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decimation

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decimation

Form of capital punishment inflicted in the Roman army on units which had been guilty of insubordination, desertion during a battle, or mutiny. The guilty units were lined up and counted: every tenth man was taken, and the victims were beaten or stoned to death by troops from innocent units.

Decimation was extremely rare in imperial times, when humanitarian concerns were more prevalent. Moreover it made recruiting more difficult and could not be applied unless the innocent units outnumbered the guilty and were willing to carry out the sentence.
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