What Gladius was in use during Iberian conquest?

[Agathopodi]

This is my first post in the Forum, so i hope I'm in the right place.

I'm doing some research on the history of my town, Braga, in Portugal. During Roman times it was called Bracara Augusta, and was founded around 16 BC by Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. This region was the home of a community called the Bragari, an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, akin to the Calaicians or Gallaec.

From archaeological findings near Braga, in Citânia de Briteiros, we now know that the Bracari used the Falcata during the time of Roman conquest. But until now, no Roman Gladius as been found in the area.

My question is: What kind of Gladius would the Roman Army would have used during the conquest of the northwest part of the Iberian peninsula? The first known presence of Roman Army in this part of the peninsula is by Consul Decimus Junius Brutus and dates to 138 BC, but only around 20BC was the region pacified.

I'm confused because the information i find only speaks about the Gladius Hispaniensis, but that was an evolution from a previous sword, right? To my understanding, the Hispaniensis was a model adopted by the army AFTER the conquest of the Hispanias (Ulterior and Citerior), or am i wrong? When the Romans arrived at this part of the Peninsula the Hispaniensis was already in use?

Another question i have regards the Lusitanians.

I studied that the Lusitanians were well know soldiers. They were used as mercenaries by many factions. For example, there are records of the presence of Lusitanians warriors in Sicily, in the Battle of Hímera, in 480 BC among other places. Can this fact explain the presence of the Falcata in the Iberian Peninsula? I imagine that both Lusitanians and Bracari being Celtic tribes, would use swords like La Tène?

If Roman army was inspired and followed (at the beginning) after the Greeks, why didn't they also used the Falcata? Why the "surprise" of Roman writers with the weapons and valor of the Iberian tribes if they were already known as mercenaries?

Thanks in advance.

[Decebalus]

Hello Ricardo!

A good overview of the gladius evolution from Iberian to Roman types is given by

F. Quesada Sanz, "Gladius hispansiensis: an archaeological view from Iberia",

which is downloadable here:

Gladius hispansiensis: an archaeological view from Iberia

Greets

[Gaius Colletti]

Ricardo, the Roman army was using Greek styled weaponry around the time of the Second Punic War. The Roman defeat an Cannae was attributed to the Romans getting too packed together to properly wield their weapons. The Gladius Hispansiensis was adopted later during the war or immediately afterwards, as the Romans used it in the Macedonian wars.

Hannibal realized how effective the sword was with his Spanish mercenaries and equipped some of his army with the sword before Cannae.

The Mainz Gladius was almost for sure used by Caesar's legions in Gaul through the second quarter of the First Century AD.

[Alexand96]

The Mainz Gladius was almost for sure used by Caesar's legions in Gaul through the second quarter of the First Century AD.

Matt, honest question, do you know of any sources supporting this use in the Gallic wars? I've always thought it was a bit more supposition on the part of some, but then again, I'm no expert.

I will concur though, that from appearance, the form of the Mainz sword certainly looks strikingly similar to the late Republican Hispaniensis.

[Agathopodi]

Thank you so much for the answers. Do you think it is possible that more than one type of gladius was in use in all the Legions, or there could only be a standard type?

I'm finding incredible the amount of information i see on the Internet, but there is a lot of "noise" and wrong information. Decebalus, the paper by Dr. Quesada is great, but a bit old. Nevertheless is the perfect paper to begin the research.

I'll try to send a message to Dr. Quesada, who knows if he answers me? Again, thanks for your kind answers.

[Alanus]

I think they used the pointy one. :lol: :mrgreen:

Ricardo, welcome to the forum. Usually you get a straight answer. ;-)

[Gaius Colletti]

Matt, honest question, do you know of any sources supporting this use in the Gallic wars? I've always thought it was a bit more supposition on the part of some, but then again, I'm no expert.

I will concur though, that from appearance, the form of the Mainz sword certainly looks strikingly similar to the late Republican Hispaniensis.

Alexander, excellent question, after rereading Peter Connolly's Greece and Rome at War, he describes the Osuna sword dating to Caesar's seige of Osuna in 46 BC as being 64-65" in blade length (although the entire tip of the sword was missing so that is an esitmate). But the blade was 1cm wider than most Hispaniensis, a size more fitting of the Mainz style, the wasp of the sword was less than that of other Hispaniensis judging from Connolly's picture and a more fitting wasp of the Mainz style. This sword was what I used as evidence for Caesar's men using the Mainz style (my bad though, it was a little after the Gallic Wars), however although the wasp and width of the sword is correct, the sword is too long to be a Mainz as we know them, now that I look at normal Mainz lengths.

This sword is very likely the step between the Gladius Hispaniensis and the Mainz, and it is not classified by Connolly as either.

This was the evidence I used for the Mainz being used by Caesar, however I misread the blade length for the sword length. I do not have other noteworth sources available to me, and Connolly barely mentions the Mainz version aside from illustrations

[Albertomv]

Ricardo, if you speak spanish I recomend you to read the books of Quesada: Armas de Grecia y Roma: Forjaron la historia de la antigüedad clásica and Armas de la Antigua Iberia: de Tartesos a Numanciafrom the editorial esfera de los libros.

http://www.esferalibros.com/libro/armas-...ia-y-roma/

Very good books! There is a chapter dedicated to the evolution of the gladius.

[Alexand96]

Matt, thank you for the informative answer. I actually own Connolly's book, so I'll definitely have to pull it out after work today and check it out.

Of all the Roman armor and weaponry that fascinates me, their swords have always been my favorite.

[Gaius Colletti]

Page 230 first paragraph is the details about the sword and there is an illustration of it on page 227

[Simplex]

Ricardo ..
.......if you happen to understand written German and have access to a good scientific library, that one should be of use:
Christian Miks , Studien zur römischen Schwertbewaffnung in der Kaiserzeit
(Studies on roman sword arms during the empire)
Contents:
http://www.vml.de/d/inhalt.php?ISBN=978-3-89646-136-0
I faintly remember that one or two forum memebers sincerelly discussed buying that
opus magnum (>938 pages !). I think I'm going to write a PM or two.

Greez

Simplex

[jho]

I have Miks' book but his discussion on this issue is rather cursory.

To me, the issue of the gladius hispaniensis is still somewhat puzzling:

The Mainz Gladius with its broad waisted blade has strong similarities with an earlier type of Spanish Antenna sword. However, all swords in Roman contexts from the intermediate period appear to have rather straight edges and are rather long and slim just like the Celtic/Celtiberian LaTene swords of the period.

Miks draws a direct line from the Antenna swords to the Mainz Gladius and more or less explains the Roman "LaTene"swords away as weapons used by non-Celtic auxiliaries. Quesada-Sanz and other scholars accept that the "LaTene" swords are Roman and Quesada-Sanz assumes that the term "Hispaniensis" may actually have had more to do with quality of material and workmanship and possibly also scabbard mounting than with the exact form.

If we accept the "LaTene" swords as hispanienses (it appears improbable to me that the high number of swords found would be auxiliary weapons and not a single Roman weapon was found), then we must accept that Roman sword development was going round in circles: From the mid-length slender straight hispaniensis to the short waisted broad Mainz to the even shorter slender straight Pompeji and then to a mid-length straight Spatha (which existed both in slender and broad variants).

[jho]

The Osuna sword looks like a typical LaTene/Hispaniensis to me. See here:

Quesada-Sanz