Javelin
A light spear designed for throwing
The javelin is a light throwing spear of 150-200cm. Its most famous variant is the Roman pilum, featuring an ingenious soft iron shank that bends upon impact — embedding in an enemy shield and making it impossible to remove, forcing the enemy to fight shieldless. The javelin is a universal weapon developed independently by virtually every civilization: Greek akon, Zulu assegai (iklwa), and Irish gae bolga among many variants. After throwing, warriors typically switched to swords or other weapons to continue fighting.
Origin
One of humanity's first projectile weapons, used since the Paleolithic era. The Roman pilum was developed around the 4th century BC as the legions' standard throwing weapon. Independently developed on every continent.
Features
- Lightweight throwing spear (150-200cm)
- Roman pilum — soft iron shank bends on impact
- Ingenious design that neutralizes enemy shields
- Independently developed by virtually every civilization
- Throw-then-switch-to-sword tactics
- Effective throwing range approximately 20-30m
Usage
Thrown in volleys just before close combat to neutralize shields and disrupt enemy formations, followed by drawing swords and charging.
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