Kontos (weapon)

The kontos and contus (Ancient Greek: κοντός), from κεντέω meaning to prick or pierce, was a type of long pike with a pointed iron at the one end.

[1] Later, the term applied to the long pikes or lances which were used as weapons[1] and the soldier armed with it were called Contarii and Contati (κοντόφοροι, meaning contus-bearers).

A shift in the terminology used to describe Sarmatian weapons indicates the kontos was developed in the early to mid-1st century AD from shorter spear-type weapons[citation needed] (which were described using the generic terms for "spear"—longhe or hasta—by Greek and Roman sources, respectively), though such a description may have existed before the Battle of Carrhae, in which Parthian cataphracts, in conjunction with light horse archers, annihilated a Roman army of over three times their numbers.

Thus, it had to be wielded with two hands while directing the horse using the knees; this made it a specialist weapon that required extensive training and excellent horsemanship to use.

The Parthian version was a 3.7 m (12 ft) lance featuring a sword-like iron-made blade 23.2 to 37.5 cm (9 to 15 in) in length socketed onto the shaft.