Julius Ceasar Vs. Khalid ibn Walid
The Gladius was the most famous and the most important weapon of the Roman soldiers. It is 25-32 inces, made of steel with wood or bone hilt. Altough Ceasar would have had an ivory one. The correct gladius of Julius would properly be an gladius hispaniesis. They were longer and narrower then other swords and would be closer to the 32 inces. The gladius could be used for cutting and thrusting, with all edges sharp but the primary way of using it was to stab past the shield and into the gut or belly of the opponent.
For midrange weapon, i will turn to the pilum, handheld version. For starters, the pilum was an weapon that was used ranged but Ceasar introduced it as an handheld weapon. That is why i wil count this weapon both as long range and as midrange weapon.
Before I begin, I would like to adress the point about bending. Most information has said that the shank was not good tempered, that means that it would bend or break on inpact, leaving either an large sharp point or a large sharp point on an stick in the armour/shield of the opponent, rendering it useless. Now i have heard that this was a myth and that it never meant to bend. I looked into this and found only evidence of it bending. Untill I see more evidence that it did not break on inpact, I will count it at breaking. (for further reasoning on this decision, ask me).
The special weapon of choise and the last resort weapon is the Pugio dagger. The pugio was not only an last resort dagger, worn by soldiers but was also worn by officials to as an status symbol. The pugio is an leafshaped dagger, made of steel. it is around 7 to 11 inces long and becomes wider as it goes to the handle. This weapon could slash but it was primary used as thrusting weapon. There have been some changes troughout it existence, but it always kept the same principal design and use.The pugio also had another special meaning to Ceasar because it was this weapon that ended his life.
What is more is that the Roman general would have worn greaves. According to the research of Afanofsparta, Ceasar allowed the tenth legion to wear them on both legs. Considering that it was hit favorite handpicked and handtrained unit, I would not be suprised. That means that Ceasar himself would do the same. It was made of bronze, but filled with linen. Every Roman would also wear an apron with leather strings. Silver or bronze plates would be sewed to it. I have worn Roman military suits myself and i found out that it is nonsense that the plates would protect the crotch of the soldier. Those things do not stop an thusting attack. For what i have found, the weight of the plates keep the skirt of the Roman soldier down, so the penis would not go uncovered, much like the sporran on the kilt.
The muhaddab is an form of scimitar. It is around 45 inces and curved. This weapon is mainly used for slashing, but it could also be thrusted. A weapon used for one hand, that could leave the other hand for an shield. I also would like to adress the fact that the muhaddab is sometimes referred to as an saif. An saif is any curved sword, so the muhaddab will fall under it. Note that the scimitar was such an favored weapon in Arabia that the flag of the modern day Saudi Arabia has the scimitar in it.
The az-zagayah is the midrange weapon of choise. This 8 foot weapon was usually made of reeds, with an iron tip and was similair to the assegai. Not much more info is available about this weapon, but the fact that it is referred to as an spear and not as an javelin, means that it was used in melee combat.
As for special, the weapon of choise is the Jambiya. Jambiya means dagger in Arabic and it is an curved dagger, with two sharp sides. It is made of steel, with a wooden handle and it is around 14 inces long. It mainly purpose is for slashing, but you can still thrust very good. The jambiya has always been carried around by men over the age of 14. It is partly an statussymbol (the more expensive and decorated the dagger, the richer/more important the wielder) but also an back up weapon that could come in handy. It is used to be said that the Jambaya can only come out of its sheath when used for fighting. You have seen some info on the Jambaya already due to its inclusion on the latest DW episode.
As for body armour, he will be wearing an chainmail houberk with leather beneath it. The riveted chainmail exists out of two layers of rings, bigger rings in the underlayer and smaller rings in the upperlayer. It also splits down the chest, to give more agility. Beneath the chainmail, there is leather. As extra defence, the warrior wears an large round shield made of wickerwork. Those are light yet strong shields, that can be very deadly.
This will be an all out duel between two generals. They wil fight alone, untill only one man is standing.
Gaius Julius Ceasar
Born at 100 BC, he grew up as the son of a minor noble. Julius was both an great politician and an deadly warrior.
I will go to describe Ceasar, the politican first.
