Topic summary
Decimated
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Decimation (punishment).
Revival during the first century
The first historical instance of decimation was in 72 BC under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus during the Third Servile War. A unit of 500 men who fled from battle was decimated, with some fifty men executed. The narratives in Appian that Crassus decimated either two legions or his entire army (producing fatalities of around 1,000 and 4,000 respectively) are rejected as exaggerations.