... Such an execution, especially popular in the East and Asia, was used everywhere: in Africa, Central America and even in Europe, in the Slavic countries and the German Charles the Fifth, where the Carolina code provided for impalement for mothers guilty of infanticide. In Russia, they were impaled until the middle of the 18th century. In the 19th century, impalement was still practiced in Siam, Persia and Turkey, where in the 1930s such executions were carried out in public.

In the Law of Manu, the ancient code of religious and civil laws of Indian society, among the seven types of death penalty, impalement occupied the first place. Assyrian rulers became famous for sentencing the rebels and the vanquished to death on a stake. Ashurnasirpal, mentioned by Gaston Maspero, wrote: “I hung the corpses on poles. I planted some on the top of the post […] and the rest on stakes around the post.”
The Persians also had a special affection for this form of capital punishment. Xerxes, enraged by the disobedience of King Leonidas, who, with three hundred Spartans, tried to block the path of the Persian army at Thermopylae, ordered the Greek hero to be impaled.
Planting techniques throughout the world were almost identical, with the exception of a few details. Some peoples, including the Assyrians, injected a stake through the abdomen and removed it through the armpit or mouth, but this practice was not widespread, and in the vast majority of cases, a wooden or metal stake was inserted through the anus.
The condemned was laid on his stomach on the ground. They spread their legs and either fixed them motionless, or they were held by executioners, their hands were nailed to the ground with spears, or they were tied behind their backs.
In some cases, depending on the diameter of the stake, the anus was previously oiled or cut with a knife. With both hands, the executioner stuck the stake as deep as he could, and then drove it deeper with the help of a club.
There was a wide scope for imagination here. Sometimes in codes or sentences it was specified that a stake inserted into the body by 50-60 cm should be placed vertically in a hole prepared in advance. Death came extremely slowly, and the condemned man experienced indescribable torment. The sophistication of torture was that the execution was carried out by itself and no longer required the intervention of the executioner. The stake penetrated deeper and deeper into the victim under the influence of its weight, until it finally crawled out of the armpit, chest, back or abdomen, depending on the direction given. Sometimes death came after a few days. There were plenty of cases when the agony lasted more than three days.
It is known for sure that a stake inserted into the anus and exiting the abdomen killed more slowly than exiting the chest or throat.
Often a stake was driven in with a hammer, piercing the body through and through, the task of the executioner in this case was to make it come out of the mouth. In addition to the physical characteristics of the condemned, the duration of the agony depended on the type of stake.
In some cases, the stake inserted through the anus was well sharpened. Then death came quickly, because he easily tore the organs, causing internal injuries and fatal bleeding. Russians usually aimed at the heart, which was not always possible. Many historians say that one boyar, impaled on the orders of Ivan IV, suffered for 2 whole days. The lover of Empress Evdokia, after spending twelve hours on a stake, spat in the face of Peter I.
Persians, Chinese, Burmese and Siamese preferred a thin stake with a rounded end, which caused minimal damage to internal organs, to a pointed stake. He did not pierce or tear them apart, but pushed them apart and pushed back, penetrating deep into. Death remained inevitable, but the execution could last several days, which was very useful from the point of view of edification.
Suleiman Habi was executed on a stake with a rounded tip in 1800 for stabbing General Kléber, the commander-in-chief of the French troops in Egypt after Bonaparte sailed to France, with a knife.
This was perhaps the only case in history when Western jurisprudence resorted to this method of execution. The French military commission departed from the military code in favor of the customs of the country. The execution took place with a large gathering of people on the esplanade of the Cairo Institute with the participation of the French executioner Barthelemy, for whom this was the first experience of this kind. He coped with the task relatively successfully: before proceeding with hammering an iron stake, he considered it necessary to cut the anus with a knife. Suleiman Habi fought in agony for four hours.
The Chinese method of impalement, as always, was distinguished by its particular sophistication: a bamboo tube was hammered into the anus, through which an iron rod heated on fire was inserted inside.
By the way, this is how the English King Edward II was executed in order to pass off his death as natural. A red-hot rod was introduced into his body through a hollow horn. Michelet writes in the History of France: “The corpse was put on public display ... There was not a single wound on the body, but people heard screams and it was clear from the tortured face of the monarch that the killers subjected him to terrible torture.”
In the East, this method of execution was often used for intimidation, impaling captives near the walls of a besieged city in order to sow terror in the souls of the townspeople.
Turkish troops were especially famous for such acts of intimidation. For example, this is how they acted at the walls of Bucharest and Vienna.
As a result of an uprising in Morocco around the middle of the 18th century, the Bukharians, the famous "black guard", consisting of blacks bought in Sudan, several thousand men, women and children were impaled.
In those same years, in Dahomey, girls were sacrificed to the gods, planting a vagina on pointed masts.
In Europe, impalement was popular during the Wars of Religion, especially in Italy. Jean Legere writes that in 1669, in Piedmont, the notable's daughter, Anne Charbonneau de la Tour, was planted with a "causal place" on a pike, and a squadron of executioners carried her through the city, chanting that this was their flag, which they would eventually stick in the ground at the intersection roads.
During the war in Spain, Napoleonic troops impaled Spanish patriots, who paid them the same. Goya captured these terrible scenes in engravings and drawings.
In 1816, after a riot that ended in the killing of more than 15 thousand people, Sultan Mahmud II liquidated the Janissary corps. Many were beheaded, but most were executed with a stake.
Roland Villein writes that in 1958 the uncle of the Iraqi king, known for his homosexual inclinations, "was put on a stake, so that punishment would overtake him through the place of his sin."

