Why was the Macedonian phalanx so effective in Alexander's time and so vulnerable against the Romans?
Why was the Macedonian phalanx so effective in Alexander's time and so vulnerable against the Romans? Eric Wang · The Macedonian phalanx wasn’t that vulnerable against the Romans. In fact, the Romans were not well-equipped to face the Macedonian phalanx in a fair, full-frontal fight. Macedon The Macedonian phalanx was so strong because it was an improvement on the already impressive Greek phalanx, which had performed well against lighter-armed armies like the Persians. The innovations of the Macedonian army, while they were exploited to their fullest extent by Alexander the Great, were put into place a generation earlier by Alexander’s father, Philip II. Bust of Philip II of Macedon Philip was a great innovator and wanted to raise Macedonia from a backwater regional power to hegemon of all Greece. In pursuit of this goal, he instituted several decisive reforms to Macedonian armies that made them superior to any army in Greece. First, he changed the meta by great...