Punitive expedition

A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior by miscreants, as revenge or corrective action, or to apply strong diplomatic pressure without a formal declaration of war (e.g. surgical strike). In the 19th century, punitive expeditions were used more commonly as pretexts for colonial adventures that resulted in annexations, regime changes or changes in policies of the affected state to favour one or more colonial powers. Stowell (1921) provides the following definition: When the territorial sovereign is too weak or is unwilling to enforce respect for international law, a state which is wronged may find it necessary to invade the territory and to chastise the individuals who violate its rights and threaten its security. In the 5th century BC, the Achaemenid Empire launched a series of campaigns against Greece to punish certain Greek city-states for getting involved in the Ionian Revolt. In the early 1st century AD, Germanicus engaged in punitive expeditions against the Germanic tribes as repercussion for the Roman Legions that were destroyed in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. In 518, Negus Kaleb of Axum dispatched a punitive expedition against the Himyarite Kingdom in response to the persecution of Christians by the Himyarite Jews. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, often engaged in punitive expeditions, either as a pretext or to quell rebellions against his rule. Some notable examples include his invasion of Khwarazim and his campaigns against the Western Xia kingdom. Also in the 13th century, Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, sent emissaries demanding tribute from the Singhasari kingdom of Java. The ruler of the Singhasari kingdom, Kertanagara, refused to pay tribute and tattooed a Chinese messenger, Meng Qi, on his face.