Julius was born during an time of much struggle and it did not help that his father died when he was 16. His uncle was Marius, a man who made great chances in the Roman systems. Marius was also one of those responsible of the first civil war. many people noted that Ceasar and Marius looked much alike. Not only in looks but also in action. Ceasar was noted to be very oral. he could charm anyone with his talking, something that turned to be very usefull during his time as an legal advocat. During his life, Ceasar got a lot by getting the people on his side. This was an great weapon in his live. Julius was an charming man that recieved a lot of offices. He became high priest of Jupiter, military tribune, quaestor, praetor, governer, imperator and consul. He also formed the first triumvirate with Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius. That was an power of three where the power, money and armies were in full control of these men.
Julius Ceasar also, managed to make a lot of changes in Rome. he also managed to make his Consulship five years instead of the usual one. Due to several reasons, he also had to flee Rome several times but always came back. Ceasar was responsible for the second civil war, that he won. Instead of punishing his enemies, he spared them and gave them their freedom back. In the end, Ceasar named himself dictator and wrote an constitution and make several reforms. In the end, he named himself dictator for life.
The political career of Julius Ceasar is impressive but his record as warrior is also something not to underestimate.
Early in his military career, Julius was granted the honor of the civic crown for his bravery in battle. He was of assistence to king Nicomedes of Bithynia for a long time. He fought in Spain, Greece, Egypt, Gaul and in Rome itself. His most famous battles are the conquest of Gaul, where he defeated Viceventorix and took a lot of men and woman as slaves. He fought the civil war in Rome, where he ceased power and hunted Pompey down into Greece and after winning there, into Egypt, where Pompey was killed. He then defeated the pharaoh of Egypt and married Cleopatra. it should be noted that in almost all his battles, he was outnumbered.
Julius Ceasar was not only an powerful man, but also very powerhungry and a bit arrogant.
During his time on sea, Julius got captured by pirates. When the pirates wanted to demand 200 silver talents as randsom, Julius said that he was worth more as an patrician and soon to be powerful man and that he was worth 500 talents. He also said that he would have all the pirates crucified. After the randsom of 500 silver talents was payed, Julius collected sons of Romans that lived in these parts and turned them into soldiers. He then captured all the pirates and crucified them.
During his time in Spain, Julius came across an statue of Alexander the Great. Julius thought about the fact that Alexander had the world at his feet at the age Julius was then. He then started to idiolize Alexander and said that he would do the same.
Julius Ceasar died 15 march 44 bc when he was ambushed by senators and was killed with 34 stabbing wounds.
The weapons of Julius consisted mostly of weapons used in the army. Those were the weapons every soldier trained with, knew and were good at. Julius also began as an solder and since everyone in the army used those weapons, he was good with them. I will also thank afanofsparta/monopolyman for the indepth info on the weapons and armour of Julius since I use his blog as an important source.
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| The Gladius |
The Gladius was the most famous and the most important weapon of the Roman soldiers. It is 25-32 inces, made of steel with wood or bone hilt. Altough Ceasar would have had an ivory one. The correct gladius of Julius would properly be an gladius hispaniesis. They were longer and narrower then other swords and would be closer to the 32 inces. The gladius could be used for cutting and thrusting, with all edges sharp but the primary way of using it was to stab past the shield and into the gut or belly of the opponent.
For midrange weapon, i will turn to the pilum, handheld version. For starters, the pilum was an weapon that was used ranged but Ceasar introduced it as an handheld weapon. That is why i wil count this weapon both as long range and as midrange weapon. Like i said before, Julius Ceasar populised the use of the pilum as thrusting weapon. He had to use his men this technique in several battles, but mostly during his campagnes in Gaul. It was great against calvery but also against other infantry to get them out.
The pilum is an combination of wood and iron. it had an soft iron shank and an hard barbed point, formed triangular. The pilum is around 6 and a half feet in lenght. Using this weapon handheld became so poplulair that some pila got handguards to protect the hands. I cannot find evidence supporting that this was the case with Ceasar. This weapon is very usefull because it will take away any shield or armour, but it is also a one shot weapon. That means that the handheld get only one thrust before it turns useless.
For long range, Ceasar will battle with the pilum. Like i said before, I will count the pilum as midrange and long range weapon. Since every soldier carried two pila in battle, it suits perfect.
Before I begin, I would like to adress the point about bending. Most information has said that the shank was not good tempered, that means that it would bend or break on inpact, leaving either an large sharp point or a large sharp point on an stick in the armour/shield of the opponent, rendering it useless. Now i have heard that this was a myth and that it never meant to bend. I looked into this and found only evidence of it bending. Untill I see more evidence that it did not break on inpact, I will count it at breaking. (for further reasoning on this decision, ask me).According to modern experiments, the pilum could be thrown to 100 feet but was accurate to 70 feet. The throwing version would also be somewhat lighter then the handheld version. But also if used as javelin, it could take away shield or armour if it did not kill and it only had one shot.
