Do one about the slingers of Rhodes, their slings were made of leather and animal tendons. According to Xenophontes they were the only ones who's range surpassed the composite bows of the Asian peoples.
Invicta, there's something wrong with the math at 5:40 . You can't launch a projectile 400 meters at a mere 100 km/h. It'd land 80.2 meters away. You'd need 2.25 times the velocity, and a 45 degree angle.
My grandmother kept herself and her siblings fed during the great depression using a sling to kill pigeon and squirrel. She still could do it in her 60s. Rip big red.
Some points people don't often talk about when discussing slings. 1. Put into modern context a lead slug from a sling is slower but would have the same kinetic energy as a modern .38 special revolver. Not exactly overwhelming compared to a modern rifle but still more than enough to kill someone. 2. Slingers were exceptional skirmishers in loose order but weren't as good for massed volleys as archers could essentially stand shoulder to shoulder for massed fire while slingers need to be spaced out to spin the sling. An archer could also fire through a narrow slot in a defensive wall while a slinger would have to expose himself for a second or two to fire. 3. A slinger didn't have to be as strong as an archer because spinning the sling required finesse but not as much muscular development as an archer trying to draw a 100 pound draw weight war bow. This meant they could still be effective even if they were tired from hunger or from a long march. 4. When you spin a stone in a sling, when it is released, it won't go in a straight line but will continue to curve slightly as it travels. Learning to judge where to release the sling so the stone will impact at a certain range would have taken enormous experience, hence why the Balaeric islanders started training from a young age. 5. All though I haven't seen any evidence to support this idea it's interesting to note that ancient soldiers always wore greaves to protect the shins and knees while, when "3/4 armor" was used during the medieval and early Renaissance period (when slings were seldom used), they usually didn't bother with the greaves. A slung stone to the bony part of the shin or knee (insert Skyrim joke here) would have taken a infantry man out of the fight just as easily as getting a kill.
I personally wander if a person can be trained to use a sling at a later age if they had a good teacher, just like a teacher can Improve an athletes performance by analyzing what they do incorrectly and giving them pointers. Yes a person needs alot of practice but it's easier to become proficient at a skill with a teacher
Very good points, Silver John, but let me just add my own experience. I was a slinger since I was a boy, self-trained, and I think I was very good at it. I lived in the countryside, so i would go to hilltops and other places where I would not hit anybody or anything other than targets. I made my own slings with about a meter long double strings joined by a leather thong. The strings ended in a loop for one of my right-hand fingers and a nut for the right hand so I could release the stone when wished, at the proper time. As you mention, the stone travels in an arch, so it has to be released at the right time to hit the target. Now, given that targets can be farther than 400 meters, in my case, I had to practice releasing it sort of at the same time every time because it is very difficult to time it otherwise, since the target is so far. With this I mean that one moves his own body position but leaves the release timing unchanged and sees where one hits because a tiny change in timing can send the stone off the target. In other words, at short distances you need practice releasing the stone (timing it) because you can hit the target even if your timing is a bit off (kind of like a bowman at 100 meters), while at long distances you don't change the timing, you change your body stance slightly and see where you hit. I would shoot so far with stones the size of a golf ball that I would loose track of the stone and would have to listen for the impact. It was a lot of fun. I still have my sling. Maybe I have Balearic genes, lol, since I am of Spanish descent.
You should look up some of the graffiti found in Roman bath houses, a lot of it wouldn't look all that out of place in a modern internet forum. Humans really haven't changed all that much over the years.
Balearic slingers, Numidian cavalry and Iberic scutarii are probably the most famous mercenary troops from the Carthaginian army that later served as Roman auxiliary
Alexander preferred Cretan archers during his expedition in Persia. They proved to be exceptional units indeed. He would often screen them with his cavalry and then reveal them when the enemy's cavalry would charge so he could decimate their units. Crucial was the Thesalian cavalry as well. Many Hellenic city states used Thracian warriors as mercenary forces as well famed for their ferocity and their onslaught capability.
Hell, the Romans basically took the equipment of the scutarii and made it into the default equipment for their infantry. Them Iberians didn't get enough appreciation for the influence they had on the Roman army.
I always love to have some specialized regional units when i play my strat games. Gives you their expertise and another option in your army. Even us Greeks were sometimes mercenaries.
Slingers, or a Military ones, uses Crafted Sharpened Lead Pebbles, which makes the Shot from a Slinger more dangerous. If I remember Correctly, the Ammunition for Elite Slingers is often shaped like a Guitar Pick, but bulkier.
Who would win? >A soldier from the most effective military force of all time with heavy armour and exceptional training and discipline >a dude with a rock
@Bernie Rubber We're talking about a dude here with a huge shield and a javelin or two, if he (slinger) stays out of his (Roman boi) range then it might end up with a tie, unless the slinger's ammunition can actually penetrate a shield in that range.
@Bernie Rubber not at all you must remember that a roman could catch up with them as long as the roman was trained at jogging for at least 30 mins and the light units were trained at running quickly, but that is all you can't keep this running even if you are light if you are not properly trained and even so you have to slow down. That is why caesar defeated the numidians, many other generals didn't get it, but caesar did and that's why he trained his soldiers to move simultaneously, when to attack, when to chase, when to array a testudo. Even in single duel a heavy infantry can defeat the light infantry, but you have to know how
It all depends. We'll make it that they're both well fed, well rest, and in an even terrain to fight one on one. If both warriors know they are dealing with a single opponent, what is their opponent's weapons and gears, and how good are their opponent's fighting style, the heavy armoured guy might be in an upper hand considering he has a lot of experience and options. For example, knowing his opponent is a slinger he'll realize it's useless to try to fight him hand to hand since his opponent would just avoid the fight. Instead he can use other missile weapons. if that's prohibited, then he can just sheathe his sword and throw back rocks. It wouldn't be as strong as slingers but it still do serious damage to an unarmoured man. While he can keep his big shield protecting his entire body.
In Rome: Total War the Baleric slingers have a damage total of like 18 when the best archer units early in the game had something like 12. Goes to show how reputable they were
@@godking yeah but due to the missile trajectory you couldn't place Slingers behind infantry without them taking out the rear rank with every volley. Also if I'm not mistaken in the game they actually made a distinction between Baleric slingers and Rhodian Slingers which was cool.
@@alternator7893 it’s not about range it’s about trajectory, slings would shoot their projectiles quite low and thus would hit your infantry that were in front whereas archers/peltasts would shoot over
So glad someone said this. I love total war. Literally on my troy campaign with Odysseus just this morning, his entire army is specialist with javelins, slings, and archery. Love it.
Having made and used slings a bit, how I view the David vs. Goliath story is the same as the classic scene in the first Indiana Jones, where Indy just shoots the guy with a sword. It's more of a comic relief than anything else.
@@boulderbash19700209 man, didnt it break anything? I would be dead scared if i happened to be the one demonstrating the sling in gym(would happily show if it is outdoor court hehe)
Awesome, I'm also doing a comparison of real life Baleric slinger versus Roman Archers (composite bow or self wood bow). We will be testing fire rate first and if people are interested and we have the budget, then we can test shields or armour.
Ah, the sling. Probably the most underrated/overlooked weapon in history. I would very much appreciate it if movies, novels, games, comics, or whatever medium could show them for once. If you look at the enitre history of the human being, the sling has to be one of the most used weapons in history. Very easy and cheap to make, not that hard to use with decent effectiveness, and very easy to carry. A similar thing happens with the atlatl, btw.
The best ancient weapons of war are too often overlooked. The spear is very deadly on the battlefield. Add some fletching and a spear thrower (atlatl) and you've got a missile weapon that can pierce plate armor at 200 yards.
@@JamesWillmus I'm aware it's as powerful as a Longbow in a skilled wielder's hands, but as far as I know a Longbow couldn't pierce the breastplate used by the conquistadors which was built to try and resist or at least deflect musketballs from the era.
@@kingghoul2324 Actually, I do need to step back my claim a bit. Apparently, the men with Cortez mostly had lighter armor on them. Cortez himself and a half-dozen others had good plate armor, but the rest of the party were wearing mail and padded leather. The Aztecs mostly used bone points which were more than capable of piercing this lessor armor. The result was still quite devastating initially for the Spanish.
As I understand it, one of the things about recruiting troops from different places - was that these places tended to produce different kinds of troops - for a reason. The Balearic Islands didn't have a lot in the way of crops but one thing that thrives on rocky slopes - is - sheep and goats. So - they'd have their kids out there watching their flock and armed with a sling and a staff. If a wolf or some other predator - or thief - came along - the herd boy could address them with his sling. The thing was - that hardly ever happened, so mostly these kids were out there bored to tears. But - if they had a sling - they could pick up rocks and hurl them at stuff. Thus - these kids put in tremendous amounts of time with their slings - out of boredom - and as such, got very good. .
