About: Latrocinium

Latrocinium (from Latin latro, "bandit", ultimately from Greek latron, "pay" or "hire") was a war not preceded by a formal declaration of war as understood in Roman law; thus guerrilla warfare conducted against Rome was a form of latrocinium. It is typically translated into English as "banditry" or "brigandage", but in antiquity encompassed a wider range of subversive or anti-authoritarian actions, especially slave rebellions organized under charismatic leaders. In designating acts of violence that have ideological motives instead of or in addition to material gain, the modern distinction between terrorism and war may be a more illuminating comparison for the 21st century. The Greek term was leisteia; Plato and Aristotle regarded banditry as a way of life, like fishing or hunting.