Basicly, together, the mid and long range have two shots and can kill, but if it could not kill, it could take out shields or armour. An weapon with only one use but with an lasting side-effect.
As last weapon, i have selected the pilum..... just kidding!
The special weapon of choise and the last resort weapon is the Pugio dagger. The pugio was not only an last resort dagger, worn by soldiers but was also worn by officials to as an status symbol. The pugio is an leafshaped dagger, made of steel. it is around 7 to 11 inces long and becomes wider as it goes to the handle. This weapon could slash but it was primary used as thrusting weapon. There have been some changes troughout it existence, but it always kept the same principal design and use.The Armour of Ceasar consisted off Lorica Musculata. Musculata was an breatplate in the form of an muscled breast. It was made of steel and in two pieces. The front piece and the back piece. They were kept together by leather. What is more, it had straps around the shoulders and waist, again from leather, to protect the upper arms and upper legs.
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| Re-enactor wearing the armour |
The shoes were simple sandals with iron spikes. These spikes had two purposes. One, it would stay an steady footing in all sorts of terrain and it could be used to trample opponents who lay on the ground, using the spikes as extra damage.
lastly for personal armour, there is the helmet. It was an imperial helmet. This helmet was worn by officers, made of iron or bronze. It had neck protection, cheekflaps that protected the cheeks, and an rim just above the eyes to protect against the sun and slashes from above. it also had an crest that would be worn only during festivals or official ceremonies. Not in battle.
Every Roman needs his shield, the scutum. It is an rectangular semi-cylindrical shield that was made of thick layers of wood and had iron strips around the egdes and an iron boss in the middle. On the other side of the bos was the handle. it was around 42 inces and was around 5 to 6 mm thick. The shield was important for the defence and every Roman soldier, no matter the age or rank would carry one at all times. It was one of the most important tools in the Roman arsenal. It was not only used defensive but also as offensive weapon using the bos or the egdes. One of the primary used was, pushing the shield against the weapon or face of the opponent and then stab the stumach or guts of the opponent with the sword.
The X-factor is the abilitie to never give up. Julius has fleed Rome several times but he always came back. What is more, he always wanted to get or keep control and would do anything to archieve it. He knew he was meant for greatness and he would get it no matter what and no matter the setbacks he would encounter while trying to get it. What ever happens, he will continue untill he dies or wins.
As always, I also have some links with info about the warrior written down.
The first link is acutally an timeline on the life of Ceasar. http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html
An interesting Biography about this Roman warrior. http://www.ancient-rome.biz/julius-caesar-biography.html
Lastly i have found a clip on youtube someone made. Portraying Ceasar, with clips of the movie about him.
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid was born in Mecca, around 592. He was born as the son of the clan chief of one of the three most important clans.
Khalid found himself in Mesina when an chieftain and his group attacked and killed an diplomatic party. The leaders of Messina send out an expedition to punish the chieftain but during fighting, the leader died. Khalid was appointed as new leader. He got the leadership over 3000 men who faced destruction against an much greater foe consisting of the Byzantine and the Ghassanid. Khalid managed to make an tactical retreat with the army and escape destruction.During the night, he send his troups away so they could come back during daytime. The opponents believed backup had arrived. They then retreated succesfully. Due to the bravery and the abilitie to make the army escape and life to fight another time, he got the title: Sword of Allah.
This also brought his career as commander as he got the command of one of the four muslim armies a year later during the attacks on Mecca.
He became on of the great muslim commanders and an an thrustworty commander under the rule of Muhammed in the Rashidun army. Even after the death of Muhammed, he kept on fighting for the muslim believes. During the wars that followed, like the battles in Arabia, but also the conquest of Persia and the conquest of the Eastern Roman empire, he aquired the rank of supreme commander.
But when his cousin named Umar became general, he fired Khalid from supreme command and Khalid found work as an ordinary commander. he kept archieving great victories and had saved many times an army that would have lost another time. Khalid grew in ranks again and become more famous. Even somewhat of an hero to the muslim people. Everyone knew the sword of Allah. His cousin would still pest him after all those times. Khalid was arrested after he had an bath were there was alcohol used in an substance. He convinced the leaders that the muslims were only not allowed to drink it, nothing was said about using it external. He then was charged of giving statemoney to an Persian singer. This turned out to be his own money but Umar still fired him from the military. His reasoning was that people glorified Khalid for the victories, while it was Allah who brought the victories. This was the end, of the military career of Khalid ibn al-Walid.
