Fustuarium

In the military of ancient Rome, fustuarium (Greek ξυλοκοπία, xylokopia) or fustuarium supplicium ("the punishment of cudgeling") was a severe form of military discipline in which a soldier was cudgeled to death.

It is described by the Greek historian Polybius in a passage observing that Roman soldiers were motivated to stand fast and maintain their posts by the fear of harsh punishments such as public disgrace, flogging, and death. As a form of discipline imposed on a soldier, fustuarium thus reflected Roman doubts that courage alone was sufficient to ensure the steadfastness of the average soldier—an awareness that Julius Caesar shows in his war commentaries.