Total war.

[**The following takes place during the Cantabrian War, fought during the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus.**] >But the fighting in Spain was not yet over. Hardly had [Augustus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Statue-Augustus.jpg) departed from Spain than Lucius Aemilius, the governor left in charge by him, received envoys from the Cantabrians and Asturians who said that the tribes wished to present his army with grain and other things, and asked him to send a large number of men to bring back the gifts. Aemilius, suspecting nothing, accordingly sent ‘a considerable number of soldiers’ into the mountains. These Roman troops were ambushed and overpowered by the tribes and made prisoners. Led away to various places in the mountains, the captive legionaries were all eventually executed. >Aemilius reacted by ordering total war on the tribes. As a result, ‘their country was devastated,’ said Dio. A number of forts were burned, and every Spanish fighting man taken alive had his hands cut off. ‘They were quickly subdued.’ ___________________________ **Source:** Dando-Collins, Stephen. “Part III: The Battles – The Cantabrian War.” *Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion*. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012. 219. Print. **Original Source Listed:** Dio, LXIII, 29. ___________________________ **Further Reading:** [Augustus / Latin: Imperator Caesar Divi filius Augustus (Born: Gaius Octavius Thurinus) / Octavianus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus) [Cassius Dio or Dio Cassius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Dio) [Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) (Bellum Cantabricum), sometimes also referred to as the Cantabrian and Asturian Wars (Bellum Cantabricum et Asturicum)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabrian_Wars)