The Roman PilumOne of the most underrated weapons in Roman history, I have yet to see a modern popul
The Roman PilumOne of the most underrated weapons in Roman history, I have yet to see a modern popular media outlet depict the use of the pilum by Roman armies. The gladius and scutum certainly gets it’s due, but I the pilum is forgotten history to most with the exception of Roman historians and history buffs.The pilum was a javelin that was primarily used as a ranged weapon, but in many cases has also been used as a melee weapon. The pilum consisted of a pyramidal shaped head on a long iron shaft with a handle. They were specially weighted so that when thrown they would land head first. Typically the shaft of the pilum was made out of a low grade, soft form of iron that could bend easily. The purpose of this was so that it was a one time use only weapon so that the enemy couldn’t chuck them back at you. In addition, if a pilum became embedded within a shield it could make the shield unwieldy to use or perhaps completely useless. Thus it wasn’t uncommon for volleys of pila to be used to break up enemy shield walls. The following video by ThegnThrand shows how effective the pilum could be for this purpose.Many pila were manufactured with strengthened shafts instead of the bendable soft iron shaft, it is theorized these were specialty pila made for melee combat. The typical Roman soldier carried two or three pila.In the late 3rd century the pilum was phased out of service. During this time the Roman Army began changing and modifying it’s equipment, switching out their short gladius for a longer sword called the spatha while carrying long spears or pikes. There are many theories about this, perhaps a post I shall make in the future, but the theory I hold the most stock in is Romans began carrying longer and heavier equipment due to the increased use of heavy cavalry by it’s enemies, cataphracts in the east for example. Thus the cohort legionary tactics of the late republic and early empire evolved into a tactical system akin to the phalanxes of Macedonia and the early Roman Republic. Regardless the adoption of heavier equipment meant that the Romans abandoned the pilum with the exception of light infantry units. However the Romans would replace the pilum with another ancient throwing weapon called the plumbata, a weighted dart of which many could be clipped within the inside of soldier’s shields. -- source link
#history#rome#ancient rome#roman empire#roman army#javelin#pilum