The gladius was the type of sword used by ancient Roman foot soldiers, adapted from a design the Romans encountered among the Celtiberians of Hispania fighting in Carthaginian service during the Punic Wars. Roman legionaries typically threw their javelins (pila) to disable enemy shields and disrupt enemy formations before closing to fight hand to hand with the gladius, a short, primarily thrusting blade between roughly 45 and 68 centimetres long. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Introduced YearAdoption is debated: most accounts place Roman adoption of the Celtiberian-pattern gladius hispaniensis after the defeat at Cannae in 216 BC, though contact with the design may go back to the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC). Classification
Service Status Weapon Class Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category)Sword / Polearm / Bladed 1 Connections
Associated With
Gallic Wars, Wars The gladius was the Roman legion's standard short sword during Caesar's Gallic Wars.
Source Wikipedia: Gladius
The Praetorian Guard, like other Roman military units, was armed with the gladius as its standard close-combat sword
Source Wikipedia: Gladius
Operated By
Source Wikipedia: Gladius
Used In
Source Wikipedia: Gladius
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Gladius
WikipediaOpening section
a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers...the Romans adopted a weapon based on the sword of the Celtiberians of Hispania in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars.
- Specifications table
- Introduction
Lead section, first paragraph
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.
- Introduced circa -216 per the entity's own sourced description text; no pre-1900 weapon system remains in current active military service.
Infobox: service
3rd century BC - 3rd century AD
- Associated With: Roman Legion
Used In: Punic Wars, Article text
From the 3rd century BC, however, the Romans adopted a weapon based on the sword of the Celtiberians of Hispania in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars, known in Latin as the gladius hispaniensis, meaning "Hispanic-type sword".
Operated By: Roman Legion, Infobox: used_by
Celtiberians in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars Roman foot soldiers during the wars of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire
In Group: Ancient Swords, Infobox: type
Sword
View the Source Wikidata: Gladius
Wikidata Q274556, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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