Khalid fought over more than hundred battles and created the muslim tactics and fighting that would be used long after his death. He fought in great battles, but also in duels. He had an group called the mubarizun, an group of duel fightinger who would challenge enemy commanders in single combat. This was to disrupt the opponent and proved fatal in psychological warfare.
Khalid also used other proved but hard to pull tactics, like the hammer and anvil. He was also one of the two commanders who managed to pull of the double envelopment. The other one being Hannibal Barca ofcourse.
He also had an elite light calvery, the mobile guard. This was the core of the calvery and he personally fought a lot in the mobile guard.
The style of Khalid was hard, he did not just want to defeat the enemy, he wanted to destroy an enemy army.
It should also be noted that in all his major battles, he never lost once, making him one of the finest military Generals in history.
He died of old age in 642, an death he did not like. Like he said himself:
I fought in so many battles seeking martyrdom that there is no place in my body but have a stabbing scar by a spear, a sword or a dagger, and yet here I am, dying on my bed like an old camel dies. May the eyes of the cowards never sleep.
—Khalid ibn Walid
With the weapons, it is very hard to pinpoint the exact military equipment of that time. There is very little surviving visual representation and that what there is, is hard to date or imprecise. We do know that a great deal of weapons was recieved by captured lands like Iraq, Armenia and Yeman. Nonetheless, I wil try to give the information I could find. Which is suprisingly okay.
As short range weapon, I have chosen for the Muhaddab. The Arabic short sword and the Sassanid longsword were also used in the Arabian armies at the time, but the muhaddab was used by the most by soldiers. In an duel, i think that the choise would be first on this weapon, since it is better then the other two, therefore my choise of this sword over the others.
The muhaddab is an form of scimitar. It is around 45 inces and curved. This weapon is mainly used for slashing, but it could also be thrusted. A weapon used for one hand, that could leave the other hand for an shield. I also would like to adress the fact that the muhaddab is sometimes referred to as an saif. An saif is any curved sword, so the muhaddab will fall under it. Note that the scimitar was such an favored weapon in Arabia that the flag of the modern day Saudi Arabia has the scimitar in it. |
| It is about the weapon and not man. |
As for long range, the hijazi bow will be used. The hijazi is an longbow, going up to 6,5 feet when it was unbraced, just like the English longbow. The bow was usually made from one piece of wood, but could also be made from two, with the wood going back to back. The average range is 492 feet, that is 150 meters. This weapon proved to be destructive against calvary. Im sorry to say that i have not been able to find a picture.
As for special, the weapon of choise is the Jambiya. Jambiya means dagger in Arabic and it is an curved dagger, with two sharp sides. It is made of steel, with a wooden handle and it is around 14 inces long. It mainly purpose is for slashing, but you can still thrust very good. The jambiya has always been carried around by men over the age of 14. It is partly an statussymbol (the more expensive and decorated the dagger, the richer/more important the wielder) but also an back up weapon that could come in handy. It is used to be said that the Jambaya can only come out of its sheath when used for fighting. You have seen some info on the Jambaya already due to its inclusion on the latest DW episode.I'l begin with the helmet, to evaluate the armour. There were two kind of helmets used, a round helmet and an pointy one. I have decided to go with the latter. It is just an pointy bronze helmet, with chainmail to cover the face and neck.
As for body armour, he will be wearing an chainmail houberk with leather beneath it. The riveted chainmail exists out of two layers of rings, bigger rings in the underlayer and smaller rings in the upperlayer. It also splits down the chest, to give more agility. Beneath the chainmail, there is leather. As extra defence, the warrior wears an large round shield made of wickerwork. Those are light yet strong shields, that can be very deadly.Note that in the picture, the second layer of chainmail is replaced with leather.
Lastly I would like to note, that Khalid will wear clothing above the armour. That means that he will wear an turban that covers half the face and the head and clothing that covers the chainmail. He also will wear an baldric. An baldric is an belt, worn over the shoulders. It was used to store the sword.
Khalid also has an X-factor. His will be the verociousness. He will try to destroy the opponent. Khalid knows he is an warrior of Allah and he will destroy everyone who dares to try to defy this religion. After all, he is the sword of Allah.
The first link of info is that about an book written about him. all chapters all collected for the user to read.
Walid also has facebook.
