Ancient European swords

Gladius () 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. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came to mean "sword", regardless of the type used.

thumb|150px|Roman era reenactor holding a replica late Roman spatha The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between , with a handle length of between , in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD. Later swords, from the 7th to 10th centuries, like the Viking swords, are recognizable derivatives and sometimes subsumed under the term spatha.

The pugio (; plural: pugiones) was a dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the pugio was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose for the soldier remains unknown though it seems it could have been used for close quarters fighting. Officials of the empire took to wearing ornate daggers in the performance of their offices, and some would wear concealed daggers for defense in contingencies. The dagger was a common weapon of assassination and suicide; for example, the conspirators who stabbed Julius Caesar used pugiones.

thumb|right|Modern reconstruction of a Greek xiphos and scabbard. thumb|Actaeon holding a xiphos. Painted vase from [[Metaponto, c. 390–380 BC]] The xiphos ( ; plural xiphe, ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. The classic blade was generally about long, although the Spartans supposedly preferred to use blades as short as around the era of the Greco-Persian Wars.

thumb|Greek hoplite (standing) fighting against a Persian archer. Both are using a kopis. Depiction in ancient kylix, 5th century BC, National Archaeological Museum of Athens. thumb|Greek kopis, 5th–4th centuries BC, iron, Metropolitan Museum of Art. thumb|Modern reproduction of a kopis

thumb|94px|right|Iberian falcata

thumb|Outline of a sica

thumb|Tyrfing as the coat of arms of Bolmsö parish thumb|right|300px|Svafrlami secures the sword Tyrfing.

thumb|right|Dacian warriors wielding a two-handed on the Tropaeum Traiani

thumb|300px|Reconstructions of Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean swords, the bottom one a makhaira-type sword The makhaira is a type of Ancient Greek bladed weapon and tool, generally a large knife or sword, similar in appearance to the modern-day machete, with a single cutting edge.

thumb|250px|Shown on Tropaeum Traiani Metope The rhomphaia () was a close-combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 350-400 BC. Rhomphaias were weapons with a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade. Although the rhomphaia was similar to the falx, most archaeological evidence suggests that rhomphaias were forged with straight or slightly curved blades, presumably to enable their use as both a thrusting and slashing weapon. The blade was constructed of iron and used a triangular cross section to accommodate the single cutting edge with a tang of rectangular cross section. Le

thumb|Virtus extending a parazonium on a sestertius issued under [[Hadrian]]

thumb|Artist rendition of a harpe sword The harpē () is a type of sword- or sickle-like weapon mentioned in Greek and Roman sources, and almost always in mythological contexts.

legendary weapon of Attila the Hun

swords from the Bronze Age

ancient Roman sword found in the Rhine near Mainz in Germany

long-bladed weapons used throughout Iron Age Eurasia

Late Iron Age and Early Medieval type of sword