The fact that life in the ancient world was not sugar at all is perhaps known to everyone and does not need much explanation. However, here are some shocking facts that will show how cruel our ancestors were.
1. During the construction of the main temple in Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs, 84,000 people were sacrificed to the gods within 4 days.
2. Over the past 3,500 years, the world has had only 230 years without war.
3. In 200 BC. BC, when the Greek city of Sparta was at the peak of its power, each Spartan had 20 slaves.
4. In medieval Europe, animals were judged on a par with humans. The earliest mention of this is the trial of a pig in 1266 at Fontenay-a-Roses.
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5. In Turkey in the 18th century, a woman convicted of adultery was sentenced to death in a very unusual way: she was sewn into a sack with cats and drowned.
6. In ancient Rome, an infant at birth was not yet considered a human being, and therefore infanticide in those days was not something immoral. Even before the advent of contraception, a woman could easily get rid of a baby after birth.
7. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, everything that was associated with ancient Egypt became fashionable in Europe. It got to the point that people crushed pieces of mummies and used them as medicine, believing that they can cure all diseases.
8. The ancient Egyptians rarely practiced human sacrifice, but for disrespect or crimes against the Sun God, the guilty were sentenced to be burned alive.
9. Celts and Vikings are usually called barbarians, however, compared to them, the ancient Greeks and Romans were much more cruel. Remember at least gladiatorial battles or human sacrifices, sometimes even their own children.
10. The Three Magi, who according to legend brought gifts to the newborn Christ, were representatives of the Persian tribe Magi. The people of this tribe were famous as powerful priests who preached Zoroastrianism.
11. For 45 years of his campaigns of conquest, Tamerlane destroyed at least 3.5% of the world's population in the second half of the XIV century. According to the most conservative estimates, this is 15 million people.
12. Instead of killing enemy soldiers, the Aztecs preferred to capture them in order to sacrifice them to the gods. The death of an enemy on the battlefield was considered the clumsiness of a warrior who failed to capture him alive.
13. Holmgang - settlement of the dispute by a duel among the Vikings. If someone who was challenged did not come to the duel, he was found guilty. Anyone could legally kill such a person, even a slave.
14. In the West African kingdom of Dahomey, there was a military formation composed entirely of women. Many French soldiers initially refused to shoot these Amazons and suffered heavy casualties.
15. The ancient Hittites were one of the first to massively use biological weapons. They used tularemia-infected donkeys and rams to cause an epidemic in the enemy army.
Author: Joney