Mysterious Facts and Discoveries of Ancient Rome
Who Rowed the Roman Warships?
Watching movies about ancient times with warships, do you ever wonder if there were really slaves who are shackled down below the ships rowing like in the film Ben-Hur? Maybe for other civilizations, but as it turns out this doesn’t apply to the ancient Romans. Because of the Romans’ ideology called ‘civic militarism’, which meant that a citizen has a duty to fight for that state and by doing so is entitled to political rights. In other words, citizens have the choice to fight, but it does not include the position of slave soldiers or ship rowers. In case a slave is admitted to the armed forces, he is required to be freed first before enlisting.
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