The kontos and contus (), from κεντέω meaning to prick or pierce, was a type of long pike with a pointed iron at the one end.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), Contus
/ref> Initially it was used for a variety of reasons, but most notably as a punt-pole by sailors who put it into the ground in shallow water, thereby pushing on the boat, and as a means of determining the depth of the water. Later, the term applied to the long pikes or lances which were used as weapons and the soldier armed with it were called Contarii and Contati (κοντόφοροι, meaning contus-bearers). Romans used this term to described the huge pike of the Germanic warriors and the long pikes of the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

. It also described the wooden

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

used by the Iranians, especially

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

successors' cavalry, most notably ''

cataphract A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. Historically, the cataphract was a very heavily armoured horseman, with both the rider and ...

s'' ('' Grivpanvar''). 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 A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

-type weapons (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 The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven Roman legion, legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus ...

, in which Parthian cataphracts, in conjunction with light horse archers, annihilated a Roman army of over three times their numbers. As shown by contemporary artwork, the kontos was about long, though longer examples may have existed; later Parthian and Sassanian clibanarii (Middle Persian: Grivpanvar) reportedly used kontoi of longer lengths; only highly trained cavalrymen such as those fielded by the Arsaco-Sassanian dynasties could have used such weapons. It was reputedly a weapon of great power compared to other cavalry weapons of its time, described by Plutarch as being "heavy with steel" and capable of impaling two men at once. Its length was probably the origin of its name, as the word ''kontos'' could also mean "oar" or "barge-pole" in Greek. 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. In addition, most Parthian cavalry (even possibly including cataphracts) carried bows, so this meant daily practice with the weapons. The Romans adopted a variation of the ''kontos'' transliterated as ''contus''. The Roman contus was also wielded two-handed. The later

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

''kontarion'' was used by Byzantine cataphracts, from c. 1100 it was used single-handed couched under the armpit, as was the contemporary

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ly lance. The Sasanian lance, known as ''nēzak'' (

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

), used by the '' aswaran'' cavalry, was derived from the Parthian ''kontos''. The Parthian version was a lance featuring a sword-like iron-made blade in length socketed onto the shaft. The name is the stem of many words for cavalry lances in languages of the region, like ''gönder'' ( Hungarian, meaning "Roman lance"), and ''quntariya'' ().

References

1st-century introductions Lance Sarmatians Iranian warfare Ancient warfare Military history of the Sasanian Empire Military history of the Parthian Empire Pikes (weapon) {{polearm-stub

See also

References