One problem I didn't mention was that slings are not that easy to use - accurately. For those who grew up on the hill sides watching their flocks - they might have ten or fifteen years (just guessing) of experience before as a young adult they'd go off to fight in someone's army. Arrows - also - required a good bit of training and there were places that required their militias to practice with their bows on a regular basis - but - the amount of experience that was required to use a bow - was much, much less than the experience those bored Sheppard Boys had gotten in their years of watching their flocks. With nothing else to do - they'd be slinging stones at Butterflies and Birds on the Wing. The thing was - if you didn't have access to slingers like that - it was easier to train bowmen. The important thing about the Cross Bow - was that you could *_AIM(!!!!!!!)_* it. That required even less training as all you had to do was look right down the body of your Cross Bow and release your dart. The thing that made the Cross Bows so deadly - wasn't their power - but - the fact that you could train and equip Cross Bow Men relatively easily. The other thing about that - is that if you lost them - Slingers were much more difficult to replace - as they mostly had to grow up with their slings. You couldn't just grab people off the street, give them a sling and expect them to do more damage to the enemy than they did to you. You could do that with a Cross Bow and a little training. Lastly, in the scenes where the two armies are fighting and one of them has slingers - that would probably not be the case. Both sides would have light troops - each doing the same job - just not necessarily with the same weapons. They might have slings or bows or javelins and their defensive protection would vary too. The first thing that would happen though - is that the light troops of both sides would engage each other. If one sides lights beat the other side and drove them off - then - they could missile the shit out of the other guys main force before their own main force engaged it. Because of the light troops trying to missile each other - they tended to have relatively open formations - which also let them try and dodge the enemy's missiles. The problem with that - was that Cavalry could just sweep through them like a lawn mower. So - you didn't want your light troops to be to far out and away from your main body. That way - if they were threatened by Cavalry - they could run back (possibly thru) their main body and be protected by them. They could then - if they could target them - launch their missiles over the heads of their main body as the main body put the butt end of their spears to the ground and put a foot on them - pointing a mini forest of pointy objects at the horses - who knew what pointy objects were ... and were not inclined to impale themselves on them. Each part of an ancient army had it's role to play and using each part to advantage while mitigating it's weaknesses was what generalship was all about. .
@@sukaira9334 I had forgotten that I'd watched this video and watched it again. Then I noticed the old comment, re-read it - and realized that there were some things I'd left out. .
@@prestonpierce6360 The thing was - it wasn't that slingers couldn't be accurate - it's just that they needed more time with the sling than an archer needed with a bow. to get that way. .
I am from the Balearic islands and in some schools, you get to learn how to make your own slingshot from ropes, great fun! Also thanks for this video! It's amazing seeing your people get recognized! I'd love to see an Iberian units video with the mighty falcata! Cheers!
“For Pompey’s Backside!” “Take this!” “Be lodged well!” “Fruit for Dessert!” “This is a Hard Nut to Crack!” “Here’s a sugar plum for you!” And I am pretty sure that considering the general shape and size of bullets, some probably had jokes about testicles...
How it it cringey. Them mofos killing people with the stones might always have more fun and put humor into it. It won’t be cringey when you get hit with it
Had Goliath realized that kids who had to watch their families’ herds and flocks would spend their time practicing slinging stones, he would have remembered he had an appointment at his hairdresser.
@@jamesreuben5430 you are so dumb it hurts, almost every woman I have been on a date with, and there have been quite a few, has expected me to pay the bill wherever we go, and the ones that didn't make a fuss over it showed body language of resentment over the fact they paid money.
I was raised in Ibiza, from the Balearic Islands. And one of the activities we did in middle school consisted on crafting our own sling with hay straws. They showed us how to shoot like those ancient slingers: spinning it sideways instead of over the head. It was disappointing to be shooting only tennis balls. But seeing how we sucked, they made the correct decision. Pd: I hated the strong smell of the hay. Pd2: I bet that our counterparts from Rhodes sucked even more. Hohohoh!!
The “Catch this” and “Ouch” phrases reminded me of the things bomber crews used to write on their bombs before missions in WWII. It really is interesting to know that as history progresses, some things don’t change.
Here are my predictions: Cretan Archers, Numidian Cavalry, Macedonian Phalangite, Thracian Peltast, Arab Mubarzin (Champions), various Steppe people w/ Horse Archery. Invicta has already done multiple videos on the Polybian legion from back when he was TBHE productions so I don't see that happening.
@@TheSunderingSea the arab mubarzin isn't different from other units they are people who voluntered to fight the other army champions , they arent a unit but a culture practice
When I was a kid we would go visit family in Mexico once a year for 3 weeks. Several of my cousins growing up on the ranch used leather slings for herding livestock and for defense. They were very accurate.
Fascinating. I've been reading about Balearic slingers for 40-plus years in the accounts of ancient authors. It's nice to be able to put facts behind those passing references. Very well done; many thanks.
I am from Mallorca (Balearic Islands) thanks for this amazing and enlightening video. We have always heard of the slingers but I had never seen such a detailed a great video on the topic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Take care.
I've been slinging most of my life , it's super fun to do with friends ,almost anyone who tries it loves it . It's really really easy to learn to make and use one ,. The caveat being that learning to hit anything smaller than a barn is a longgg process , but I highly recommend it .
Def was a fun thing to use and had no idea until much latter what they were used historically for. But i def got very good at picking off small objects with the thing and you learn timing.
I agree, it is a blast- but I had to go a long way outside the city to practice. Even using a tennis ball, there is still a fairly long time before you can be reasonably certain just at what angle it is going to pop out...
@@leeviajero2716 also it never occurred to me to try to use a large non lethal object like a tennis ball.. lol that seems rather big . But I'm gonna make a new sling and try it . Coincidentally golf balls are amazing to use , but they tend to fuuuuck up whatever they hit.
When you are told, "Good night Wesly. Good work. Sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning.", everyday, of course you have to get better at whatever you do
Even to this day, the Balearic slinger continues to hone his skills in the multiple battle fields of the grand slams. Its most prominent figure, Rafael Nadal, reaching throw speeds of more than 200 km/h.
I would love to see a video on the "black riders," a variety of German mercenaries from the 17th century, specifically deployed as mounted, armored pistoliers. The 17th century represents a bizarre transition between traditional and modern warfare, and the image of the black rider really embodies that.
He primarily got them because he was afraid of the Gallic slingers he was encountering. Especially those from the Nervii, who almost torched one of his forts because they were launching red-hot clay slingstones. So of course if you can't beat them in the rock throwing game. Then you Get the best rock throwers. Cue the Balearics, who not only like throwing lead for long distance barrages, they can also yeet fuck-off huge stones at frightening velocities too.
Evolve Project Julius Caesar wrote a book. It is called De Bello Gallico - or Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. It is one of the most famous books from antiquity. Caesar describes his entire campaign in Gaul - almost no such books exist in history from the commander in a war. A confederation of Belgic tribes raised a massive Army to drive the Romans out of Gaul in the second year of the war. Caesar marched to confront them. During the Battle of Axona, the Belgae tried to out flank Caesar. They had to cross the Axona ( the modern Aisne River) Caesar sent Calvary and light troops, including slingers to repulse them. These troops succeeded in slaughtering the Belgae as they forded the river. You can buy Caesar’s can book on Amazon. This battle is described in book chapter 2.7 to 2.11. It is a great book. You will enjoy reading it. Of course get the English translation unless you can read Latin!
Really, really fascinating! I’ve always imagined a sling in David vs Goliath, as a slingshot, but that never really made much sense to me. This however, is very plausible to me. So interesting
Just like the Numidian cavalry, Immortals or war elephants, the Balearic slingers were pretty good troops in a game from my youth: Praetorians. Thank you for the clips.
Googled out of curiousity. Holy shit, i played that when i was like 6, i remember i got the gamespy demo when that was all the rage. Thank you, i have actually been looking for it.
I'm so glad so many of you used to play and still love that game. One thing I always loved of that game was exploiting archers to burn villages down from a hill or forest as to cripple the AI's manpower.
Another thing to note, is that a sling in the right hands also has significantly more kinetic energy and momentum than can be achieved with bows (Yes even a 160lb Longbow). Coupled with much less strain, one can also sling full-power all day without any immediate or long term injury (In my experience anyway).
