Dagger
Specifications
- Type
- Edged Sidearm
- Origin
- Mesopotamia / Anatolia
- Era
- Copper Age, c. 4000 BCE
- Notable Users
- Roman legionaries, Egyptian soldiers, medieval knights
- Epoch
- Bronze and Iron Ages
History
The dagger is the earliest purpose-built stabbing weapon — a short, double-edged blade designed exclusively for close combat. The oldest metal daggers date to the Copper Age, and the form was refined through bronze and iron iterations. Unlike a knife, which is primarily a tool, the dagger was conceived from the start as an instrument of war. Roman legionaries carried the pugio as a sidearm. Medieval knights used the rondel dagger to finish fallen opponents through gaps in their armor, a technique called the misericorde — the mercy stroke.
Significance
The dagger is the ancestor of the sword. The technological leap from short blade to long blade produced the weapon that would define aristocratic warfare for three millennia. Every sword began as a dagger that someone decided to make longer.
54 Weapons. Five Epochs. One Poster.
The Dagger is one of 8 weapons from the Bronze and Iron Ages featured on the poster.
Get the Poster