Weapons Systems
Spatha
Ancient
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The spatha was a long, straight sword measuring roughly half a meter to a meter in length, used across the Roman Empire from the first to sixth centuries AD. Celtic mercenaries introduced it to Roman forces during the Second Punic War, and it was used mainly by cavalry before infantry adopted it around the second century, gradually replacing the shorter gladius as the standard heavy infantry sword. It remained in use through the Migration Period and influenced the swords of the Viking age and the later knightly swords of medieval Europe.
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