Alexander A. Kleymeonov

Doctor of Science (History), Senior researcher of the Department of History and Archaeology

Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University

(Tula, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2022-2-6-19

Abstract. The problem of the appearance of heavily armed infantry as part of the Macedonian army is under consideration in this article. It defends that in Perdiccas’ II times the Macedonian army lacked its own heavy infantry, and the need for this kind of troops was met, if possible, by attracting Greeks who lived in Macedonia to participate in hostilities mercenary troops. The Argead kingdom socio-economic development was the reason for the current situation because there was not a sufficient number of residents able to purchase the expensive hoplite equipment. Unambiguously interpreted information about the appearance of the Macedonian heavy infantry refers to the initial period of Philip’s II government, when the Macedonians were equipped with the appropriate weapons and trained to act in the phalanx formation. Quite often, based on some Thucydides and Anaximenes data, it is assumed that such Macedonian kings as Alexander I, Archelau or Alexander II could implement reforms aimed at creating their own corps of heavy infantrymen. Nevertheless, the ancient reports used to substantiate such conclusions allow for other interpretations that do not provide for the introduction of heavy infantry into the structure of the Macedonian army. There is no evidence of using this military branch in the events of Macedonian military history before the Philipian time. As a result of the consideration of the problem, it is stated that the Macedonian heavy infantry at that time could only be represented by a small detachment that was part of the monarch's personal guard and was not able to significantly influence the course of hostilities. The real creator of phalanx as an important part of the Macedonian military system should be considered Philip II, and not any of his predecessors.
Keywords: Macedonia, Philip II, infantry, phalanx, hoplites, pezhetairoi, Thucydides.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Kleymeonov, AA 2022, ‘Macedonian heavy infantry in the pre-Philip times: facts and assumptions’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (10), pp. 6–19, http://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2022-2-6-19 (in Russ.)

