Editing Macedonia (ancient kingdom) (section)

===Military technology and engineering===
{{further|Greek and Roman artillery|Ancient Greek warfare|Lithobolos|Siege ladder}}

By the Hellenistic period, it became common for Greek states to finance the development and proliferation of ever more powerful [[torsion siege engine]]s, [[Naval warfare|naval ships]], and standardized designs for [[Ancient Greek military personal equipment|arms and armor]].<ref>{{harvnb|Treister|1996|pp=375–376}}.</ref> Under Philip{{nbsp}}II and Alexander the Great, improvements were made to [[siege artillery]] such as bolt-shooting [[ballista]]e and [[siege engine]]s such as huge rolling [[siege tower]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|Oleson|Sherwood|1998|p=570}}.</ref> E.{{nbsp}}W.{{nbsp}}Marsden and M.{{nbsp}}Y.{{nbsp}}Treister contend that the Macedonian rulers [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]] and his successor [[Demetrius I of Macedon]] had the most powerful siege artillery of the Hellenistic world at the end of the 4th{{nbsp}}century{{nbsp}}BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Treister|1996|p=376, no. 531}}.</ref> [[Battle of Salamis (306 BC)|The siege]] of [[Salamis, Cyprus]], in 306{{nbsp}}BC necessitated the building of large siege engines and drafting of craftsmen from parts of [[West Asia]].<ref name="treister 1996 376">{{harvnb|Treister|1996|p=376}}.</ref> The siege tower commissioned by Demetrius{{nbsp}}I for the Macedonian [[Siege of Rhodes (305–304 BC)]] and defended by over three thousand soldiers was built at a height of nine [[Storey|stories]].<ref name="humphrey 1998 pp570 571"/> It had a base of {{convert|4300|sqft|0|abbr=off}}, eight wheels that were steered in either direction by pivots, three sides covered in iron plates to protect them from fire, and mechanically opened windows (shielded with wool-stuffed leather curtains to soften the blow of ballistae rounds) of different sizes to accommodate the firing of missiles ranging from arrows to larger bolts.<ref name="humphrey 1998 pp570 571">{{harvnb|Humphrey|Oleson|Sherwood|1998|pp=570–571}}.</ref>

During the siege of [[Echinus (Phthiotis)|Echinus]] by [[Philip V of Macedon]] in 211{{nbsp}}BC, the besiegers built [[Mining (military)|tunnels]] to protect the soldiers and [[sapper]]s as they went back and forth from the camp to the siege works. These included two siege towers connected by a makeshift [[wickerwork]] [[curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]] mounted with stone-shooting ballistae, and sheds to protect the approach of the [[battering ram]].<ref>{{harvnb|Humphrey|Oleson|Sherwood|1998|pp=570–572}}.</ref> Despite the early reputation of Macedon as a leader in siege technology, [[Alexandria]] in [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] became the center for technological improvements to the [[catapult]] by the 3rd{{nbsp}}century{{nbsp}}BC, as evidenced by the writings of [[Philo of Alexandria]].<ref name="treister 1996 376"/>