Essedarius

An essedarius was a type of Gladiator in Ancient Rome who fought from a chariot. The word had its origins for describing charioteers from Caesar's Gallic War, in his campaign against Britons in Britain.[1] The gladiator type was inspired by these British fighters, although there are few references to essedarii in the literature.[2] Petronius wrote about an essedarius fighting to the accompaniment of a water-organ.[3] While Seneca speaks about a dismounted essedarius as a commentary on the inability to know a person in a different situation which implies they most likely fought from their chariots all the time.[4] Suetonius mentions Caligula being so annoyed that he tripped leaving the amphitheater when an essedarius set free his enslaved driver received much applause. Caligula said "The people that rule the world give more honour to a gladiator for a trifling act than to their deified emperors or to the one still present with them".[5]

To the best of our knowledge an essedarius gladiator normally fought with a spear and a sword as a side-arm but sometimes also had a small shield for defense, based on the armament of the charioteers described in the Gallic Wars. They also wore manicas and greaves to protect their arms and legs from non-lethal blows in order to prolong the fight. There may have been just one man in the chariot, or two, a driver and a fighter.

This type of gladiator became more popular after the 1st century C.E. when more inscriptions appear in the archaeological record, such as one to Beryllus found in Nemausis (CIL 12.3323).[6]