Utente:Cristiano64/Esercito romano: differenze tra le versioni

Versione delle 17:32, 23 ott 2014

Versione delle 17:39, 23 ott 2014

Riga 13:

==== Equipment ====

===== ''Gladius'' =====

The few exemplars of Republican ''gladii'' found show that these were significantly longer (and heavier) than those of the imperial period.<ref name="Goldsworthy 2003 29"/> Typical blade-length was 60–68&nbsp;cm, compared to 45–55&nbsp;cm in the 1st century AD. This made the early ''gladius'' suitable for use by cavalry as well as infantry. The characteristic shape of the ''gladius'' blade, narrowing in the middle to provide greater balance and stabbing-force, was more pronounced in the Republican than imperial types. Although stabbing remained the preferred method of combat for the Romans, as it was far more likely to result in fatal wounds than slashing, the advantage of the ''gladius'' over the Italic sword-types previously used by the Romans were that it could be used for slashing (with both edges) as well as more effective stabbing.<ref>Vegetius I.11</ref>

The ''gladius'' was made of the best-quality steel then available, the ''[[Noric steel|chalybs Noricus]]'', celebrated in Roman times, from the region of [[Noricum]] (Austria). The strength of iron is determined by its [[carbon]] content (the higher the content, the stronger the metal). The [[wrought iron]] produced in the Greco-Roman world generally contained only minimal traces of carbon and was too soft for tools and weapons. It thus needed to be [[carburisation|carburised]] to at least 1.5% carbon content. The main Roman method of achieving this was to repeatedly heat the wrought iron to a temperature of over 800 C (i.e. to "white heat") and hammer it in a [[charcoal]] fire, causing the iron to absorb carbon from the charcoal.<ref>Healy (1978) 231</ref> This technique had been developed empirically, as there is no evidence that ancient iron producers understood the chemistry involved. The rudimentary methods of carburisation used rendered the quality of the iron ore critical to the production of good steel. The ore needed to be rich in [[manganese]] (an element which remains essential in modern steelmaking processes), but also to contain very little, or preferably zero, [[phosphorus]], whose presence would compromise the steel's hardness.<ref name="Buchwald 2005 124">Buchwald (2005) 124</ref> The ore mined in [[Noricum|Carinthia]] (S. Noricum) fulfills both criteria to an unusual degree.<ref>Buchwald (2005) 115</ref> The Celtic peoples of Noricum (predominantly the [[Taurisci]] tribe) empirically discovered that their ore made superior steel around 500 BC and established a major steel-making industry around it.<ref>Healy (1978) 236</ref> At [[Magdalensberg]], a major production and trading centre was established, where a large number of specialised blacksmiths crafted a range of metal products, especially weapons. The finished products were mostly exported southwards, to [[Aquileia]], a Roman colony founded in 180 BC.<ref name="Buchwald 2005 124"/>