Pilum: Difference between revisions
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== History == | == History == | ||
The ''pilum ''may have originated from an Italic tribe known as the [[Samnites]]. | The ''pilum ''may have originated from an Italic tribe known as the [[Samnites]].{{sfn|Erdkamp|2007|p=8}}{{sfn|Jeon|Kim|Koh|2015|p=20}}{{sfn| Марибор Институтp информацијских знаности |2023|pp=145–154}} It also may | ||
have been influenced by [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] weapons.{{sfn|Quesada Sanz|2006|pp=245–263}} The ''pilum'' may have derived from a Celtiberian weapon known as the'' [[falarica]]''.{{sfn|Nardo|2004|p=34}}<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2006 |title=Not so different: individual fighting techniques and battle tactics of Roman and Iberian armies within the framework of warfare in the Hellenistic Age |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238749568 |journal=Actes du Colloque International de Toulouse |via= | |||
have been influenced by [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] weapons. | [[ResearchGate]]}}{{page needed|date=June 2025}}</ref> [[Archaeological excavation]]s have disclosed ''pila'' in tombs at the Etruscan city of [[Tarquinia]].{{sfn|D'Amato|Salimbeti|2018}}{{page needed|date=June 2025}} The oldest finds of pila are from the Etruscan settlements of [[Vulci]] and [[Talamone]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Bohec |first1=Le |title=Pilum |date=2006|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/*-e925410 |work=Brill’s New Pauly |access-date=2023-03-15 |publisher=Brill |language=en |last2=Yann (Lyon)}}{{page needed|date=June 2025}}</ref> The first identified written reference to the ''pilum'' comes from [[The Histories (Polybius)|''The Histories'']] of [[Polybius]]. According to Polybius, more heavily armed Roman military soldiers used a spear called the ''hyssoí''. This may have been the ''pilum''. The precursor to the ''pilum'' was the ''[[Hasta (spear)|hasta]]''.{{sfn|Petrocelli|2015|pp=979–1028}}{{sfn|Meiklejohn|1938|pp=170–178}} It is unclear how soon it was replaced by the ''pilum''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGUHEAAAQBAJ |title=Romans at War: The Roman Military in the Republic and Empire |date=2020|publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-61200-886-8 |language=en}}{{page needed|date=June 2025}}</ref> Polybius mentioned that it was an important contributor to the Roman victory at the [[Battle of Telamon]] in 225 BCE.{{sfn|Nijboer|1991|pp=17–29}} Use of the ''pilum'' was discontinued by Roman military in the second century.{{sfn|Kerrigan|2001|p=42}} | ||
[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref> [[Archaeological excavation]]s have disclosed ''pila'' in tombs at the Etruscan city of [[Tarquinia]]. | |||
==Design== | ==Design== | ||
A ''pilum'' had a total weight between {{convert|2|and|5|lb|order=flip|round=0.5|kg|abbr=on}},{{Citation needed|reason=2 to 5 pounds seems too heavy|date=February 2018}} with the versions produced during the earlier [[Roman Republic|Republic]] being slightly heavier than those produced in the later [[Roman Empire|Empire]]. | A ''pilum'' had a total weight between {{convert|2|and|5|lb|order=flip|round=0.5|kg|abbr=on}},{{Citation needed|reason=2 to 5 pounds seems too heavy|date=February 2018}} with the versions produced during the earlier [[Roman Republic|Republic]] being slightly heavier than those produced in the later [[Roman Empire|Empire]]. | ||
The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip, but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. The softness could cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pilum (Spear) |url=https://romanmilitary.net/tools/pilum/ |access-date=1 January 2021 |website=romanmilitary.net}}</ | The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip, but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. The softness could cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pilum (Spear) |url=https://romanmilitary.net/tools/pilum/ |access-date=1 January 2021 |website=romanmilitary.net}}</ref>{{sfn| Weapon: a visual history of arms and armor|2013|p=8}} According to Davide Antonio Secci, the ''pilum'' was not meant to bend on impact, but instead was meant to break.{{sfn|Secci|2012|pp=413–424}} If a ''pilum'' struck a shield, it might embed itself, and the bending of the shank would force the enemy to discard his shield as unusable without removing the ''pilum'', or carry around the shield burdened by the weight of the ''pilum''.{{sfn|Anglim|Rice|Jestice|Rusch|2003|p=9}} Even if the shank did not bend, the pyramidal tip still made it difficult to pull out. Many cases occurred, though, in which the whole shank was hardened, making the ''pilum'' more suitable as a close-quarters melee weapon and also making it usable by enemy soldiers.{{sfn|Cowan|2003|pp=25–26}} | ||
