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Thraex
The Thraex (: Thraeces), or Thracian, was a type of Roman gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ... armed in Thracians, Thracian style. His equipment included a ''Parma (shield), parmula'', a small shield (about 60 × 65 cm) that might be rectangular, square or circular; and a sica, a short sword with a curved blade like a small version of the Dacian falx, intended to maim an opponent's unarmoured back. His other armour included greaves, a protective belt above a loincloth, and a helmet with a side plume, visor and high crest. Fighting style and techniques A passage in Petronius indicates that "Thracian" was a style of gladiatorial fighting taught in training schools. An inscription records a ''doctor thraecum'', a teacher of would-be Thracians. See also ...
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Gladiator
A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome's martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious and commonplace objects throughout the Roman world. The origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, and thereafter it rapidly became an essential feature of politics and social life in the ...
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List Of Roman Gladiator Types
There were many different types of gladiators in ancient Rome. Some of the first gladiators had been prisoner of war, prisoners-of-war, and so some of the earliest types of gladiators were experienced fighters; Gauls, Samnites, and ''Thraeces'' (Thracians) used their native weapons and armor. Different gladiator types specialized in specific weapons and fighting techniques. Combatants were usually pitted against opponents with different, but more or less equivalent equipment, for the sake of a fair and balanced contest. Most gladiators only fought others from within the same school or ''ludus'', but sometimes specific gladiators could be requested to fight one from another ''ludus''. Elite gladiators wore high-quality decorative armour for the pre-game parade ''(pompa)''. Julius Caesar's gladiators wore silver armour, Domitian's wore golden armour, and Nero's armour decorated with carved amber. Peacock feathers were used for plumes while tunics and loincloths had patterns in gold ...
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Ludus Dacicus
The ''Ludus Dacicus'' or The Dacian Gladiatorial Training School was one of the four gladiator training schools (''ludi'') in Ancient Rome. It was founded by Domitian (81–96), completed by Trajan (98–117), and was used to train gladiators drawn from among the Dacian prisoners taken by both emperors in their Dacian Wars. It was located east of the Colosseum, on the slopes of the Caelian Hill. History Dacian prisoners were taken many times by the Romans and very often they were forced to fight in the arenas. Dio Cassius mentions that around 31 BC, after the Battle of Actium, where the Dacian king Dicomes provided help to Mark Antony,Plutarch; Antonius, 63 Augustus took the Dacian prisoners and made them fight in the arena as gladiators, against Suebi captives, a spectacle that lasted many days with no interruption. See also * Ludus Magnus * Falx The was a weapon with a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge used by the Thracians and Dacians. The name was lat ...
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Falx
The was a weapon with a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge used by the Thracians and Dacians. The name was later applied to a siege hook used by the Romans. Etymology is a Latin word originally meaning 'sickle' but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge like a sickle. was thus also used to mean the weapon of the Thracians and Dacians, and the Roman siege hook. Dacian ''falx'' In Latin texts, the weapon was described as an ' (whence ) by Ovid in and as a ' by Satires of Juvenal, Juvenal in . The Dacian came in two sizes: one-handed and two-handed. The shorter variant was called (sickle) in the Dacian language (Valerius Maximus, III, 2.12) with a blade length that varied but was usually around long with a handle one-third longer than the blade. The two-handed was a polearm. It consisted of a wooden shaft with a long curved iron blade of nearly-equal length attached to the end. Archaeologic ...
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Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts of his life come primarily from Plutarch and Appian, who wrote more than a century after his death. Plutarch's ''Life of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Crassus'' and Appian's ''Civil Wars'' provide the most comprehensive details of the slave revolt. Despite being a significant figure in Roman history, no contemporary sources exist, and all accounts were by those not directly involved, significantly later, and without perspectives from slaves or eyewitnesses. Little is known about him beyond the events of the war, and surviving accounts are contradictory. All sources agree he was a former gladiator and accomplished military leader. Spartacus is described as a Thracian by birth, possibly from the Maedi tribe. Before his enslavement and role as a gl ...
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Thracians
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between Thrace, north-eastern Greece, Romania, and north-western Turkey. They shared the same language and culture. There may have been as many as a million Thracians, divided among up to 40 tribes." Thracians resided mainly in Southeast Europe in Present (time), modern-day Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, northern Greece and European Turkey, but also in north-western Anatolia, Anatolia (Asia Minor) in Turkey. The exact origin of the Thracians is uncertain, but it is believed that Thracians like other Indo-European speaking groups in Europe descended from a mixture of Proto-Indo-Europeans and Early European Farmers. Around the 5th millennium BC, the inhabitants of the eastern region of the Balkans became organized in different groups of Indi ...
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Parma (shield)
A ''parma'' or ''parmula'' (the diminutive of ''parma'') was a type of round shield used by the Roman army, especially during the later period of Roman Empire, imperial history since the 3rd century. Characteristics The ''parma'' was about 36 inches (91 cm) across (or less) and had iron in its frame, making it a very effective piece of armour. ''Parmae'' had handles and shield bosses (''umbones''). The ''parma'' was used by legionaries in the early republican period of Rome's history, by the lowest class division of the army— the ''velites''. Their equipment consisted of a ''parma'', javelin, sword and helmet. Later, the ''parma'' was replaced by the body-length ''scutum'' as ''velites'' were phased out with the so-called "Marian reforms". War use It was used mainly by Auxilia, auxiliary infantry and cavalry, with the Legionary, legionaries preferring the heavier but more protective ''scutum'', during earlier periods. It was used also by ''signiferi'' (standard bear ...
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Sica
The sica is a short sword or large dagger of ancient Illyrians, Thracians, and Dacians; it was also used in ancient Rome. It is a shorter form of the falx, and the root of the word is the same as the modern sickle. It was originally depicted as a curved sword (see the Zliten mosaic as well as numerous oil lamps) and many examples have been found in what are today Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania. It is also depicted on Trajan's Column; notably the Dacian king Decebalus is depicted committing suicide with one. Etymology Possibly from Proto-Albanian ''tsikā'' (whence Albanian ''thikë'', "knife"), from Proto-Indo-European ''ḱey''- ("to sharpen") possibly via Illyrian. According to the ''Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines'', the name ''Sica'' comes from Proto-Indo-European root ''sek-'', meaning "to cut", "to section", however De Vaan declares any connection to Proto-Indo-European ''sek''- to be formally impossible. Il ...
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Greave
A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armor") or jambeau is a piece of armor that protects the human leg, leg. Description The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the skin, and is therefore extremely vulnerable to just about any kind of attack. Furthermore, a successful attack on the shin results in that leg being rendered useless, greatly hampering one's ability to maneuver in any way. Greaves were used to counteract this. They usually consisted of a metal exterior with an inner padding of felt. The felt padding was particularly important because, without it, any blow would transfer directly from the metal plating to the shin. History Bronze Age Bronze greaves were used in Bronze Age Europe by the Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean Greeks and the Central European Urnfield culture, among others. Ancient Greece and Rome The reference to greaves (Ancient Greek: κνημίδες) exists in various texts of ...
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Knife Handle Thraex Musée BnF Froehner930a
A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone (such as flint and obsidian), over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin. Knives can serve various purposes. Hunters use a hunting knife, soldiers use the combat knife, scouts, campers, and hikers carry a pocketknife; there are kitchen knives for preparing foods (the chef's knife, the paring knife, bread knife, cleaver), table knife (butter knives and steak knives), weapons (daggers or switchblades), knives for throwing or juggling, and k ...
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