That is comically not true. Maybe more Kinetic energy at short range but "momentum", amusing you mean "speed" of a sling is comically low compared to a long or composite bow. Also while they have a very debatable maximum range of 400 meters, they effective range was much shorter. Composite bows and longbows have a much longer effective range. They stuck around a lot longer in the west than in the Middle East due to the composite bow not existing in the west. By the fall of Rome they were basically being outclasses by other ranged weapon and armour.
@@pyrolight7568 Luis Pons Livermore (one of the best slingers around) can sling over 250J, while an arrow loosed by Joe Gibbs with a 160lb longbow comes in ~130J. The stones Luis usually slings are around 250g, where as english war arrows come in at ~90g. Momentum for the warbow is about 5kgm/s, where as the slung stone is ~13kgm/s. Velocities of the sling are about ~60-100m/s with lead projectiles. 400m is actually a conservative estimate when using lead projectiles and I think most slingers can achieve that with practice. I've personally thrown glandes 300-350y (rough estimate) with a 27" sling, and I can see how a 36" would do a lot better. Sling projectiles spin stabalise point first, and have less drag than arrows (especially lead ones). Even stones have an effective range up to about ~250m. War-bows with war arrows simply cannot keep up with the sling in terms of terminal kinetic energy and momentum (at any range). The reasons behind the decline of use in warfare are entirely different.
To follow that up with a historical example, when the Ten Thousand were trying to make their way home from Persia they were harassed by Persian archers. To counter them, the Greeks had their Rhodian hoplites fight as slingers, since they were also trained at that.They were able to keep the enemy archers away by outranging them with, I can only presume, sufficient accuracy to prevent them from wanting to come closer.
Let’s learn about the greatest infantry unit of all time. EASTERN INFANTRYMEN. By far the unit with the best morale and definitely won’t break against peasants.
Ahh we've never changed have we? Writing messages like the picture of a ww2 soldier with a 'Happy Easter Hitler!' artillery shell to writing that on their sling bullets. I love this.
Such a good idea for a video! This was a CRUCIAL part of war in Antiquity, and yet I never put much thought into it before this, beyond "they learned to sling by herding sheep!" Thanks for broadening our horizons once again!
Slung him in the forehead then used the time he was stunned (as one does when processing the fact they got smacked in the head with a rock) David cut his head off with Goliaths own sword.
After recuting a patch, you need to wait like 8 turns for new units to show up. Also, if you play as Egypt or Gaul (Foresster warband FTW) or other factions with long range archer then you don't need them. The ones really need them are local Greek factions with terrible archer and Roman factions (not remember whether archer auxillaries get long range or not). through as Seleucid, you don't really need to use archers
Well, i just modded eastern archer for Seleucid as they should have access to them Also adding Balearic into Carthage roster. Didn't realize they were exclusive unit at the time
I've actually done a quite a bit of slinging myself, and Ive used the Balearic slinging method as well (which is kinda behind the back and helicoptering over your right shoulder). The rotations are done pretty slowly actually and only have two purposes, 1. making sure the bullet/Rock is seated 2. Aiming. Good slingers don't make a full rotation, instead you're trying to get as much of a whip as you can. This can really be seen in the Apache slinging method which I refer to as the Trebuchet throw.
I use the slings often. I have also improvised on in the use of throwing a spear, without using an atalatl thrower. There's so much in use of slings. I'm still trying to learn the earliest origins and first recorded use of it. This was an interesting video.
Play fighter not ranger. Take archery fighting style. Go human variant and take sharpshooter at first level. Then take battle master or eldritch knight. If eldritch knight and intelligence is high enough take magic stone as a cantrip. If battle master with high intelligence take magic initiate at 4th level and take magic stone and find familiar. Familiar can use the help action to distract a target for advantage. Ranger hunter with sharp shooter would also be great though. Horde breaker makes it worth it. And multiclass into rogue for sneak attack.
Excellent presentation as usual ! This very important aspect of ancient warfare does not get mentioned often in most historical documentaries. Good references, clear explanations, and many different highly complementary aspects covered in a concrete and precise manner ! Gratias maximas INVICTA !
I took up the sling after reading a piece about the Balearics. My first target was actually (I'm not kidding) a barn wall. I eventually got to the point where I could hit a beer can at about 75 feet, before I gave it up for other purposes. I still have a few slings around, and found I had made different lengths for experiments and distance throwing. Initial ones were of braided cotton cord, with a leather pouch for the stones. Later ones were of hemp cord, which was more resistant to getting wet.
I'm so happy to see how far this channel has come and is thriving. I can't even remember right now what the channel was named before. Very happy for you, keep it up! One other thing: 7:09 Can this not be because they learnt (the practical version of) aerodynamics? Golf balls have indents in them so the wind/air will drag (yes, drag :) or push, if you want to push it) it further and thus gives it further range.
But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, "And I went after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I cought it by its beard, and struck it and killed it. -1 Samuel 17:38 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. -1 Samuel 17:49-50
If Goliath was a giant, he probably had gigantism - a benign tumor on pituitary gland that results in growth hormone release unrestricted. It causes headaches and often leads to blindness. (Or at least poor eyesight) Giants were rarely healthy after age 25-30. I hate the History channel and Discovery channel shite they put out now but that's where I first learned this. I verified it independently, confirming it's a very feasible scenario. Likely even. David was a sniper and it won him a legendary Kingdom.
The great thing about a sling is that it's a piece of string and a piece of leather. Portability, concealability, as well as manufacturability are unmatched
The food story is this: The mother take a piece of bread and put it on a stick in the ground, and tall the children that whom knock it, can take it. It's not for every meal, it's more like a game for a treat.
I heard it was not allowing them to eat it until they had knocked it off. Or as Strabo says, explicitly in "Geography (Book III, Chapter5)": "I say, or of hair or of sinews: the sling with the long straps for the shots at short range, and the medium sling for the medium shots. And their training in the use of slings used to be such, from childhood up, that they would not so much as give bread to their children unless they first hit it with the sling." Then again, he was probably repeating what others had told him, and was not a first hand witness.
Antifa are a bunch of jerks who prey on people's ignorance and amplify the divides in the country to cause instability so they can hurt people their underdeveloped moral compass allows them to. If they "won" they would have to cause massive suffering for people to then "See what they meant". The mean's create the mean's, and anytime you hurt another person or impose your will onto them it makes society a worse off place. That goes for the government also. Both sides have flaws and knowledge and wisdom applied correctly in place of fighting can bring about a lasting change!
@@maarten9272 I don't even know what he wants, he must have no clue and think my profile picture refers to antifa which is downright stupid. It represents left unity but I agree this is no place for politics...
Don't forget, even Alexander the great of macedon also used these so called slingers as well and the unit called "peltast", he used them in support of the cavalry at the battle of gaugamela , you guys can check those out as well
This was an excellent, interesting, and informative lesson from history that I’ve never heard. Even in private school, where ancient history was very focused on.
Interestingly structured compilation of historical facts pertaining to the Balearic Slingers. They're always mentioned in Roman Texts & are referred to in the Greek Histories.
@right right while a lot of people don't believe in the religious aspects of the Bible , historians do use it to get a look at Israeli/Jewish history because a lot of the events and wars in it did happen.
Here's an interesting question worth talking about. Which/Who was better? The Rhodian or Balearic Slingers? And as far as units from history. I'd love to see a video on either the Varangian Guard or maybe the Viking Berserkers.
0:23 can you give me the source for that? i can throw at 100km/h with my arm as a 28 year old adult that skipped rocks on beaches as a kid, and when im slinging, i can approach 400km/h. can you tell me where you saw this 100km/h number? its a misconception im very curious about.
5:40 the ballistic trajectory of an object moving at 100km/h has a physical hard limit of about 100m distance. 400m distance would require about 250km/h launch velocity, which is more along the lines of what slingers would loose their projectiles in anger at.
someone got their figures wrong :-) The distance is actually erring on the short side. With a lead glande and a favourable terrain 500m metres is achievable. Unfortunately we've never been able to do proper record attempts with lead - mainly because a lead glande hitting ground drills it's way really deep. Finding them after throwing is damn near impossible.
inb4 someone brings up that guy who misconstrued translations of translations to push his theory that Goliath was blind. Raiders of the Lost Ark is an apt comparison.
@Derreck Jones A sling exerts the same amount of force as .38 revolver. Golaith thought he was the shit as he was big and powerful why David had a weapon that was equivalent to a gun and had range on goliath.
I can see why the Romans adopted the slingers. It was a Greek historian that said that Roman slingers (during late Republic or imperial time) can shoot projectiles over 400 meters and the best ones can shoot 600 meters. A war sling was about as powerful as a 45 gun today! And Slingers were use well up into the 16th century! There's also in Spanish account where a Slinger killed a war horse!
