When we talk about a phalanx in a military context, we automatically think of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army, with its compact formation of armored infantrymen armed with long sarissas. These were arranged in 64 squares or syntagmas, 16 men across (each in a one-square-meter space) by as many in depth, forming a total of 16,384 men. However, that phalanx, actually created by Philip II, was not unique. In fact, all Greek hoplites fought in a similar manner, and phalanxes are also found in other places and earlier times. The oldest known reference is Mesopotamian: the Stele of the Vultures.

The term comes from the Greek phálanx, which appears in the Archaic Era (following the Dark Age, from around the 8th century BCE to the 6th century BCE). At that time, it already had a warlike character, appearing in literary texts such as The Iliad (Homer) and the Theogony (Hesiod), among others. It was used in the plural to describe more or less flexible rectangular formations, and Homer highlights it as an organized combat system in rows, distinguishing it from the singular duels in which his characters engage.

Later, during the Classical Era, the word disappears until it is revived by Xenophon (Anabasis, Cyropaedia, Hellenica…), who applies it with more specificity. In this period, it was the main striking force of the polis, holding a specific social character in the sense that the hoplites who made it up shared citizenship and, therefore, an affluent status, as they had to afford their own equipment: helmet, aspis, spear… Each warrior protected the uncovered side of his comrade.

Phalanx formation
Paintings that decorate the Chigi Vase. Credit: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons

However, the lengthy duration of the Peloponnesian Wars required new additions, such as the peltasts or auxiliary light infantrymen, who were not as heavily protected and did not fight in closed formation. Other innovations were tactical, like those devised by Epaminondas, which gave Thebes supremacy for a time.

The phalanx formation was a mass of armored men bristling with spikes, and opposing it a priori was extremely difficult, as illustrated by its representation on the so-called Chigi Vase (650 BCE).

But it was the Macedonian Philip who displaced the Thebans from their power, arming his pezhetairoi (heavy infantry) and hypaspists (semi-heavy infantry) with extremely long sarissas (spears 3 to 7 meters in length), lighter shields, and the structure mentioned at the beginning of this article. To this, he added the hetairoi, an elite cavalry force that surpassed the modest role cavalry had up until then; it served as the army’s anvil, pinning the enemy down so the hammer, the phalanx, could crush it.

Macedonian Battle Formation
The Macedonian phalanx, as conceived by Philip and later used by Alexander. Credit: RedTony / Wikimedia Commons

With this system, Alexander conquered half the known world, but over time, that formation fell victim to its vulnerability when the battlefield was not flat, preventing soldiers from maintaining their formation properly and creating gaps that a skilled enemy could exploit. This was the case at Pydna, where Roman legionaries eventually prevailed when things seemed toughest for them. Other battles, like those at Magnesia (against a coalition of Seleucids and Galatians) or Cynoscephalae (against Macedonians and Thracians), led to the replacement of phalanx dominance by the more versatile Roman model.

However, echoes of that system persisted not only in the Roman army but in others later that followed a similar concept, like the Swiss pikemen squares of the late Middle Ages-early Renaissance or the Spanish Tercios, who expanded the power of pikes with firearms and a variety of complementary formations (squares, squadrons, sleeves, lines…) that eliminated the limitations the system could present in what was called the art of squadrons.

But what about before? In other words, was Greece the exclusive birthplace of the phalanx? Etymologically, yes, as we have seen, but in terms of existence, it seems not. The armies of Pharaonic Egypt also presented themselves to the enemy in formation, and their soldiers were armed with shields and spears, leading some scholars to consider them a precedent. But we can go even further back, specifically to the third millennium BCE, moving slightly southeast.

Phalanx formation
Fragment of the stele showing vultures eating corpses. Credit: Sting / Wikimedia Commons

Specifically, we need to situate ourselves in what is known as the Fertile Crescent, the arc that forms around the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This area was once highly fertile, which is why civilization began here, driven by agriculture and settlement that paved the way for the first agrarian empires.

One of these was Lagash, a Sumerian city-state located in what is now Iraq. Over time, it would fall under the influence of Akkad first and Babylon later, but we will focus on the period of the first ruling dynasty.

