Falx - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Falx is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

word originally meaning sickle

Sickle

A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...

, but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge such as a scythe

Scythe

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...

. Falx was also used to mean a weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

, particularly that of the Thracians

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

and Dacia

Dacia

In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...

ns, and later a siege hook

Siege hook

A siege hook is a weapon used to pull stones from a wall during a siege.The Greek historian Polybius, in his Histories, mentions the use of such weapons at the Roman siege of Ambracia:...

used by the Romans themselves.

Dacian falx

In Latin texts the weapon was described as an ensis falcatus (whence falcata

Falcata

The falcata is a type of sword typical of the pre-Roman Iberian Peninsula , similar to Greek kopis or Nepalese kukri.-Name:...

) by Ovid

Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...

in Metamorphose or falx supina by Juvenal in Satiriae.

The Dacian falx came in two sizes: one-handed and two-handed. The shorter variant was called sica
Sica
The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...

(sickle) in the Dacian language (Valerius Maximus

Valerius Maximus

Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He worked during the reign of Tiberius .-Biography:...

, III,2.12) with a blade length that varied but usually around 16 inches (40.6 cm) long with a handle 1/3 longer than the blade. The two-handed falx was a pole-arm

Pole weapon

A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...

. It consisted of a 3 foot (0.9144 m) long wooden shaft with a long curved iron blade of nearly-equal length attached to the end. Archaeological evidence indicates that the one-handed falx was also used two-handed.

The blade was sharpened only on the inside, and was reputed to be devastatingly effective. However, it left its user vulnerable because, being a two-handed weapon, the warrior could not also make use of a shield. It may be imagined that the length of the two-handed falx allowed it to be wielded with great force, the point piercing helmets and the blade splitting shields - it was said to be capable of splitting a shield in two at a single blow. Alternatively, it might used as a hook, pulling away shields and cutting at vulnerable limbs.

Trajan's column

Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...

is a monument to the emperor’s conquest of Dacia. The massive base is covered with reliefs of trophies of Dacian weapons and includes several illustrations of the two-handed falx. The column itself has a helical frieze that tells the story of the Dacian wars. On the frieze, almost all the Dacians that are armed, have shields and therefore cannot be using a two-handed falx. Unfortunately, the exact weapon of those few shown without shields cannot be determined with certainty. The frieze of Trajan's column also shows Dacians using a smaller, sword sized falx. However, this column is also largely stylised with the sculptor believed to have worked from Trajan's now lost commentary and likely did not witness the events himself. A further problem is that most of the weapons on the monument were made of metal which have since disappeared.

The Adamclisi monument, built by Trajan to commemorate the Romans who lost their lives in the Dacian counter attack in Moesia

Moesia

Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...

, is thought to have been constructed by the soldiers who fought there so may be more accurate. This column shows four distinct types of falx whereas Trajans shows only one type that does not resemble any on the Adamclisi monument. Due to this, historians disagree on which depiction is correct but it has been pointed out that if the Trajans column falx is correct then there would have been no need to modify their armour. Both columns show the Dacians fighting with no armour apart from a shield although some on the Adamclisi are wearing helmets. Some historians believe that armour was not depicted to differentiate Dacians from Romans as both used the same style shield and other sources indicate that Dacians by this time had undergone Romanisation, used Roman military tactics and sometimes wore Roman style scale armour. It is likely the nobles at least wore armour and, combined with the falx, the Dacians would have been a formidable threat.

Effectiveness

At the time of the Dacian wars researchers have estimated that only ten percent of Spanish and Gallic warriors had access to swords, usually the nobility. By contrast Dacia had rich resources of iron and were prolific metal workers. It is clear that a large percentage of Dacians owned swords, greatly reducing Rome's military advantage.

Marcus Cornelius Fronto

Marcus Cornelius Fronto

Marcus Cornelius Fronto , Roman grammarian, rhetorician and advocate, was born at Cirta in Numidia. He also was suffect consul of 142.- Life :Fronto, who was born a Roman citizen c...

described the large gaping wounds that a falx inflicted, and experiments have shown that a blow from a falx easily penetrated the Romans' Lorica segmentata

Lorica segmentata

The lōrīca segmentāta was a type of segmented armour almost exclusively used in the Roman Empire, but the Latin name was first used in the 16th century...

