Roman Swords
A Roman sword was a two-edged iron sword which had a sharp point at the end which was used successfully to stab the opponent in battle. Roman swords were used by Roman soldiers that date back to the third century BC. The length of the blade could be anywhere from 23-31 inches long and around 2.5 inches wide and was carried in a sheath attached to the belt of the Roman soldier. Often a Roman sword had the initials of the owner engraved in the blade for easy identification.
These early swords also carried the name of Gladius and may have been developed by the Hispanics, and used by the Romans. A Roman Sword was just one of the items that all Roman soldiers carried. Other items included a dagger, shield, javelin and of course the sword. The sword would be used for close combat, whereas the javelin would be thrown first, in an attempt to diffuse the enemy from a distance, which would minimize injury and death to the Roman soldiers. In close combat, a simple stab wound to the abdomen area was almost always fatal because infection would spread and this proved to be an effective way of defeating the enemy.
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