Decimation - One Of The Worst Forms of Punishment In Ancient Roman Military History

Decimation was one of the worst forms of punishment in ancient Rome and in military history.The term decimation is derived from the Latin word decimātiō which refers to the removal of the tenth part of something. In English, the word decimation first meant to pay the tithe, meaning to pay the tenth part of one’s income.
This is how the ancient Roman decimation worked: The cohort sentenced to be decimated was divided in groups of ten. Each man had to draw a lot. This could have been straws or white and black stones. The nine fortunate Romans then had to slay their unlucky companion who had drawn the poor lot.

Primary Sources:
Polybios, The Histories
Plutarch, Life of Antony
Sueton, Augstus
Cassius Dio, Roman History
Literature:
Fiebiger, Otto, s.v. Decimatio, in Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Bd. 4,2, Sp. 2272.
G. R. Watson, The Roman Soldier, 1981.
Salazar, C. F., s.v. decimation, in: Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World.

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