Crossbow History

Literary and physical evidence suggest that the crossbow originated in China during the 4th century BC, though a type of crossbow called the gastraphetes may have been independently invented in Greece at about the same period. It wasn't until the 10th or 11th centuries AD that the crossbow became a significant military weapon in Europe. It passed from general military service in the 16th century, but its use for hunting and target shooting has continued to the present day.

341 BC	Earliest reliable record of crossbow use at battle of Ma-Ling in China.
228 BC	Earliest crossbow artifact, a bronze lock mechanism from the tomb of Yu Wang.
0-100 AD	Heron of Alexandria describes gastraphetes.
300-700	Roman carvings of crossbows.
385	Vegetius mentions crossbows in DE RE MILITARIA.
1066	Crossbows introduced to England by Normans.
1096	Anna Comnena describes Norman crossbows.
1100-1200	Composite crossbow lath appears.
1139	2nd Lateran Council interdict forbids use of crossbow among Christians.
1192	Crusader victory at Jaffa aided by crossbows.
1314	Earliest reliable record of steel lath.
1346	Genoese crossbowmen defeated at Crecy by English longbowmen.
1373	Earliest illustration of cranequin.
1503	First of many English laws restricting possession and use of crossbows.
1550-1600	Firearms replace crossbows in most Western armies.
1860	Photographic evidence from Chinese shows repeating crossbows still used there as military weapons.
1939-45	"Arrowspeed" crossbow used by Australian commandos in Pacific Theatre.
1945-1975	Crossbows employed by Montagnard peoples and US special forces during Vietnam conflict.
1960?-present	Crossbows used to shoot anesthetic darts for capturing and treating wildlife; also used to obtain tissue samples from marine animals for obtaining genetic information.