Certainly better technology made mass killing more efficient, but there were acts of genocide in earlier times. The Romans killed one million Jews in their destruction of Jerusalem and expulsion of that nation from modern day Israel in 70 AD. Genghis Khan was also guilty of mass murder in Central Asia, reportedly killing 700,000 people in the destruction of one city. The Muslim invasion of North Africa in the 7th Century resulted in mass murder of Christians.
The Romans and the Mongols were NOT barbarians ~ they were civilized people. I thought I was quite specific about what barbarians actually did.
BTW, the city the Mongols destroyed was BAGHDAD. Razed it to the ground. Killed everybody. The government in Baghdad had rejected the entreaties of the Mongol ambassadorial mission and then murdered them.
Yes, AlQaida in Iraq existed even then.
But not for long!