In the photo: By order of the People's Commissar, soldiers of the Red Army hanged the Polish captain Razhnsky on a stake, 1917.

In Russia, sophisticated executions were not shunned. Moreover, the execution of death sentences was approached seriously, thoroughly. To make the last minutes or hours of the life of the criminal seem the most terrible to him, the most sophisticated and painful executions were chosen. Where the custom of cruelly cracking down on those who broke the law came from in our land is unknown. Some historians believe that this is a logical continuation of the bloody rites of paganism. Others favor the influence of the Byzantines. But, one way or another, in Russia there were several especially any types of execution by the rulers.

This execution was also awarded to rebels or traitors. For example, Ivan Zarutsky, one of the main accomplices of the troubles of the time of Marina Mnishek, was put on a stake. For this, he was specially brought from Astrakhan to Moscow.

Rebels and traitors to the Motherland were impaled

The execution took place in the following way. First, the executioner lightly impaled the body of the offender on a stake, and then put the "piece of wood" vertically. Under the weight of its own weight, the victim gradually sank lower and lower. But this happened slowly, so the doomed one had a couple of hours of torment before the stake went out through the chest or neck.

Particularly "distinguished" was impaled on a stake with a crossbar so that the point did not reach the heart. And then the torment of the criminal was significantly extended.

And this "entertainment" came into use by Russian executioners during the reign of Peter the Great. A criminal sentenced to death was tied to a log St. Andrew's cross, which was attached to the scaffold. And special recesses were made in its rays.

The unfortunate man was stretched so that all his limbs took the “right” place on the beams. Accordingly, the folds of the arms and legs also had to fall where needed - into the recesses. It was the executioner who was engaged in "adjusting" it. Wielding an iron stick, of a special, quadrangular shape, he struck, crushing the bones.

Participants of the Pugachev rebellion were wheeled

When the "puzzle" was being put together, the offender was hit hard in the stomach several times in order to break his spine. After that, the heels of the unfortunate were connected to his own back of the head and laid on the wheel. Usually, by this time the victim was still alive. And she was left to die in that position.

The last time the wheel was taken for the most ardent supporters of the Pugachev rebellion.

Ivan the Terrible loved this type of execution. The offender could be boiled in water, oil, or even wine. The unfortunate was put into a cauldron already filled with some kind of liquid. The hands of the suicide bomber were fixed in special rings inside the container. This was done so that the victim could not escape.

Ivan the Terrible liked to boil criminals in water or oil.

When everything was ready, the cauldron was put on fire. He heated up rather slowly, so the criminal was boiled alive for a long time and very painfully. Usually, such an execution was "prescribed" to a traitor.

This type of execution was most often applied to women who killed their husbands. Usually, they were buried up to the throat (less often up to the chest) in some of the busiest places. For example, on the main square of the city or the local market.

The scene of execution by means of instillation was beautifully described by Alexei Tolstoy in his landmark, albeit unfinished, novel Peter the Great.