Finally an clip of the movie about him. A bit of the battle of Yarmouk is being portraid here. Also note that the filmmakers choose to portray him with only hardend leather as armour. Since, he was an leader, i highly doubt it but nobody can be shure on how he looked like.
Edges:
Gladius Vs. Muhaddab
- First we have the weapon on weapon comparison. The muhaddab is slightly larger, having 13 more inces overall. The muhaddab is more of an slashing weapon with possibilties to thrust and the gladius is more of an thrusting weapon with possibilities to slash. Both are used with an hand, leaving the other hand for the shield.
An advantage of the gladius is that it has two edges instead of the one of the saif of the opponent.
The swords have different good ranges. The Arabian saif will be better to keep distance, while the gladius will be better up close and personal. i think that if the two warriors would figth using only the sword and no shield, the muhaddab is the better weapon.
- If I compare the weapons with the armour, I get an slightly different result. The gladius will have some trouble getting past the shield but lesser trouble getting pas the chainmail. The gladius is longer and more narrow then then the later gladius and will have an better chance to get to rip the riveted chainmail apart after several blows. But it would still be hard to pull off. The chainmail is opened down the stumach, which will be easy target for the gladius. The gladius also has the arms and legs as target.
The Muhaddab will have an hard time getting past the scutum but due to its bigger size, it will be somewhat easier to do feints or get past the shield. With the armour itself, the sword will have more problems. That it is more made for slashing does not helps against armour that is good against it, the stabbing power of muhaddab will not get past the armour easy and it will take several times to actually succeed. The best targets of this Arabic sword, are the arms.
- With skill, I can be rather easy. Both leaders used the sword as main weapon and it is without question that they were masters of these weapons.
- In the end, it will depend on if I prefer the short stabbing sword or the longer slashing one. Both swords are really different from each other and have other points where they shine. It is my opinion, that the fact that the muhaddab can possible get past the shield and it is an better weapon when Julius is only holding the gladius, it gets an small egde.
Edge: Khalid ibn Walid
Pilum Vs. Az-zagayah
- Both are spears, but again, very different. The az-zagayah is longer, with it being 8 foot and the pilum only six and a half. With that said, The pilum can be used with one hand and the az must be used with both. The pilum can not only be used in hand to hand combat, but also be thrown. That said, the pilum will be useless after one attack, while the az can be used in the whole match. It is never mentioned but i feel that the pilum wil also bend in the hand of the user if it gets an hard bash from the weapon of the opponent.
- The pilum will have no trouble getting through the shield and chainmail. I can even see it happen that the shield will be pinned to the body by the pilum, that has happened many times in history. The pilum is long and thin, making the riveted chainmail no match. The helm will provide some difficulties.
The az-zagayah will have more trouble getting past the shield of the roman. The bodyarmour will also provide difficulties as the only targets are the arms. I would also like to note that the breast-shaped armour will be effective in glancing off the armour.
- As for skill, the pilum was originally created as an javelin and not for handheld use. The use of this weapon handheld was also not very much and the skill with it would not be as high as his opponent. would have had.
As i said, Khalid has trained with the spear since childhood and would be very good with the spear. His skill would be great with it.
- In the end, it was somewhat tough to decide the winner of this match. Considering that the pilum has only one shot, lacks skill and gets trough the armour easy, while the az-zagayah is longer, can be used with more skill but lacks the armour penetration.
It is my opinion that the better armour and armour piercing abilities will prove to be an fatal combination and that the egde will go to the roman warrior.
Edge: Julius Ceasar
Pilum Vs. Hijazi bow
- The third test is that of long range weapons. The pilum will be tested against the hijazi bow. The pilum has been named in our previous match. It still can get past the armour of the opponent easy. It can be thrown while having the shield in the other hand but it has only an effective range of 70 feet. The bow is like an normal bow, needs two hands to be operated, and has an range of 492 feet The bow will have the longer range and the arrows will be harder to avoid then the pilum that flies trough the air. The bow also has multiple arrows that can be used while the pilum is an one-shot weapon. i would also like to name that even if the pilum bends, it could still be used to be thrown as an distraction device.
- As for armour, again the pilum will rip trough the armour with ease, given no problems whatsoever. What is more, just like the handheld pilum, this one will bend on inpact and will disable an shield or armour even if it does not kill directly.
The hijazi bow and arrow will be less armour penetrating, considering the armour and the huge shield that are in the way. That said, the arrows can be shot right behind each other, meaning an hit in the arms or the face are possible. What is more, after several dents, the armour will cave in.
