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