They usually buried the murderers

While the murderer was still alive, a special guard was assigned to her - a sentry. He strictly ensured that no one showed compassion to the criminal and did not try to help her by giving food or water. But if passers-by wanted to mock the suicide bomber - please. This was not allowed. If you want to spit in her - spit, if you want to kick - kick. The guard will only support the initiative. Also, anyone could throw a few coins on the coffin and candles.

Usually, after 3-4 days, the criminal died from beatings, or her heart could not stand it.

The most famous person who was "lucky" to experience all the horrors of quartering is the famous Cossack and rebel Stepan Razin. First they cut off his legs, then his arms, and only after all this - his head.

In fact, Emelyan Pugachev should have been executed in the same way. But first they cut off his head, and only then his limbs.

Quartering was resorted to only in exceptional cases. For an uprising, imposture, treason, personal insult to the sovereign, or an attempt on his life.

Stepan Razin - the most famous quartered

True, such "events" in Russia practically did not enjoy spectator success, so to speak. The people, on the contrary, sympathized and empathized with those sentenced to death. In contrast, for example, from the same "civilized" European crowd, for which the deprivation of life of a criminal was just an entertainment "event". Therefore, in Russia, at the time of the execution of the sentence, silence reigned in the square, broken only by sobs. And when the executioner completed his work, people dispersed silently to their homes. In Europe, on the contrary, the crowd whistled and shouted, demanding "bread and circuses."

The French traveler and merchant Jean de Thévenot in 1687, witnessing such an execution in Egypt, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire, told that the sentenced person was forced to carry a stake to the place of execution (compare with the ancient Roman "carrying the cross"). then they forced him to kneel in a comfortable position, pressed and cut the anus with a knife (the executioner has a knife in his hand, and not some kind of dildo, as is sometimes thought).

CHAP. LXXIX.

Of Punishments in Use in Egypt.

The usual Punishments in Ægypt are Beheading, which they dextrously perform: For the Sous-basha finding a Robber, or any one that looks like such, seises him, and making him kneel, one of his Men cuts off his Head at one blow with a Shable, and yet not striking with great force neither; but drawing towards him the Shable, and so using the whole length of it, he never fails at the first blow to sever the Head from the Body. Impaling is also a very ordinary Punishment with them, which is done in this manner. They lay the Malefactor upon his Belly, with his Hands tied behind his Back, then they slit up his Fundament with a Razor, and throw into it a handful of Paste that they have in readiness, which immediately stops the Blood; after that they thrust up into his Body a very long Stake as big as a Mans Arm, sharp at the point and tapered, which they grease a little before; when they have driven it in with a Mallet, till it come out at his Breast, or at his Head or Shoulders, they lift him up, and plant this Stake very streight in the Ground, upon which they leave him so exposed for a day . One day I saw a Man upon the Pale, who was Sentenced to continue-so for three Hours alive, and that he might not die too soon, the Stake was not thrust up far enough to come out at any part of his Body, and they also put a stay or rest upon the Pale, to hinder the weight of his body from making him sink down upon it, or the point of it from piercing him through, which would have presently killed him: In manner this he was left for some Hours, (during which time he spoke) and turning from one side to another, prayed those that passed by to kill him, making a thousand wry Mouths and Faces, because of the pain be suffered when he stirred himself, but after Dinner the Basha sent one to dispatch him; which was easily done, by making the point of the Stake come out at his Breast, and then he was left till next Morning, when he was taken down, because he stunk horridly. Some have lived upon the Pale until the third day, and have in the mean while smoaked Tobacco, when it was given them. This poor wretch carried the Scales and Weights, of those who go about to visit the Weights, to see if they be just, and he had so combined with such as had false Weights, that he brought false ones also with him; so that the Searchers not perceiving the change of their own Weights, thought the other to be just. When Arabs, or such other Robbers are carried to be Empaled, they put them on a Camel, their Hands tied behind their Backs, and with a Knife make great gashes in their naked Arms, thrusting into them Candles of Pitch and Rosin, which they light, to make the stuff run into their Flesh; and yet some of these Rogues go chearfully to Death, glorying (as it were) that they could deserve it, and saying, That if they had not been brave Men, they would not have been so put to death. This is a very common and ordinary Punishment in Ægypt, but in Turkie it is but very rarely put into practice. The Natives of the Country are punished in this manner, but the Turks are strangled in Prison.