Although the bending of its shank is commonly seen as an integral part of the weapon's design and as an intentional feature, little evidence suggests that. The most commonly found artifacts suggest that the ''pilum'' was constructed to use the weight of the weapon to cause damage, most likely to be able to impale through [[armour]] and reach the enemy soldier's body. The combination of the weapon's weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip (the design of which was seen in the [[Middle Ages]] in the form of [[bodkin arrow]] tips), made the ''pilum'' a formidable armour-piercing weapon. If the weapon was meant to be used against armour and to use its mass (as opposed to its speed) to cause damage, the bending of the shank seems to be a beneficial result of its intended use, which is to pierce through layers of armour. That the ''pilum'' needed to pierce layers of armour (through the shield, into body armour and past clothing) necessitated a lengthy shank, which was prone to bending. M.C. Bishop wrote that the momentum of the ''pilum'' caused the shank to bend upon impact, and although unintended, that proved a useful characteristic of the weapon. | Although the bending of its shank is commonly seen as an integral part of the weapon's design and as an intentional feature, little evidence suggests that. The most commonly found artifacts suggest that the ''pilum'' was constructed to use the weight of the weapon to cause damage, most likely to be able to impale through [[armour]] and reach the enemy soldier's body. The combination of the weapon's weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip (the design of which was seen in the [[Middle Ages]] in the form of [[bodkin arrow]] tips), made the ''pilum'' a formidable armour-piercing weapon. If the weapon was meant to be used against armour and to use its mass (as opposed to its speed) to cause damage, the bending of the shank seems to be a beneficial result of its intended use, which is to pierce through layers of armour. That the ''pilum'' needed to pierce layers of armour (through the shield, into body armour and past clothing) necessitated a lengthy shank, which was prone to bending. M.C. Bishop wrote that the momentum of the ''pilum'' caused the shank to bend upon impact, and although unintended, that proved a useful characteristic of the weapon.{{sfn|Bishop|Coulston|2009|pp=50–51}} However, a newer work by M. C. Bishop states that ''pila'' are "unlikely to bend under their own weight when thrown and striking a target or ground"; rather, human intervention such as improper removal of a ''pilum'' stuck in a target is responsible in some way, and Caesar's writings should be interpreted as the ''pilum'' bending when soldiers tried to remove them.{{sfn|Bishop|Coulston|2009|pp=50–51}} | ||
[[File:AdamclisiMetope27.jpg|left|thumb|Legionaries carrying ''pila'', as depicted on the [[Tropaeum Traiani]]]] | [[File:AdamclisiMetope27.jpg|left|thumb|Legionaries carrying ''pila'', as depicted on the [[Tropaeum Traiani]]]] | ||
Since the pyramidal tip of a ''pilum'' was wider than the rest of the shank, once it had penetrated a shield, it left behind a hole larger than the rest of the shank, and it could move through the shield with little resistance, stabbing the soldier behind. The length of the shank and its depth of penetration also made pulling it out of a shield more difficult, even if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a ''pilum'' penetrated the shield, the end of the heavy shaft of the ''pilum'' would hit the ground, holding the shield in place. Some ''pila'' had a spike on the end of the shaft, which made it easier to dig into the ground.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} | Since the pyramidal tip of a ''pilum'' was wider than the rest of the shank, once it had penetrated a shield, it left behind a hole larger than the rest of the shank, and it could move through the shield with little resistance, stabbing the soldier behind. The length of the shank and its depth of penetration also made pulling it out of a shield more difficult, even if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a ''pilum'' penetrated the shield, the end of the heavy shaft of the ''pilum'' would hit the ground, holding the shield in place. Some ''pila'' had a spike on the end of the shaft, which made it easier to dig into the ground.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} | ||
The two versions of ''pila'' are heavy and light. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power, but archaeological specimens of that design variant are not (so far) known. | The two versions of ''pila'' are heavy and light. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power, but archaeological specimens of that design variant are not (so far) known.{{sfn|Connolly|1998|p=233}} Recent experiments have shown ''pila'' to have a range around {{convert|33|m|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}, although the effective range is up to {{convert|15|-|20|m|abbr=on|round=5}}. The earliest known examples of heavy ''pila'' have barbed heads and their tangs have a figure-eight shape.{{sfn|Bishop|Coulston|2009|p=52}} | ||
