Legal Definitions - esketores

Esketores (plural noun)

In historical legal contexts, esketores referred to individuals or groups who were known for robbing, plundering, or otherwise devastating the lands, property, or wealth of others. The term describes those who actively sought to destroy or seize the fortunes and possessions belonging to other people, often through force or illicit means.

• Example 1: In medieval Europe, a roving band of mercenaries, disbanded after a war, began to terrorize the countryside. They would raid villages, stealing crops, livestock, and valuables, and often setting fire to homes, leaving the inhabitants with nothing. These mercenaries would have been considered esketores because they were actively robbing the villagers and destroying their lands and fortunes.

• Example 2: During a period of weak central authority, a powerful local lord systematically used his private army to encroach upon and seize the fertile farmlands and valuable timber forests belonging to several smaller, neighboring noble families. He then claimed these assets as his own, leaving the original owners impoverished and without their primary source of income. This lord's actions would classify him as an esketor, as he was destroying the fortunes and seizing the lands of others through force and coercion.

• Example 3: In a historical port city, a corrupt customs official, through a network of accomplices, routinely imposed exorbitant and illegal tariffs on incoming merchant ships. If a captain refused to pay, the official would seize their cargo, impound their vessel, and fabricate charges that led to the merchant's financial ruin. This official, by systematically destroying the fortunes of merchants through illicit seizure and extortion, would be acting as an esketor.