Well, how the notorious forest of stakes looked like is clearly seen from an excerpt from the novel "Jester" by James Patterson and Andrew Gross:

The people we passed by no longer greeted us like they did in the Trail. Some spat in our direction, others turned away.

“Damned rioters… heretics… go home…”

Look what you brought us! wailed a woman who was picking up leftovers from the road. - Go, go, admire what you are met with.

How are we met? What would that mean?

Suddenly the front ranks slowed down. People pointed to the pillars or crosses visible ahead. Several people ran forward. Gradually the others came along.

What we saw made some close their eyes in horror, others turn away. Even the boldest faces turned whiter than chalk. Those who had just boasted of future exploits seemed to be dumbfounded.

We were met not by crosses, we were met by people impaled on stakes. Some were still alive; they muttered something and even moved their hands. Those who were impaled upside down looked even worse. There were old people and young people, peasants and merchants. There were even women stripped naked like whores. They moaned, opened their mouths, rolled with glassy eyes.

Thirty people.

A new man has perched on top of me. Now something huge, like an elephant, was breaking into my body, almost tearing it apart. His penis was thick, it was as long as ever, with every thrust I shuddered in pain, screaming desperately and feeling blows to the cervix. A couple more pushes and I lost consciousness. But not for long, the stream was nearby, so a couple of buckets and I returned to reality. Should I remember what happened? I have been raped many times. Each time my refusal to confess was followed by another rape. Something else was scarier. Despite the pain, the sensations that periodically approached were so strong that I could not resist - I finished many times, then my nipples tightened, my face turned red, against my will I began to wave my pelvis to the beat of the man’s movements, and a hoarse moan of pain escaped from my throat and enjoyment. In these moments, I heard humiliating me, making me feel like a whore, the laughter of men and applause. Again and again this feeling of shame and impotence, horror for one's own body, for one's feelings. Finally, they untied me, it was already beginning to turn gray, they dragged me to the stream, washed me, then threw me into a shed in the village on soft hay, rubbed my body with vodka, gave me strong broth to drink, then tied my hands to pegs driven into the ground, so that I could toss and turn, but could not bring her hands to her body. A blanket was thrown over the naked body. A decoction of herbs was poured into my mouth, a pleasant warmth passed through my exhausted body, the pain slowly disappeared, this caring frightened me terribly, I understood that they wanted to prepare me for the next tortures. Apparently something was mixed into the broth, because I soon forgot.

In the morning the door opened, several soldiers came in, they untied me, helped me up, it hurt between my legs, so I walked with my legs wide apart. I was placed before the duke again. He carefully looked at me and asked - "Aren't you tired? I'm giving you one last chance. While your body is not yet irreparably crippled." I shook my head. He smiled sadly - "well, as you know. It turns out that your stupidity turned out to be stronger. These 2 days I tried to take you off the block. Well, if you want to ..." I was pushed forward.

With my hands tied behind my back, I stood under an oak branch, the executioner several times tightly tied a terribly thin rope around my breasts at the very base. The rope got taut and I hung. My whole body convulsed, I hung with my head thrown back and screamed from unbearable pain, while my breasts, unnaturally stretched under the weight of the body, were lifted up. My strong breasts turned purple, blood oozed from the nipples, strangely, but I no longer felt them, only a slight tingling, the pain moved to the base of the breasts. I continued to hang, from the wild pain I could not control myself and again wet myself. The lips I had been biting convulsively bulged out and a trickle of blood oozed down my chin. I almost lost consciousness when suddenly my heels touched the ground. I was given a few minutes to rest. All this time I was asked to answer. Then they lifted me again by the chest. While I was writhing in the air, the executioners set up the brazier and rekindled the fire. One of my interrogators stepped forward and said, “So girl, the game is over before you get mutilated, but if you keep quiet… Do you ever want to experience sensual pleasure? Now, if you don’t talk, you will lose this opportunity. Now we'll burn your clitoris. Well?" Without answering, I watched with wide eyes of horror as the executioner took out red-hot tongs and approached me. They lowered me to the ground, spread my legs to the limit to the sides. The tongs were slowly brought to my groin. "Well? Have you thought? This is the last opportunity to change your mind. Speak up, don't be a fool." I bit my lips and suddenly a wave of wild pain pierced my body, but I did not have time to experience it to the end, falling into darkness.

