In the postclassical period there were many developments to weapons.

In many we
apons developed in many regions of the post classical period. Also as horse-back
riding became common the need for weapons that can be used on horse-back arose.
€ In the Mongol Empire the composite bow became a popular weapon with it the Mo
ngols were able to effectively cut through an enemy rank. If there is one weapon
that the Mongol’s were famous for it would have to be the bow (composite). They w
ere able to develop techniques that allowed them to better hit an enemy that was
fortified, camped together, or massed in one place all on horse-back. Arrow he
ads were usually made of bronze or bone their shape depended on what it was bein
g used for (hunting, war, piercing through armor) and were sometimes poisoned. F
or this reason Mongol warriors also had multiple quivers (things that hold arrow
s) with different sets of arrows, they also had different bows one for close ran
ge and one for long range. Besides the mastery of archery that the Mongol’s calvar
y had they also used a curved blade called the sabre. The sabre was light and ea
sy to use on horse-back and was so extremely effective that it spawned many diff
erent adaptations such as the Turkish kilij, the Arabian saif and the Mamluk sci
mitar is only proof of its effectiveness. Used by the Mongol heavy calvary, the
Mongol lance was shorter than other lances and usually had a hook near the head
so that they could knock a enemy off their horse. Very surprising (to me at leas
t) lassos were also used as weapons to drag riders off their horses and of cours
e the Mongols were experts at using lassos due to the fact that nearly all their
army used horses and lassos were needed to round up horses. For close combat Mo
ngols used maces that may or may not have been adapted from the Turks and Persia
ns version of the mace. Later on Mongol’s got a hold of heavy artillery such as ba
llistas (basically a giant crossbow) that could shoot giant arrows causing devas
tating damage and trebuchet-like catapults which launched giant rocks. Each Mong
ol warrior was expected to be self sufficient and was usually equipped with a se
t of tools and replacement parts for their weapons.
€ Byzantine also had a variety of devastating and awesome weapons. One€such weapo
n was “Greek fire” which is like a modern flame thrower. This devastated enemy’s of th
e Byzantine Empire not only by burning them with a fire that couldn’t be put out b
ut also causing fear within enemy’s ranks who had never seen something like it. A
nyways “Greek fire” is probably the most famous weapon of the Byzantine Empire not o
nly because of devastating effects but also because the use of this type of weap
on was unheard of at the time. Other weapons include a variety of sword types s
uch as long, short, curved, one-handed, two handed sword. The Roman gladius had
been abandoned in favor for the sapathion a two -edged sword used by both infant
ry and calvary. Later on however the paramerion a curved one-edged sword was use
d by the calvary. Axes and maces were carried by infantry. Six, four, or three c
ornered maces were used to break through enemy infantry. The two handed axe was
preferred by mercenaries from Rus’ and Varangian Guard. As for long range weapons
the sling and bow were used. The sling wasn’t used as much and the bows they used
were of Roman origin. The bows of the infantry could shoot about 300 meters wher
e as the calvary bows shot about 130 meters but had greater accuracy and easier
to handle.
€ Europeans also made good weapons during the post classical period especially
during the later parts of it when they started using gunpowder. Around 1200 the
Europeans were introduced to gun powder and started making hand guns and cannon
s. Cannons were at first primarily used as siege weapons to knock down enemy wal
ls but later on they became more mobile. As for the handguns they started off sh
ooting some sort of arrows but they later decided to use balls. Like other regio
ns of their time the Europeans also used maces and fails. Essentially these are
just a wooden handle with a metal ball with spikes attached with made it a real
danger not only to their enemies but themselves as well due to the mace and fail
s unpredictability. Europeans really took a liking to pole weapons such as lance
s, hammers, and spears since they could knock a knight off his horse really easi
ly. Some pole weapons combined other pole weapons such as a halberd which combin
ed a spear and an axe or a hache which combined axe and hammer. Most people coul
d not afford swords and had to use bows instead swords were mainly used by knigh
ts and people of high status. They had a great variety of swords such as the cla
ymore, or flamberge however they also used daggers although they were not the pr
eferred weapon of the knight.
The weapons used in the empires/regions above are not all the weapons used or ma
de in the post classical era but they make up a good deal of what you could expe
ct to see. Weapons after the post classical era started to change because of the
Europeans experimentation of gunpowder. Most likely after this weapons will sta
rt to change into more modern things like rifles and mobile cannons. It is impor
tant to remember though what weapons started off as though so that humanity can
see how modern weapons evolved.