Spartan hoplites were pretty good slingers too. And their bronze hoplons were pretty tough. Ask the romans. Who became swiss cheese after meeting the balears...
All the videos and readings I have come upon, they never explained how the sling never slipped from their hands when firing the bullet. I had assumed, but was not sure about the loop around a finger or wrist. Good to actually hear of it, thank you.
My younger brother has gotten himself pretty good with a sling. He has tried all sorts of ammo types and sling materials aswel as length. I can personally attest to the fact that these things are deadly.
I'm from the Balearic Islands, and my grandfather (87 years old) told me that his father would put the breakfast on a tree, and told him that he could eat it when he tossed it from the tree with a sling.
Learning to sling with any degree of accuracy is an extremely long process, regardless of how proficient you are with other missile equipment, so requires patience and lots of practice, but, as is said, _practice makes perfect._
I imagine slings are underappreciated in part due to modern games like DnD. Slings are always just basic starter weapons that you upgrade away from as soon as possible.
That is hilarious “‘Catch this’ or ‘ouch’”. I love that humanity has always managed to maintain the same sense of humor. When he first said they had inscription my first thought was that.
7:35 “These messages could be used to demoralize occupants of fortifications.” Ancient Man 1: They’re throwing rocks in here with messages! AM 2: What does it say? AM 1: ‘Ouch’... AM 2: Darn. They got us.
![Avenging Varus - The Germanic Wars [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZyzY4ayG8R4/mqdefault.jpg)
Check out our growing series on the famous Units of History: th-cam.com/play/PLkOo_Hy3liEJczxw5jzPHdUBiej_VZC8z.html
Do one about the slingers of Rhodes, their slings were made of leather and animal tendons. According to Xenophontes they were the only ones who's range surpassed the composite bows of the Asian peoples.
Invicta, there's something wrong with the math at 5:40 . You can't launch a projectile 400 meters at a mere 100 km/h. It'd land 80.2 meters away. You'd need 2.25 times the velocity, and a 45 degree angle.
@@vanivanov9571 remember the projectile might glide
@@vanivanov9571 thanks I believe I got the speed figure wrong here
@Invicta
One of the videos on that list shows up to me as a "private video" and I can't view it. Is that intentional?
My grandmother kept herself and her siblings fed during the great depression using a sling to kill pigeon and squirrel. She still could do it in her 60s. Rip big red.
Wow. Unusual anecdote. Thanks.
Incredible grandma
She started by the age of five if my memory is still good.
Learn it buddy, pass it on
What a Stacey.
Some points people don't often talk about when discussing slings.
1. Put into modern context a lead slug from a sling is slower but would have the same kinetic energy as a modern .38 special revolver. Not exactly overwhelming compared to a modern rifle but still more than enough to kill someone.
2. Slingers were exceptional skirmishers in loose order but weren't as good for massed volleys as archers could essentially stand shoulder to shoulder for massed fire while slingers need to be spaced out to spin the sling. An archer could also fire through a narrow slot in a defensive wall while a slinger would have to expose himself for a second or two to fire.
3. A slinger didn't have to be as strong as an archer because spinning the sling required finesse but not as much muscular development as an archer trying to draw a 100 pound draw weight war bow. This meant they could still be effective even if they were tired from hunger or from a long march.
4. When you spin a stone in a sling, when it is released, it won't go in a straight line but will continue to curve slightly as it travels. Learning to judge where to release the sling so the stone will impact at a certain range would have taken enormous experience, hence why the Balaeric islanders started training from a young age.
5. All though I haven't seen any evidence to support this idea it's interesting to note that ancient soldiers always wore greaves to protect the shins and knees while, when "3/4 armor" was used during the medieval and early Renaissance period (when slings were seldom used), they usually didn't bother with the greaves. A slung stone to the bony part of the shin or knee (insert Skyrim joke here) would have taken a infantry man out of the fight just as easily as getting a kill.
Interesting
I personally wander if a person can be trained to use a sling at a later age if they had a good teacher, just like a teacher can Improve an athletes performance by analyzing what they do incorrectly and giving them pointers. Yes a person needs alot of practice but it's easier to become proficient at a skill with a teacher
I wish this was in the video. Very informative man :)
Very good points, Silver John, but let me just add my own experience. I was a slinger since I was a boy, self-trained, and I think I was very good at it. I lived in the countryside, so i would go to hilltops and other places where I would not hit anybody or anything other than targets. I made my own slings with about a meter long double strings joined by a leather thong. The strings ended in a loop for one of my right-hand fingers and a nut for the right hand so I could release the stone when wished, at the proper time. As you mention, the stone travels in an arch, so it has to be released at the right time to hit the target. Now, given that targets can be farther than 400 meters, in my case, I had to practice releasing it sort of at the same time every time because it is very difficult to time it otherwise, since the target is so far. With this I mean that one moves his own body position but leaves the release timing unchanged and sees where one hits because a tiny change in timing can send the stone off the target. In other words, at short distances you need practice releasing the stone (timing it) because you can hit the target even if your timing is a bit off (kind of like a bowman at 100 meters), while at long distances you don't change the timing, you change your body stance slightly and see where you hit. I would shoot so far with stones the size of a golf ball that I would loose track of the stone and would have to listen for the impact. It was a lot of fun. I still have my sling. Maybe I have Balearic genes, lol, since I am of Spanish descent.
.. then I took a lead ball to the knee !
I'm so happy we live in a world where this type of content is freely available, and is becoming increasingly popular.
Just letting you know, don’t take all these history videos as fact but more of a depiction of what we believe things were like in ancient times.
Yes I enjoy videos like this a lot 😂
Hopefully one day people watch this instead of tic tok dancing and self absorbed narcissists staring at themselves.
@pondteal no shit huh? I tried going back to school and so many classes were a waste of time. They are mostly selling a paper degree at this point.
The Emperor said learn for the job you want.
"Not as clumsy or random as a bow; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”
The Stone Age. 🥁
General Kenobi
Would love Ahoy doing videos on more ancient weapons (other than the bow)
Legatus Kenobi
Hello there
I love the fact that even back then we were writing funny messages on our projectiles.
Yes, same here :)
You should look up some of the graffiti found in Roman bath houses, a lot of it wouldn't look all that out of place in a modern internet forum. Humans really haven't changed all that much over the years.
Balearic slingers, Numidian cavalry and Iberic scutarii are probably the most famous mercenary troops from the Carthaginian army that later served as Roman auxiliary
Alexander preferred Cretan archers during his expedition in Persia. They proved to be exceptional units indeed. He would often screen them with his cavalry and then reveal them when the enemy's cavalry would charge so he could decimate their units.
Crucial was the Thesalian cavalry as well.
Many Hellenic city states used Thracian warriors as mercenary forces as well famed for their ferocity and their onslaught capability.
Hell, the Romans basically took the equipment of the scutarii and made it into the default equipment for their infantry. Them Iberians didn't get enough appreciation for the influence they had on the Roman army.
But not the most numerous. Hannibal's Gallic soldiers probably outnumbered these many times over
I always love to have some specialized regional units when i play my strat games. Gives you their expertise and another option in your army. Even us Greeks were sometimes mercenaries.
@@shaolindreams Famously so. Greeks fought on both sides of the Greco-Persian conflicts after all
The virgin sharpened steel blade crafted by the best blacksmiths vs the Chad rock
Slingers, or a Military ones, uses Crafted Sharpened Lead Pebbles, which makes the Shot from a Slinger more dangerous.
If I remember Correctly, the Ammunition for Elite Slingers is often shaped like a Guitar Pick, but bulkier.
Only cowards fight at a distance. Real men get in real close in GLORIOUS MELEE
@Klaidi Rubiku And by roman chads you know, like Biggus Dikus, Naughtious Maximus.
O U C H
@@ashina2146 lead ammo for slings look more like an egg sized american football, they are called "glandes"(testicles) for a reason...
Who would win?
>A soldier from the most effective military force of all time with heavy armour and exceptional training and discipline
>a dude with a rock
Classic case of David vs Goliath.
Ye, read the Bible
@Bernie Rubber We're talking about a dude here with a huge shield and a javelin or two, if he (slinger) stays out of his (Roman boi) range then it might end up with a tie, unless the slinger's ammunition can actually penetrate a shield in that range.
