While gladiators may have used unique weapons, they also used implements of war that were more familiar throughout the Roman world. The foremost of these was the gladius, a type of short sword ...

The first reports of gladiators (the name comes from the type of sword they used: the gladius) appears around 264BCE, 2300 years ago, back when Rome was still a republic and didn’t have an ...

Each legionnaire (or 'miles') carried a short sword, called a gladius. This was his main weapon. He also carried a 'pilum' (javelin), a helmet, armor, shield and a pack with supplies. Soldiers ...