The Gladius was in use for centuries, and with it the Roman legions conquerored the world ... all the world that mattered, anyway. It's simple, it's cheap, it's low-tech (does not demand high-quality steel), and it works. I always recommend it as a home self-defense weapon. If my house were invaded, and I didn't have a gun, I would take the Gladius as my second choice. It's a close-and-personal kind of sword -- short enough to swing in tight quarters. It's a good stabbing weapon, but at the same time it chops like a meat cleaver. The hilt is designed to not come out of your hand. Ideally, you would want a knife for your left hand to parry with -- something with a good, strong crossguard to catch blades.
There's actually a lot of arguments that seem to keep coming back to the gladius.
It was even revived during the Renaissance. Pike formations loved it. I forget what the Swiss called it but the Landsknecht called it the Katzbalger ("cat skinner"), because it was what you went to when things got really close.
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