How did the Romans terrorize the Macedonian river?
Yes, we need to work hard to stir up panic among the descendants of Tsar Leonid, who stopped the 100,000th Tsar Xerox army of 300 (remember the movie “300 Spartans”)!
And yet the Romans did it! However, they only creatively used an analog of the weapon known to the ancient Greeks (I hope the Macedonians too), which is very reminiscent of an ancient Greek curved sword – the kapis.
“Philip (King Philip V of Macedonia) paid special attention to the janaza of the people who had been in the first encounter with the Roman cavalry and ordered their bodies to be brought to the camp. . Until now, they could only see scars from darts or arrows, sometimes from the top, and they were accustomed to fighting only the Greeks and Iliarians; Now, disfiguring the corpses with the Spanish sword, cutting off one arm with his shoulder, beheading, daring, and much more, equally horrible and disgusting, Philip’s warriors see what kind of people and what weapons they have to deal with. Was frightened. “Ancient Roman historian Titus Livius. III c. BC. E. Excerpt from Wikipedia.
Falcata – Spanish Saber, “curved like a cast”.Until now, the Iberian masters’ little-known weapon had gained popularity in Roman cavalry after a war with the Carthaginians. It was then that the Roman soldiers felt the power of the Iberian blades on their skin or rather their armor. According to Roman historians, not a single helmet was able to withstand the impact of the blade. After the defeat of Hannibal in the third century BC. And occupying Iberia, one of the territories of Spain, the Romans immediately implemented this unusually effective weapon! However, a foot fighter who stabs more than he cuts, this form does not make the blade too difficult. A rider is another thing! The blade’s “flight” path is about one and a half times longer than the blade fighter. When cut, the “reverse sharp” acts as a lever, repeatedly increasing the impact force. In addition, the “Cecil-shaped” blade does not slip and However, if a stick is broken, there is a “stick” hitting from above (for example, chest). And when you hit the neck or arm, the blade is like “hooks”. Pulling Saber against himself, the warrior cut off the hands or head of the enemy! During this movement, the handle was bent in the shape of a hook to prevent the weapon from escaping from its grip.
However, this type of weapon received the name “Falcata” only in the early 19th century due to a mistranslation of the word “Falcatus”. The translator considered it “curved like a castle” in Latin and simplified it by writing “falcata”. The term was quickly adopted by contemporary historians and writers of historical novels. The ancient Romans themselves called this weapon “Gladius Hispanicus”, a Spanish sword since such blades were made only in the Spanish province of Iberia.
The process of producing such sickle-shaped blades is unusually complex! The fact is that when they work as a lever with such a weapon, the power of the handle is 20 times more than that of a regular thread blade! At the first push, only a strong hot blade breaks. A special approach is needed here. According to legend, the Iberian gunman in the second century. BC. E. They tested the steel quality as follows: They flattened and bent the sword over their heads so that both ends touched their shoulders. Once released, the sword should be straightened without consequence. Although the gunners repeated this tactic many times, the sword always returned to shape.
The ancient Spaniards excelled at making falcats. Since the beginning of the Iron Age, these Iberians have been in the arms industry because high-grade ore simply “stays under their feet.” The figure shows the evolution of the “Spanish Sword” from antiquity to the early 19th century. Such swords were copied in only one copy, and in ancient Rome, it was not possible to keep such swords “in the stream.” Therefore, the blade was quickly transported by another, perhaps less effective, but easier to produce straight swords.
Is Spanish Saber dead? No more! Fortunately, the tradition of producing sickle blades has not died out. And they were unusually popular in the Middle Ages. A time of great geographical discovery. In those days of great piracy. Why? But try using a light rapper worn by the elite or a straight knife to cut the strong boarding sea rope. No matter how hard you try, nothing will work. But a rope-like “Spanish Saber” was easily cut because of the curl shape. Experienced warriors cut him off with one blow. However, this type of blade easily breaks into any armor! True, these weapons were worth a fortune! The blades from the Spanish city of Toledo for hereditary gunners were especially valuable in those days.No matter how weakly dressed you were, the Toledo scandal in the form of “Falcon Wing” on the sheath ensured universal respect for the people. Yes, jealousy and desire to get such value. They even wielded this weapon differently, unlike the sword, rapper, or horseman Broadsward. The scabbard was hung with a little slug almost parallel to the belt. It is very difficult to quickly snatch this kind of strangely shaped blade from the sheet in another position.
But, all passes. The time of the sea goons is over. Such blades were no longer of practical, useful value and only continued to be produced as expensive exteriors. The tradition of production is lost. In the meantime, perhaps, irrefutably. And they forgot about Spanish Saber again. What a pity.