Catapults, though usually associated with the middle ages have been around a great deal longer than most believe, originating in the 8th – 7th c. BC as a defense mechanism to protect the walls of Jerusalem. Used by the Greeks, Romans and Chinese, the catapult stemmed from the crossbow, originally just a larger and more powerful form of the weapon. But what exactly is a catapult? Catapult is defined as a machine that stores energy then quickly releases the energy to fire a projectile and its history as we know it, begins in Europe in the middle ages. Catapults, common in medieval times were one of the most useful weapons in breaking into enemy walls or fortresses and are mainly distributed into three groupings:
Ballista: Ballista catapults were the first to use the torsion spring and looked very similar to crossbows. They were great weapons and a large ballista could launch an imposing javelin weighing up to 10 pounds!
Trebuchet - The Trebuchet uses energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. Powered by gravity, it is a larger catapult that could fire projectiles weighing up to 350 pounds!
Mangonel- Mangonels fired heavy projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of its arm. The Mangonel was used for aiming various missiles at castles or forts. Also could throw missiles further than a Trebuchet. 
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