Falx

In Latin texts, the weapon was described as an ensis falcatus (whence falcata) by Ovid in Metamorphose and as a falx supina by Juvenal in Satiriae.

It consisted of a 3-foot-long (0.91 m) wooden shaft with a long curved iron blade of nearly-equal length attached to the end.

The massive base is covered with reliefs of trophies of Dacian weapons and includes several illustrations of the two-handed falx.

[4] The Adamclisi monument, built by Trajan to commemorate the Romans who lost their lives in the Dacian counterattack in Moesia, is thought to have been constructed by the soldiers who fought there, so it may be more accurate.

These experiments also show that the falx was most efficient when targeting the head, shoulders, legs and especially the right (sword) arm, which was generally exposed.

[3] During the conquest of Dacia by Trajan the Roman army adapted personal equipment while on campaign, and it seems likely that this was a response to this deadly weapon.

[citation needed] This drastic curve rendered the falx a purely offensive weapon to be used against a broken or routing force.

[citation needed] Typically, an enemy would be broken by a sustained hail of missile fire from javelin, dart, bow, sling, and stone throwing troops before being chased down and cut to pieces by the falx wielders.

[citation needed] The ancestor of the two-handed falx may have been a farming implement used as an improvised weapon, in a manner analogous to the bill-guisarme.

[citation needed] At the time of the Dacian wars, producing a long, sharp blade was technically challenging.