- Both warriors would be very skilled with the pilum and bow, but the pilum is somewhat harder to use, due to the throwing element. Since it was thrown, all conditions should be factored in like wind, throwing strenght, movements of the opponent etc. The bow is more easy to useand it takes seconds to reach the target. it will be harder for Ceasar to avoid the arrows then vice verca as there are less conditions to be reckoned with. The bow is also more precise and can be aimed.
- In the end, this was an more easy match. the pilum has an better armour penetration but it has an much higher chance of hitting the target the one time it counts. The hijazi bow and arrow have less armour penetration but it can be used a lot more, from an further range and is more precise.
Edge: Khalid ibn Walid
Pugio Vs. Jambiya
- the two daggers come into play. The jambiya is 3 inces longer, both weapons have to sharp egdes. The pugio is straight while the jambiya is curved. The pugio is better at thrusting, with cutting abilities while the jambiya is better at cutting with thrusting abilities.
This is the sword match all over again, only with less difference in lenght. i do feel that the pugio will be better to block then the jambiya and personally, with daggers, i prefer thrusting ones over slashing ones. The jambiya can be used to thrust also and to hook the opponent..
- The armour match is almost identical to the swordmatch. The pugio might make it trough the armour of his opponent after some tries and has stumach, arms and legs as target. In such close distance, the face is also an small target. The jambiya will be effective against the arms and the face only, having lesser targets.
- As for skill, the two daggers will be used with less skill, since they were both back up weapons. But still, they had enough skill to be deadly in the hands of the warriors. The jambiya is slightly harder to wield due to the curve.
- For the final overall edge, it was again an tough one to decide. Both daggers are highly dangerous and are a lot alike. The pugio is better in stabbing while the jambiya is better at slashing. I feel that, since lenght differs not as much this time, the weapon that is mainly used for thrusting is better then his counterpart that is used primary for slashing. What is more, again the better Roman armour plays an important factor.
Edge: Julius Ceasar
The battle:
The war had been going on for two days now and neither side was near winning.
Both the Roman and the Rashidun armies had been growing and expending their land. That an war between these two nations was coming, nobody suprised. The only question was which army would defeat the other and would become the biggest empire the world had ever seen.
It had been two days ago that the two armies had marched on each other and the battles started. whole villages got destroyed during the fighting and each army lost an decent amount of men. The two leaders of the armies tried every known and unknown tactic but nothing worked on the opponent. They would now enter the third day of battle.
'Men' Julius Ceasar, the famed general spoke to his beloved tenth legion. 'You have not seen much fighting yet, i put you on reserve untill i found the best tactic to defeat those muslims. That moment had come!' he spoke. all his men cheered and roared. They knew that there was an reason that he was holding them back.
'Those muslims have special warriors that they use to challenge officers. they then beat those officers, which is an setback to us. But now I have found an counter.!' He roared the last sentence and the others roared with him. 'The leader of them, the man they call sword of god, fights in that unit and has personally killed an officer. Today i will personally fight in the battles.' his legion went silent as he spoke those last words.
I will use his tactic against him and fight him in an duel. I want you guys to keep all the others away during the duel and take care of me when I either win or lose.' The men were still speechless. After a few seconds, only one man dared to ask the question. it was an young centurion who had just aquired the rank after the old one had died in battle. 'If I may ask, why should you yourself fight this day? If we could just go out and kill him, you do not have to risk your live' he spoke softly and with a bit of doubt in his voice. 'Ahh Marcussus' Ceasar spoke with an soft and understanding voice. 'I am an general, but first of all I am an soldier, and soldiers should FIGHT!' he spoke. 'Secondly, if he falls fighting you guys, he becomes an hero to them. His warriors will fight harder then ever. But if I beat him in single combat, His men will get discouraged and an victory will be close to hand.' Ceasar spoke with an smile. His men grunted and roared but they all had an question in their heads that neither dared to ask. That question was: But what happens if Ceasar loses?
The men walked up to their leader, the chosen one who had scored many victories for Allah. The days of battle had been good and the men knew that Khalid ibn al-Walid would come up with an plan soon to destroy those Roman basterds. The men were right. 'My fellow Muslims.' Khalid began. 'I have a feeling that the Roman leader, that Ceasar, will go out and not only send in his best men, he also will fight himself. I will go out and not only beat him. I will disgrace him, show him that Allah will conqueror all his opponents and shows no mercy.' The man cheered happy. 'Allah had been good to us and now, i will use an proved tactic that i have used multiple times to take out other armies. I will battle him in an duel and destroy him. After there is nothing left of his body, those Romans will break rank and flee. They will all be hunted down and killed.' Everyone knew that Khalid would win this battle. Not only did he have experience in fighting duels, he also got supported by Allah.
