that became trapped within a room or passage featuring a Moutriere would run the
00:41risk of all kinds of danger.
00:43That's because defenders would use these holes to rain down arrows, calcium oxide, boiling
00:47water, or just about any other lethal substance that could fit.
00:50It honestly sounds like a pretty chaotic and devilish way to go, if you ask us.
00:57Number 9.
00:58Aztec Macuabi.
00:59Here's a question.
01:00What do you get when you combine the blunted, swinging power of a club with the razor-sharp
01:03edges of a sword?
01:04The Macuabi, or the Macuuito, was an Aztec weapon.
01:07The Aztec warrior often would not try to kill his opponent.
01:11He would try to maim and hurt him to be able to take him back to the temples and sacrifice
01:15him later.
01:16Well, you just might come up with a weapon similar to the Aztec Macuabi.
01:19These wooden swords featured blades forged from obsidian, which were then affixed to
01:23each side.
01:24An ancient Aztec weapon, brother, made out of obsidian and wood.
01:28Looks like a cricket bat with little blades on it.
01:30That's freakin' rad, bro.
01:31I want one.
01:32The resulting Macuauit could then be used in a variety of ways.
01:36Enemies of an Aztec warrior could be crushed by the force of the weapon's weight or sliced
01:39to ribbons by the blades.
01:41This versatility helped make the Macuauit weapons that were both esteemed and feared.
01:45I brought something else to keep things interesting.
01:47You're not the only one with weapons from far off lands, you know.
01:51Ready.
01:52Number 8.
01:53Chakra.
01:54Chakra.
01:59These weapons of Indian origin could be wielded in a variety of ways.
02:02The Chakram's small but deadly design made them fit for both close-quarters melee combat
02:06and for long-range attacks.
02:07These circular discs featured sharp edges that made them extremely destructive when
02:11thrown at an enemy.
02:12The Chakram is an Indian throwing weapon which dates back hundreds of years.
02:17Warrior Sikhs would throw it like a frisbee or spin it at high speeds on their fingers
02:21before launching it into the enemy.
02:23The range of a thrown Chakram has also been reported to be at least 100 meters.
02:27Meanwhile, these weapons are also easy to transport along great distances, often worn
02:31at the waist or otherwise stored discreetly while traveling.
02:34This adds an element of surprise to what's already a pretty useful tool of death.
02:38And of course, any technique could be used with Chakram for long-distance throws.
02:43Even the sidearm.
02:44Now I'm on about 15 meters.
02:49No problem at all.
02:50Number 7.
02:51Morningstar.
02:52There's only one specific design that designates a true Morningstar.
02:55I don't believe they hid it.
02:59It's the Morningstar.
03:00Instead, the term is something of a catch-all for any sort of spikeball and club combination
03:05popularized during the medieval period.
03:07These fearsome weapons certainly looked the part, inspiring trepidation and uncertainty
03:10before a battle has even begun.
03:12Is this a Morningstar?
03:13Meanwhile, the Morningstar provides its user with multiple ways of attack, from the blunt
03:17force trauma achieved via a swing or the piercing blades of the ball.
03:20The connecting chain also allowed for centrifugal force to do its dirty work, demolishing pretty
03:24much anything that got in its path.
03:26We bashed the hell out of him and he died.
03:29So we proved that they were effective against a man in armor.
03:32Well, no one's going to be that dummy, are they?
03:34No one's going to stand there and be thwacked by this just out of a bit of academic curiosity.
03:40I can't think of a way you could test this properly in a real fight situation where you're
03:45actually trying to hit the other guy.
03:47Number 6.
03:48They have us.
03:50We have a hwacha, a weapon of the enemy, not samurai.
03:55Saving our people is all that matters.
03:59You know how to fire this.
04:00I'll learn.
04:01It's mobile artillery fire for the 15th century, an organ gun designed to shoot volleys of
04:06arrows at its opponents.
04:07The hwacha was initially developed in Korea and could replace multiple archers in a single
04:11shot.
04:12The trick of the Korean hwacha is its ignition mechanism.
04:16One man can fire a hundred arrows at the same time.
04:20Its design is similar in theme to the ribaldiquin from the medieval and renaissance periods
04:24and eventually adjusted to house everything from darts to bullets.