Romans also used the ''pilum'' as a melee weapon in close-quarters combat. | Romans also used the ''pilum'' as a melee weapon in close-quarters combat. Note pictorial depictions from the [[Tropaeum Traiani]] monument, descriptions of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]'s troops using javelins as [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] against the Gauls in Caesar's [[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|''Gallic War'']], Book VII, and descriptions of Caesar's men using javelins to stab at Pompey's cavalry in [[Plutarch]]'s [[Parallel Lives|''Life of Caesar'']]. | ||
The ''[[angon]]'' was a similar weapon used in late Roman and post-Roman times. | The ''[[angon]]'' was a similar weapon used in late Roman and post-Roman times. | ||
The origin of the design of the ''pilum'' is a matter of contention. Arguments have been proposed which suggest that the design stemmed from ancient Italian tribes or from the Iberian Peninsula. Considering that two versions of the ''pilum'' are known (the heavy and the light), the Roman ''pilum'' may be descended from two different weapons, perhaps from different cultural groups. The two weapons designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman ''pilum'' as it is known today. | The origin of the design of the ''pilum'' is a matter of contention. Arguments have been proposed which suggest that the design stemmed from ancient Italian tribes or from the Iberian Peninsula. Considering that two versions of the ''pilum'' are known (the heavy and the light), the Roman ''pilum'' may be descended from two different weapons, perhaps from different cultural groups. The two weapons designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman ''pilum'' as it is known today.{{sfn|Bishop|Coulston|2009|p=52}} | ||
==Tactics== | ==Tactics== | ||
{{main|Roman infantry tactics}}[[Legionary|Legionaries]] of the late [[Roman Republic|Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire|Empire]] often carried two ''pila'', with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them (both if time permitted) at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the ''[[gladius]]''; | {{main|Roman infantry tactics}}[[Legionary|Legionaries]] of the late [[Roman Republic|Republic]] and early [[Roman Empire|Empire]] often carried two ''pila'', with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them (both if time permitted) at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the ''[[gladius]]'';{{sfn|Slavik|2017|pp=151–171}} however, [[Alexander Zhmodikov]] has argued that the Roman infantry could use ''pila'' at any stage in the fighting.{{sfn|Zhmodikov|2000|pp= 67 – 78}} Zhmodikov has also argued that Roman battle tactics sometimes consisted of exchanging projectile weapons such as the pilum. [[Sam Koon]] argues against the idea that Roman tactics primarily consisted of projectile combat.{{sfn|Slavik|2017|pp=151–171}} | ||
The effect of the ''pilum'' throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition and by causing gaps to appear in any protective shield wall. | The effect of the ''pilum'' throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition and by causing gaps to appear in any protective shield wall.{{sfn|Cowan|2003|pp=25–26}} The design of the ''pilum''{{'}}s tip is such that once wedged inside a shield, it is difficult to remove; a shield thus penetrated by a ''pilum'' became very awkward to wield, and was usually discarded. This resulted in the aforementioned gaps in the protective shield wall, which could then favour the short ''gladius'' in tight hand-to-hand mêlées. | ||
''Pila'' could also be used in hand-to-hand combat; one [[De Bello Gallico|documented instance]] of this occurred at the [[Siege of Alesia]], and another during [[Mark Antony|Mark Antony's]] Parthian campaign.<ref>"''tois yssois paiontes.''" {{Cite web |author=Plutarch |title=Life of Mark Antony, 45.3 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0077%3Achapter%3D45%3Asection%3D3 |access-date=2011-09-27}}</ref> Additionally, ''pila'' could be employed as a thrusting implement and a barrier against cavalry charges. | ''Pila'' could also be used in hand-to-hand combat; one [[De Bello Gallico|documented instance]] of this occurred at the [[Siege of Alesia]], and another during [[Mark Antony|Mark Antony's]] Parthian campaign.