Editing Weapon (section)

=== Post-classical history ===
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Racinet1.jpg|thumb|left|Medieval Indian weapons]]

European warfare during [[post-classical history]] was dominated by elite groups of [[knights]] supported by massed [[infantry]]. They were involved in mobile combat and [[sieges]], which involved various [[siege weapon]]s and tactics. Knights on horseback developed tactics for charging with [[lances]], providing an impact on the enemy formations, and then drawing more practical weapons (such as [[sword]]s) once they entered melee. By contrast, infantry, in the age before structured formations, relied on cheap, sturdy weapons such as [[spear]]s and billhooks in close combat and [[Bow (weapon)|bows]] from a distance. As armies became more professional, their equipment was standardized, and infantry transitioned to [[pike (weapon)|pikes]]. Pikes are normally seven to eight feet in length and used in conjunction with smaller sidearms (short swords).

[[File:Tower of London interior.jpg|thumb|right|Ancient Chinese [[cannon]] displayed in the [[Tower of London]]]]
In Eastern and [[Middle Eastern]] warfare, similar tactics were developed independent of European influences.

The introduction of [[gunpowder]] from Asia at the end of this period revolutionized warfare. Formations of [[musketeers]], protected by [[pikemen]], came to dominate open battles, and the [[cannon]] replaced the [[trebuchet]] as the dominant [[siege weapon]].
The Ottoman used the cannon to destroy much of the fortifications at Constantinople which would change warfare as gunpowder became more available and technology improved