@Bernie Rubber not at all you must remember that a roman could catch up with them as long as the roman was trained at jogging for at least 30 mins and the light units were trained at running quickly, but that is all you can't keep this running even if you are light if you are not properly trained and even so you have to slow down. That is why caesar defeated the numidians, many other generals didn't get it, but caesar did and that's why he trained his soldiers to move simultaneously, when to attack, when to chase, when to array a testudo. Even in single duel a heavy infantry can defeat the light infantry, but you have to know how
It all depends. We'll make it that they're both well fed, well rest, and in an even terrain to fight one on one.
If both warriors know they are dealing with a single opponent, what is their opponent's weapons and gears, and how good are their opponent's fighting style, the heavy armoured guy might be in an upper hand considering he has a lot of experience and options. For example, knowing his opponent is a slinger he'll realize it's useless to try to fight him hand to hand since his opponent would just avoid the fight. Instead he can use other missile weapons. if that's prohibited, then he can just sheathe his sword and throw back rocks. It wouldn't be as strong as slingers but it still do serious damage to an unarmoured man. While he can keep his big shield protecting his entire body.
In Rome: Total War the Baleric slingers have a damage total of like 18 when the best archer units early in the game had something like 12. Goes to show how reputable they were
Baleric slingers and cretan archers where the best long range units to have
@@godking yeah but due to the missile trajectory you couldn't place Slingers behind infantry without them taking out the rear rank with every volley.
Also if I'm not mistaken in the game they actually made a distinction between Baleric slingers and Rhodian Slingers which was cool.
@@Baseballnfj that’s funny and ironic considering that a sling has a longer range than a bow irl.
@@alternator7893 it’s not about range it’s about trajectory, slings would shoot their projectiles quite low and thus would hit your infantry that were in front whereas archers/peltasts would shoot over
So glad someone said this. I love total war. Literally on my troy campaign with Odysseus just this morning, his entire army is specialist with javelins, slings, and archery. Love it.
Billy the Kid: I'm a gun slinger.
Balearic the Kid: Why would you throw your gun away?
Lol, the poor and fool Billy
@@Cleeon Be kind. He’s just a kid.
@@Daniel_Fo77 hmm... Sure. Now, i want to watch one of Billy the kid movie
@@Cleeon Check out Old Henry
@@estradamurcielgo175 ok, thank you, will check it 🙂
Poor Goliath, still humiliated after getting killed by a lethal weapon
The proud belong on the ground with their face planted.
Having made and used slings a bit, how I view the David vs. Goliath story is the same as the classic scene in the first Indiana Jones, where Indy just shoots the guy with a sword. It's more of a comic relief than anything else.
My elementary teacher once showed us a sling. She used tennis ball for the bullet and threw it accross basketball field. The children were "Wooaah.."
@@boulderbash19700209 man, didnt it break anything? I would be dead scared if i happened to be the one demonstrating the sling in gym(would happily show if it is outdoor court hehe)
@@junhyunglee6744 It's just tennis ball, it won't break anything in gym. I guess it would hurt if it hit right in the face though😓
Awesome, I'm also doing a comparison of real life Baleric slinger versus Roman Archers (composite bow or self wood bow). We will be testing fire rate first and if people are interested and we have the budget, then we can test shields or armour.
Shameless plug.... But yes I am interested
@@drewfranko3352 I don't think it's shameless it's pretty related to the subject not just some random post on something completely unrelated
Todd's workshop is doing and has already done a lot of testing with historical archery. His stuff focuses on medieval times period though.
I'm looking forward to the sling test. Do you have a few types of slings?
Dimes On His Eyes yes Tod does but he only mostly does medieval European archery . I prefer every period of history
Balearians then: Throws epic stones
Balearians now: Throws epic parties
Throws epic parties, while stoned
Wait u mean the 17th state of germany?
Ye we throw epic parties
@@lunaschibor5 as long as you let us overcharge you with the drinks prices, you are welcome in here!
Balearics were awesome when they weren't poisoned with liberalism.
@@scintillam_dei wtf that even mean
Ah, the sling. Probably the most underrated/overlooked weapon in history. I would very much appreciate it if movies, novels, games, comics, or whatever medium could show them for once. If you look at the enitre history of the human being, the sling has to be one of the most used weapons in history. Very easy and cheap to make, not that hard to use with decent effectiveness, and very easy to carry. A similar thing happens with the atlatl, btw.
The best ancient weapons of war are too often overlooked. The spear is very deadly on the battlefield. Add some fletching and a spear thrower (atlatl) and you've got a missile weapon that can pierce plate armor at 200 yards.
@@JamesWillmus I think you're severely underestimating the effectiveness of plate armor.
@@kingghoul2324 considering the Spanish themselves admitted as much, no I don't think I am. An atlatl hits with at least as much force as a longbow.
@@JamesWillmus I'm aware it's as powerful as a Longbow in a skilled wielder's hands, but as far as I know a Longbow couldn't pierce the breastplate used by the conquistadors which was built to try and resist or at least deflect musketballs from the era.
@@kingghoul2324 Actually, I do need to step back my claim a bit. Apparently, the men with Cortez mostly had lighter armor on them. Cortez himself and a half-dozen others had good plate armor, but the rest of the party were wearing mail and padded leather. The Aztecs mostly used bone points which were more than capable of piercing this lessor armor. The result was still quite devastating initially for the Spanish.
As I understand it, one of the things about recruiting troops from different places - was that these places tended to produce different kinds of troops - for a reason. The Balearic Islands didn't have a lot in the way of crops but one thing that thrives on rocky slopes - is - sheep and goats. So - they'd have their kids out there watching their flock and armed with a sling and a staff. If a wolf or some other predator - or thief - came along - the herd boy could address them with his sling. The thing was - that hardly ever happened, so mostly these kids were out there bored to tears. But - if they had a sling - they could pick up rocks and hurl them at stuff. Thus - these kids put in tremendous amounts of time with their slings - out of boredom - and as such, got very good.
.
One problem I didn't mention was that slings are not that easy to use - accurately. For those who grew up on the hill sides watching their flocks - they might have ten or fifteen years (just guessing) of experience before as a young adult they'd go off to fight in someone's army.
Arrows - also - required a good bit of training and there were places that required their militias to practice with their bows on a regular basis - but - the amount of experience that was required to use a bow - was much, much less than the experience those bored Sheppard Boys had gotten in their years of watching their flocks. With nothing else to do - they'd be slinging stones at Butterflies and Birds on the Wing.
The thing was - if you didn't have access to slingers like that - it was easier to train bowmen.
The important thing about the Cross Bow - was that you could *_AIM(!!!!!!!)_* it. That required even less training as all you had to do was look right down the body of your Cross Bow and release your dart. The thing that made the Cross Bows so deadly - wasn't their power - but - the fact that you could train and equip Cross Bow Men relatively easily.
The other thing about that - is that if you lost them - Slingers were much more difficult to replace - as they mostly had to grow up with their slings. You couldn't just grab people off the street, give them a sling and expect them to do more damage to the enemy than they did to you. You could do that with a Cross Bow and a little training.
Lastly, in the scenes where the two armies are fighting and one of them has slingers - that would probably not be the case. Both sides would have light troops - each doing the same job - just not necessarily with the same weapons. They might have slings or bows or javelins and their defensive protection would vary too. The first thing that would happen though - is that the light troops of both sides would engage each other. If one sides lights beat the other side and drove them off - then - they could missile the shit out of the other guys main force before their own main force engaged it.
Because of the light troops trying to missile each other - they tended to have relatively open formations - which also let them try and dodge the enemy's missiles. The problem with that - was that Cavalry could just sweep through them like a lawn mower. So - you didn't want your light troops to be to far out and away from your main body. That way - if they were threatened by Cavalry - they could run back (possibly thru) their main body and be protected by them. They could then - if they could target them - launch their missiles over the heads of their main body as the main body put the butt end of their spears to the ground and put a foot on them - pointing a mini forest of pointy objects at the horses - who knew what pointy objects were ... and were not inclined to impale themselves on them.
Each part of an ancient army had it's role to play and using each part to advantage while mitigating it's weaknesses was what generalship was all about.
.
@@BobSmith-dk8nw might I ask, what made you come back to this comment a year later?
@@sukaira9334 I had forgotten that I'd watched this video and watched it again. Then I noticed the old comment, re-read it - and realized that there were some things I'd left out.
.
@@BobSmith-dk8nw Beautifully said the sling was an amazing weapon, but you just can't beat accuracy at the end of the day.
@@prestonpierce6360 The thing was - it wasn't that slingers couldn't be accurate - it's just that they needed more time with the sling than an archer needed with a bow. to get that way.
.
I'm from Menorca and in school we'd craft a sling and shoot tennis balls w it. Fun times.
Does the malorican females prefer the better shooter too?
