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It is believed that the Macedonian civilization first used the military formation known as the plalanx. The armies of Alexander the great used this formation and later on the Greek city states and kingdoms that resulted from the death of Alexander also used the phalanx. Certainly by the early 8th century BC BCE ancient pottery displays the hoplite phalanx. By the 7th century BC BCE it was in use by Greek city states and it was likely spread into the Greek colonies in the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Sometime in 6th century BC BCE it was used by the ancient Roman Republic.

This often successful formation was also used by Hannibal in the Second Punic War.

The early Romans found that the phalanx was slow to move in bad terrain and lacked a certain amount of flexibility. The Roman legion infantry formation made the phalanx obsolete as far as the Romans were concerned.

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Q: What ancient civilization first used the phalanx over any other type army formation?
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Why is phalanx important in ancient greek?

It was a compact formation of 16 ranks, the spears of the first three ranks protruding. The rear ranks rested their spears on the shoulders of the ranks in front of them, and these plus small shields formed a defence against arrows fired at the phalanx. The phalanx was trained to wheel and reform in different directions, and was effectively a large battle tank. This worked as long as it was phalanx fighting phalanx. But the Romans had learned to fight in open formation, each warrior having fighting space, and when they ran up against the phalanx, they manoeuvred around it, attacking it from all directions at once. The phalanx ceased to be an effective formation.


Which ancient civilization was organized into city-states and which was a republic?

Ancient Greece was the first civilization to organize into city-states, which in turn became a republic along with Rome.


What was the first known civilization in China?

The Shang Dynasty was the first known dynasty of Ancient China.


Why was Greece is described as the glory of an ancient civilization?

Ancient Greece is described as the glory of an ancient civilization bcause it was one of the most civilized countries of it's time. This was one of the first civilazations to have no human sacrafices to the gods and to have scholars and playwrights. It was in the ancient city of Athens that logic was born. Ancient Greece was not just the glory of ancient civilization, it was the begging of western civilization, where the hypothetical flame first started burning because it was one of the first modern civilazations.


Which ancient civilization was the first to use city planning and sewr systems?

harappam

Related questions

Where are the phalanx located?

Phalanx is a military formation first written about in Ancient Greece. The first depiction of a phalanx was on a Summerian tablet called the Stele of the Vultures (made around 2600-2350 BCE).The term is still used today to describe this type of military formation.


Who used the fighting tactic known as the phalanx?

Phillip II True, but Alexander and his father were not the first or the only people to use the phalanx. Most Hellenistic (Greek) civilizations employed the phalanx formation among their troops.


What ancient general was successful with the army formation called the phalanx?

Many ancient generals were successful with the phalanx miltary formation as this formation was in widespread use in the Mediterranean for several centuries. The phalanx was a tight square formation with the infantrymen were tightly packed in 8 or more lines. It was part of the hoplite military "revolution" which started in Greece in the 7th cntury BC and spread around the Mediterranean. The hoplite was first heavy infantryman in history. He wore a bronze armour and helmet and used a bronze round shield and sword. The many wars between the Greek states were fought using the Phalanx. In Italy the Phalanx was adopted by the Etruscans and the Romans. The Romans abandoned the phalanx when they were defeated by the Samntes in 321 BC and adopted the manipular formation of the Samnites.The three most famous generals in the period of the phalanx formation were Greek: Pericles, Pyrrhus and Alexander the Great.


What type of terrain was the best for the Greek battle formation of the phalanx?

Flat land allowed it to keep close formation and change its frontal direction easily, however that also favoured enemy cavalry, so the phalanx needed its own cavalry support to protect it, and also th stop enemy light infantry from attacking from all sides.


When was the first civilization in the ancient world?

The first ancient civilization was Mesopotamia (Present day Iraq). I know this because this was the first thing I learned in my history book.


What civilization was the first to use algebra?

the ancient civilization babylonian


Who was the first ancient civilization?

Sumer


What was the first ancient world civilization?

The first civilization of Greece was the Minoan Civilization located on the island of Crete.


Is Ethiopia the first country of ancient civilization?

No.


What time was the first ancient civilization?

134BC


What was the massive formation of greek soldiers called?

Phalanx. It was a series of ranks of armoured infantry forming a shield wall with protruding spears. The number of ranks and length of the spears changed as the formation evolved. The end-of-evolution Macedonian one was 16 ranks deep with 18 foot pikes. The first three ranks had their pikes protruding, while the rear ranks rested theirs on the shoulders of the rank in front, where they intercepted incomig missiles. The rear ranks' contribution was mainly pushing the ranks in front, supporting the tussle with the opposing force.


What Ancient civilization created the first clear view of an afterlife?

the indian hindu civilization