
The Macedonian phalanx () was an
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
formation developed by
Philip II from the classical Greek
phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the
sarissa, a 6-metre pike. It was famously commanded by Philip's son
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
during his conquest of the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
between 334 and 323 BC. The Macedonian phalanx model then spread throughout the
Hellenistic world, where it became the standard battle formation for pitched battles. During the
Macedonian Wars
The Macedonian Wars (214–148 BC) were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over Ancient ...
against the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
(214–148 BC), the phalanx appeared obsolete against the more manoeuvrable
Roman legion
The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
s.
Development
In 359 BC, following the Macedonian defeat by the
Illyrians
The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...
, which killed the majority of
Macedonia's
army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and King
Perdiccas III of Macedon, Perdiccas' brother
Philip II took the throne.
Philip II was a hostage in
Thebes for much of his youth (367–360), where he witnessed the combat tactics of the general
Epaminondas
Epaminondas (; ; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greeks, Greek general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek polis, city-state of Thebes, Greece, Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre ...
, which then influenced his restructuring of the infantry.
Philip's military reforms were a new approach to the current
hoplite
Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...
warfare which focused on their shield, the ''
aspis''; his focus was on a new weapon, the ''
sarissa''.
The first phalanx was a 10-by-10 square with very few experienced troops.
The phalanx was later changed to a 16-by-16 formation, and while the date for this change is still unknown, it occurred before 331 under Philip's rule.
Philip called the soldiers in the phalanx , meaning 'foot-companions', bolstering the importance of the phalanx to the King.
Philip also increased the amount of training required for the infantry and introduced regulations on military behaviour.
During Alexander's campaign, the phalanx remained more or less the same, with the notable difference being more non-Macedonian soldiers among the ranks.
Equipment
Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a ''
sarissa'', a double-pointed
pike over 6 m (18 ft) in length. The weight of the sarissa is unknown, as no surviving examples have been found, but modern reconstructions have shown that a 5.8 m pike could weigh no more than 4.05 kg (9 lb).
At close range such large weapons were of little use, but an intact phalanx could easily keep its enemies at a distance. The weapons of the first five rows of men all projected beyond the front of the formation, so that there were more spear points than available targets at any given time.
Men in rows behind the initial five angled their spears at a 45-degree angle in an attempt to ward off arrows or other projectiles. The secondary weapon was a shortsword called a ''
xiphos''.
The phalangites also had a smaller and flatter shield than that of the Greek ''aspis'', measuring about 24 inches and weighing about 12 pounds.
The shield, called a "''telamon''", was made of bronze plated wood and was worn hung around the neck so as to free up both hands to wield the ''sarissa''.
All of the armor and weaponry a phalangite would carry totaled about 40 pounds, which was close to 10 pounds less than the weight of Greek hoplites' equipment.
Formation
The phalanx consisted of a line-up of several
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
blocks called ''syntagmata'', each of its 16 files (''
lochoi'') numbering 16 men, for a total of 256 in each unit.
Each ''syntagma'' was commanded by a ''syntagmatarch'', who—together with his subordinate officers—would form the first row of each block.
Each file was led and commanded by a ''dekadarch'' who were the most experienced Macedonian soldiers and received about triple pay.
The leader was followed by another two experienced Macedonian soldiers, with a third positioned at the very end of the file, all three who received about double pay.
The rest of the file was filled up by more inexperienced soldiers, often Persians during Alexander's campaign.
The phalanx was divided into ''taxis'' based on geographical recruitment differences.
The phalanx used the "oblique line with reduced left" arrangement, designed to force enemies to engage with soldiers on the furthest right end, increasing the risk of opening a gap in their lines for the cavalry to break through.
Due to the structure of the phalanx, it was weakest in the rear and on the right.
Neither Philip nor Alexander actually used the phalanx as their arm of choice, but instead used it to hold the enemy in place while their
heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...
broke through their ranks. The Macedonian cavalry fought in
wedge formation and was almost always stationed on the far right. The
hypaspists, elite infantrymen who served as the king's bodyguard,
were stationed on the immediate right of the phalanx wielding hoplite sized spears and shields.
The left flank was generally covered by allied cavalry supplied by the
Thessalians, which fought in
rhomboid
Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled.
The terms "rhomboid" and "parallelogram" are often erroneously conflated with each oth ...
formation and served mainly in a defensive role.
Other forces—
skirmishers, range troops, reserves of allied hoplites,
archers, and
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
—were also employed.
Key battles
*
Battle of Crocus Field (353/352 BC)
*
Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
*
Battle of the Granicus (334 BC)
*
Battle of Issus (333 BC)
*
Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)
*
Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BC)
See also
*
Hellenistic armies
References
{{Reflist
4th-century BC establishments in Greece
Ancient Greek infantry types
Ancient Greek military terminology
Phalanx
Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world
Phalanx
Philip II of Macedon