The phalanx was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons. Christopher Matthews critically examines phalanx combat by using techniques such as physical re-creation, experimental archaeology, and ballistics testing, and then comparing the findings of this testing to the ancient literary, artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as modern theories. The result is the most comprehensive and up-to-date study of what heavy infantry combat was like in the age of Alexander the Great and his Successors. What emerges is a picture of a tactical organisation optimised for combat against close order shorter spear armed opponents such as hoplites, but less effective against looser more flexible javelin and sword armed infantry such as the Romans, who ultimately caused the phalanx’s demise.