The Romans eventually saw the weakness of the Phalanx and moved to the Maniple system. The Phalanx had one MAJOR flaw, slowness. If you could get around the flanks it was over. If you couldn’t flank them it was almost impossible to defeat. This flaw in the phalanx allowed the Romans to march through Macedonia and Greece and Asia Minor to the east directly after the Punic Wars. Totally agree with you about history and lies. This particular battle is pretty well documented though. The Romans were meticulous record keepers. But anything pre-dating the sack by the Gauls can only be taken as mythology. But you are fundamentally correct about historians. My next post will be about the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest and Arminius. One of the worst losses in Rome’s history. Supposedly left Octavian (Augustus Caesar) in shambles screaming “Varus! Give me back my legions”.
My late father was a real history buff. He was fascinated with the Teutoberg Forest, the battle, and the Roman empire and discussed it in length. I look forward to that posting by yourself.
Another battle lost was that by Crassus when at his advancing age (50s) he decided to conquer large areas of the middle east and the Parthians to guarantee is fame in history. I found an early copy of a Roman history book by the French historian and educator first written in the early 1700s. It covered this very disastrous effort to conquer some of the same people we have been fighting there for the past 20 years. Young Cassius of Shakespear’s “Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look, such men are dangerous.” was motivated to kill Julius Caesar because Caesar was planning to go back to the middle east to erase the shame of Crassus’ defeat. As a young officer Cassius had played a significant role in rescuing part of Crassus’ army which he took back across the middle east to the Mediterranian Sea, as he traveled strengthening the resolve of fortresses and settlements loyal to or controlled by Rome to resist defecting to the enemy. His role in Caesar’s assassination may have been the saving of Rome from another disastrous defeat. I have an idea for a play about Cassius and his motivation. I don’t know if I will ever find time to write it.