Editing Testudo formation

{{Short description|Defensive shield wall used by Roman Legions}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Colonne trajane 1-57 (cropped).jpg|thumb|300px|Roman soldiers in "tortoise" formation]]
{{RomanMilitary}}

In ancient Roman warfare, the '''''testudo''''' or '''tortoise formation''' was a type of [[shield wall]] formation commonly used by the [[Roman legion]]s during battles, particularly when they were the attacking force during [[siege|sieges]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/ROMmilitary.htm |title=Military Tactics of the Roman Army |last= Simkin |first=John |date=September 1997 |website=Spartacus Educational |publisher=Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd. |access-date=June 4, 2021 |quote="A modern reconstruction of Roman soldiers in the ''testudo'' (tortoise) formation."}}</ref>

== Formation ==

In the ''testudo'' formation, the men would align their shields to form a packed formation covered with shields on the front and top.<ref name=":0" /> The first row of men, possibly excluding the men on the flanks, would hold their shields from about the height of their shins to their eyes, so as to cover the formation's front. The shields would be held in such a way that they presented a shield wall to all sides. The men in the back ranks would place their shields over their heads to protect the formation from above, balancing the shields on their helmets, overlapping them. If necessary, the legionaries on the sides and rear of the formation could stand sideways or backwards with shields held as the front rows, so as to protect the formation's sides and rear; this reduced the speed and mobility of the formation, but offered consistent defensive strength against opposing infantry and excellent protection against arrows and other missile attacks.

[[Plutarch]] describes this formation as used by [[Mark Antony]] during [[Antony's Atropatene campaign|his invasion of Parthia]] in 36 BC:

{{blockquote|Then the shield-bearers wheeled round and enclosed the light-armed troops within their ranks, dropped down to one knee, and held their shields out as a defensive barrier. The men behind them held their shields over the heads of the first rank, while the third rank did the same for the second rank. The resulting shape, which is a remarkable sight, looks very like a roof, and is the surest protection against arrows, which just glance off it.<ref>Plutarch: ''Antony'', c. 45, quoted in ''Plutarch, Roman Lives'', ed. Robin Waterfield {{ISBN|978-0-19-282502-5}}</ref>}}

[[Cassius Dio]] writes about the ''testudo'' when describing the campaign of Mark Antony in 36 BC:

{{blockquote|This testudo and the way in which it is formed are as follows. The Baggage animals, the light-armed troops, and the cavalry are placed in the center of the army. The heavy-armed troops who use the oblong, curved, cylindrical shields are drawn up around the outside, making a rectangular figure, and, facing outward and holding their arms at the ready, they enclose the rest. The others, who have flat shields, form a compact body in the center and raise their shields over the heads of all the others so that nothing but shields can be seen in every part of the [[phalanx]] alike and all the men by the density of the formation are under shelter from missiles. Indeed, it is so marvelously strong that men can walk upon it and whenever they come to a narrow ravine, even horses and vehicles can be driven over it.}}

== Tactical analysis ==

The ''testudo'' was used to protect soldiers from all types of missiles. It could be formed by immobile troops and troops on the march. The primary drawback to the formation was that, because of its density, the men found it more difficult to fight in hand-to-hand combat and because the men were required to move in unison, speed was sacrificed. As "[[phoulkon]]", it played a great role in the tactics employed by the Byzantines against their eastern enemies.

The ''testudo'' was not invincible, as [[Cassius Dio]] also gives an account of a Roman shield array being defeated by [[Parthia]]n [[cataphract]]s and [[cavalry archer|horse archers]] at the [[Battle of Carrhae]]:

{{blockquote|For if [the legionaries] decided to lock shields for the purpose of avoiding the arrows by the closeness of their array, the [cataphracts] were upon them with a rush, striking down some, and at least scattering the others; and if they extended their rank to avoid this, they would be struck with the arrows.}}

[[Tacitus]] recorded its use during the siege of the city of [[Cremona]] by the troops of [[Vespasian]] under command of [[Marcus Antonius Primus]]. During the attack the troops advanced under the rampart "holding their shields above their heads in close 'tortoise' formation".<ref>Tacitus, ''Histories''. Book III. The Fate of Cremona.</ref>

