Ancient weapons 1

Ancient and medieval. weapons reflected rapid changes in metalworking, production, and the evolving needs of soldiers. They needed to be sturdy, easy to make, powerful, light, and not rust or fall apart in bad weather. But while there are countless variations on what men-at-arms carried into battle, they mostly fall into a couple of categories.

Medieval weapons were usually either swords, spears, axes, pole-arms (essentially spears with axe heads) or hammers. They had either sharp edges for cutting, sharp points for thrusting, or heavy heads for crushing. Sometimes, they combined a few of these traits. Bows and arrows were also used, as were siege weapons, and early forms of gunpowder. But most men went into combat carrying some kind of either blunt or edged weapon.

From the Roman gladius to the English longsword, or from primitive spiked clubs to steel war hammers and maces, the evolution of these weapons didn't change their purpose - to efficiently kill enemy soldiers. And many of these weapons have since become famous for their pop culture depictions, use in video games and films, or just general awesomeness.