I came to myself already in the barn. Strange, but I didn’t feel the middle of my body, looking down I saw a bandage. Seeing that I woke up, two people approached me - "Okay, girl. You can rest. We were already afraid that you were dead. You lay like this almost all day." I again poured infusion and wine into my mouth. I forgot.

In the morning they took me to the oak again.

"Listen, creature, I'm tired of you" - said Sag - "admit it, I don't have time to endure your nonsense anymore, will you talk?"

I swore dirty.

The executioners tied my hands behind my back and threaded a rope through them. She began to stretch, twisting my arms. A second and I hung on twisted arms. Terrible pain shot through my shoulders. I screamed.

The executioner calmly hung a large stone from my ankles, there was a crunch, my arms twisted even more. I groaned. The screams were so strong that they reverberated throughout the area. My entire body was covered in sweat that shone in the sun. I continued to moan. The executioner hung the second stone at his feet.

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA - I yelled, my whole body shaking with terrible pain. It felt like my body was being torn apart. I groaned out of breath - "please stop, have mercy, please!"

"Speak, bitch! Where are your accomplices? Where? Where?"

"I can't tell you" - I heard my answer, as if from the outside, realizing what it means: even more pain! My stretched body to the limit was waiting for the next torture. Three executioners took wooden sticks. After a sign from the duke, they began to beat me all over my body - on the kidneys, tight buttocks, breasts, flat stomach, back. I was spinning like crazy and screaming and screaming. After 10 strokes, I lost consciousness. A bucket of water was thrown in my face, I came to my senses and the beating continued. My suffering was endless. The combination of racking and beating with sticks was terrible. The pain drove me crazy. She was stronger than I could imagine. I couldn't control myself anymore and wet myself again. The tormentors only laughed and after a short respite continued the torture. Again and again the blows with sticks broke my will and my body. I lost consciousness again, they quickly brought me to my senses and hit again. Torture that lasted for 2 hours!!! At the end of it, I was completely gutted. I passed out 12 times before the torturers decided to stop. I was untied and thrown into a barn. They treated me again so that I would gain strength for the next torment.

In the morning they took me to the oak. Sag patted my cheek and said, "Yes, you are more stubborn than I thought. However, I found a new way to talk to you. You can endure the pain yourself, but what if you look at the suffering of others?" He showed with his hand. I looked and couldn't believe my eyes - my best friend Veronica was standing there. She was naked. I knew she was pregnant and now I could see her big belly and breasts. Despite this, they tied her to a tree in an embrace and beat her with rods, and then put her on a bench and threw a noose around her neck. They pulled the rope, Veronica stood on her toes and wheezed, the noose squeezed her throat.

Hearing the words addressed to Veronica - "her own life, the life of yours and your born child depends on the recognition of this", I made a sign that I surrender. I told them what I knew about our people in the city.

I was brought to the city, thrown into a cell in the citadel. When they led me there, the soldiers laughed, "well, here you are at last in the royal castle, where you were so eager." For days I didn't know what was going on. They fed me well, bandaged my wounds and burns, gave me healing infusions to drink. I understood that the future would be scary, especially because they were watching me so that nothing happened to me. One evening the duke came down to the cell.

"You were unlucky, girl. Of those whom you named, only three were caught, the rest disappeared. Yes, and of yours, 20 people were caught all the time. There are many corpses - and who needs them? The king is furious. Your gangs are sitting in Black Forest rich castles and carts are robbed, but it’s impossible to knock them out, they hid in the cities. In general, you yourself understand, he doesn’t even want to hear that you will be pardoned. Tomorrow you, all 4, will be put on stakes. He wants it to be an exemplary execution, so she'll be framed. Goodbye girl. It's a pity you weren't on our side." He left. I looked out the window, there was a sunset. And I had only that night to live.

In the morning they took me out of the cell.

My three best friends and I should have been impaled for the crimes committed. A huge crowd gathered in the main square of the city, in the most convenient place there was a platform where a bunch of courtiers huddled, still pale from the fear they had experienced. They surrounded the gilded chair where Dtir, our king, was reclining, enjoying every moment of the impending execution. A high wooden platform was built in the center of the square, in the middle of which four sharply honed aspen stakes were placed in a row. By order of the king, all the condemned were smartly dressed, in all white. I was wearing a white blouse tied at the waist, white stockings, white high-heeled sandals, and tight white panties. In this form, we were taken to the square and we climbed onto the platform.