The fifth ensi (king, ruler) was Eannatum, who ascended the throne five years after Enhengal founded this dynasty in 2550 BCE, during what is known as the Early Dynastic Period. Eannatum was a conquering monarch who subjugated other cities around him, such as Ur, Nippur, Akshak, Larsa, and Uruk, and made the kingdoms of Kish, Umma, Elam, and Mari his tributaries. It was not a stable dominion, and rebellions often arose, but it was one of the first empires in history that truly merited that title.

Phalanx formation
The Stele of the Vultures in the Louvre Museum, showing both front and back. Credit: Kikuyu3 / Wikimedia Commons

Now, part of Eannatum’s reign, at least his military campaigns, is known to us thanks to the Stele of the Vultures. This is a large monument, standing 1.80 meters high by 1.30 meters wide and 11 centimeters thick, carved from a single block of limestone with a rounded top, resembling other similar Mesopotamian pieces like the Stele of Naram-Sin. The name comes from one of its scenes depicting carrion birds devouring corpses.

Unfortunately, the stele is not fully preserved; only seven fragments remain, six of which were found by French archaeologist Ernest de Sarzec while excavating the ruins of Ngirsu (present-day Tel Telloh) in the last quarter of the 19th century. The seventh fragment was acquired by the British Museum at an antiquities market in 1898 but was ceded to the Louvre in 1932 to keep the work unified. This was significant as both faces of the stele feature reliefs that require interpretation, with some being considered mythological and others historical.

The first face is divided into two superimposed sections. The upper section shows the god Ningirsu holding a mace in one hand and an image of Imdugud (a minor deity with the body of an eagle and the head of a lion) in the other, with the goddess Ninhursag in the background and a net filled with bodies at his feet. In the lower section, which is heavily damaged, Ningirsu is thought to be depicted on a chariot. However, the face of the stele of interest here is the other side, which shows four war scenes: the campaigns of Eannatum.

Phalanx formation
Upper fragments of the Stele of the Vultures showing the phalanx in combat and in march. Credit: Sting / Wikimedia Commons

This allows us to date the monument to the Early Dynastic Period, when it was customary to depict war victories in relief. Eannatum commissioned it around 2460 BCE, according to the cuneiform text accompanying the images, to recount his conflict with the ensi Ush of Umma over control of Gu-Edin, a fertile agricultural region that lay between their respective cities (less than thirty kilometers apart). As often happened, the conflict was settled by force, with Lagash emerging victorious.

The victory is described in four horizontal bands. The first is the most significant for our purposes because it shows Eannatum, identified with Ningirsu, leading a troop of soldiers in perfect battle order, with dead enemies at their feet and vultures circling above.

This formation is considered the first known phalanx in history, and it is not an arbitrary interpretation, as the warriors appear in formation, protected by their large shields and holding a forest of spears forward.

Phalanx formation
The Lagash phalanx marching under Eannatum. Credit: Sting / Wikimedia Commons

In another fragment of the stele, the phalanx is shown marching in formation, with shields at one side and spears on their shoulders, with the ensi at the front in a chariot.

The other, smaller parts depict more routine moments from the campaign: a priest in the act of libation, naked corpses lying on the ground, a spear piercing an enemy…

Today, it is considered likely that the concept of the phalanx (a large mass of warriors fighting in good order) was already present in this and other ancient instances, though technological limitations in an era before iron prevented arming all soldiers with the necessary equipment—a feat later achieved by the Greeks.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on October 23, 2018: La estela mesopotámica que muestra la primera formación en falange de la Historia

SOURCES

Elena Cassin, Jean Bottéro, Jean Vercoutter, Los imperios del Antiguo Oriente. Del Paleolítico a la mitad del segundo milenio

Joaquín Sanmartín, José Miguel Serrano, Historia Antigua del Próximo Oriente. Mesopotamia y Egipto

Douglas R. Frayne, Pre-Sargonic Period: Early Periods (2700-2350 BC)

Irene Winter, On Art in the Ancient Near East: From the Third Millennium B.c.e.

Nicholas Sekunda, The Army of Alexander the Great

Waldemar Heckel, Ryan Jones, Macedonian Warrior: Alexander’s elite infantryman

Nicholas Sekunda, Adam Hook, Greek hoplite, 480-323 BC

Ruth Sheppard, Alexander the Great at War: His Army – His Battles – His Enemies

Wikipedia, Estela de los buitres

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