The Macedonian phalanx is an infantry formation developed by Philip II and used by his son Alexander the Great to conquer the Persian Empire and other armies. Phalanxes remained dominant on battlefields throughout the Hellenistic period, although wars had evolved into more protracted operations generally involving sieges and naval combat as much as field battles, until they were finally displaced by the Roman legions. Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme, First World War. ... This article is about the military unit. ... Philip II of Macedonia (382 BC–336 BC; in Greek Φιλιππος, transliterated Philippos) was the King of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death. ... Alexander the Great fighting Persian king Darius (not in frame) (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Phalanx (Greek word from phalangos, meaning Finger) can refer to: phalanx formation in ancient warfare. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ... Navy is also:- shorthand for Navy Blue the nickname of the United States Naval Academy A navy is the branch of the armed forces of a nation that operates primarily on water. ... The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... The Roman legion (from the Latin legio, meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. ...

Philip II spent much of his youth as a hostage at Thebes, where he studied under the renowned general Epaminondas, whose reforms were the basis for the phalanx. Phalangites were professional soldiers, and were among the first troops ever to be drilled, thereby allowing them to execute complex maneuvers well beyond the reach of most other armies. They fought packed in a close rectangular formation, typically eight men deep, with a leader at the head of each column and a secondary leader in the middle, so that the back rows could move off to the sides if more frontage was needed. Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα - Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: - Thēbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... Epaminondas (c. ...

Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa, a double-pointed pike over 6 m (18 ft) in length. These were carried in two pieces, slid together just before battle, and had to be wielded with two hands. At close range such large weapons were useless, 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 spearpoints than available targets at any given time. The secondary weapon was a shortsword. The sarissa (or sarisa) was a 3 to 7 meter (13-21 feet) long double pointed pike used in the Macedonian phalanx. ... A pike is a pole weapon once used extensively by infantry principally as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. ... The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a metre. ...

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 broke through their ranks. The Macedonian cavalry fought in wedge formation and was stationed on the far right; after these broke through the enemy lines they were followed by the hypaspists, elite infantrymen who served as the king's bodyguard, and then the phalanx proper. The left flank was generally covered by allied cavalry supplied by the Thessalians, which fought in rhomboid formation and served mainly in a defensive role. Cavalry is also a common misspelling of the Biblical hill Calvary. ... Hypaspistai, or hypaspists elite foot guardsmen as used by Alexander the Greats Macedonian army. ... A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... This article is about mathematics. ...

Other forces — skirmishers, range troops, reserves of allied hoplites, archers, and artillery — were also employed. The phalanx carried with it a fairly minimal baggage train, with only one servant for every few men. This gave it a marching speed that contemporary armies could not hope to match — on occasion forces surrendered to Alexander simply because they were not expecting him to show up for several more days. Phalangites were drilled to perform short forced marches if required. Skirmishers are soldiers who make up a Skirmish Line. ... Archers in Competition Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Servant has a number of meaning: A servant is another word for domestic worker, a person who is hired to provide regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. ... Image of a man on the Pioneer plaque sent to interstellar space A man is a male human adult, in contrast to an adult female, which is a woman. ... Marching (drill) refers to the organized and uniformed rhythmic walk to march (music), often associated with military troops and parades. ... Speed (symbol: v) is the rate of motion, or equivalently the rate of change of position, expressed as distance d moved per unit of time t. ... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ...

The armies of the early Hellenistic period were equipped and fought mainly in the same style as Alexander's. Towards the end, however, there was a general slide away from the combined arms approach back to using the phalanx itself as the arm of decision, having it charge into the enemy lines much like earlier hoplites had. This left the formation fairly vulnerable — though near invincible to forwards assault, phalanxes like other infantry formations were fairly prone to flanking, and worse still tending to break up when advancing quickly over rough ground. So long as everyone was using the same tactics these weaknesses were not immediately apparent, but with the advent of the Roman legion they proved fatal in every major engagement, the most famous being the Battle of Pydna, as the Romans were able to advance through gaps in the line and easily defeat the phalangites once in close. A flank is the side of either a horse or a military unit. ... The Roman legion (from the Latin legio, meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. ... Combatants Macedon Roman Republic Commanders Perseus of Macedon Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus Strength 44,000 38,000 Casualties 25,000 killed and wounded unknown {{{notes}}} The Battle of Pydna in 168 BC between Rome and the Antigonid dynasty represents the start of the true power of Rome, and the end...

See also

• Aelianus Tacticus
• Hoplite
• Macedonian Army
• Military technology and equipment
• Military history
• Phalanx
• Pole weapon
• Battle of Pydna
• Battle of Cynoscephalae