- When you talk about the Carthaginian phalanx, what exactly do you mean? Do you believe they operated in a similar fashion to the Macedonian phalanx, or are you using the term to mean a mass of heavy infantry that fought hand-to-hand with spear and shield?
I have found no evidence that the Carthaginian “phalanx” resembled the Greek version. By Carthaginian phalanx I refer to a massed infantry formation equipped with swords versus spears. This is specifically pointed out by Livy and others writing about the Battle of Cannae. The Punic center used Roman weapons captured at Trasimene which would not have included phalanx type spears. Livy goes on to say, “The Gallic and Spanish contingents carried shields of similar shape, but their swords were of a different pattern, those of the Gauls being very long and not pointed, those of the Spaniards, who were accustomed to using them for piercing rather than cutting, being handily short and sharply pointed.”