Here, in full view, we were forced to take off our panties and put on props, pressing our pubes against the surface of the stakes. Each stake had a pair of small steps, the lever could move them up and down in special grooves. We were put on these footboards. With the help of a lever, they were slightly raised up, so that the tip of the stake was approximately at the level of the crotch. The executioner's assistants, supporting me by the hips, helped me insert the point of the stake into the vagina, and then lowered the steps a little so that the stake went deep enough inside.

We were lightly impaled on stakes, tied with a rope under the armpits, so that we could slow down the impalement, after which the verdict was read to all those gathered. After that, the executioner approached each of us in turn, asking if she was ready for execution and, having received an affirmative answer, threw back the steps. The last thing he asked me was "are you ready?" I hesitated a little, nodded my head and closed my eyes, prepared for a terrible death. The footboards instantly went out from under my feet and I sat down on the stake with all my weight ...

I felt something filling my vagina, then there was a familiar feeling of pain and pleasure, as in an act of love. The feeling of fullness in the vagina intensified, the rough surface of the sharpened stake irritated the clitoris, I became more and more excited, my breasts filled up, my nipples stood up, lubricant flowed down the surface of the stake, the sensations that suddenly came up turned out to be so strong that I finished: a hoarse breath escaped through my frequent breathing. a groan of pleasure, his chest reddened, his body seemed glossy with sweat. But the tearing of the vagina was getting stronger, something contrary to human nature began, my body seemed to be torn into 2 halves and suddenly a terrible, incomparable pain, which seemed impossible in the world, which seemed impossible to endure alive, pain felt like an unprecedented orgasm, something that seemed never experienced by a woman, the greatest pleasure pierced my body. A terrible, piercing, hoarse cry of pain and happiness escaped from his throat. The stake pushed even further, my labia cracked, the point pierced the uterus, I screamed again, even louder, probably my scream was heard throughout the city, a new wave of pain and pleasure swept through the body, which all arched, the scream became even more hoarse, like a scream. With the edge of a clouded consciousness, I heard the words of the executioner "A croaked", they lowered me a little lower, I repeated my terrible cry. Suddenly, the rope was released, my body went down even lower and a crossbar rested against the crotch, nailed perpendicular to the stake. She did not let me go down and die quickly, pierced with a stake. I writhed on the stake for several more hours, inside my bosom it seemed like a fire had been kindled. But in spite of everything, I continued to see my friends - before the execution, my eyelids were cut off, so that I could not close my eyes. My friends also writhed on thick aspen stakes, I heard their screams, full of pain and pleasure. Then my eyes began to darken and blissful unconsciousness set in...

………………………………………………….

How beautifully I, already dead, sat on a stake, lowering my head to my chest. And it was not for nothing that we were dressed in all white - blood dripped from the crotch onto the stake and onto my legs covered with white stockings and dripped onto the wooden platform from the socks of my sandals. Blood was also dripping from my mouth and nose, right on my snow-white blouse ...

Since ancient times, people brutally dealt with their enemies, some even ate them, but mostly they were executed, deprived of their lives in terrible and sophisticated ways. The same was done with criminals who violated the laws of God and man. Over a thousand-year history, a lot of experience has been accumulated in the execution of the condemned.

Decapitation
The physical separation of the head from the body with the help of an ax or any military weapon (knife, sword) later, a machine invented in France, the Guillotine, was used for these purposes. It is believed that during such an execution, the head, separated from the body, retains sight and hearing for another 10 seconds. Decapitation was considered a "noble execution" and was applied to aristocrats. In Germany, beheading was abolished in 1949 due to the failure of the last guillotine.

Hanging
Strangulation of a person on a rope loop, the end of which is fixed motionless. Death occurs in a few minutes, but not at all from suffocation, but from squeezing the carotid arteries. In this case, the person first loses consciousness, and later dies.
The medieval gallows consisted of a special pedestal, a vertical column (pillars) and a horizontal beam, on which the condemned were hung, placed above the likeness of a well. The well was intended for falling off parts of the body - the hanged remained hanging on the gallows until complete decomposition.
In England, a type of hanging was used, when a person was thrown from a height with a noose around his neck, while death occurs instantly from a rupture of the cervical vertebrae. There was an “official table of falls”, with the help of which the necessary length of the rope was calculated depending on the weight of the convict (if the rope is too long, the head separates from the body).
A variation of hanging is garrote. A garrote (an iron collar with a screw, often equipped with a vertical spike on the back) is generally not strangled. She breaks her neck. The executed in this case does not die from suffocation, as happens if he is strangled with a rope, but from crushing the spine (sometimes, according to medieval evidence, from a fracture of the base of the skull, depending on where to put it on) and a fracture of the cervical cartilage.
The last high-profile hanging - Saddam Hussein.

