Ancient Roman Weapons

One of the most powerful empires of the ancient world was the Roman Empire. The foundation of the Roman Empire included courage, duty and honor and was based on its strong military power. Roman military regime was one of the strongest military powers in the Ancient World because of the superior weapons and also because of their ingenious war tactics. The Roman army was open-minded in adopting the war tactics and also the weapons of their enemies if they could benefit from them. Sword and spears were the main assault weapons of a Roman soldier.

Weapons of Ancient Rome

A few of the sophisticated weapons of ancient Roman soldiers are listed below.

Gladius - An Ancient Roman Sword - Over the centuries, the sword, one of the ancient Roman weapons, went through many changes. Caesar used a type of sword called "Gladius". It was slightly curved and was used as a thrusting weapon in close combat. Gladius was sheathed and worn on the left side of the body. It was a short sword with a wide blade and was used by the infantry.

Helmets - Helmets were headgear worn by ancient Roman soldiers to protect their heads, necks and the sides of their faces. Helmets were a significant part of the ancient Roman defense weaponry and was made of iron or a tough alloy of copper.

Body Armor - Body armors were war tunics worn by ancient Roman warriors. It was made using a combination of iron and leather. The soldiers also used flexible limp armors to protect their arms and legs.

Shield - Roman shields were made of thick wood bordered with copper alloy or iron. The shields were oval, rectangular or hexagonal.

Swords - One of the weapons carried by ancient Roman soldiers was the sword. It was a powerful weapon used during the 3rd century BC. It was a long, pointed and double-edged Iberian weapon called the "Spanish sword". With the passage of time, the ancient Romans also made changes to the basic design of the sword.

Dagger - Another ancient Roman weapon was the dagger. A dagger had an elaborately decorated sheath with precious stones studded in it. The blade of the dagger was ridged to impart stiffness and lightness. A dagger was made either of a copper alloy or iron.

Spear - Mainly three kinds of spears were used by ancient Roman soldiers - light javelins, thrusting spears and two-handed lances. A spear is a conical metal head fixed to a shaft. A shaft is a pole made from wood such as ash or hazel.

Pilum - This was an ancient Roman weapon used as a short-range assault instrument. A pilum resembled a heavy javelin with a pyramidal head on a long iron shank mounted on a long iron shaft.

Ancient Romans had a wide array of defense and offense weapons that helped in war tactics. Most of their weapons were superior to those of their contemporaries. However, the main and primary weapon used by the Roman legionaries was the spear.