The Spatha is a straight, double-edged sword from the Roman Empire. In Deadliest Warrior: The Game, it is one of the Close-Range weapons of the Roman Centurion.
Description[]
The spatha had a straight, double-edge blade and was between .75 to 1 meter long. It had a single-handed hilt.
Uses[]
Longer bladed swords first appeared in the Roman army in the 1st Century AD, when Celtic auxiliaries (non-citizen members of Rome's military) continued to use their long swords rather than adopt the shorter Roman gladius. The Roman Cavalry also preferred the longer sword as it was easier to use on horseback.
Gradually near the end of the empire, when the legions were mostly filled up with barbarian Foederati and using more barbaric style shields, armor and weapons from barbarian culture, the spatha replaced the gladius as the primary weapon of most heavy infantry and calvary, limiting the gladius to a light infantry role. The spatha remained popular until the fall of Rome, and may have even evolved into the Viking Long Sword.