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I am not sure it would have been a crossbow that fired the stone which hit Alexander. A slingshot is far more likely, and these can be as deadly as a bullet.

Alexias wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:50 pm I am not sure it would have been a crossbow that fired the stone which hit Alexander. A slingshot is far more likely, and these can be as deadly as a bullet.

Reading the article, I assume that this was a translation issue. I don't recall that there is any evidence of the Sogdians using crossbows (although it does appear, from a quick Wiki search, that they were used in China in the 7th C BC); and crossbows launch bolts, not stones. I have always assumed that it was from a sling, as that's the only hand-held weapon that throws stones ...