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2 A Crime by Any Other Name Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I will punish what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way, when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” —1 Samuel 15:2–3 In fact, social scientists do not appear to understand or acknowledge the historical background or signi¤cance of genocide studies. Genocide is certainly not a new topic needing acceptance from the social sciences; it is as old as humanity and hardly an idiosyncratic occurrence in human history. —Herbert Hirsch1 While the term “genocide”has only recently entered the modern lexicon,it must be pointed out that genocide is by no means a new phenomenon. As Leo Kuper points out, “The word is new, the crime is ancient.”2 Appearing in many guises and epochs, genocides have punctuated the historic landscape from time immemorial , although they were not always perceived as crimes. Many societies saw nothing wrong in the wholesale massacre of various peoples. On the contrary , some gloried in their achievements, proudly proclaiming them far and wide and commemorating them in writing and art. A good example of this is the well-known bas-relief on the Column of Marcus Aurelius depicting the beheading of German prisoners. Certainly, this tribute to Roman military prowess does not indicate revulsion or shame; instead it celebrates a proud moment in Roman history. Because of this apparent legitimation and pride, Roger Smith argues that Kuper’s statement should be amended to read “The word is new, the phenomenon ancient.”3 Regardless of genocide’s perceived criminality or acceptability , the historical literature is rife with examples of this and closely related types of mass killing. A selected review of different cases quickly reveals its prevalence. Past as Prologue An arbitrary beginning in the history of genocide can be made with the Roman republic and empire, which were built upon the bodies of countless conquered peoples. After defeating Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War, Rome razed the city, killed most of the inhabitants, and sowed the ground with salt to symbolize that it should forevermore remain barren. Rome’s attitude to its famous rival can be summed up with Cato’s famous dictum, repeated at the end of every speech he made: ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam—“for the rest, it is my opinion that Carthage must be destroyed.”4 In fact, Raphael Lemkin, the originator of the term “genocide,” speci¤cally referred to the destruction of Carthage as an early example of this crime. In later times, Julius Caesar’s victorious campaigns in Gaul were often achieved through the annihilation of entire Celtic tribes that had either opposed him or rebelled against Roman control.5 The famous Pax Romana was created on the ashes of countless communities. Further east, on the Asian steppes, the conquests of Chinggis Khan, more commonly known as Genghis Khan, were usually brutal affairs marked by numerous genocidal massacres. The destruction of the Khwarezmian empire, for example, was accomplished through the destruction of numerous cities and the killing of their inhabitants. As Erik Hildinger writes of the exploits of Tolui, one of the Khan’s sons and generals, Balkh surrendered to him, but he massacred the townspeople and burned the city all the same. Tolui rounded up peasants from near Khurasan and besieged Merve, which surrendered too; but the entire population was slaughtered. Tolui then took by storm Nishapur, where the Mongol general Toquchar had been killed in an assault . Again the entire population was killed.6 These feats were by no means unusual, as the widespread massacres perpetrated by the Khan and his successors during other conquests amply illustrate. Similarly , Timur Lenk, also known as Tamerlane, was renowned for his extreme tactics , such as creating mountains of skulls in front of cities he had conquered. While not well known in the west, Timur Lenk is often conceded to be one of the most brutal of early warlords. The rise of the Zulu nation in southern Africa, under Shaka, was marked by the wholesale extermination of numerous clans and tribes that had offended or posed a threat to his empire.7 A brilliant military innovator, Shaka revolutionized tribal warfare in southeastern Africa, turning it from a largely bloodless and symbolic contest into a lethal tool of empire building...

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