Editing Xiphos (section)

== History ==
[[File:Two xiphe, a kopis and spearheads from Thessaloniki museum.jpg|thumb|Iron ''xiphos'', ''[[kopis]]'' and iron spear heads, Thessaloniki Museum |231x231px]]

The period between the Classical and Iron Ages is often referred to as a "dark age", but it featured important developments and innovations in metal casting, alloy construction, and procurement as widespread use of metallurgy slowly spread out of Iberia.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bachrach, Bernard S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961307661|title=Warfare in medieval Europe, c.400-c.1453|others=Bachrach, David S., 1971-|year=2017|isbn=978-1-138-88765-7|location=London|oclc=961307661}}</ref>

The xiphos sometimes has a midrib, and is diamond or lenticular in cross-section. It was a rather light weapon, with a weight around {{cvt|450–900|g|lbs}}. It was generally hung from a [[baldric]] under the left arm.<ref name="myarmoury.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=6021 |title = Leaf-Blades? -- myArmoury.com}}</ref> The ''xiphos'' was generally used only when the spear was broken, taken by the enemy, or discarded for close combat. Very few ''xiphe'' are known to have survived.

The ''xiphos''{{'}}s leaf-shaped design lent itself to both cutting and thrusting. The origin of the design goes back to the Bronze Age; the blade of the ''xiphos'' looks almost identical to the blade of the Mycenaean Naue II sword, which itself transitioned from having a blade of bronze into a blade of iron during the Archaic period. It is likely that the ''xiphos'' is the natural evolution of the iron version of the Naue II but with a more sophisticated handle design.

The leaf-shaped short swords were not limited to Greece, as mentioned, but can be found throughout Europe in the late Bronze Age under various names.<ref name="Brunning, Sue">{{Cite book|last=Brunning, Sue|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1105200255|title=The sword in early Medieval Northern Europe : experience, identity, representation|isbn=978-1-78744-456-0|location=Woodbridge|oclc=1105200255}}</ref>

The early Celtic [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] short sword, contemporary with the ''xiphos'', had a virtually identical blade design as the ''xiphos''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_ML-1669|title=Sword: La Tène II|website=www.britishmuseum.org|accessdate= 18 June 2022}}</ref>