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roman weapons

The antique print to the right shows different types of Roman militia using different types of "roman" weapon. The word "roman" is in inverted commas because of the well known habit of adopting their enemy's weapons and adopting them to their own needs.

A brief list of the principal Roman weapons used by militia is given below.

• Pugio - dagger

• Gladius - a short sword, initially borrowed from the Etruscans. The word eventually came to signify swords in general. Various different designs evolved.

• Spatha - a longer sword used particularly by cavalry towards the end of the empire

• Hasta - basic thrusting spear with wooden handle a couple of metres long. There was a specific type of militia called the "hastati" who used this weapon.

• Pilum - probably the first armor piercing weapon. It was essentially a heavy throwing javelin with a thin spearhead held by a long thin metal shaft. If stopped by a shield the tip would bury itself in and possibly penetrate through to the body, but in any case the metal shaft would bend under the impact, rendering it useless should the enemy want to throw it back. The shield would probably also become useless due to the pilum being stuck in and bent. The Romans also had lighter types of javelin.

• Arcus and sagitta (bow and arrow) - Roman bows were generally composite bows, using the properties of different materials to make the best of their individual properties in terms of compression, extension and energy transfer (springiness).

The list of roman weapons given above is very much a simplification given the great deal of development and variety of war situations the Romans found themselves in. A further section has been added to give greater detail of ancient Roman weapons, their variety and development through time.

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"roman weapons" was written by Giovanni Milani-Santarpia for www.mariamilani.com - Rome apartments