@@molybdaen11 Menorca not Mallorca
@@molybdaen11 That's actually really cool, tell me more!
S'han de conservar les tradicions xD
I am from Menorca too, and I did the same thing :)
I am from the Balearic islands and in some schools, you get to learn how to make your own slingshot from ropes, great fun! Also thanks for this video! It's amazing seeing your people get recognized! I'd love to see an Iberian units video with the mighty falcata! Cheers!
@@MrAlvareishon slingshots are something different than a sling.
You should've seen what they wrote on these "slingstones". Quite hillarious / cringy stuff. Like "Feel on that one", "Say hey to Hades for me". Etc.
“For Pompey’s Backside!”
“Take this!”
“Be lodged well!”
“Fruit for Dessert!”
“This is a Hard Nut to Crack!”
“Here’s a sugar plum for you!”
And I am pretty sure that considering the general shape and size of bullets, some probably had jokes about testicles...
Soldiers may have been bitter enemies, complete opposites, but boy did they always have the best messed up humor
How it it cringey. Them mofos killing people with the stones might always have more fun and put humor into it. It won’t be cringey when you get hit with it
@@kawikalavin8353 Imagine the archeologist reading it 3000 years later, laughing at it
Goliath got the one said "Yahweh said hi"
Had Goliath realized that kids who had to watch their families’ herds and flocks would spend their time practicing slinging stones, he would have remembered he had an appointment at his hairdresser.
> fought naked
> spent 100% of money on women and booze
> wrote "ouch!" on projectiles
I think we found Chad's ancestors
The "ouch" is from Greeks. Specifically Rhodian slingers. We found also words like "take that" etc from them too.
@BarryHallSack everyone spends money on women either directly or indirectly
@@Graymenn Most women can take care of themselves dude. If a bitch scams u that's ur problem
@@jamesreuben5430 you are so dumb it hurts, almost every woman I have been on a date with, and there have been quite a few, has expected me to pay the bill wherever we go, and the ones that didn't make a fuss over it showed body language of resentment over the fact they paid money.
@@jamesreuben5430 not to mention your tax dollars going toward abortions, birth control pills, and maxi pads.... fool
I was raised in Ibiza, from the Balearic Islands. And one of the activities we did in middle school consisted on crafting our own sling with hay straws.
They showed us how to shoot like those ancient slingers: spinning it sideways instead of over the head.
It was disappointing to be shooting only tennis balls. But seeing how we sucked, they made the correct decision.
Pd: I hated the strong smell of the hay.
Pd2: I bet that our counterparts from Rhodes sucked even more. Hohohoh!!
But did you get the lunch anyway?
Socio ya quisiera yo que me hubiesen enseñado en el colegio guerrilla clasica de primera mano en vez del course navette.
@@mistakebustedcondomjohnson6736 No se yo.
Tuve esa honda durante años y siempre siguió oliendo igual de mal que el primer dia.
Venga Boys
You guys should televise an annual dodgeball slinger game using the tennis balls, make it 50 vs 50, Ibiza vs Rhodes
The “Catch this” and “Ouch” phrases reminded me of the things bomber crews used to write on their bombs before missions in WWII. It really is interesting to know that as history progresses, some things don’t change.
"War, war never changes."
Balearic Pilots... with a Spanish Plane ✈️: Slinger Class haha 🤣
They should write on the bomb take home to mama crack with big hammer edible.
@Catch_Me_If_You_Can noice
The next soldiers from history you should do the auxiliary syrian archers for Rome
Yes i would love to see thoese heavey armored archers, they had armor matching inf or in some cases better
I think the Cretan archers are way more famous and so probably would be covered before
Here are my predictions: Cretan Archers, Numidian Cavalry, Macedonian Phalangite, Thracian Peltast, Arab Mubarzin (Champions), various Steppe people w/ Horse Archery. Invicta has already done multiple videos on the Polybian legion from back when he was TBHE productions so I don't see that happening.
@Klaidi Rubiku yes nubians were bow masters since the ancient egyptian time , they were a king bodyguard even
@@TheSunderingSea the arab mubarzin isn't different from other units they are people who voluntered to fight the other army champions , they arent a unit but a culture practice
When I was a kid we would go visit family in Mexico once a year for 3 weeks. Several of my cousins growing up on the ranch used leather slings for herding livestock and for defense. They were very accurate.
Fascinating. I've been reading about Balearic slingers for 40-plus years in the accounts of ancient authors. It's nice to be able to put facts behind those passing references. Very well done; many thanks.
I am from Mallorca (Balearic Islands) thanks for this amazing and enlightening video. We have always heard of the slingers but I had never seen such a detailed a great video on the topic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Take care.
I've been slinging most of my life , it's super fun to do with friends ,almost anyone who tries it loves it . It's really really easy to learn to make and use one ,. The caveat being that learning to hit anything smaller than a barn is a longgg process , but I highly recommend it .
Def was a fun thing to use and had no idea until much latter what they were used historically for. But i def got very good at picking off small objects with the thing and you learn timing.
I agree, it is a blast- but I had to go a long way outside the city to practice. Even using a tennis ball, there is still a fairly long time before you can be reasonably certain just at what angle it is going to pop out...
@@leeviajero2716 lol oh yeah .. you definitely do need quite a bit of area to use it .. I just took living near the woods for granted I guess .
@@leeviajero2716 also it never occurred to me to try to use a large non lethal object like a tennis ball.. lol that seems rather big . But I'm gonna make a new sling and try it . Coincidentally golf balls are amazing to use , but they tend to fuuuuck up whatever they hit.
When you are told, "Good night Wesly. Good work. Sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning.", everyday, of course you have to get better at whatever you do
When you trained for 20 years just to become an expert swordman/spearman
And you just got hit by a rock on your first battle
its more like 8 month's
Similar to pirrus of epirus.
@Hoàng Nguyên the far eastern crossbow was invented in China.
Granted, the rock thrower also trained for 20-something years.
20 years? They prob treated as adults at 12 and dead by 45
Even to this day, the Balearic slinger continues to hone his skills in the multiple battle fields of the grand slams. Its most prominent figure, Rafael Nadal, reaching throw speeds of more than 200 km/h.
I would love to see a video on the "black riders," a variety of German mercenaries from the 17th century, specifically deployed as mounted, armored pistoliers. The 17th century represents a bizarre transition between traditional and modern warfare, and the image of the black rider really embodies that.
i mean, check out Sandhroman history, he covers early modern warfare extensively
Caesar had balearic slingers with him during his conquest of Gaul. He used them to stop the Belgae from crossings river to out flank him.
He primarily got them because he was afraid of the Gallic slingers he was encountering. Especially those from the Nervii, who almost torched one of his forts because they were launching red-hot clay slingstones.
So of course if you can't beat them in the rock throwing game. Then you Get the best rock throwers. Cue the Balearics, who not only like throwing lead for long distance barrages, they can also yeet fuck-off huge stones at frightening velocities too.
@@thejackinati2759 , , , "
@Evolve Project are you dumb?
@@nvmtt GET HIM GUYS!
Evolve Project Julius Caesar wrote a book. It is called De Bello Gallico - or Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. It is one of the most famous books from antiquity. Caesar describes his entire campaign in Gaul - almost no such books exist in history from the commander in a war. A confederation of Belgic tribes raised a massive Army to drive the Romans out of Gaul in the second year of the war. Caesar marched to confront them. During the Battle of Axona, the Belgae tried to out flank Caesar. They had to cross the Axona ( the modern Aisne River) Caesar sent Calvary and light troops, including slingers to repulse them. These troops succeeded in slaughtering the Belgae as they forded the river. You can buy Caesar’s can book on Amazon. This battle is described in book chapter 2.7 to 2.11. It is a great book. You will enjoy reading it. Of course get the English translation unless you can read Latin!
Really, really fascinating! I’ve always imagined a sling in David vs Goliath, as a slingshot, but that never really made much sense to me. This however, is very plausible to me. So interesting
Might’ve also been a staff-sling.
Just like the Numidian cavalry, Immortals or war elephants, the Balearic slingers were pretty good troops in a game from my youth: Praetorians. Thank you for the clips.
They've remastered the game and now the Steam version works with modern screen resolutions
@@xyAKMxy interesting ! Thanks
Googled out of curiousity. Holy shit, i played that when i was like 6, i remember i got the gamespy demo when that was all the rage. Thank you, i have actually been looking for it.
Man, I love Praetorians.
I'm so glad so many of you used to play and still love that game. One thing I always loved of that game was exploiting archers to burn villages down from a hill or forest as to cripple the AI's manpower.
Crazy! I never realized how good they were i thought they were a serious step down from archers
I just started making leather slings as gifts with a kids version available. People love them.
