Falarica was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon which were sometime used as an incendiary weapon. The Lady of Baza, made by Iberians The Iberians were an ancient, Pre-Indo-European people who inhabited the east and southeast of the Iberian Peninsula in prehistoric and historic times. ... A ranged weapon is any weapon that launches a projectile or that is a projectile itself. ... A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon with the main fighting part of the weapon placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood. ... An incendiary device is a device or weapon designed to create a fire. ...

Design

The Falarica was a javelin with a long iron pointed rod of about 90 centimeter in length completed with a short wooden handle. The iron rod had a very narrow tip, which gave the falarica armour-piercing capability, and a square section in the lower part of the rod to increase the weapon's weight and thus further improve its penetration ability. The Iberians used to bind packs filled with a combustible substance to the rod of the weapon and used the falarica as a ranged incendiary device. The incendiary javelin would hit the armour or shield of the enemy and would set it ablaze, thus forcing him to strip of his protecting gear. In addition the flaming falarica had an enormous psychological effect on the enemy soldier and helped to spread fear amongst enemy troops. The falarica was also used as an incendiary device during sieges and was thrown against wooden palisades and into besieged settelments in order to cause fires and havoc. When the Iberians were besieged they hurled falming falaricas at the besiegers' siege engines. Look up Javelin on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Javelin can refer to several things: For the spear-like object,used as a thrown weapon in ancient times see Javelin Ancient For the modern athletic discipline see Javelin throw. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... For other uses, see Armour (disambiguation). ... A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. ... A siege is a military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ... A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. ...

Origin

Although in some texts the falarica is indicated as a Roman weapon, its origin seems to be from the Iberian peninsula and there are references to its use when the Iberians fought against the Carthaginians in the vicinity of Saguntum. There are falarica parts amongst Iberian and Celtic archaelogical deposits from the 1st century BC to the 1st century. Roman military personal equipment was not of a better quality than that used by the majority of its adversaries[1]. It was however produced in large numbers to established patterns and used in an established way. ... This article is about the ancient city-state of Carthage in North Africa. ... Saguntum, now Sagunt, (Castilian Sagunto) is an ancient city in the fertile district of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia in eastern Spain. ... Celts redirects here. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Javelin
• Soliferrum
• Assegai
• Falcata
• Pilum
• incendiary weapon

Look up Javelin on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Javelin can refer to several things: For the spear-like object,used as a thrown weapon in ancient times see Javelin Ancient For the modern athletic discipline see Javelin throw. ... Soliferrum is the Roman name for a javelin or spear made entirely of iron. ... An Askari guards an Allied air training school at Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa. ... 4th century BC Iberian falcata. ... Reconstruction of a post-Marian pilum A Roman coin showing Antoninianus of Carinus holding pilum and globe. ... An incendiary device is a device or weapon designed to create a fire. ...

External links

Weapons of the Iberian peninsula