Hispanic sword (gladius hispaniensis)
Espada hispana (gladius hispaniensis)
- Date
- c. 218-200 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Celtiberia (eastern Meseta), Spain
- Credited to
- Celtiberian swordsmiths; adopted by the Roman Republic
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A short, double-edged sword with a sharp point, suited to both cutting and thrusting, made of good-quality steel. Rome adopted it during the Punic Wars after meeting it in Hispania, and it remained the standard weapon of the legionary infantry for centuries.
Polybius (VI, 23) says that the Romans took up the Spanish sword during the Second Punic War, but it is debated whether the model was a Celtiberian invention or an adaptation of Celtic La Tène swords. The date is that of Roman adoption, not of the weapon's first appearance.
What it led to
- close-order legionary infantry, more flexible than the phalanx
- the renown of Hispanic steel, which Rome imported and copied
- gladii of the Mainz and Pompeii types in the 1st centuries BC and AD