10 Insanely Brutal Weapons You Won't Believe Existed

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the historical weapons that packed a deadly punch.

#10: Meurtrière[a] [aka “Murder Holes”]

What’s in a name? Well, it feels sort of self-explanatory when we’re discussing meurtrière, otherwise known as “murder holes.” Although not weapons in the strictest of senses, this architectural design was achieved with some seriously bad intentions. Those that became trapped within a room or passage featuring a meurtrière would run the risk of all kinds of danger. That’s because defenders would use these holes to rain down arrows, calcium oxide, boiling water or just about any other lethal substance that could fit. It honestly sounds like a pretty chaotic and devilish way to go, if you ask us.

#9: Aztec Macuahuitl[b]

Here’s a question: what do you get when you combine the blunted swinging power of a club with the razor sharp edges of a sword? Well, you just might come up with a weapon similar to the Aztec macuahuitl. These wooden swords featured blades forged from obsidian, which were then affixed to each side. The resulting macuahuitl could then be used in a variety of ways. Enemies of an Aztec warrior could be crushed by the force of the weapon’s weight or sliced to ribbons by the blades. This versatility helped make the macuahuitl weapons that were both esteemed and feared.

#8: Chakram[c]

These weapons of Indian origin could be wielded in a variety of ways. The chakram’s small but deadly design made them fit for both close-quarters melee combat and for long ranged attacks. These circular discs featured sharp edges that made them extremely destructive when thrown at an enemy. The range of a thrown chakram has also been reported to be at least one hundred meters. Meanwhile, these weapons are also easy to transport along great distances, often worn at the waist or otherwise stored discreetly while traveling. This adds an element of surprise to what’s already a pretty useful tool of death.

#7: Morning Star

There isn’t any one specific design that designates a “true” morning star. Instead, the term is something of a catch-all for any sort of spiked ball-and-club combination popularized during the medieval period. These fearsome weapons certainly look the part, inspiring trepidation and uncertainty before a battle has even begun. Meanwhile, the morning star provides its user with multiple ways of attack, from the blunt force trauma achieved via a swing, or the piercing blades of the ball. The connecting chain also allowed for centrifugal force to do its dirty work, demolishing pretty much anything that got in its path.

#6: Hwacha[d]

It’s mobile artillery fire for the fifteenth century, an organ gun designed to shoot volleys of arrows at its opponents. The hwacha was initially developed in Korea, and could replace multiple archers in a single shot. Its design is similar in theme to the ribauldequin from the medieval and Renaissance periods and eventually adjusted to house everything from darts to bullets. Granted, usage of the hwacha wasn’t a single-soldier job, and repairs were frequently needed when transporting the weapons during conflict. That said, the ingenuity of its design cannot be denied.

#5: Urumi[e]

“Star Wars: The Acolyte” didn’t create the idea of a whip-sword in a vacuum. No, the urumi was a real-life example of this unique martial technology, a flexible sword of Indian descent. The whip blade of an urumi could be singular, or numerous, depending upon the design. Meanwhile, those brave enough to wield this weapon could see themselves seriously injured in the attempt. This was due to the ease with which the urumi blades could double back upon the wielder. However, their slashing attack proved a difficult and confusing proposition for opponents, often breaking through even seasoned defenses.

#4: War Scythe

The designs of many common weapons have historically been adapted from those utilized for agriculture. Scythes definitely fall under this banner, while the war scythe was a specific pole weapon that could both stab and slash during melee combat. War scythes proved particularly worthy in close quarters, while their simple design connects their history with those simpler scythes found in the fields. Meanwhile, their versatility made war scythes a weapon that could easily be shifted in a pinch, switching from stabbing or slashing to clubbing with a turn of the wrist.

#3: Dragon Beard Hook

Don’t take the name of this weapon for granted. The dragon beard hook is anything but fanciful or harmless. Instead, this easily concealed weapon was used for trapping opponents from a safe distance. The serrated edges of this crescent moon hook meant that anyone entangled by a dragon beard hook was not in for a good time. Those who wielded this weapon usually ensnared opponents with the dragon beard hook in order to bring them closer to their sidearm or blade. Yet, the hooks were usually so damaging, that it didn’t take much for those trapped by its edges to bleed out or suffer severe injury.

#2: Cluster Munition

This is one of the few weapons on this list that remains a major worry for many battlefield occupants in the modern day. Still, cluster munitions are nothing new and actually date back in origin to the second World War. German butterfly bombs cast out deadly fragmented shrapnel, while modern examples of cluster bombs can contain anything from anti-armor munitions to incendiary devices. The real danger here is the force and radius of damage of these cluster bombs. Meanwhile, the indiscriminate damage of their contents remains a disturbingly compelling example of modern warfare’s morbid progression.

#1: Greek Fire

It was one of the most feared weapons of its day, an engineering marvel from late antiquity. Greek fire was essentially the napalm of its time, a recipe for disaster against any who encountered it. Warriors of the Byzantine Empire would utilize Greek fire to burn enemy ships, tossing them grenade-style or otherwise coating the water with the stuff. The Byzantine opposition tried and failed to recreate Greek fire for their own use, although it should be said that it wasn’t a perfect weapon. Choppy seas made it too dangerous to deploy, and its range couldn’t compete with more traditionally-minded distance weapons like arrows. Still, this “liquid fire” remained a marvel of the day, to be sure.

Which period do you feel saw the biggest advances for modern warfare? Let us know in the comments!

[a]mur-tree-AIR / murtry-AIR https://forvo.com/search/meurtri%C3%A8re/

[b]maw-KWAW-weetl (hard to explain phonetically...) https://forvo.com/search/Macuahuitl/
[c]SHAW-krum https://youtu.be/YX03CGErzo0?si=XqDlAka2xmABewpj&t=27
[d]h'WAW-chuh https://youtu.be/TQhSXA3AKh4?si=-3YcsfHjV5Yos0Pd&t=20
ruh-BALDA-kwin https://youtu.be/Rl-1uL70PWc?si=0V1mfhKKadnjqVoB
[e]OOO-ROO-mee / OOROO-mee (not ooo-ROO-mee) https://youtu.be/rkOgQCl9jrI?si=1k-JdwN0Mo2wb2Yn&t=17