Sica
A curved short sword or large dagger of the Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, whose shape was meant to bypass the edge of an opponent's shield; in the Roman arena it was used by the thraex.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
Sica was a short sword or large dagger of the ancient Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, later also adopted by the Romans. Finds come from today's Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. It is a shorter form of the falx weapon. The most common, third type measured about 30-40 cm, was about 3 cm wide, and mostly dates from the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. The curved shape was meant to bypass the edge of an opponent's shield and allow a thrust or a cut to the back. In the Roman arena, the sica was carried by the gladiator type thraex. He faced the shield-bearing murmillo, making the duel more balanced and exciting. The Romans associated the sica with the Illyrians and with the figure of the assassin, the sicarius. The sica was the characteristic weapon of the Jewish rebels the sicarii, active in Judea in the 1st century CE. Across Palestine, however, only three sica blades are identified: from Qumran, Cave 2 in Nahal David, and possibly Khirbet el-Maqatir.
Related weapons
- Variant of: Falx