Each and every soldier listened closely to their divine leader, he still had not told them where they would come into battle but they waited patiently. 'My friends.' he spoke with an smile. 'I still have to mention you guys in the grand battleplan that the god has given me.' I want you you, loyal soldiers, to keep the Roman army away from me and especially that special of unit of his. I wish that nobody joins in this battle. It should be only the two leaders. I want those Romans to watch as their leader gets slaughtered by the sword of Allah.' The men cheered. Everybody cheered and smiles. When they won, they would have the world in control to spread the Muslim believes. If they won...
'For Allah' Khalid yelled to end his speech. 'For Allah' all his soldiers yelled in unison.
The two armies have been at battle for three hours now, it was time.
Julius Ceasar walked as head of his very own legion towards the battlefield and as they entered it, his men ran past him to join the other Romans in battle. Julius simply walked towards an open spot. he had an gladius in an scabberd and an pugio next to it. In his left hand, the Roman was holding the scutum shield while the two pila were in his right. He just walked and waited for his opponent to enter the battle.
'Yes' Khalid screamed happy. He was correct, the Roman fool just walked into the trap and this would be the end. 'Remember the plan' He yelled in Arabic.
Khalid ibn Walid was armed and ready. Over his armour, he wore the traditional white clothing. He also wore an red baldrich that contained his sword. He had his jambiya on his side, his bow and arrows on his back and finally, he spear and shield in his hands.
He walked up to his opponent untill he had an clear sight of the Roman and took his bow out. He grabbed an arrow and fired.
The arrow hit the shield and bounced off the bos in the middle. Ceasar jumped into action and used his shield to block another arrow. As an third arrow flew past Ceasar, he ran towards the Arabian opponent. the next arrow, barely missed the head and before Khalid could fire off an fifth one, Ceasar was close enough to throw his first pilum, the most light of the two.
Khalid saw the javelin coming and stepped away, leaving the bow, but grabbing the spear and shield. The sword of god dropped the shield to charge with his az-zagayah spear. He ran towards his opponent and as soon as he was close in, he jabbed with the spear, hitting the wood of the scutum shield. Julius Ceasar knew he had to use his last pilum as an spear and jabbed the spear forwards. The spear missed and the two halted in their steps. Khalid gave two more jabs that landed on the scutum shield and the pilum glanced past the chainmail armour of the Rashidun leader. The two men glanced at each other, then they fell deaf for everything around them. The battle ceased away in their minds and the two men only had eyes for each other.
Suddenly, they rushed into battle. Khalid thrusted his spear twice at his opponent, hitting the scutum shield both times. Ceasar tried to jab also but the attack only hit thin air. Khalid succesfully faked an low attack and then suddenly came high with his attack. The speartip softly hit the helmet and bounced off. Before Julius Ceasar could counterattack, Khalid ibn Walid used his longer spear to keep his opponent on distance.
Now it was the turn of Julius to feign an attack by thrusting his spear towards the opponent. Khalid bought the feign and pushed the pilum away with his spear. Suddenly, the scutum shield rammed the hands of the Arabian and thereby forcing Khalid to release his az-zagayah spear. An second shieldbash forced the Arabian backwards.
Khalid picked up his shield and pulled his muhaddab from the baldric. Julius came forth with an thrusting attack and Khalid pushed his shield in front of the spear. To his great suprise, the tip of the pilum entered the shield and ran trough it. He had to push his shield quickly aside to avoid getting nailed to his own shield. The pilum bended and Julius released the javelin turned spear, Walid was now holding an useless shield with an spear sticking out of it. Khalid threw it away and pulled his saif. He noticed that the sword of his Roman opponent was very alike the swords commen in his own army.
Khalid attacked furiously with his sword but the shield blocked all attacks. Ceasar counterattacked with some thrusts, going through the cloth but hitting the chainmail. Even though the sword did not penetrate, some rings were broken.
During the swordbattle, all of the other warriors, both Roman and Rashidun, ceased their fighting, to watch these two leaders, fight the glorious battle. The only sounds that soarded the battlefield were the swords of the duelists hitting each other and the soft cursing and whining of dying men.
unknown that they were in the middle of the attention, Ceasar and Khalid continued. Khalid raised his sword attacked the side of the scutum shield. In the last moments, he pulled his attack and let his sword fly towards the Roman chest armour. The muhaddab glanced off and Julius countered with an slash that only teared the white clothing off. Suddenly, Julius got an idea.
