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The History of Rome

014b- A Phalanx With Joints

The History of Rome

Mike Duncan

History, Education

4.813.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2010

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Roman army abandoned the Greek phalanx in favor of a new system based on a three line deployment organized by age and experience.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome.

0:08.8

Last time, we focused on the Greek phalanx, the formation of battle used by the Roman army

0:13.8

until the time of the Samny Wars.

0:16.4

This week I want to talk about the new system the Romans developed during and after their

0:20.4

war with the Samnites.

0:22.3

The new organizational structure would remain the standard for the next 250 odd years until

0:27.9

the Marian reform of 107 BC and become known to history as the Maniple system.

0:34.5

It was called the Maniple system because it was based around a tactile unit of 120 men

0:39.4

called the Maniple, which roughly translates as a handful.

0:43.7

This unit was capable of acting independently of the rest of the army or in concert with

0:48.2

the whole, giving Roman commanders an advantage over their predecessor who had to deal with

0:53.0

the bulky single line of a phalanx designed only for closely coordinated forward movement.

0:58.9

In a pinch a general could now order off a single Maniple to secure a ridge or plug

1:03.5

a hole or turn to face an enemy from behind without jeopardizing the cohesion of the rest

1:08.6

of the army.

1:10.1

And the new Roman general had another advantage over his predecessor.

1:13.8

The Romans abandoned the single line in favor of a staggered three line deployment.

1:19.7

At the outset of battle, the lines formed with 10 Maniples in the front, 10 in the middle,

1:24.3

and 10 half Maniples in the back, arrayed in a checkered board fashion.

1:29.3

Some sources say there were 15 Maniples in the front line, and some say there were 15

1:33.6

in the front too.

1:35.2

The specifics are hard to weed out due to the lack of source material and the competing

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