Was the phalanx used in the Middle Ages?

The Romans had originally employed the phalanx themselves but gradually evolved more flexible tactics. The result was the three-line Roman legion of the middle period of the Roman Republic, the Manipular System. A phalanx formation called the phoulkon appeared in the late Roman army and Byzantine army.

When was the phalanx used?

During the 7th century bc the Greek city-states adopted a phalanx eight men deep. The Greek hoplite, the heavy-armed infantryman who manned the phalanx, was equipped with a round shield, a heavy corselet of leather and metal, greaves (shin armour), an 8-foot pike for thrusting, and a 2-foot double-edged sword.

When did the phalanx stop being used?

At the Battle of Cynocephalae in 197 BCE, the Romans defeated the Greek phalanx easily because the Greeks had failed to guard the flanks of their phalanx and, further, the Greek commanders could not turn the mass of men who comprised the phalanxes quickly enough to counter the strategies of the Roman army and, after …

Why did they stop using the phalanx?

Did the Spartans use the phalanx?

Spartan Military Innovations. The hoplite phalanx, however, consisted of specially-armed infantry. They all wore bronze body armor, helmets, bronze shin guards, and all carried shields. The phalanx fought in formation in a highly organized and disciplined manner.

What were helots in ancient Sparta?

The helots were in a sense state slaves, bound to the soil and assigned to individual Spartans to till their holdings; their masters could neither free them nor sell them, and the helots had a limited right to accumulate property, after paying to their masters a fixed proportion of the produce of the holding.

What was the difference between the Greek phalanx and the Macedonian phalanx?

The Macedonian phalanx unlike the traditional Greek Hoplite phalanx was not engineered to defeat its enemy all by itself. The Macedonian success was not due to their phalanx’s superiority (with the sarissa pike). The Macedonian phalanx advantage was protection, but it had disadvantages.

Why did the use of phalanx affect politics?

The use of the phalanx affected politics because the phalanx allowed more people to defend Athens and most of these people weren’t rich, but they were able to have a say in the government and gain power because if the aristocrats didn’t at least listen to them they might lose the support of their army.

Why did the Spartans fear the Helots?

Owing to their own numerical inferiority, the Spartans were always preoccupied with the fear of a helot revolt. The ephors (Spartan magistrates) of each year on entering office declared war on the helots so that they might be murdered at any time without violating religious scruples.