Essay On Roman Gladius

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The Roman Gladius was one of the main weapons used during the early Roman empire. “Gladius is the Latin word meaning sword” (Rayment), so any kind of sword could be called a Gladius, but the Roman short sword was mostly referred to as the Roman Gladius. The main parts of a Roman Gladius (As shown in the picture to the right from Rayment) are the Pommel, Hilt Wasp waist and the 50-cm blade. The Roman Gladius was very popular because of Its double bladed edge and its point. It was very popular for light infantry because it was small and good for close quarter combat. The disadvantage in length was made up with its light and maneuverability design. The Roman Gladius was used mostly in organized formations so they didn’t suffer a lot of casualties when charging in with a short-sword. The Roman Gladius could also be used in …show more content…

The Roman Gladius is an example of this, the iron for the Gladius came from mines in Rome. Then the iron is put through a process called smelting, smelting is used to remove the rock and other impurities in the iron ore. After that is done the iron is put into a mold for the sword. The mold is usually made from a mixture of hard clay. Another way to make a sword is to have it in five different pieces, like some “Gladii (plural for Gladius) were made from five pieces with higher carbon content in the center with the outer pieces having a lower carbon content” (Rayment). The one with five pieces are about 10 centimeters longer than the swords made with only one piece of metal. This is because it is harder to keep the steel in the one long piece of metal strong enough to land blows and not bend if it is longer than if it was a bit shorter and lighter. The Gladius with five different parts is easier to keep stronger, but it is very bent at the edges because of the low carbon content of the outside

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