== Later usage ==

The ''testudo'' was a common formation in the [[Middle Ages]], being used by [[Muhammad]]'s forces during the [[Siege of Ta'if]] in 630,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muir |first=Sir William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Feo9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA145 |title=The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira: With Introductory Chapters on the Original Sources for the Biography of Mahomet and on the Pre-Islamite History of Arabia |date=1861 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Company |pages=145 |language=en}}</ref> also by the [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] [[Franks|Frankish]] soldiers of [[Louis the Pious]] to advance on the walls of [[Barcelona]] during the siege of 800–801, by [[Vikings]] during the [[Siege of Paris (885–886)|siege of Paris]] in 885–886, by [[East Francia|East Frankish]] soldiers under king [[Arnulf of Carinthia]] during the siege of [[Bergamo]] in 894, by [[Lotharingia]]ns under [[Conrad the Red]] at the siege of [[Senlis]] in 949, by Lotharingian defenders at the siege of [[Verdun]] in 984 and by the [[Crusade]]rs of count [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse|Raymond IV of Toulouse]] during the [[siege of Nicaea]] in 1097.{{sfn|Bachrach|2012|pp=155–156}}{{sfn|Bradbury|1992|p=280}} The ''testudo'' formation was again employed by medieval [[Arabs]], who called it the ''dabbāba'' or "crawler". It was employed by [[Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i]] in the 906 siege of [[Tobna]] (in modern-day [[Algeria]]), where he used it to protect [[sapper]]s as they advanced to the city walls, where they undermined and collapsed a tower, creating a breach for their allies to enter the city.<ref name="Halm">{{cite book |last1=Halm |first1=Heinz |title=The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids (Translated from the German by Michael Bonner) |date=1996 |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-10056-3 |pages=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usUjj9OV9l0C |access-date=4 September 2020}}</ref>

During the [[Euromaidan]] protests in [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]] in 2014 the [[Berkut (special police force)|Berkut]] riot police used the ''testudo'' tactic to protect themselves.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/kiev-riot-police-use-roman-tactics-2014-1 |title=The Battle For Ukraine Is Being Fought Using Ancient Military Tactics|first= Geoffrey |last=Ingersoll |work=Business Insider |date=January 22, 2014}}</ref>

== Gallery ==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
Image:Testudo_relief_Marcus_Aurelius_column.png|From the [[Column of Marcus Aurelius]]
File:testudo formation.jpg|The ''testudo'' formation in a Roman military [[Historical reenactment|reenactment]]
File:Wenceslas Hollar - A testudo.jpg|17th century depiction by [[Wenceslaus Hollar]]
File:Protest_0030.JPG|[[2005 Belize unrest]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Mesopotamian military strategy and tactics]]
* [[Roman infantry tactics]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* Dio Cassius, ''Roman History Book 49, 30'', ed. Loeb Classical Library {{ISBN|0-674-99091-9}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last=Bachrach |first=David S. |title=Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany |year=2012 |publisher=[[Boydell Press]] |location=[[Woodbridge, Suffolk|Woodbridge]] |isbn=978-1-84383-762-6 }}
* {{cite book|last=Bradbury|first=Jim|title=The Medieval Siege|location=[[Woodbridge, Suffolk]]|publisher=[[Boydell Press]]|year=1992|isbn=978-0851153575}}
* Cowan, Ross, ''Roman Battle Tactics 109BC - AD313'' (Osprey 2007)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121013035512/http://www.duke.edu/web/classics/grbs/FTexts/44/Rance2.pdf Rance, Philip, “The Fulcum, the Late Roman and Byzantine Testudo: the Germanization of Roman Infantry Tactics?” in ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies'' 44 (2004) pp.&nbsp;265–326]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=wh4lkfI2TwQC Plutarch, ''Roman Lives'', ed. Robin Waterfield] {{ISBN|978-0-19-282502-5}}
* Dio Cassius, ''Roman History Book 49, 30'' ed. Loeb Classical Library {{ISBN|0-674-99091-9}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Ancient Rome military|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Infantry units and formations of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Roman shields]]
[[Category:Roman tactical formations]]
[[Category:Tactical formations]]