04:26Granted, usage of the hwacha wasn't a single-soldier job, and repairs were frequently needed when
04:31transporting the weapons during conflict.
04:33That said, the ingenuity of its design cannot be denied.
04:36This is actually the coolest ancient weapon we've ever made.
04:40Number 5.
04:41Urumi.
04:42Star Wars the Acolyte didn't create the idea of a whip sword in a vacuum.
04:45They were all killed by a lightsaber.
04:47What does that tell you?
04:49Nah, the Urumi was a real-life example of this unique martial technology, a flexible
04:53sword of Indian descent.
04:55The whip blade of an Urumi could be singular or numerous, depending upon the design.
04:58Meanwhile, those brave enough to wield this weapon could see themselves seriously injured
05:02in the attempt.
05:03This was due to the ease with which the Urumi blades could double back upon the wielder.
05:08However, their slashing attack proved a difficult and confusing proposition for opponents, often
05:16breaking through even seasoned defenses.
05:18Number 4.
05:19Warscythe.
05:20The designs of many common weapons have historically been adapted from those utilized for agriculture.
05:24The classic Grim Reaper's scythe?
05:26No, no, that's not really a weapon.
05:29Though, there's a weapon that's quite similar to it that I'm going to mention later because
05:32it's not really a scythe.
05:34Scythes definitely fall under this banner.
05:37While the warscythe was a specific pole weapon that could both stab and slash during melee
05:40combat, warscythes proved particularly worthy in close quarters.
05:44While their simple design connects their history with those simpler scythes found in the fields.
05:48Well, you can actually strike with the blade, and it's a far more efficient weapon.
05:53That is what is called and known as the warscythe.
05:56Meanwhile, their versatility made warscythes a weapon that could easily be shifted in a
06:01pinch, switching from stabbing or slashing to clubbing with a turn of the wrist.
06:04The balance is light, allowing it to be a very fast weapon that you can use middle hand,
06:09long handed, or for close quarters.
06:12Your weapon will kill.
06:15Number 3.
06:16Dragon Beard Hook
06:21Don't take the name of this weapon for granted.
06:23The Dragon Beard Hook is anything but fanciful or harmless.
06:25Instead, this easily concealed weapon was used for trapping opponents from a safe distance.
06:34The serrated edges of this crescent moon hook meant that anyone entangled by a Dragon
06:38Beard Hook was not in for a good time.
06:40Those who wielded this weapon usually ensnared opponents with the Dragon Beard Hook in order
06:44to bring them closer to their sidearm or blade, yet the hooks were usually so damaging that
06:48it didn't take much for those trapped by its edges to bleed out or suffer severe injury.
06:57Number 2.
06:58Cluster Munition
06:59This is one of the few weapons on this list that remains a major worry for many battlefield
07:16occupants in the modern day.
07:18Still, Cluster Munitions are nothing new and actually date back in origin to the Second
07:21World War.
07:22German butterfly bombs cast out deadly fragmented shrapnel while modern examples of Cluster
07:27Bombs can contain anything from anti-armor munitions to incendiary devices.
07:31The real danger here is the force and radius of damage of these Cluster Bombs.
07:34They open in mid-air, dispensing hundreds of submunitions or bomblets over an area roughly
07:39the size of a football field and causing immense destruction.
07:43Meanwhile, the indiscriminate damage of their contents remains a disturbingly compelling
07:47example of modern warfare's morbid progression.
08:06Number 1.
08:07Greek Fire
08:11It was one of the most feared weapons of its day.
08:13An engineering marvel from late antiquity, Greek Fire was essentially the napalm of its
08:17time, a recipe for disaster against any who encountered it.
08:26Warriors of the Byzantine Empire would utilize Greek Fire to burn enemy ships, tossing them
08:29grenade-style or otherwise coating the water with the stuff.
08:32The Byzantine opposition tried and failed to recreate Greek Fire for their own use,
08:36although it should be said that it wasn't a perfect weapon.
08:43The heavy seas made it too dangerous to deploy, and its range couldn't compete with more traditionally
08:47minded distance weapons like arrows.
08:49Still, this liquid fire remained a marvel of the day to be sure.
08:52Which period do you feel saw the biggest advances for modern warfare?
08:55Let us know in the comments!