Another thing to note, is that a sling in the right hands also has significantly more kinetic energy and momentum than can be achieved with bows (Yes even a 160lb Longbow). Coupled with much less strain, one can also sling full-power all day without any immediate or long term injury (In my experience anyway).
That is comically not true. Maybe more Kinetic energy at short range but "momentum", amusing you mean "speed" of a sling is comically low compared to a long or composite bow.
Also while they have a very debatable maximum range of 400 meters, they effective range was much shorter. Composite bows and longbows have a much longer effective range.
They stuck around a lot longer in the west than in the Middle East due to the composite bow not existing in the west. By the fall of Rome they were basically being outclasses by other ranged weapon and armour.
@@pyrolight7568 Luis Pons Livermore (one of the best slingers around) can sling over 250J, while an arrow loosed by Joe Gibbs with a 160lb longbow comes in ~130J. The stones Luis usually slings are around 250g, where as english war arrows come in at ~90g. Momentum for the warbow is about 5kgm/s, where as the slung stone is ~13kgm/s. Velocities of the sling are about ~60-100m/s with lead projectiles. 400m is actually a conservative estimate when using lead projectiles and I think most slingers can achieve that with practice. I've personally thrown glandes 300-350y (rough estimate) with a 27" sling, and I can see how a 36" would do a lot better. Sling projectiles spin stabalise point first, and have less drag than arrows (especially lead ones). Even stones have an effective range up to about ~250m. War-bows with war arrows simply cannot keep up with the sling in terms of terminal kinetic energy and momentum (at any range). The reasons behind the decline of use in warfare are entirely different.
To follow that up with a historical example, when the Ten Thousand were trying to make their way home from Persia they were harassed by Persian archers. To counter them, the Greeks had their Rhodian hoplites fight as slingers, since they were also trained at that.They were able to keep the enemy archers away by outranging them with, I can only presume, sufficient accuracy to prevent them from wanting to come closer.
@@pyrolight7568 momentum is not speed. Momentum is speed times mass. It's slower than an arrow but a lot heavier.
Its crazy how such a simple weapon can cause so much damage. not to mention the fear of having to rush forward into that as a ancient soldier.
Let me tell you about my pointy stick
Let me tell you about my Shield.
"The Emperor Protects"
@@codysing1223
*Let me tell you about my bolt gun*
Pretty scary stuff those lead stones.
And now you understand the origin of Rafa Nadal's left arm.
I'm from Balearic Islands and I've been told this story when I was young
Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video.
7:35 PARRY THIS YOU FILTHY CASUAL
What's next?!
I always feel sad when places with cool ancient names (like Iberia) swap them out later for second rate names (like Spain)
Let’s learn about the greatest infantry unit of all time. EASTERN INFANTRYMEN. By far the unit with the best morale and definitely won’t break against peasants.
Chariots please
Imagine you are a veteran
Legionaire,who survived many battles in melee combat and were skilled with a sword but you get killed by a simple stone
Silver Shield Seleucid Empire
Slingers getting their due! I thought they were BS until I saw a demonstration. It's astoundingly powerful
Lmao what did you think when you initially heard of them?
The timing on this video was fantastic. A few days ago my seven-year-old wove a sling from para cord and has been working with it.
9:02 That's a common misconception. David killed Goliath by beheading him with his sword. He used the sling to knock him out though.
_Witty slingers, and all Greeks have wit, sometimes would etch into their stones words like "catch"_
Ahh we've never changed have we? Writing messages like the picture of a ww2 soldier with a 'Happy Easter Hitler!' artillery shell to writing that on their sling bullets. I love this.
Or Roman writings "On its way to Pompeys arsehole" or "Hi Octavian you suck." In Latin of course, and in acronym.
@@Taistelukalkkuna where did you read that?
@@francogutierrez1793 Adrian Goldsworthy´s book. Either Complete Roman Army, or Roman Army in Battle, don´t remember which one.
@@Taistelukalkkuna ty
Such a good idea for a video! This was a CRUCIAL part of war in Antiquity, and yet I never put much thought into it before this, beyond "they learned to sling by herding sheep!" Thanks for broadening our horizons once again!
They were really Deadly! Great Documentary
Adam! When will you make an "homage" to the Balearic Islands? That would make me so happy!! So so happy... Take the sling again!! :)
Nice seeing you here
Watched this in the morning and by sunset I had made one sling, although quite amateurish it works! Thanks for the inspiration!
The zoom in and out effects make it feel more scenematic. Thanks man
"Balearic slingers spent most of their income on women and wine".
Of course! They're from Ibiza, Spain. They're party animals. 🤣
Going into Slingers Clubs. Groovy baby.
Hey were going to Ibiza, hey back to the islands, hey were gonna have a party, in the Mediterranean Sea!
I thought I was at a slingers party but everyone was sharing their husbands and wives.
Boobs & booze is always a most valuable dope 😂
They have the spending habits of pirates, oddly enough.
9:02 so David did bring a gun to a knife fight huh..
Slung him in the forehead then used the time he was stunned (as one does when processing the fact they got smacked in the head with a rock) David cut his head off with Goliaths own sword.
Dude was cheating, the GM was on his side and all.
They're good, but I always try to recruit Cretan Archers for the range in *Rome Total War.*
Unless using DEI mod, their range there makes every offensive battle against a foe with the high ground trivial.
Cretan archers are god tier. They’re like artillery.
After recuting a patch, you need to wait like 8 turns for new units to show up.
Also, if you play as Egypt or Gaul (Foresster warband FTW) or other factions with long range archer then you don't need them. The ones really need them are local Greek factions with terrible archer and Roman factions (not remember whether archer auxillaries get long range or not). through as Seleucid, you don't really need to use archers
@@huntermad5668 Roman factions reformed archers do get long range.
Well, i just modded eastern archer for Seleucid as they should have access to them
Also adding Balearic into Carthage roster. Didn't realize they were exclusive unit at the time
I've actually done a quite a bit of slinging myself, and Ive used the Balearic slinging method as well (which is kinda behind the back and helicoptering over your right shoulder). The rotations are done pretty slowly actually and only have two purposes, 1. making sure the bullet/Rock is seated 2. Aiming. Good slingers don't make a full rotation, instead you're trying to get as much of a whip as you can. This can really be seen in the Apache slinging method which I refer to as the Trebuchet throw.
I use the slings often. I have also improvised on in the use of throwing a spear, without using an atalatl thrower. There's so much in use of slings. I'm still trying to learn the earliest origins and first recorded use of it. This was an interesting video.
I'm still looking for the person who asked
I think Daryl Hanna was the first sling user when her clan kicked her out of the cave and she had a baby to feed/protect. ;-)
When will the next part of the "what if Julius Caesar was never assassinated?" series be released?
This makes me want to play a sling-based DnD character as a ranger.
Lets buff up slings to make it make sense lol
Try GURPS instead of D&D. I think it's a much better system & more flexible. Slings can do serious damage in GURPS.
@@tinman1843 yeah gurps is great but it has a lot of bloat (like 3.5 did lol) so not every player will be able to grasp it
Play fighter not ranger. Take archery fighting style. Go human variant and take sharpshooter at first level. Then take battle master or eldritch knight. If eldritch knight and intelligence is high enough take magic stone as a cantrip. If battle master with high intelligence take magic initiate at 4th level and take magic stone and find familiar. Familiar can use the help action to distract a target for advantage. Ranger hunter with sharp shooter would also be great though. Horde breaker makes it worth it. And multiclass into rogue for sneak attack.
@Ago KG `
Dungeons and Dragons, the fantasy table top game.
Excellent presentation as usual ! This very important aspect of ancient warfare does not get mentioned often in most historical documentaries. Good references, clear explanations, and many different highly complementary aspects covered in a concrete and precise manner ! Gratias maximas INVICTA !
I took up the sling after reading a piece about the Balearics.
My first target was actually (I'm not kidding) a barn wall.
I eventually got to the point where I could hit a beer can at about 75 feet, before I gave it up for other purposes.
I still have a few slings around, and found I had made different lengths for experiments and distance throwing.
Initial ones were of braided cotton cord, with a leather pouch for the stones. Later ones were of hemp cord, which was more resistant to getting wet.
I'm so happy to see how far this channel has come and is thriving. I can't even remember right now what the channel was named before.
Very happy for you, keep it up!
One other thing: 7:09 Can this not be because they learnt (the practical version of) aerodynamics? Golf balls have indents in them so the wind/air will drag (yes, drag :) or push, if you want to push it) it further and thus gives it further range.
But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
"And I went after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I cought it by its beard, and struck it and killed it.
