Here Wordus Posted April 8, 2023 Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 (edited) Apart from his campaigns in Gaul (say 58-52bc), which I'm aware of, what 'atrocities' did Caesar commit outside? I'm aware that the word ''atrocity'' is a term we today would use, but even during his time he was criticised back in Rome. Alexander the Great and Hannibal have both come under fire for certain acts. So either before or especially after that era, did he order horrific acts in, say, the Civil Wars for example? Edited April 8, 2023 by Here Wordus wording Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted April 8, 2023 Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Here Wordus said: So either before or especially after that era, did he order horrific acts in, say, the Civil Wars for example? I was going to cite Caesar’s decimation of a legion during the war with Pompeii as one of his "horrific acts," but I was incorrect. He only threatened to decimate the 9th legion to instill greater discipline. (The sociopath Antony, on the other hand, had no qualms about decimating a Roman legion during his foolish war against Parthia.) Edited April 8, 2023 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted April 8, 2023 Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 Caesar was actually quite benign as it turned out, but he had certainly been involved in conspiracies. He and Crassus had planned to rush into the Senate and murder as many of its members as possible to grab power, but the details of the plot aren't known and it was never carried out. Was his planned massive games restricted by the Senate really a ploy to crowd armed men into Rome? The Senate thought it might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegateLivius Posted April 9, 2023 Report Share Posted April 9, 2023 (edited) Important to point out in France, people weren't genocided for being Gauls but because they wouldn't surrender. Some of Caesar's most important legions were made up of plenty of recruits from modern day France. And Caesar wanted to grant citizenship to loyal Gaullish soldiers. If Cleopatra had been stubbornly open at resisting Caesar, similar atrocities would have taken place in Egypt. If Caesar's campaign in Britannia had been solidified and the tribes continued to fight, whole villages would have been wiped out. Caesar's brutality was not out of blind hateful racism nor was it done simply for the kicking fun of it. Its motive was around horrifying but effective pragmatism. Edited April 9, 2023 by LegateLivius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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