Genocide: The Flaw of Civilization

Until the twentieth-century, the world was unfamiliar with the newly-named phenomenon known as genocide. The first instance of the mass killing of an ethnic group that proliferated throughout world news was the Holocaust. Under the Nazi Regime, the German government indiscriminately massacred millions of Jewish men, women and children. However, the Holocaust was by no means the first occurrence of a genocide. Historical evidence reveals a pattern of massacre on the basis of ethnicity that is markedly apparent in civilizations dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. While the Holocaust gave birth to the idea of genocide, civilizations throughout history have instituted the cruel methods of mass extermination since the introduction of the most basic societies around the world.

A very basic, yet important element of civilization is national unity. The earliest societies of the world were founded so that people with similar cultures and beliefs could live amongst one another. One of the most important factors of national unity is religion. At the height of the Roman Empire, a vast majority of the population practiced a polytheistic religion that encompassed all aspects of their society. Even Christianity was dangerous to follow as it went against the unity of the Empire (“The Roman Empire”). In these cases of religious rigidity, governments threatened to expel or persecute religious dissidents. At the end of the Punic Wars against the Carthaginians, the motto of the Roman emperor was “Carthage must be destroyed.” The Romans viewed the people of Carthage as a threat to Rome’s status as a world power, but also saw the Carthaginian religion as a backward ideology. When the Romans invaded Carthage, they entered people’s homes and k...

... middle of paper ...

...ire, civilizations have safeguarded their national and international interests through extreme measures, such as the mass extermination of an ethnic group. To say that genocides like the Holocaust are deviations from the normal course of civilization would be inaccurate. Genocides require extensive planning and organization that can only come out of civilizations, namely those that are highly advanced. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to argue that genocides are an infrequent, but extreme consequence of the advancements of civilization.

Works Cited

Kifner, John. “Armenian Genocide of 1915: An Overview.” The New York Times Co. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Mulligan, Gerard. “Genocide in the Ancient World.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

“The Roman Empire in the First Century.” Devillier Donegan Enterprises. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.