<ref>"''tois yssois paiontes.''" {{Cite web |author=Plutarch |title=Life of Mark Antony, 45.3 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0077%3Achapter%3D45%3Asection%3D3 |access-date=2011-09-27}}</ref> Additionally, ''pila'' could be employed as a thrusting implement and a barrier against cavalry charges.{{efn|[[Arrian]]'s Array against the Alans. "And the front four ranks of the formation must be of spearmen, whose spearpoints end in thin iron shanks. And the foremost of them should hold them at the ready, in order that when the enemies come near them, they can thrust the iron points of the spears at the breast of the horses in particular. Those standing in second, third and fourth rank of the formation must hold their spears ready for thrusting if possible, wounding the horses and killing the horsemen and put the rider out of action with the spear stuck in their heavy body armour and the iron point bent because of the softness. The following ranks should be of the javelineers."{{Cite web |author=Dorst, Sander van |title=Arrian's Array against the Alans |url=http://members.tripod.com/~S_van_Dorst/Ancient_Warfare/Rome/Sources/ektaxis.html |access-date=2010-10-03}}}} Some ''pila'' had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a mêlée weapon, but apparently this was common.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} | ||
==Vegetius' commentary== | ==Vegetius' commentary== | ||
| Line 68: | Line 67: | ||
* [[Spear]] | * [[Spear]] | ||
* ''[[Verutum]]'' | * ''[[Verutum]]'' | ||
== Notes == | |||
{{Noteslist}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
== | == Bibliography == | ||
{{Refbegin}} | {{Refbegin}} | ||
* Connolly | * {{Cite book |last1=Anglim |first1=Simon|last2=Rice |first2=Rob S. |last3=Jestice |first3=Phyllis |last4=Rusch |first4=Scott |last5=Serrati |first5=John |title=Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.): Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics |date=2003 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-30932-9 }} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=M.C. |title=Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome |last2=Coulston |first2=J.C.N. |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford Books |isbn=9781842171592 |location=Oxford, UK}} | |||
* {{Cite book|last=Connolly|first=Peter|title=Greece and Rome at War|publisher= Greenhill Books|date=1998|isbn=1-85367-303-X}}. | |||
* Connolly, Peter. "The ''pilum'' from Marius to Nero: a reconsideration of its development and function", ''Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies'', vol. 12/13, 2001/2, pp. 1–8. | * Connolly, Peter. "The ''pilum'' from Marius to Nero: a reconsideration of its development and function", ''Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies'', vol. 12/13, 2001/2, pp. 1–8. | ||
* {{cite book |last=Cowan |first=Ross |title=Roman legionary: 58 BC - AD 69 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-84176-600-3 |pages=25–26 |chapter=Equipment |access-date=8 February 2012 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TKO7lOzuxMC&pg=PA25 }} | |||
* {{Cite book |last1=D'Amato |first1=Raffaele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDFjDwAAQBAJ |title=The Etruscans: 9th–2nd Centuries BC |last2=Salimbeti |first2=Andrea |date=2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2830-9 |language=en}} | |||
* {{Cite book |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/9780470996577 |title=A Companion to the Roman Army |date=2007|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-0-470-99657-7 |editor=Paul Erdkamp|location=Oxford|doi=10.1002/9780470996577|ref={{harvid|Erdkamp|2007}}}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last1=Jeon |first1=Jeong-hwan |last2=Kim |first2=Sung-kyu |last3=Koh |first3=Jin-hwan |date=2015|title=Historical review on the patterns of open innovation at the national level: the case of the roman period |journal=Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=20 |doi=10.1186/s40852-015-0026-4 |doi-access=free |hdl=10419/176513 |hdl-access=free }} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Kerrigan |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-4AVAQAAMAAJ |title=Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire |date=2001 |publisher=DK Pub. |isbn=978-0-7894-8153-5 }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Matthew |first=Christopher |date=2010 |title=The Battle of Vercellae and the alteration of the heavy javelin (''pilum'') by Gaius Marius |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antichthon/article/abs/battle-of-vercellae-and-the-alteration-of-the-heavy-javelin-pilum-by-gaius-marius-101-bc/25E9ABE7203DB3178C959268C1C72E15 |journal=Antichthon |volume=44 |pages=50–67 |doi=10.1017/S0066477400002070 |s2cid=145449944 |issn=0066-4774|url-access=subscription }} | * {{Cite journal |last=Matthew |first=Christopher |date=2010 |title=The Battle of Vercellae and the alteration of the heavy javelin (''pilum'') by Gaius Marius |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antichthon/article/abs/battle-of-vercellae-and-the-alteration-of-the-heavy-javelin-pilum-by-gaius-marius-101-bc/25E9ABE7203DB3178C959268C1C72E15 |journal=Antichthon |volume=44 |pages=50–67 |doi=10.1017/S0066477400002070 |s2cid=145449944 |issn=0066-4774|url-access=subscription }} | ||
