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Decimation in the Roman Republic

2015; Classical Association of the Middle West and South; Volume: 111; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/tcj.2015.0014

2327-5812

Charles Goldberg,

Historical and Architectural Studies

Decimatio, or executing a portion, usually a tenth, of a Roman legionary unit, is regarded as a quintessential example of old-fashioned military discipline. It is nonetheless poorly attested in the earlier Republic, though in the first century we find more instances. This paper examines its literary manifestations and scrutinizes its historicity. By considering soldiers' access to provocatio, cultural and legal prescripts on subjecting citizens to corporal punishment, military demography, and civil war crises, it argues that decimatio went into disuse in the wake of legislation de provocatione by the 130s BCE, and was used again in the Late Republic.