-1 Samuel 17:38
Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. -1 Samuel 17:49-50
If Goliath was a giant, he probably had gigantism - a benign tumor on pituitary gland that results in growth hormone release unrestricted. It causes headaches and often leads to blindness. (Or at least poor eyesight) Giants were rarely healthy after age 25-30.
I hate the History channel and Discovery channel shite they put out now but that's where I first learned this. I verified it independently, confirming it's a very feasible scenario. Likely even. David was a sniper and it won him a legendary Kingdom.
When Balearic Slingers from Ibiza drop the base there is no turning back.
But don't make the mistake of stealing them turntables or sound system in Ibiza, or you might get some tweaked out slingers on your trail.
I heard slingers were also used against parthian cataphracts
I call them ranged maces.
@@TealWolf26 ranged right hooks but a ranged mace is pretty hardass!
They both do +10 bonus damage to infantry
And ex wives.
Great video. Slingers were a very underrated unit of antiquity. I would love to see a similar video about the Rhodesian slingers.
The great thing about a sling is that it's a piece of string and a piece of leather. Portability, concealability, as well as manufacturability are unmatched
The food story is this:
The mother take a piece of bread and put it on a stick in the ground, and tall the children that whom knock it, can take it. It's not for every meal, it's more like a game for a treat.
Yeah, they ought to have presented that.
You know children would probably have lined up before the sticks and fired volleys, increasing the chance of hitting their dinners
I heard it was not allowing them to eat it until they had knocked it off. Or as Strabo says, explicitly in "Geography (Book III, Chapter5)": "I say, or of hair or of sinews: the sling with the long straps for the shots at short range, and the medium sling for the medium shots. And their training in the use of slings used to be such, from childhood up, that they would not so much as give bread to their children unless they first hit it with the sling." Then again, he was probably repeating what others had told him, and was not a first hand witness.
"Where is Jeff he needs to put some Latin on this sling projectile"
Invicta: Just put OUCH on it lol
Everyone "You god damn genius"
Antifa are a bunch of jerks who prey on people's ignorance and amplify the divides in the country to cause instability so they can hurt people their underdeveloped moral compass allows them to. If they "won" they would have to cause massive suffering for people to then "See what they meant". The mean's create the mean's, and anytime you hurt another person or impose your will onto them it makes society a worse off place. That goes for the government also. Both sides have flaws and knowledge and wisdom applied correctly in place of fighting can bring about a lasting change!
@@alan_clough I get your point but this is hardly the place to discuss politics.
@@maarten9272 I don't even know what he wants, he must have no clue and think my profile picture refers to antifa which is downright stupid. It represents left unity but I agree this is no place for politics...
@@Maxcraft12 I suppose it's because of the red and black colours. Obviously not the antifa flag though.
Don't forget, even Alexander the great of macedon also used these so called slingers as well and the unit called "peltast", he used them in support of the cavalry at the battle of gaugamela , you guys can check those out as well
This was an excellent, interesting, and informative lesson from history that I’ve never heard. Even in private school, where ancient history was very focused on.
Interestingly structured compilation of historical facts pertaining to the Balearic Slingers. They're always mentioned in Roman Texts & are referred to in the Greek Histories.
Cretan archers should be next
and then after we can do peasants
@@Graymenn I dont get it
@@Daylon91 is this not a rome total war unit showcase?
@@Graymenn lmao it shouldn't be. Hopefully better than that
Niiiiiice! This is a cool series!
Please do consider covering ancient camelry, I found information on the topic to be pretty rare
David didn't kill Goliath with the stone. He knocked him out, then used Goliath's own sword to cut off his head. Minor difference though
@right right it's legend there are difference between legend and fiction
Most legends are based on a tiny bit of truth
@right right The Bible is non-fiction.
@right right while a lot of people don't believe in the religious aspects of the Bible , historians do use it to get a look at Israeli/Jewish history because a lot of the events and wars in it did happen.
@right right you'll find out soon enough
Here's an interesting question worth talking about.
Which/Who was better? The Rhodian or Balearic Slingers?
And as far as units from history. I'd love to see a video on either the Varangian Guard or maybe the Viking Berserkers.
This is exactly what I wanted when trying to find a video. They had so much engineering that went into such a simple weapon I love it!
Glad to know that people back then process the power of humour.
0:23 can you give me the source for that? i can throw at 100km/h with my arm as a 28 year old adult that skipped rocks on beaches as a kid, and when im slinging, i can approach 400km/h. can you tell me where you saw this 100km/h number? its a misconception im very curious about.
5:40
the ballistic trajectory of an object moving at 100km/h has a physical hard limit of about 100m distance. 400m distance would require about 250km/h launch velocity, which is more along the lines of what slingers would loose their projectiles in anger at.
Volound
Holy shit.
You what
someone got their figures wrong :-) The distance is actually erring on the short side. With a lead glande and a favourable terrain 500m metres is achievable. Unfortunately we've never been able to do proper record attempts with lead - mainly because a lead glande hitting ground drills it's way really deep. Finding them after throwing is damn near impossible.
Maybe he wanted to say 100M/s, that would be 360 Km/h
When you realize that the legend of David and Goliath was just that scene from Raiders of The Lost Ark with the sword guy.
inb4 someone brings up that guy who misconstrued translations of translations to push his theory that Goliath was blind.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is an apt comparison.
@Derreck Jones A sling exerts the same amount of force as .38 revolver. Golaith thought he was the shit as he was big and powerful why David had a weapon that was equivalent to a gun and had range on goliath.
@Derreck Jones A shepherd (re: lion shooter, hardass who lives outdoors, carries wounded animals for miles) shoots a man with a sword.
Derreck Jones calm down dude it’s an apt comparison
@Derreck Jones Why you being confrontational?
Love this narrator, my favourite of the Invicta channel by far!
Loving this series!! Great job!!
I wanna watch it now 😭
Same
I can see why the Romans adopted the slingers.
It was a Greek historian that said that Roman slingers (during late Republic or imperial time) can shoot projectiles over 400 meters and the best ones can shoot 600 meters.
A war sling was about as powerful as a 45 gun today! And Slingers were use well up into the 16th century!
There's also in Spanish account where a Slinger killed a war horse!
Spartans: Noooo you can't just yeet a rock at our Hoplite
Phoenicia: Haha rock goes burrr
Won't rocks go whoosh, though?
Spartan hoplites were pretty good slingers too. And their bronze hoplons were pretty tough.
Ask the romans. Who became swiss cheese after meeting the balears...
All the videos and readings I have come upon, they never explained how the sling never slipped from their hands when firing the bullet. I had assumed, but was not sure about the loop around a finger or wrist. Good to actually hear of it, thank you.
Best voice over in the game
"Ouch"
- a Balearich slinger
I wanna play Total War so bad now and recruit mass slingers
Send them into melee when they're out of ammo and see my army flee in a shameful display
Philippe Bouchard did it and the slingers won lol
I picked the Roman urban coharts since they are the best in Rome forced to do testudo I wasn’t the romans
Laughs in Urban Cohort.
Enemy soldier: ouch! What was that?
The projectile: yes
My younger brother has gotten himself pretty good with a sling. He has tried all sorts of ammo types and sling materials aswel as length. I can personally attest to the fact that these things are deadly.
What is the best type of sling and what is the easiest pouch to make
Superb documentary. Marvellous narration.
I'm from the Balearic Islands, and my grandfather (87 years old) told me that his father would put the breakfast on a tree, and told him that he could eat it when he tossed it from the tree with a sling.
Learning to sling with any degree of accuracy is an extremely long process, regardless of how proficient you are with other missile equipment, so requires patience and lots of practice, but, as is said, _practice makes perfect._
I imagine slings are underappreciated in part due to modern games like DnD. Slings are always just basic starter weapons that you upgrade away from as soon as possible.
That is hilarious “‘Catch this’ or ‘ouch’”. I love that humanity has always managed to maintain the same sense of humor. When he first said they had inscription my first thought was that.
I'm going to the balearic islands this summer and am super excited to see where the greatest slingers in the world are from
7:35
“These messages could be used to demoralize occupants of fortifications.”
Ancient Man 1: They’re throwing rocks in here with messages!
AM 2: What does it say?
AM 1: ‘Ouch’...
AM 2: Darn. They got us.
Enemy: slinging stones with demoralizing messages on them into my town
me: good news I can't read
"Big Slinger on his hip!"
"In the town of Aquae Frita comes a Spaniard one fine day..."
I just love the seemingly for as long as humanity has been flinging stuff at each other we've been inscribing taunts on them, "ouch" just broke me lol