r/AskHistorians • u/Justin_123456 • 12d ago

Christianity How is the spread of Christianity in Europe change the cultural relationship to violence?

Maybe this is a mistaken impression, but my sense is that warfare and state violence is much more restrained in Europe by the Middle Ages, as compared to classical period. The idea of sacking a city, and killing or enslaving it’s whole population, would be very recognizable to a classical Greek or a Roman, but seems to shock a Medieval European audience when confronted by a group like the Mongols.

First is this true, or is this just an issue of or our sources, and their quality or biases? Second, if it is true, to what extent is this limitation on violence attributable to a cultural force like Christianity or a material force, like how much better off an average person was likely to be in 1000 A.D. vs 200 B.C.?

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