![]() Some ancient writers thought that the Romans had adopted the maniples and the scutum when they fought against the Samnites in the first or second Samnite War (343–341 BC, 327–304 BC). This involved a change in military equipment. Sometime in the early fourth century BC, the Romans changed their military tactics from the hoplite phalanx to the manipular formation, which was much more flexible. Their round shape enabled the soldiers to interlock them to hold the line together. However, their smaller size afforded more mobility. The small shields provided less protection. It was a rigid form of fighting and its maneuverability was limited. However, it worked only if the soldiers kept the formation tight and had the discipline needed to keep its compactness in the thick of the battle. Its compactness provided a thrusting force that had a great impact on the enemy and made frontal assaults against it very difficult. It formed a shield wall and a mass of spears pointing towards the enemy. The phalanx advanced in unison, which encouraged cohesion among the troops. The soldiers lined up in very tight ranks in a formation that was eight lines deep. The phalanx was a compact, rectangular mass military formation. The hoplites were heavy infantrymen who originally wore bronze shields and helmets. In the early days of ancient Rome (from the late regal period to the first part of the early republican period) Roman soldiers wore clipeus, which were like the aspides ( ἀσπίδες), smaller (than the scutum) round shields used in the Greek hoplite phalanx. The first depictions of the scutum are by the Este culture in the 8th century bc, and subsequently spread to the Italians, Illyrians, and Celts.
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