10 Interesting Facts on Ancient Roman Soldiers

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2GUILTY ROMAN SOLDIERS WERE SUBJECTED TO A BRUTAL PUNISHMENT CALLED DECIMATION

Cowardice, mutiny, desertion and insubordination were some of the offenses for which Roman soldiers were punished. In order to punish units for such capital offenses a very brutal method called Decimation was used by Roman commanders.

In order to punish a cohort by decimation it was divided into groups of 10. The ten soldiers were asked to draw lots. The soldier who picked the shortest straw was then executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning, clubbing or stabbing.