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Roman era reenactor holding a replica late Roman spatha. The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 metre (20 and 40 inches), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 centimetres (7 and 8 inches), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD.
Gladius (Classical Latin: [ˈɡɫadiʊs]) is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came to mean "sword", regardless of the type used.
Re-enactor with Pompeii-type gladius The Mainz Gladius on display at the British Museum, London. Gladius is the general Latin word for 'sword'. In the Roman Republic, the term gladius Hispaniensis (Spanish sword) referred (and still refers) specifically to the short sword, 60 cm (24 inches) long, used by Roman legionaries from the 3rd century BC.
Gladius: Roman one-handed double-edged shortsword for thrusting (primary) and slashing, used by legionaries (heavy infantry) [2] and gladiators, and late Roman light infantry. 3rd century BCE Roman Republic – late Roman Empire. Kopis: one-handed single-edged sword – blade 48–60 cm (19–24 in) – with forward-curving blade for slashing
Depiction of a late Roman spatha on a diptych (dated to 406 AD). The spatha was introduced to the Roman army in the early imperial period by Germanic auxiliaries.The earlier gladius sword was gradually replaced by the spatha from the late 2nd to the 3rd century.
[2] [3] [4] Gladiators used a shorter gladius than the military. The spatha was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Celtic soldiers, later incorporated as auxilia into Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the Roman Empire.
The spatha was a double-edged longsword used by the Romans. The idea for the spatha came from the swords of ancient Celts in Germany and Britain. It was longer than the gladius, and had more reach, so the spatha was most popular with soldiers in the cavalry. The blade could range between 0.5 and 1 m (1 ft 8 in and 3 ft 3 in) long while the ...
This being the general "spatha" article, its scope spans the entire first millennium, but emphasis should be on the Roman era spatha (i.e. the first half of the millennium), as we have dedicated sub-articles on the Migration period sword (450-700) and the Viking sword (700-1100). --dab 16:40, 12 September 2010 (UTC)