Falarica, also Phalarica, was an ancient Iberian ranged

polearm A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee we ...

that was sometimes used as an

incendiary weapon Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

Design

The Falarica was a heavy

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

with a long, thin

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

head of about in length attached to a wooden shaft of about equal length. The iron head had a narrow sharp tip, which made the falarica an excellent armour-piercing weapon. The Iberians used to bind combustible material to the metal shaft of the weapon and use the falarica as an incendiary projectile. The incendiary javelin would hit the

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

s or siege works of the enemy often setting them ablaze. The falarica could also be launched by the use of

spear thrower A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to t ...

s or

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s to increase its range and velocity.

the besieged were protected and the enemy kept away from the gates by the falarica, which many arms at once were wont to poise... when hurled like a thunderbolt from the topmost walls of the citadel, it clove the furrowed air with a flickering flame, even as a fiery meteor speeding from heaven to earth dazzles men's eyes with its blood red tail... and when in flight it struck the side of a huge tower, it kindled a fire which burnt until all of the woodwork of the tower was utterly consumed.Silius Italicus (1968)Vol. I pp27-31

Etymology

Falarica comes from either

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''phalòs'' (φαλòς), because it came out of a ''phala'' (an ancient round tower posted on cities' walls and was used to fire the falaricas), or from ''phalēròs'' (φαληρòς) "shining" as it was enwrapped with blazing fire.

Origin

Although in some texts the term ''falarica'' is used as a poetic description for a Roman weapon, its origin seems to be from the Western Mediterranean and in most respects it was similar to the pre- Marian

pilum The ''pilum'' (; : ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by eith ...

. There are references to its use when the Iberians fought against the Carthaginian invasions. There are remains of falarica amongst Iberian and Celtiberian archaeological deposits from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD.

Notes

External links

Weapons of the Iberian peninsula
Ancient weapons European weapons Iberian weapons Incendiary weapons Javelins Polearms Projectiles Throwing weapons {{AncientRome-mil-stub

Design

Etymology

Origin

See also

Notes

External links