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The kopis sword was a one-handed weapon. Early examples had a blade length of up to 65 cm (25.6 inches), making it almost equal in size to the spatha.Later examples of the kopis from Macedonia tended to be shorter with a blade length of about 48 cm (18.9 inches).
Hoplites mounted on horseback likely used a heavier, curved sword known as the kopis, meaning "chopper" in the Greek language. [2] [9] Light infantry known as peltasts would carry a number of javelins used to pepper enemy formations, avoiding close combat whenever possible. The job of the peltast was not to engage in formation combat, therefore ...
This unit, known as the Hypaspistai, or hypaspists, was probably armed in the hoplite manner, with a large concave shield and a spear , in addition to spolas or linothorax body-armor, hoplite's helmet, greaves and a xiphos or kopis sword (though their equipment was likely more ornate than main-line soldiers). [5]
The cutting swords are particularly associated with cavalry use, especially by Xenophon, but pictorial representations would suggest that all three sword types were used by cavalry and infantry without obvious distinction. [79] Each Companion cavalryman was equipped with a 3 m (9.8 ft) double-ended spear with a cornel wood shaft called the ...
According to Plutarch when a Spartan was asked why his sword was so short he replied, "So that we may get close to the enemy." [45] In another, a Spartan complained to his mother that the sword was short, to which she simply told him to step closer to the enemy. As an alternative to the xiphos, some Spartans selected the kopis as their ...
All of the Islamic world during the 16th to 18th century, including the Ottoman Empire and Persia were influenced by the "scimitar" type of single-edged curved sword. Via the Mameluke sword this also gave rise to the European cavalry sabre. Terms for the "scimitar" curved sword: Kilij (Turkish) Pulwar (Afghanistan) Shamshir (Persia) Talwar ...
Unlike the xiphos, which is a thrusting weapon, the kopis was a hacking weapon in the form of a thick, curved single edged iron sword. In Athenian art, Spartan hoplites were often depicted using a kopis instead of the xiphos, as the kopis was seen as a quintessential "villain" weapon in Greek eyes. [47]
Alexander Mosaic, showing the Battle of Issus, from the House of the Faun, Pompeii. The Companions (Greek: ἑταῖροι, Greek: [heˈtairoi̯], hetairoi) were the elite cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of King Philip II of Macedon, achieving their greatest prestige under Alexander the Great, and regarded as the first or among the first shock cavalry used in Europe. [1]