What is the most barbaric culture/society/civilisation to have ever existed?

[Mr Rayon]

I'm watching Apocalypto (directed by Mel Gibson) now and it seems pretty barbaric/violent/savage. At least with how its depicted, shown and portrayed. This has got me wondering, what exactly is the most barbaric society/civilisation which as ever lived/existed?

[Nexium Tao]

Barbaric civilizations are a function of time from technological advances and how long the people have been a 'civilization'. The further back in time you go in a civilizations history, the more barbaric the civilization will most likely be (Case and point when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America and witness Aztec customs). Seeing as how even to this day we know next to nothing of early primitive civilizations, I think it is pretty safe to say that we just don't know which civilization was the most barbaric.

Edited December 18, 2010 by Nexium Tao

[michel123456]

For the record:

"The word "barbarian" comes into English from Medieval Latin barbarinus, from Latin barbaria, from Latin barbarus, from the ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (bárbaros). The word is onomatopoeic, the bar-bar representing the impression of random hubbub produced by hearing a spoken language that one cannot understand, similar to blah blah and babble in modern English.[citation needed] Related imitative forms are found in other Indo-European languages, such as Sanskrit बर्बर barbara-, "stammering" or "curly-haired". The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek pa-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script.[2] Depending on its use, the term "barbarian" either described a foreign individual or tribe whose first language was not Greek or a Greek individual or tribe speaking Greek crudely.

The Greeks used the term as they encountered scores of different foreign cultures, including the Egyptians, Persians, Medes, Celts, Germans, Phoenicians, Etruscans and Carthaginians. It, in fact, became a common term to refer to all foreigners."From wiki.

 

So all civilizations are barbaric to the others.

As for violence, all have a part of culpability. I don't know the champion.

Edited December 18, 2010 by michel123456

[Marat]

If we try to compensate for the fact that civilization generally becomes more barbaric as we go back in time by defining 'barbaric' relative to the general standards among nations at the same time period, then I think the Carthaginians are good candidates for being more depraved than most. They seem to have had special ovens in which they burned some of their own babies as sacrifices to their gods, which even the Ancient Romans found revolting.

[michel123456]

Roman propaganda.

 

Which civilization killed 80.000 people in one day?

[mississippichem]

I'm watching Apocalypto (directed by Mel Gibson) now and it seems pretty barbaric/violent/savage. At least with how its depicted, shown and portrayed. This has got me wondering, what exactly is the most barbaric society/civilisation which as ever lived/existed?

 

The people of Science Forums Network!

[pioneer]

I would have to say Genghis Khan and the Mongolians. If I am not mistaken, one of their signature tactics was the army would form a huge circle around an enemy. They would march to the center killing everything, including animals trapped in the circle. They had plenty of manpower and could make huge circles. He breach the Great Wall of China and was able to conquer china and and the Korean peninsula, then moved westward and took the middle east and eastern Europe.

[John Cuthber]

Genghis Khan is reputed to have claimed that a girl carrying a bag of gold could cross his lands unmolested.

He probably exaggerated a bit but he may have had a point.

 

 

 

"Which civilization killed 80.000 people in one day? "

 

We did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

 

But it may have reduced the net death toll of the war.

Edited December 19, 2010 by John Cuthber

[CharonY]

Actually I remember that at least in many of the more famous battles the mongols were numerically inferior and were victorious due to superior tactics. They excelled in the use of flanking tactics, though. Eventually this could result in encirclement.