References

1. Borza, EN 2013, ‘Istoriya antichnoj Makedonii (do Aleksandra Velikogo)’ (The history of ancient Macedonia (before Alexander the Great)), MM Kholod, History Department of St. Petersburg state University, Nestor-istoria, St. Petersburg. (in Russ.)
2. Zlatkovskaya, TD 1971, ‘Vozniknovenie gosudarstva u frakijcev VII – V vv do n.e.’ (The emergence of the state among the Thracians of the 7th – 5th centuries BC), Nauka, Moscow. (in Russ.)
3. Nefedkin, AK 2019, ‘Konnicza e`poxi e`llinizma’ (Hellenistic сavalry). Publishing House of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg. (in Russ.)
4. Worthington, I 2014, ‘Filipp Makedonskij’ (Philip II of Macedonia), SV Ivanov, Klio, St. Petersburg, Moscow. (in Russ.)
5. Shofman, AS 1960, ‘Istoriya antichnoj Makedonii’ (History of ancient Macedonia), vol. I, Kazan University Press, Kazan. (in Russ.)
6. Anderson, JK 1970, Military theory and practice in the age of Xenophon, University of California Press, Berkeley–Los Angeles.
7. Anson, EM 2013, Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Bloomsbury, London–New York.
8. Anson, EM 2020, Philip II, the Father of Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues, Bloomsbury, London–New York.
9. Anson, EM 1985, ‘The Hypaspists: Macedonia’s Professional Citizen-Soldiers’, Historia, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 246–248.
10. Ashley, JR 1998, The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359 – 323 BC, McFarland, Jefferson.
11. Berve, H 1926, Das Alexanderreich auf prosopographischer Grundlage, vol. 1, Beck, München. (in German)
12. Billows, RA 1995, Kings and Colonists: Aspects of Macedonian Imperialism, Brill, Leiden–New York.
13. Bosworth, AB 2010, ‘The Argeads and the Phalanx’, in E Carney & D. Ogden (eds.) Philip II and Alexander the Great. Father and Son, Lives and Afterlives, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 91–102.
14. Brunt, PA 1976, ‘Anaximenes and King Alexander I of Macedon’, Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 96, pp. 151–153.
15. Canfora, L 2006, ‘Biographical Obscurities and Problems of Composition’, in A Rengakos & A Tsakmakis (eds.) Brill’s Companion to Thucydides, Brill, Leiden–Boston, pp. 3–31.
16. Cawkwell, G 1978, Philip of Macedon, Faber & Faber, London–Boston.
17. Whinston, R (ed.) 1859, Demosthenes. vol. 1, Whittaker & Co, London. (in Ancient Greek)
18. Diodorus Siculus, 1980, Library of history, vol. 7, Harvard University Press, Cambridge–London. (in Ancient Greek)
19. Diodorus Siculus, 1989, Library of history, vol. 8. Harvard University Press, Cambridge–London. (in Ancient Greek)
20. Echeverría, F 2012, ‘Hoplite and Phalanx in Archaic and Classical Greece: A Reassessment’, Classical Philology, vol. 107, no. 4, pp. 291–318.
21. Ellis, JR 1976, Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
22. Erskine, A 1989, 1989 ‘The of πεζέταιροι Philip II and Alexander III’, Historia, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 385–394.
23. Roos, AG (ed.) 1907, Flavii Arriani Anabasis Alexandri. Teubner, Leipzig. (in Ancient Greek)
24. Foster, E 2017, ‘Campaign and Battle Narratives in Thucydides’, in RK Balot, S Forsdyke & E Foster (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 301–315.
25. Gabriel, RA 2010, Philip II of Macedonia: Greater than Alexander, Potomac Books, Washington.
26. Geyer, F 1930, Makedonien bis zur Thronbesteigung Philipps II, R. Oldenbourg, München–Berlin. (in German)
27. Greenwalt, WS 2017, ‘Alexander II of Macedon’, in T Howe, S Müller & R. Stoneman (eds.) Ancient Historiography on War and Empire, Oxbow Books, Oxford–Philadelphia, pp. 80–91.
28. Greenwalt, WS 2014, ‘Infantry and the Evolution of Argead Macedonia’, in T Howe, EE Garvin & G Wrightson (eds.) Greece, Macedon and Persia: Studies in Social, Political and Military History in Honour of Waldemar Heckel, Oxbow Books, Oxford–Philadelphia, pp 41–46.
29. Greenwalt, WS 2007, ‘The Development of a Middle Class in Macedonia’, in Ancient Macedonia 7: Seventh International Symposium, 2002, Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki, pp. 87–96.
30. Griffith, GT 1935, The Mercenaries of the Hellenistic World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
31. Griffith, GT 1979, ‘The Reign of Philip the Second’, in NGL Hammond, GT & Griffith A History of Macedonia. Vol. II: 550–336 BC, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 201–646.
32. Hammond, NGL 1980, Alexander the Great: King, Commander and Statesman, Noyes Press, Park Ridge.
33. Hammond, NGL 1979, ‘The Development of the Macedonia State’ in NGL Hammond, GT & Griffith A History of Macedonia. Vol. II: 550–336 BC, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 1–200.
34. Hammond, NGL 1991, ‘The Various Guards of Philip II and Alexander III’, Historia, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 396–418.
35. Hammond, NGL 1980, ‘Training in the Use of a Sarissa and its Effect in Battle, 359 – 333 B. C.’,Antichthon, vol. 14, pp. 53–63.
36. Hammond, NGL 1997, ‘What May Philip Have Learnt as a Hostage at Thebes?’, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 355–372.
37. Hansen, MH 1993, ‘The Battle Exhortation in Ancient Historiography. Fact or Fiction?’, Historia, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 161–180.
38. Keaney, JJ (ed.) 1991, Harpocration Lexeis of the ten orators, Hakkert, Amsterdam. (in Ancient Greek)
39. Hatzopoulos, MB 2001, L’organisation de l’armée macédonienne sous les Antigonides. De Boccard, Athènes. (in French)
