Inspired by the conference weekend, military history, and a friend.

While many think about the Roman Empire itself, perhaps even countless times every week or simply as an ode to an emerging online trend, my weekly “Roman Empire” is similar, but in the same sense so vastly different that I felt the need to dedicate a whole blog to the subject. With the military history course just moving past the unit of ancient warfare, dedicated to the likes of Romans, Greeks, Macedonians, and Persians, two stand out as titans of their time—the Romans and Macedonians, creating empires stretching continents through their innovative approaches to war. But, as I continue to ponder myself, which side, or faction, would come out victorious in a pitched battle? Let’s take a look at the competitors.

Weapons Systems

Romans

The Romans are famous for their heavy infantry formations, often referred to as legions, donning their infamous red and yellow color scheme. In one hand, Roman soldiers wield a large wooden shield, spanning from the neck to the mid-shin—some of the best protection offered in the ancient world. Placed in the center of the shield is a metal “boss”, a circular piece of metal attached to the front of the shield. This cemented the Roman shield, known as a scutum, as both an offensive and defensive weapon, capable of deflecting melee blows and projectiles with its large coverage, while still being able to deliver a blunt, crushing blow when rammed into an enemy soldier. In the other hand, the legionary held a short stabbing sword, known as a gladius, with a blade length of just around two feet. It was among the sharpest swords of the ancient era, lethal when used in conjunction with the scutum to cut down unsuspecting opponents. But the gladius was similarly infamous for its double-edged nature—not only could it be used as a stabbing weapon, as was the case in most instances, but its slashing capability was just as effective.

Macedonians

While the Romans are well-known for their large shields, Macedonian soldiers also possessed a weapon of similar proportions—a thirteen to twenty-one foot long spear, known as a sarissa, the longest of any such weapon of the time, needing both hands to wield. At both the front and back of the sarissa is a pointed, razor-sharp tip, capable of piercing the heaviest armor of the era and lethal when thrusted forward. The back, unlike the front, additionally contains a metal counterweight, allowing a Macedonian soldier to carry the spear closer to the rear, granting more reach and length facing an enemy force. Critically, the pointed nature of the back of the sarissa served as a means of stability, with soldiers often driving the back of the spear into the ground to repel cavalry charges. Although the sarissa was a two-handed weapon, Macedonians still carried a telamon shield, strapped around the forearm and slung around the neck to still allow a two-handed grip on the sarissa. The shield spanned from a soldier’s neck to the upper thigh, mainly used to repel projectiles or unsuspecting attacks aimed at a soldier’s midsection.

Tactics

Romans

The Romans, with their scutum and gladius, emphasized flexibility on the battlefield, with each unit being homogeneous and therefore able to carry out the same, broad variety of battlefield duties. If needed elsewhere, they simply could turn around and make their way to a new location on the field, not hindered by unwieldy weapons or strict formations. Although Romans often fought in lines, the maneuverability and weapons systems of Roman soldiers meant that they did not need to strictly conform to the line formation, as they could both create gaps in their lines to move elsewhere and fill these gaps with relative ease. If flanked, it was relatively easy for a Roman line to disperse and retreat in good order, easily able to regroup at a new location and continue the fight. 

Macedonians

Though not nearly as maneuverable as the Roman legions due to the sheer size of their primary weapon, the sarissa, the Macedonian soldier embodied brute force, especially in conjunction with the faction’s main formation—the phalanx, an almost porcupine-like formation, with rows of sarissa-wielding Macedonians lined up next to one another, spears facing forward. In fact, the size of the sarissa made it so that soldiers as far as five ranks deep (not only the soldiers in the first line of the phalanx) were able to have their spears visible in the front of the formation. Upon forming, the Macedonian phalanxes would roll forward, presenting an impenetrable wall of spear and shield to anyone who dared to face the phalanx head-on. 

Conclusion

In a pitched battle, when considering strictly the heavy infantry and its associated tactics within each faction—the results would likely be inconclusive. Simply put, the phalanx lacks the flexibility to outmaneuver a Roman legion, but a legion lacks the sheer force to break through a well-positioned phalanx. In fact, a battle between the two did take place: the Battle of Cynoscephalae, fought in 197 B.C. between Macedonian and Roman forces, saw the legion and the phalanx collide. In examining the battle as well as tactical and technological theoreticals, this conclusion is further supported. The Roman victory at the battle came as a result of hesitation to hastily deploy the phalanx on the Macedonian left flank, whereby the more maneuverable legions were able to break the disorganized formation. However, where the phalanx met the legions in the center of the battlefield, the legions were pushed back and suffered heavy losses. Ultimately, in a pitched battle, the clear determination of a winner is next to impossible—an engagement between two vastly different ways of war rests on far too many theoreticals and decisive moments during a battle itself. Do the Macedonians keep their flanks well-protected? Do the Romans look for gaps in the phalanx? Do soldiers strictly remain in formation throughout the battle? All such questions cannot be answered even with such evidence, leaving a fact-based conclusion unobtainable (for the record, however, I’d want to see the phalanx win).