* {{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Michael J |date=2019 |title=Tactical reform in the late Roman republic: the view from Italy |url=https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=76–94 |doi=10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |s2cid=165437350 |issn=0018-2311 | * {{Cite journal |last=Meiklejohn |first=K. W. |date=1938 |title=Roman Strategy and Tactics from 509 to 202 b.c. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/greece-and-rome/article/abs/roman-strategy-and-tactics-from-509-to-202-bc/7971F518CA1E4468BBCEAFD296D42042 |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=7 |issue=21 |pages=170–178 |doi=10.1017/S0017383500005623 |url-access=subscription }} | ||
* {{Cite | * {{Cite book |last=Nardo |first=Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVSWpwAACAAJ |title=The Roman Army: An Instrument of Power |date=2004 |publisher=Lucent Books |isbn=978-1-59018-316-8 }} | ||
* {{Cite journal |last=Nijboer |first=Albert |date=1991 |title=Funerary Symbols on the Temple Decorations from the Talamonaccio |url=https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/funerary-symbols-on-the-temple-decorations-from-the-talamonaccio |journal=Papers from the Institute of Archaeology |volume=2 |doi=10.5334/pia.19|doi-access=free }} | |||
* {{Cite encyclopedia|last=Petrocelli |first=Corrado |title=Tactics: Republic |date=2015|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1478 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army |pages=979–1028 |editor-last=Le Bohec |editor-first=Yann |access-date=2023-03-15 |place=Chichester, UK |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |doi=10.1002/9781118318140.wbra1478 |isbn=978-1-118-31814-0 |url-access=subscription }} | |||
* {{Cite book |last = Plutarch |author-link = Plutarch |translator = Rex Warner |translator2 = Robin Seager |title = Penguin Classics: Fall of the Roman Republic |publisher = Penguin Classic |edition=Revised |year = 2005 |isbn = 978-0-14-044934-1}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Quesada Sanz |first=Fernando |date=2006 |title=Not so different: individual fighting techniques and small unit tactics of Roman and Iberian armies within the framework of warfare in the Hellenistic Age |journal=Pallas |issue=70 |pages=245–263 |jstor=43684935 |issn=0031-0387}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Secci |first=Davide Antonio |date=2012-01-01 |title=Priam's Spear and Pyrrhus' Shield (Verg. A. 2.544-6)1) |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mnem/65/3/article-p413_4.xml |journal=Mnemosyne |language=en |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=413–424 |doi=10.1163/156852511X547956 |url-access=subscription }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Slavik |first=Jordan F. |date=2017 |title=Pilum and Telum: The Roman Infantryman's Style of Combat in the Middle Republic |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/801439 |journal=Classical Journal |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=151–171 |doi=10.1353/tcj.2017.0032 |issn=2327-5812|url-access=subscription }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Michael J |date=2019 |title=Tactical reform in the late Roman republic: the view from Italy |url=https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=76–94 |doi=10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |s2cid=165437350 |issn=0018-2311}} | |||
* {{Cite journal|last=Zhmodikov|first=Alexander|date=2000|title=Roman Republican Heavy Infantrymen in Battle (IV–II Centuries B.C.)|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume= 49|issue=1|pages=67–78 |jstor=4436566}} | |||
* {{Cite book |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Weapon : a visual history of arms and armor |date=2013 |publisher=New York : DK Publishing |via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-5-00100-945-0 |ref={{harvid|Weapon: a visual history of arms and armor|2013}}}} | |||
* {{Cite journal|author=<!-- not stated --> |editor=Марибор Институтp информацијских знаности |title=Greco-Macedonian Influences in the Manipular Legion System :: M + |url=https://plus.cobiss.net/cobiss/sr/sr/bib/228051980 |access-date=2023-03-15 |journal=Arheologija I Prirodne Nauke |issue=11 |ref={{harvid| Марибор Институтp информацијских знаности |2023}}|language=sr}} | |||
{{Refend}} | {{Refend}} | ||
Revision as of 06:31, 30 June 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Italic title". Script error: No such module "other uses".