40. Hatzopoulos, MB 1996, Macedonian Institutions under the Kings, vol. 2, De Boccard, Athens.
41. Hatzopoulos, MB 2011, ‘Macedonians and Other Greeks’, in RJ Lane Fox (ed.) Brill’s Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC – 300 AD, Brill, Leiden–Boston, pp. 51–78.
42. Head, D 1982, Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars 359 BC to 146 BC, Wargames Research Group, Goring-by-Sea.
43. Heckel, W 2013, ‘The Three Thousand: Alexander’s Infantry Guard’, in B Campbell & LA Tritle (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 162–178.
44. Grenfell, B & Hunt, A (eds.) 1909, Hellenica Oxyrhynchia cum Theopompi et Cratippi fragmentis, Clarendon, Oxford. (in English and Ancient Greek)
45. Hornblower, S 1991, A Commentary on Thucydides, vol. 2. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
46. Hornblower, S 2011, The Greek world, 479–323 BC, Routledge, London–New York.
47. Gundermann, G (ed.) 1888, Ivli Frontini strategematon libri qvattvor, Teubner, Leipzig. (in Latin)
48. Kagan, D & Viggiano, GF 2013, ‘The Hoplite Debate’, in D Kagan & GF Viggiano (eds.) Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece, Princeton University Press, Princeton–Oxford, pp. 1–56.
49. Karunanithy, D 2013, The Macedonian War Machine: Neglected Aspects of the Armies of Philip, Alexander and the Successors 359–281 BC, Pen & Sword, Barnsley.
50. King, CJ 2017, Ancient Macedonia, Routledge, London–New York.
51. Lendon, JE, 2005, Soldiers and Ghosts: A history of battle in classical antiquity, Yale University Press, New Haven–London.
52. Lock, R 1974, The Army of Alexander the Great, PhD thesis, University of Leeds, Leeds.
53. Rühl, F & Seel, O (eds). 1935 M. Juniani Justini epitoma historiarum Philippicarum, Teubner, Leipzig. (in Latin)
54. Markle, MM 1978, ‘Use of the Macedonian Sarissa by Philip and Alexander’, American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 82, no. 4, pp. 483–497.
55. Mattew, CA 2015, An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike-Phalanx at War, Pen and Sword, Barnsley.
56. Milns, RD 1976, ‘The Army of Alexander the Great’, in E Badian (ed.) Alexandre le Grand. Image et réalité, Fondation Hardt, Geneva, pp. 87–129.
57. Momigliano, A 1934, Filippo il Macedone, F. Le Monnier, Firenze. (in Italian)
58. Nawotka, K 2010, Alexander the Great, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge.
59. Noguera Borel, A 2007, ‘L’armée macédonienne avant Philippe’, in Ancient Macedonia 7: Seventh International Symposium, 2002, Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki, pp. 97–111. (in Spain)
60. Noguera Borel, A 1996, ‘L’évolution de la phalange macédonienne: le cas de la sarisse’, in Ancient Macedonia 6. Sixth International Symposium, 1996, vol. 2, Institute for Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki, pp. 839–850. (in Spain)
61. Noguera Borel, A 2006, ‘Le recrutement de l’armée macédonienne sous la royauté’, in AM Guimier-Sorbets, MB Hatzopoulos & Y Morizot (eds.) Rois, cités, necropoles: institutions, rites et monuments en Macédoine, De Boccard, Athens, pp. 227–236. (in Spain)
62. Perrin, B (ed) 1918, Plutarch's Lives. vol. 6, Cambridge, Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd, London. (in English and Ancient Greek)
63. Woelfflin, E & Melber, J (eds.) 1887, Polyaeni Strategematon libri VIII, Teubner, Leipzig. (in Ancient Greek)
64. Vogel, Th (ed.) 1889, Q. Curtii Rufi historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis libri qui supersunt, Teubner, Leipzig. (in Latin)
65. Roisman J 2010, ‘Classical Macedonia to Perdiccas III’, in J Roisman & I Worthington (eds.) A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 145–165.
66. Romm, J 2010, ‘Alexander’s Army and Military Leadership’, in J. Romm (ed.) The Landmark Arrian: the campaigns of Alexander: a new translation, Pantheon Books, New York, pp. 343–351.
67. Sekunda, N 2010, ‘The Macedonian Army’, in J Roisman & I Worthington (eds.) A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 446–471.
68. Spendel, AL 1915, Untersuchungen zum Heerwesen der Diadochen, doctoral thesis, Schlesischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Breslau. (in German)
69. Tarn, WW 1948, Alexander the Great, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
70. Taylor, R 2021, The Greek Hoplite Phalanx: The Iconic Heavy Infantry of the Classical Greek World, Pen & Sword, Barnsley.
71. Hude, С (ed.) 1901, Thucydidis Historiae. vol. 1. Teubner, Leipzig. (in Ancient Greek)
72. Hude, С (ed.) 1903, Thucydidis Historiae. vol. 2, Teubner, Leipzig. (in Ancient Greek)
73. Weissenborn, W (ed.) 1864, Titi Livi ab urbe condita libri: Buch 39-42, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, Berlin. (in Latin)
74. Ueda-Sarson, L. 2002, ‘The Evolution of Hellenistic Infantry Part 1: The Reforms of Iphicrates’, Slingshot, vol. 222, pp. 30–36.
75. Wallace, J 1998, ‘A (Hi)Story of Illyria’, Greece and Rome, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 213–225.
76. Wheeler, EL 2007, ‘Archaic and Classical Greece: Land battle’, in P Sabin, H Van Wees & M Whitby (eds.) The Cambridge history of Greek and Roman Warfare, vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 186–223.
77. Willekes, C 2017, Greek Warriors: Hoplites and Heroes, Casemate, Oxford–Philadelphia.
78. Zahrnt, M 2006, ‘Macedonia and Thrace in Thucydides’, in A Rengakos & A Tsakmakis (eds.) Brill’s Companion to Thucydides, Brill, Leiden–Boston, pp. 589–614.