The next moment, the sword of god thrusted his muhaddab at his opponent, only to get deflected off the shield. The next moment, Ceasar rammed his sword in the stumach of his opponent, the split in the chainmail being ideal. As Khalid felt the sword enter his body, he stepped backwards to minimize the damage. He tripped, fell and rolled away in the grass. Khalid was happy though, he had managed to avoid an lethality of the blow. Julius Ceasar walked up to his downed opponent, wanting to finish the battle quick. Khalid crawled towards his spear as the Roman tank came for him.
Ceasar thrusted his gladius forward but the az-zagayah spear reached past it and hit the Roman leader just below the elbow. Julius released his gladius sword in pain as Khalid stood, spear in hand.
Khalid walked towards his opponent, spear threatening as Ceasar walked back while holding his scutum shield in front of him. Khalid jabbed with his spear and Julius ran forwards with his shield to block the attack an ram his opponent. Khalid laughed as he dropped the spear and grabbed the scutum with both hands and pulled it away from its owner.
Both men were disarmed now and both drew their daggers. Ceasar had his pugio in his left hand while Khalid gave his trust into his jambiya and had it in his right. Both men closed their eyes to ask help from their gods. Mars in the case of Julius and Allah in case of Khalid.
Both warriors suddenly flew at each other. The jambiya got jabbed against the breastplate and left an dent while the pugio slashed the chainmail without any effect.
The two attacked each other over and over again, without damaging each other much.
During the fighting, Ceasar saw an opening. He knew he had to hit the stumach again to end the match. He thrusted his pugio forward, aiming for the wounded stumach. Due to movement of his opponent, the pugio pierced the leg of Khalid. Before the Arab went down, he slashed with his jambiya and cut the arm of the Roman, just missing the wrist. Julius Ceasar dropped his pugio and stepped backwards. Khalid looked up as he saw his Roman opponent searching for an weapon. He stood up and saw Julius crouching down to get the gladius sword. This is my last chance, he thought. It was an gamble, but he put all his trust into this final attack. He stepped a few times and then jumped towards Ceasar, his curved dagger ready to strike the neck.
As Khalid jumped, Julius grasped the swordhilt with his hand and realised he would not be able to react fast enough. The jambiya scratched the the neckguard of the helmet and Khalid fell facedown in the grass.
Before he could rise up, the back of the helmet of Khalid got pushed down with an spiked boot. Ceasar then collected all his strenght and pulled away the chainmail that covered the throat.
Julius rammed the sword into the throat of his opponent, ending the life of Khalid ibn al-Walid. The sword of god.
Julius dropped his sword as the pain in his arm burned. Before he could be attacked, an Roman soldier walked up to him and support him. 'I am here for you' the man spoke. 'Thank you, friend.' Julius spoke as the man named Brutus helped him off the battlefield where the battle finally continued.
Winner: Gaius Julius Ceasar
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This was an exiting battle to write because both warriors were so much in even with each other. It really was an epic battle between two great leaders. In my opinion, Ceasar has the better chance of winning because of his pila. The pila would help him in two ways.
1. The pilum is the weapon that has the most killing potential of all the weapons in this match. The thin and long point would work like an drill and even if it would not it between the rings, it would rip them open, killing the opponent.
2. Even if the two pila would not kill, the chance was great that one of them would take out the wickerwood shield. It would then be sword and big shield against sword, the sword and shield having an obvlious egde here.
Apart from the pila, Khalid was unable to use his famed tactics in this fight much, those that has saved him several times.
Lastly, the solid Roman armour proved vital in this battle. It was really strong and very hard to get trough.
Khalid was ofcourse not helpless in this battle and he had his own amount of kills. His best weapon in this battle was his hijazi bow, it had superior range and power. The bow could fire arrows and take Ceasar out from an long distance with an careful aimed arrow to the face or an close by arrow to the chest.
I know that Khalid defeated the western Roman army but you have to remember that this battle was an duel between two men and Khalid usually used superior tactics to beat his enemie. Besides, Ceasar was an better general then the generals that Khalid faced.
I would like to use this moment to announce something. I have decided to end my fantasy match ups. I feel that my fantasy matches are not as much fun as my real ones and to be honest, I like the real ones more, hence my decision. I hope you guys understand and don't mind.
My next match will be one between Atahualpa and Heke!
