Gladius Decimus, Tribune's Sword  SBC-GLADIUSDECIMUS   $99  In Stock - Ships in 1-3 days    The Tenth Legion, or Legio X, always held a spot deep in Julius Caesar’s heart (Brutus missed that spot by a half inch when he stabbed the Caesar, but that's another story). The tenth had many different names; Legio X Equestris (an honorable title meaning Knights, or Honored Warriors), X Gemina, Legia Decima and Harvey Limantowski (although only Caesar used that last one, and only when he was drunk). The legion was allegedly formed by Julius Caesar and saw more action than Madonna. The Tenth played a pivotal role in the Gallic Wars, helping Caesar to conquer the Gauls and cement his reputation as a military genius. They also helped Caesar conquer Britain and defeated Pompey, Caesar’s arch-rival (and former friend) in Rome. The tenth was disbanded in 45 B.C., but reinstated by Emperor Augustus (just lowly little Octavian at the time) in 42 B.C.. Augustus used them in Phillipi against the people responsible for his Uncle's death, then had them turn against him when he and Mark Antony became enemies. The Tenth's second-to-last battle as X Equestris was against the nephew of the man who had created them (We're talking about Octavian still. Keep up). They fought with Mark Antony against Octavian and suffered their first defeat at Actium. Augustus banished them to Patras (in Greece), where they promptly rebelled and were put down again. This time, though, Augustus took away their name, X Equestris, and gave them the new name, X Gemina. The Gladius The Roman Gladius has a long and prosperous history. It was, at first, a weapon used by the Spaniards. The Spaniards were particularly good at fighting the Romans and earned the grudging respect of the Italian conquerors, who, nonetheless conquered them anyway. (it's a fitting tribute to the toughness of the Spaniards that Russell Crowe's "Maximus" character in the movie "Gladiator" was a Spaniard who had been integrated into the Roman army). The Spaniard's had two weapons feared by the Romans: The hook-handled "falcata," (a horrific slashing weapon with a lethal forward curve) and the Gladius. The Romans were so impressed with the effectiveness of the gladius that they quickly adopted it for their own troops. The gladius was used primarily for stabbing, so it features a fearsome v-shaped tip, great for slipping through the spaces in ribs, or through the cartilage itself if aim was bad or mood particularly grim. The versatile sword could also be used to slash; both edges were sharpened and deadly. The weapon was ideal for the Romans, who used it in formation, with all soldiers drawing their swords from their right side with their right hand (this bit of conformity kept legionnaires from accidentally dissecting their immediate neighbors). The small swords were the perfect complement to the huge scutum shields that the soldiers used in their formations, giving the troops speed and the ability to withdraw the weapon quickly and defend themselves solely with the shield.