The Romans were famous for their incredible fighting skills but those skills were incomplete without their awe-inspiring weaponry. Many different kinds of swords were used by the Roman gladiators, military and civilians and the best known are the
Gladius Sword. The name gladiator meaning sword fighter was also derived from Gladius. However, despite being famous as Roman swords, they were not really of Roman Origin. Read on to know more about them.
Parazonium
Parazonium with the length of 15-19 inches was not really a weapon of war but instead represented rank. Originally, the Greeks designed the short sword with the leaf-shaped blade. The Romans then made the Parazonium by keeping the same Leaf-shaped blade but changed its hilt, grip, and pommel. It is in the record that Roman legates and other high ranking officers carried Parazonium to the battles. The weapon was not meant for fighting but instead was a symbol of their authority and used for regrouping the legionnaires. Many statutes and painting showcase Virtus (the Roman God of virtue), Mars and even the Emperor carrying Parazonium.
Sica
The Sica is a brutal, curved, short sword. The origin of Sica can be traced back to the Indo-European tribes such as Thracian and Illyrians of Central and Southeastern Europe. To the Romans, Sica too was not a military weapon intrinsically but instead the blade only criminals would use. The Sica could easily get around shields, and when combined with a point down, it could easily severe an arm and throat proving to be an excellent cutting weapon. Moreover, Experienced fighters could directly slash a face in half with a single jerking movement of their curved point up stroke into the opponent’s jaw.
Gladius
The Gladius or more accurately the Gladius Hispaniensis (Spanish Sword) is perhaps the most well-known sword of the Roman Era. There is some disagreement about the actual origin of the famous
Gladius sword, however, the evidence points that this weapon was originally used by the Iberian mercenaries during the Punic Wars and later adopted by the Romans. The Gladius was a double-edged sword with the total length of 3 feet and the blade length of 2.25 feet. Made of steel with handles either made up of metal or wood, the Gladius was perfect for engaging in close quarter combat after legionaries threw their lances. The Gladius famous as the ‘sword that conquered the world’ remained popular until the first century AD and had many types including Mainz, Fulham and
Ad Pompeii. They were named according to the areas the archaeologists first found them in i.e. Germany, Britain, and Italy respectively. Gladius was then slowly replaced by the Spatha.
Spatha
The
Spatha is nearly six inches longer than the original 3 feet
Gladius Sword and came into the Roman world through Celtic and German auxiliary troops. In the next two centuries, it went on to replace the shortest sword as the ultimate weapon of cavalrymen and infantrymen. Theories suggest that the Spatha emerged from Iberia or Sarmatia, but there is a lack of solid proof. The Roman infantry used a sharp, pointed version of Spatha to directly stab the opponent while the Roman cavalry used around, pointed spatha to protect the feet of the rider. The blade used by cavalry was heavier with sharper edges. Viking, Knight Swords, and Sabers used in warfare up till the early 20th century are all descendants of the Spatha.
The article above discusses the origin and strengths of the swords that the Romans made famous. If you are a sword lover and want to add a genuine Roman sword to your personal collection, you can visit
SwordsSwords.com.
