Merchant Man
New member
-- Manjaniq al-Jamal Sultanate Medium Catapult --
- Category: Siege Weapon
- Image Credit: Flow Image Creator
- Intent: To introduce the camel-pulled medium catapult as a mobile siege support weapon of the Sultanate of Masyrpt's forces, designed for rapid desert deployment during the Great Caravan Wars and afterwards.
- Development Thread: Not Applicable
- Permissions: Not Applicable
- Name: Manjaniq al-Jamal (Camel Catapult) – Sultanate Medium Catapult
- Classification: Catapult
- Affiliation: Sultanate of Masyrpt's
- Craftsman: Sultanate of Masyrpt's
- Availability: Limited
- Materials: Seasoned desert acacia and cedar timbers for the A-frame, throwing arm, and wheels; reinforced hemp ropes and pulleys for the traction mechanism; iron bolts, bronze fittings, and leather strapping for the camel harnesses; carved stone spheres or clay incendiary pots as standard projectiles.
- Magical: No
- Tradable: No
- Customisable: No
- Size: Large
- Weight: Heavy
- Damage Type: Bludgeoning (stone spheres) or incendiary/bludgeoning (fire pots)
- Damage Output: Average
- Recoil: Low
- Effective Range: Long (effective within approx. 50 to 250 metres)
- Ammunition Type: Carved stone spheres (primary) or sealed clay pots filled with pitch and naphtha (incendiary).
- Special Qualities: Not Applicable
- Desert Mobility and Rapid Redeployment: Harnessed teams of four to six camels allow the entire engine to be pulled across sand dunes at marching speed, positioned for a barrage, then swiftly withdrawn behind friendly lines, perfectly matching the Sultanate's doctrine of strike and retreat without sacrificing the weapon to enemy advances.
- Formation Softening Support: Accurate long-range volleys of stone or fire projectiles disrupt enemy troop concentrations, shatter shield walls, and ignite supply lines, creating chaos for the main Sultanate infantry and cavalry to exploit once the lines are broken.
- Camel Team Dependency: The weapon's mobility relies entirely on the health and temperament of its camel team; panicked or wounded animals can halt the catapult mid-repositioning, leaving it exposed as a stationary target for enemy archers or counter-battery fire.
- Slow Reload and Setup Time: While mobile once harnessed, the traction arm and rope system require several minutes to reset after each shot; during this window the crew and camels are vulnerable to fast-moving skirmishers or cavalry charges that close the distance before the next projectile can be launched.
The Manjaniq al-Jamal was developed in the royal armories during the opening years of the Great Caravan Wars, well before the rise of Almuqddasayn and its philosophy of sacred symmetry. At the time, the Sultanate's older static siege engines proved too cumbersome for the fluid, hit-and-run desert campaigns against rival caravan lords and border raiders.
Engineers responded by mounting a proven medium catapult design on large spoked wheels and rigging it to teams of sturdy desert camels, exactly as depicted in military annals illustrations creating a weapon that could keep pace with fast-moving columns, deliver punishing volleys to soften enemy troops, and then be hauled back to safety within minutes when enemy resistance stiffened.
Tactically, these catapults never operated in isolation; they travelled in batteries of four to six, protected by light camel cavalry screens. Crews followed the era's pragmatic doctrine: loose a barrage to break formations and morale, then withdraw before the enemy could close or return fire with their own engines. Though conceived under the older Shadid traditions, many of these catapults remain in active service today, their simple, reliable design easily maintained in the desert heat.
