Weapon Type
Short Swords
Single-handed blades under 24 inches.
Short Swords
Edged Weapons → Swords — Subcategory
Overview
Short swords occupy the range between the dagger and the longer military sword — typically 30–60 cm blade length. In a close-packed infantry formation (Roman legion, Greek phalanx, medieval shield wall), a longer sword cannot be effectively swung — there is no room. The short sword's limited length is actually an advantage in these conditions: it can thrust between bodies, between shields, and into gaps without requiring the fighter to step back.
Major Historical Short Swords
Greek Xiphos
- Blade length — 45–60 cm; double-edged; leaf-shaped; acute point
- The standard sidearm of Greek hoplites — warriors who carried the 2-meter doru (spear) as their primary weapon
- When the spear broke or opponents closed too near to use it, the xiphos was drawn
- Used in tight phalanx fighting where the long spear was useless
Roman Gladius
The gladius is arguably the most influential short sword in history:
- Blade length — 40–55 cm (varies by type); double-edged; acute point
- Width — Broad at the base; tapering sharply
- The Roman scutum (large curved shield) created a fighting system: the shield pushed into the enemy, the gladius thrust into the gaps
- Optimized for the stab rather than the cut — a thrust to the abdomen was quicker, more reliable, and used less space than a cut
- Types: Mainz (earlier; longer point), Fulham (transitional), Pompeii (shorter; parallel sides; most common)
Roman Spatha
- Blade length — 60–85 cm; the longer sword adopted from Celtic cavalry
- Replaced the gladius as Roman cavalry expanded; eventually replaced the gladius in infantry use in Late Rome
- Direct ancestor of the medieval sword
Viking Seax
- Blade length — 15–75 cm; huge range; single-edged; utility knife up to short sword length
- The universal tool-weapon of Germanic and Norse peoples
- The Saxons derived their name from the seax
Medieval Arming Sword
- Blade length — 70–80 cm; in the borderland between short sword and longsword
- The standard one-handed knightly sword of 9th–15th centuries
- Carried at the hip as the primary or sidearm weapon; versatile cut and thrust
Modern Short Sword / Long Knife
- In the modern era, the short sword has essentially merged with the combat knife category
- The distinction between a large fighting knife (e.g., Bowie knife) and a short sword is primarily one of classification, not function
This article is a stub. Contributions covering specific short sword examples, cultures, and combat systems are welcome.
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Greek Xiphos
The xiphos was the sidearm of the Greek hoplite: a double-edged, leaf-bladed short sword drawn when the spear — always the primary weapon — shattered in the press of the phalanx. Typically around 45 to 60 centimeters, waisted then swelling toward the point, it cut and thrust equally well in the shield-to-shield crush where no longer blade could work. Sparta, characteristically, carried the shortest versions of all — close enough, they said, to reach the enemy.
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Ottoman Yatagan
The yatagan is the signature short sword of the Ottoman world: a single-edged blade curving forward like the kopis and kukri family, a hilt without any guard, and a pommel spreading into the distinctive 'ears' of bone, ivory, or silver. Thrust through the sash, it was the constant sidearm of the janissaries and of irregulars across the Balkans and Anatolia for three centuries, and surviving examples are among the most richly decorated of all Islamic arms.
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Roman Gladius
The gladius was the short sword of the Roman legionary and the weapon that conquered the Mediterranean world. Adopted from Iberian patterns during the Punic Wars, it paired a broad two-edged blade of roughly 50 to 68 centimeters with a long tapering point, optimized for the tight ranks of the legion, where a soldier stabbed past his shield rather than swung. For some four centuries it equipped the most successful heavy infantry of the ancient world.