, incapacitating the majority of victims. These experiments also show that the falx was most efficient when targeting the head, shoulder, leg and especially the right (sword) arm, which was generally exposed. A legionary who had lost the use of his right arm became a serious liability to his unit in battle.

The time of the conquest of Dacia by Trajan

Trajan

Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

is the only known instance of the Roman army adapting personal equipment while on campaign, and it seems likely that this was a response to this deadly weapon. Roman legionaries had transverse reinforcing iron straps applied to their helmets - it is clear that these are late modifications because they are roughly applied across existing embossed decoration. The legions also reintroduced the wearing of Lorica hamata

Lorica hamata

The lorica hamata is a type of mail armour used by the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. During the 1st century it was starting to be supplemented by lorica segmentata, but had been reintroduced as sole standard-issue armor by the 4th century. It was issued for both primary Legionary and...

and Lorica squamata

Lorica squamata

The Lorica squamata is a type of scale armour used by the ancient Roman military during the Roman Republic and at later periods. It was made from small metal scales sewn to a fabric backing. It is typically seen on depictions of standard bearers, musicians, centurions, cavalry troops, and even...

for the Dacia campaign as both were more flexible than the newer segmentata armour and were able to distribute damage more widely. In addition, both these older armour styles had unique modifications, a row of pteruges

Pteruges

Pteruges refers to the decorative skirt of leather or fabric strips worn around the waists of Roman and Greek warriors and soldiers, as well as the similarly-fashioned epaulette-like strips worn on the shoulders or later, especially in the Middle East during the Middle Ages, the back of the...

was added to the sleeves, a double row of pteruges was added to the skirt and a heavily padded vestment was worn underneath them. Roman armour of the time left limbs unprotected; Trajan introduced the use of greave

Greave

A greave is a piece of armour that protects the leg.-Description:...

s and an arm protector (manica

Manica (armour)

The Latin word "manica" means a sleeve. A manica was a type of iron or bronze arm guard, with curved and overlapping metal segments or plates, fastened to leather straps, worn by Roman gladiators called crupellarii, and later by soldiers....

) for the right arm, which had previously been used only by gladiators, and which was never used again by soldiers once the Dacia campaign concluded.

Thracian falx

The Thracians also made use of the falx. They also used the rhomphaia

Rhomphaia

The Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to...

, a weapon very similar to the two handed falx but much less drastically curved.

Development

The two handed falx is clearly related to the Thracian rhomphaia

Rhomphaia

. It is a derivative of both the sword and the spear, having evolved from a spear to a polearm before becoming more drastically curved to facilitate a superior cutting action. This drastic curve rendered the falx a purely offensive weapon to be used against a broken or routing force. Typically, an enemy would be broken by a sustained hail of missile fire from javelin, dart, bow, sling, and stone throwing troops before being chased down and cut to pieces by the falx wielders.

The ancestor of the two handed falx may have been a farming implement used as an improvised weapon, in a manner analogous to the bill-gisarme

Bill (weapon)

The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe.The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, differing mainly in the hooked blade form...

. However, the scythe

Scythe

did not appear until the 12th and 13th centuries. The single-handed falx might have been inspired by the sickle

Sickle

, although agricultural sickles of the time were typically quite small—no more than 30 cm or so in length.

At the time of the Dacian wars, producing a long, sharp blade was technically challenging. As such, it might be that the larger two-handed falx was a high-status weapon and used only by the best warriors.

External links

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33876270/Borangic-C-Incursiune-in-Arsenalul-Armelor-Curbe-Tracice-Falx-Dacica-Sebus-I-2009
Demonstration of a reconstructed falx in use.
The curved sword of the Dacians.
Falx as a tool.
Dacian wielding single handed falx, Trajan's column.
Dacians wielding single handed falxes, Trajan's column.
Images of historical re-enactor with falx. Refer to images in row F
Image

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Dacian falx

Effectiveness

Thracian falx

Development

See also

External links