Jun
27
2008
The sword was an offensive weapon which consisted of a long metalic blade (bronze, iron-steel) and a handle called hilt that usually protected that warrior hand with sideways metal projections. The sword was used both for thrusting and slashing as there were many types of swords, depending on the civilizations.
Swords longer than 90 cm were rare and not practical during the Bronze Age as this length exceeds the tensile strength of bronze, which means such long swords would bend easily. Iron swords became increasingly common from the 13th century BC. The Hittites, the Mycenaean Greeks, and the Proto-Celtic Hallstatt culture (8th century BC) figured among the early users of iron swords. Iron has the advantage of mass-production due to the wider availability of the raw material, and, in contrast with bronze, iron-blade sword could be ground or sharpened.
The ancient Greek called their sword xiphos, which was a double-edged, single-hand sword. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the spear or javelin. The blade was around 65 cm long. The xiphos was good for both cutting and stabbing attacks due to its leaf-shaped blade. It was generally used only when the spear was discarded. It seems that the Spartans (Dorians) developed a shorter sword, about 30cm long, but otherwise similar to the common hoplite xiphos. This shorter version of the xiphos was useful in the close combat of the Greek warfare and was widely used by all Greeks during and after the Peloponnesian War.
The Roman legionaries carried the gladius, the most famous and glorious sword in Ancient Times. The gladius was a single-handed, double-edged thrusting weapon. Although early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks, from the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians (Spanish Celtic tribes) and others during the conquest of Hispania. This kind of sword was known as the Gladius Hispaniensis, or "Hispanic Sword," or simply Gladius, made with the best steel in Ancient Times. With a blade-length of 64 cm and a weight of 1.2 kg, the Gladius became the standard weapon in the Roman Legions. Later extant Gladii are now known as the Mainz, Fulham, and Pompei types. The hilt was made of bone, ivory, or wood.