The pilum (Script error: No such module "IPA".; Template:Plural form: pila) was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about Script error: No such module "convert". long overall, consisting of an iron shank about Script error: No such module "convert". in diameter and Script error: No such module "convert". long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by either a socket or a flat tang.
History
The pilum may have originated from an Italic tribe known as the Samnites.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". It also may have been influenced by Celtiberian and Etruscan weapons.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The pilum may have derived from a Celtiberian weapon known as the falarica.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[1] Archaeological excavations have disclosed pila in tombs at the Etruscan city of Tarquinia.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The oldest finds of pila are from the Etruscan settlements of Vulci and Talamone.[2] The first identified written reference to the pilum comes from The Histories of Polybius. According to Polybius, more heavily armed Roman military soldiers used a spear called the hyssoí. This may have been the pilum. The precursor to the pilum was the hasta.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". It is unclear how soon it was replaced by the pilum.[3] Polybius mentioned that it was an important contributor to the Roman victory at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BCE.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Use of the pilum was discontinued by Roman military in the second century.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Design
A pilum had a total weight between Script error: No such module "convert".,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". with the versions produced during the earlier Republic being slightly heavier than those produced in the later Empire.
The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip, but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. The softness could cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy.[4]Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". According to Davide Antonio Secci, the pilum was not meant to bend on impact, but instead was meant to break.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". If a pilum struck a shield, it might embed itself, and the bending of the shank would force the enemy to discard his shield as unusable without removing the pilum, or carry around the shield burdened by the weight of the pilum.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Even if the shank did not bend, the pyramidal tip still made it difficult to pull out. Many cases occurred, though, in which the whole shank was hardened, making the pilum more suitable as a close-quarters melee weapon and also making it usable by enemy soldiers.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Although the bending of its shank is commonly seen as an integral part of the weapon's design and as an intentional feature, little evidence suggests that. The most commonly found artifacts suggest that the pilum was constructed to use the weight of the weapon to cause damage, most likely to be able to impale through armour and reach the enemy soldier's body. The combination of the weapon's weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip (the design of which was seen in the Middle Ages in the form of bodkin arrow tips), made the pilum a formidable armour-piercing weapon. If the weapon was meant to be used against armour and to use its mass (as opposed to its speed) to cause damage, the bending of the shank seems to be a beneficial result of its intended use, which is to pierce through layers of armour. That the pilum needed to pierce layers of armour (through the shield, into body armour and past clothing) necessitated a lengthy shank, which was prone to bending. M.C. Bishop wrote that the momentum of the pilum caused the shank to bend upon impact, and although unintended, that proved a useful characteristic of the weapon.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". However, a newer work by M. C. Bishop states that pila are "unlikely to bend under their own weight when thrown and striking a target or ground"; rather, human intervention such as improper removal of a pilum stuck in a target is responsible in some way, and Caesar's writings should be interpreted as the pilum bending when soldiers tried to remove them.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Since the pyramidal tip of a pilum was wider than the rest of the shank, once it had penetrated a shield, it left behind a hole larger than the rest of the shank, and it could move through the shield with little resistance, stabbing the soldier behind. The length of the shank and its depth of penetration also made pulling it out of a shield more difficult, even if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a pilum penetrated the shield, the end of the heavy shaft of the pilum would hit the ground, holding the shield in place. Some pila had a spike on the end of the shaft, which made it easier to dig into the ground.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
The two versions of pila are heavy and light. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power, but archaeological specimens of that design variant are not (so far) known.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Recent experiments have shown pila to have a range around Script error: No such module "convert"., although the effective range is up to Script error: No such module "convert".. The earliest known examples of heavy pila have barbed heads and their tangs have a figure-eight shape.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Romans also used the pilum as a melee weapon in close-quarters combat. Note pictorial depictions from the Tropaeum Traiani monument, descriptions of Caesar's troops using javelins as pikes against the Gauls in Caesar's Gallic War, Book VII, and descriptions of Caesar's men using javelins to stab at Pompey's cavalry in Plutarch's Life of Caesar.
