Were Roman Soldiers Victims Of Ancient Chemical Weapon?
Posted by Justin on March 8th, 2011
No one wants to be the first person to die from anything. No one wants to choke to death while the smoke you’ve just inhaled in your lungs turns to acid. So can you have to be double cheesed off if you were among the Roman soldiers who were the first to die from chemical warfare in 256 A. freaking D.
Almost 2,000 years ago, 19 Roman soldiers rushed into a cramped underground tunnel, prepared to defend the Roman-held Syrian city of Dura-Europos from an army of Persians digging to undermine the city’s mudbrick walls. But instead of Persian soldiers, the Romans met with a wall of noxious black smoke that turned to acid in their lungs. Their crystal-pommeled swords were no match for this weapon; the Romans choked and died in moments, many with their last pay of coins still slung in purses on their belts.
It’s an awesome story which you should read right now.
Twitter this