Roman men considered that they had sworn an oath if they held their testicles in their hands while swearing. This included the oath to tell the truth before giving testimony in court. Only real men, in swearing on their potency, were expected to tell the truth. The evidence of women and eunuchs was not believed under the law because they could not be fully trusted. The truth could not be expected or known by those who did not possess testicles. Roman culture was phallocentric. Possession of the truth was more assured if one had testicles. Access to logic and command of knowledge was favoured if one had a phallus and, with it, testicles.
It has been suggested that the words testimony and testify originate from testicles. However, they come from test, which means witness, the one who stands by.
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Yes,Pompey was a harsh leader he beated each soldier for three hours and made them swear that they will not run away from the army.
Nobody knows for sure where swearing started. Swear words originated and evolved to give people a way to vent strong feelings, and these words have been with us ever since.
about 509 B.C.The Roman Republic was founded in the year 509 BC. Rome was a flourishing city in ancient times and was a Republic government.
Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.Augustus set the foundation for a stable government by his handling of the military. He disbanded the legions that were not necessary and reformed the army into a national army, rather than legions with scattered loyalties. He had the soldiers swear their oaths to him, as first citizen, rather than to their legates or generals that had been the previous custom. In this manner, an ambitious general stood little chance of gathering troops and starting another civil war. (This worked until the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty) With the military secure, Augustus then could carry on with his political reforms.
Today we tend to think of the Middle Ages as a time when laws were cruel and unjust. There were times and places of the Middle Ages when this was true, but there were also many times and places where it was not. The legal codes of the Early Middle Ages were very often based on the concept of compensation for the victim, so a thief might be required to repay the value of the thing stolen three times over. In fact, in Wales there were laws to the effect that if a person was caught with stolen food, but could show that he had unsuccessfully begged for food at a number of houses, he would not be prosecuted. There were times when an adequate defense for an accused crime that was not absolutely proven was swearing an oath of innocence and finding a dozen people who would swear they believed you. In most places, during the Middle Ages, the clergy were not tried in secular courts, but in Church courts. The question of who was clergy was a bit complicated, because monks were not ordained. Eventually it was decided that anyone who could read was to be tried in a Church court. The Church did not allow torture, gave lenient sentences to those who confessed their sins, and provided better prisons than the secular system did. In most places, a fugitive could appeal to a church or monastery for asylum. Though asylum was often granted only for a limited time if a person was accused of a serious crime, there were abbeys whose charters said that no one could be removed for any reason, even by agents of the King. Isabella of Angoulême, who had formed a conspiracy to murder King Louis IX of France, escaped to a Fontevraud Abbey, where she had permanent sanctuary and later died of natural causes.