this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2025
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NonCredibleDefense
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You are not a pacifist but normal. Every Roman soldier fought for peace, for the pax romanum. Every crucified rebel was there to maintain peace by detering others. Since then and before, every empire is fighting for peace.
Not really. The idea of a state that is fighting for peace is not the norm in world history. Even simply "Our people stay safe, and everyone else can (and should) get fucked" that the pax romana represented was revolutionary because it recognized the interest and duty of the central authority to provide for the wellbeing and security of the common person, a development which also happened in Imperial China around this time. A development that would not re-emerge in Europe until the ~15th century AD, vague Christian platitudes aside.
Also, while the stated purpose of the Roman military by imperial propaganda was to maintain the pax romana, your average Roman soldier was fighting for loot and a paycheck, and when either were short, they could (and did) very quickly turn on 'peace'.