Short, wide blade 20 - 22 inches long, 2 - 3^1/2 inches wide. Modeled after the Roman Gladius. Primarily a thrusting and hacking weapon. Very good in close, able to punch through light shields and armour. A quick, deadly little sword found primarily in the cities of Gor. The Alars use a similar weapon known as a scramasax

Gladius	Quotes and Pics	Scramasax
	"In the bundle, wrapped inside the tunic and cloak I found the shoulder belt, sheath and short sword of the Goreans. I took the blade from its sheath. It was well balanced, vicious, double-edged and about twenty to twenty-two inches in length."---Priest-Kings of Gor, page 174 "I supposed one of the reasons for the short blade was that it could clear the sheath a fraction of a second before a longer blade. Another advantage was that it could be moved with greater swiftness than a longer blade. The primary advantage I supposed was that it allowed the Gorean warrior to work close to his man. The brief reach of the blade tended to be more than compensated for by the rapidity with which it might be wielded and the ease with which it might work beneath the guard of a longer weapon. If the swordsman with a longer weapon could not finish the fight in the first thrust or two he was a dead man."---Outlaw of Gor, page 23 "He also carried among his things the short, stabbing sword, similar to the gladius, and doubtless related to it, called by his people the sacramasax. It is much more useful on foot, particularily in close combat"--Mercenaries of Gor, page 66

The Shortsword of Gor whether Gladius or Scramasax is a quick effient weapon well suited to close-up, in your face, fighting. Small and light enough for a quick stab from behind your shield, yet heavy enough to do serious damage or block a blow by most other weapons though It should be noted that a heavy axe or sword would simply bat it out of the way, hardly slowing, if You did not angle the shortsword and try to ride the larger weapon wide....