9 Decimation
Mutiny of the troops was always a potential issue for Roman generals, and there were many policies in place to discourage this type of behavior. Punishment by decimation (decimatio) was arguably the most feared and effective.
It involved the beating or stoning to death of every 10th man within the army unit where mutiny took place. The victims were chosen by lot by their own colleagues. Whenever a group within the army was planning a mutiny, the prospect of decimation made them think twice and they were likely to be reported by their own colleagues.
The Romans knew that decimation, although effective, was also unjust because many of the actual victims might not have had anything to do with the mutiny. From the standpoint of the Romans, the unfairness of decimation was a necessary evil. Tacitus (Annals 14.44) wrote, “Setting an example on a large scale always involves a degree of injustice when individuals suffer to ensure the public good.” (McKeown 2010: 40-41)
for later
For the incredible story of how 20,000 Roman soldiers were defeated by Germanic forces in a forest, check out this YouTube documentary. It really is an amazing story.
Ancient Black Ops - The Ghost Warriors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki_Woxuzwss
Had to be worth your salt, e.g, your pound of Salt!
And that, my friend, is how you fight an idea. It’s also why we’ll never win the war on terror. We’re so afraid of collateral damage, we’ll surrender first.
Interesting. Makes me think of that scene in “Patton”, in which he is walking around an ancient site in North Africa and recounting the Roman/Carthaginian wars that took place in the area and said he was a Roman soldier who fought there in that war (in a previous life).
For later. Pool and drinking now.
Fascinating stuff, thanks. I still hate it when the meaning of words gets changed, for example “decimation”. When I encountered the term in digital signal processing I thought “Aha I know that one, all those Lain classes paid off!”. But as in general usage, it’s used as a synonym for “reduction”, not necessarily by a factor of 1/10th. “Words have meanings dammit!”
Some of the Roman ideas just don’t translate into modern times, but it was clear they all knew that to keep the bad guys out, you needed to BUILD A WALL.
However, the idea of Obama throwing a spear into the enemy territory is laughable...besides the fact that he’d have to throw it underhanded.
Just like the French did during WW1 when the French army finally mutinied after all that slaughter on the Western Front.
11. They had no women troops in the army.
The logic behind the decimation picking random people is flawed. I understand their point, but that logic will turn more people against you than with you.
Unjust punishment as a general rule, people revolt against.
For later.