08-09-2016, 07:41 PM
If I recall correctly, Lonchae was actually not as long as half of a Sarrisa, around 2m in length or less.. Carthaginians used lonchae, yet it was stated their "spears were shorter than those of Romans".. to me, it sounds like Lonchae was most likely shorter than Hasta, or even shorter than heavier Pilum that would be also useable in close combat if needed.. but there is not a single mention of Carthaginians actually forming Pike Phalanx. Yes, Peter Connolly stated it before, but he based his theory on the use of the word "Sperai", but Greek historians used it not only with Pike Phalanx, but also with Roman Maniple or practically any formation of heavy infantry.. Plus, Romans fought Pike Phalanx during war with Pyrrhus, yet no Roman or Greek historian actually mentioned anything similar to what they described with Pyrrhus.
Some modern historians also suggest that Carthaginians might have addopted Macedonian panoply when Spartan Mercenary Xanthippus reformed them during first Punic war, yet, seems to me they kinda forget when actually Spartans adopted the Pike Phalanx themselves - at the time of Cleomenes, around 227 BC, so Spartan Xanthippos could hardly teach Carthaginians how to fight in Pike formation more than 20 years earlier...
Some modern historians also suggest that Carthaginians might have addopted Macedonian panoply when Spartan Mercenary Xanthippus reformed them during first Punic war, yet, seems to me they kinda forget when actually Spartans adopted the Pike Phalanx themselves - at the time of Cleomenes, around 227 BC, so Spartan Xanthippos could hardly teach Carthaginians how to fight in Pike formation more than 20 years earlier...
Jaroslav Jakubov
