Falx
Literally: sickle
A weapon of the Dacians and Thracians with a curved blade sharpened only on the inner side, in its two-handed form on a long shaft; a single blow could split a shield.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The falx was a weapon of the Thracians and Dacians with a curved blade. The Latin word originally meant sickle, and the Romans later also used it for a siege hook. The weapon was recorded by Roman authors: Ovid called it ensis falcatus, Juvenal falx supina, and Marcus Cornelius Fronto described the large gaping wounds it caused. The two-handed falx consisted of a wooden shaft about 0.91 m long with a long curved iron blade of almost the same length. The one-handed form, called sica, usually had a blade of about 41 cm and a handle a third longer. The blade was sharpened only on the inner side. It was most devastating against the head, shoulders, legs, and especially the right arm, in which the legionary held his sword. Experiments showed it easily penetrated Roman lorica segmentata armor and could split a shield with a single blow. During Trajan's Dacian Wars, the Romans modified their equipment: they reinforced helmets, returned to more flexible armor, and added greaves and the manica, a guard for the right arm. The falx is depicted on Trajan's Column and the Tropaeum Traiani monument, though historians dispute their accuracy.
Related weapons
- Variants: Sica