The Macedonian Sarissa
359–168 BCE
The sarissa was a 6-metre pike developed by Philip II of Macedon that transformed ancient warfare. Wielded in the Macedonian phalanx formation, it extended 3 metres beyond the front rank, creating an impenetrable wall of spear points that no enemy formation could breach. Combined with Alexander the Great's cavalry tactics, the sarissa phalanx conquered the largest empire in the ancient world — from Greece to India — in just 13 years.