The angon was a similar weapon used in late Roman and post-Roman times.
The origin of the design of the pilum is a matter of contention. Arguments have been proposed which suggest that the design stemmed from ancient Italian tribes or from the Iberian Peninsula. Considering that two versions of the pilum are known (the heavy and the light), the Roman pilum may be descended from two different weapons, perhaps from different cultural groups. The two weapons designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman pilum as it is known today.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Tactics
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".Legionaries of the late Republic and early Empire often carried two pila, with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them (both if time permitted) at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the gladius;Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". however, Alexander Zhmodikov has argued that the Roman infantry could use pila at any stage in the fighting.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Zhmodikov has also argued that Roman battle tactics sometimes consisted of exchanging projectile weapons such as the pilum. Sam Koon argues against the idea that Roman tactics primarily consisted of projectile combat.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The effect of the pilum throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition and by causing gaps to appear in any protective shield wall.Script error: No such module "Footnotes".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The design of the pilumTemplate:'s tip is such that once wedged inside a shield, it is difficult to remove; a shield thus penetrated by a pilum became very awkward to wield, and was usually discarded. This resulted in the aforementioned gaps in the protective shield wall, which could then favour the short gladius in tight hand-to-hand mêlées.
Pila could also be used in hand-to-hand combat; one documented instance of this occurred at the Siege of Alesia, and another during Mark Antony's Parthian campaign.[5] Additionally, pila could be employed as a thrusting implement and a barrier against cavalry charges.Template:Efn Some pila had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a mêlée weapon, but apparently this was common.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Vegetius' commentary
The Roman writer Vegetius, in his work De re militari, wrote:
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As to the missile weapons of the infantry, they were javelins headed with a triangular sharp iron, eleven inches [279 mm] or a foot long, and were called piles. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to draw them out, and when thrown with force and skill, they penetrated the cuirass without difficulty.[6]
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And later in the same work:
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They had likewise two other javelins, the largest of which was composed of a staff five feet and a half long and a triangular head of iron nine inches [230 mm] long. This was formerly called the pilum, but now it is known by the name of spiculum. The soldiers were particularly exercised in the use of this weapon, because when thrown with force and skill it often penetrated the shields of the foot and the cuirasses of the horse.[7]
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Arguably, a short iron shaft has very few confirmations from archaeology. Vegetius wrote about a one-foot iron shaft because at his time, the pilum had disappeared and been replaced by similar shorter weapons such as the plumbata and spiculum.
Results of experimental archaeology
Due in part to experimental archaeology, the design of the pilum is believed to have evolved to be armour-piercing; the pyramidal head would punch a small hole through an enemy shield, allowing the thin shank to pass through and penetrate far enough to wound the man behind it. The thick wooden shaft provided the weight behind the punch.
In one description, one of the two iron nails that held the iron shaft in place was replaced with a weak wooden pin that would break on impact, causing the shaft to twist sideways. Gaius Marius is sometimes given credit for that modification.[8] Archaeological evidence from the 80s BC through to the early imperial era show that this redesign was not adopted.[9]
Gallery
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Reconstruction of a post-Marian pilum
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A Roman coin showing an antoninianus of Carinus holding pilum and globe
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Close-up of re-enactment pila
See also
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Notes
References
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- ↑ Plutarch, "Gaius Marius", 25.2
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Bibliography
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- Connolly, Peter. "The pilum from Marius to Nero: a reconsideration of its development and function", Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, vol. 12/13, 2001/2, pp. 1–8.
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External links
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- Ross Cowan, The Samnite Pilum
- Ross Cowan, Etruscan and Gallic Pila
- The Pilum - The Roman Spear, Caerleon's Roman Legion
- Lance / Spear / Pilum / Catapult points, www.romanlegions.info
- Archaeological discovery of a pilum, Ecomuseum de Cap de Cavalleria.