It was called decimatio — decimation.

If a unit showed cowardice, disobeyed orders, or mutinied, Roman commanders would line them up, make them draw lots, and execute every 10th man. The other soldiers — their brothers-in-arms — carried it out. With clubs. With their hands.

The word "decimate" in English literally comes from this practice. But today most people think it just means "destroy a lot of something."

It was used sparingly — maybe a dozen documented cases. But the threat of it was constant. Roman military discipline wasn't just brutal — it was engineered to make men fear their own side as much as the enemy.

This is the kind of history The Hidden Chronicle covers every week. Real events, full detail, no sanitizing.

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