The ''phoulkon'' ( gr, φοῦλκον), in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
fulcum, was an
infantry formation utilized by the military of the
late Roman and
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. It is a formation in which an infantry formation closes ranks and the first two or three lines form a
shield wall while those behind them hurl projectiles. It was used in both offensive and defensive stances.
Etymology
The term ''phoulkon'' is first attested to in the ''
Strategikon of Maurice
The ''Strategikon'' or ''Strategicon'' ( el, Στρατηγικόν) is a manual of war regarded as written in late antiquity (6th century) and generally attributed to the Byzantine Emperor Maurice.
Overview
The work is a practical manual a ...
'', a military manual written in the 590s. Written in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, the author of the ''Strategikon'' "also frequently employed Latin and other terms which have been in common military use", as
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
continued to be the language of the army at that time. Therefore, the word, like other military terminology found in the manual, is likely a Greek transliteration of the Latin word ''*fulcum'', though this Latin term is not attested to in any surviving texts. The only other early Byzantine author to use the term was
Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking ...
, who describes
Rhazates arranging his troops in three ''phoulka'' when facing
Heraclius's army at the
Battle of Nineveh (627)
The Battle of Nineveh ( grc-gre, Ἡ μάχη τῆς Νινευί) was the climactic battle of the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628.
In mid-September 627, Heraclius invaded Sasanian Mesopatamia in a surprising, risky winter campaign. K ...
. Later Byzantine writings, such as ''
De velitatione bellica
''De velitatione bellica'' is the conventional Latin title for the Byzantine military treatise on skirmishing and guerrilla-type border warfare, composed circa 970. Its original Greek title is (''Peri Paradromēs'', "On Skirmishing"). The o ...
'' and ''
Praecepta Militaria'', describe keeping a portion of troops, either
cavalry or
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
, in ''phoulka'' to serve as guard while the rest of the army dispersed for pillaging or foraging. These later usages appear to have evolved to simply mean a "battle formation", rather than Maurice's specific description of a shield wall tactic.
No consensus exists on the etymology of ''phoulkon''. One proposal derives it from the word ''furca'', a fork, to describe a body of troops arranged in a wedge shape. Another proposal derives the term from a
Germanic word describing a body of troops; similar terms are found in the Germanic languages, including
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
("host, army"; cf. "troop, division"),
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It ...
("troop, division"), and
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
("people, host, troop"), ("array, formation"). Germanic soldiers were attested to in the
Late Roman army, recruited either directly into the army or serving as allied ''
foederati''.
Ancient Greek , (), scab of a sore, the protective crust formed over a wound, word used also to describe a defensive shield formation. From (), "on" + (), "wound", latinicized as: "fulcum".
Formation
The ''Strategikon'' describes the ''phoulkon'' as a close-order infantry formation. Before close contact with the enemy and just outside of
archery range, the command ''"ad fulco"'' (αδ φουλκω) would be issued, and infantry were to close ranks and form a shield wall from the first two lines. As they advanced,
light infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
from the rear would shoot
arrows at the enemy while the
heavy infantry
Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who are relatively mobile and l ...
could hurl ''
martiobarbuli
''Plumbatae'' or ''martiobarbuli'' were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
History
The first examples seem to have been carried by the Ancient Greeks from about 500 BC onwards, but the best-known use ...
'' darts or throw their
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s before closing in to engage in
hand-to-hand combat with the ''
spatha
The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 m (19.7 and 39.4 in), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 cm (7.1 and 7.9 in), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries A ...
'' sword. If faced with enemy cavalry, the first three ranks of the ''phoulkon'' would form a shield wall and thrust their spears outwards while fixing the ends to the ground, while the third and rear ranks would hurl projectiles and the light infantry shoot arrows.
Though only the ''Strategikon'' explicitly describes this formation as a ''phoulkon'', such tactics appear to have been established Roman practice. Compare the description of the ''Strategikon'' with earlier accounts:
An almost identical tactic is described centuries earlier, for use against the
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
:
Descriptions of both shield walls used in attack and as an anti-cavalry formation with spears fixed into the ground exist throughout Roman history, though non-military writers tended to use classical vocabulary in describing such formations as a
testudo, its Greek translation ''chelone'' (χελώνη), or a
phalanx
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
. However, these descriptions referred to the use of shield walls in battle, as opposed to the classical testudo formation used in
siege warfare
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...
. Examples include the
Battle of Callinicum
The Battle of Callinicum took place on Easter Saturday, 19 April 531 AD, between an army of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius and a Sasanian cavalry force commanded by Azarethes. After being defeated at the Battle of Dara, the Sasanians mo ...
, where a small group of Byzantine infantry and dismounted cavalry in the
rearguard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
formed a shield wall that held off Persian archery and cavalry charges, and the
Battle of Taginae
At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the It ...
, where a small group of fifty
Byzantine soldiers seized a hill and formed into a "phalanx" that held off repeated Ostrogothic cavalry charges with their shield wall and grounded spears.
[Rance (2004) pp. 281–282]
See also
*
Byzantine battle tactics
The Byzantine army evolved from that of the late Roman period taking as leading models and shaping itself on the late Hellenistic armies, but it became considerably more sophisticated in strategy, tactics and organization. The language of the ...
*
Testudo formation
In ancient Roman warfare, the ''testudo'' or tortoise formation was a type of shield wall formation commonly used by the Roman legions during battles, particularly sieges.
Formation
In the ''testudo'' formation, the men would align their sh ...
*
Pike and shot
Pike and shot was a historical infantry tactical formation that first appeared during the Italian Wars of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and was used until the development of the bayonet in the late 17th century. This type of formation ...
Citations
General bibliography
* {{Cite journal , last=Rance , first=Philip , title=The ''Fulcum'', the Late Roman and Byzantine ''Testudo'': The Germanization of Roman Infantry Tactics? , url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/101 , journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies , year=2004 , volume=44 , pages=265–326
Byzantine army
Roman tactical formations