Quartering
It is considered one of the most cruel executions, and was applied to the most dangerous criminals. When quartered, the victim was strangled (not to death), then the stomach was cut open, the genitals were cut off, and only then the body was cut into four or more parts and the head was cut off. Body parts were put on public display "where the king deems it convenient."
Thomas More, the author of Utopia, sentenced to quartering with burning of the inside, on the morning before the execution was pardoned, and the quartering was replaced by decapitation, to which More replied: "God spare my friends from such mercy."
In England, quartering was used until 1820, formally abolished only in 1867. In France, quartering was carried out with the help of horses. The convict was tied by the arms and legs to four strong horses, which, whipped by the executioners, moved in different directions and tore off the limbs. In fact, the convict had to cut the tendons.
Another execution by tearing the body in half, noted in pagan Russia, was that the victim was tied by the legs to two bent young trees, and then released. According to Byzantine sources, Prince Igor was killed by the Drevlyans in 945 because he wanted to collect tribute from them twice.

wheeling
A common type of death penalty in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, it was common in Europe, especially in Germany and France. In Russia, this type of execution has been known since the 17th century, but wheeling began to be regularly used only under Peter I, having received legislative approval in the Military Charter. Wheeling ceased to be used only in the 19th century.
Professor A.F. Kistyakovsky in the 19th century described the wheeling process used in Russia as follows: St. Andrew's cross, made of two logs, was tied to the scaffold in a horizontal position. On each of the branches of this cross two notches were made, one foot apart from the other. On this cross, the criminal was stretched so that his face was turned to the sky; each end of it lay on one of the branches of the cross, and in every place of each joint it was tied to the cross.
Then the executioner, armed with an iron quadrangular crowbar, struck at the part of the penis between the joint, which just lay above the notch. In this way, the bones of each member were broken in two places. The operation ended with two or three blows to the stomach and a breaking of the backbone. The criminal, broken in this way, was placed on a horizontally placed wheel so that the heels converged with the back of the head, and they left him in this position to die.

Burning at the stake
The death penalty, in which the victim is burned at the stake in public. Along with immuring and imprisoning, burning was widely used in the Middle Ages, since, according to the church, on the one hand, it happened without “shedding blood”, and on the other hand, the flame was considered a means of “purification” and could save the soul. Heretics, "witches" and those guilty of sodomy were especially often subject to burning.
The execution became widespread during the period of the Holy Inquisition, and only in Spain about 32 thousand people were burned (excluding the Spanish colonies).
The most famous people burned at the stake: Giorgano Bruno - as a heretic (engaged in scientific activities) and Joan of Arc, who commanded the French troops in the Hundred Years' War.

Impalement
Impaling was widely used in ancient Egypt and the Middle East, its first mention dates back to the beginning of the second millennium BC. e. Execution was especially widespread in Assyria, where impalement was a common punishment for residents of rebellious cities, therefore, for instructive purposes, scenes of this execution were often depicted on bas-reliefs. This execution was used according to Assyrian law and as a punishment for women for abortion (considered as a variant of infanticide), as well as for a number of especially serious crimes. On the Assyrian reliefs, there are two options: with one of them, the condemned person was pierced with a stake in the chest, with the other, the tip of the stake entered the body from below, through the anus. Execution was widely used in the Mediterranean and the Middle East at least from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. It was also known to the Romans, although it did not receive much distribution in Ancient Rome.
For a large part of medieval history, the execution by impalement was very common in the Middle East, where it was one of the main methods of painful death penalty. It became widespread in France during the time of Fredegonda, who was the first to introduce this type of execution, conferring on her a young girl of a noble family. The unfortunate was laid on his stomach, and the executioner drove a wooden stake into his anus with a hammer, after which the stake was driven vertically into the ground. Under the weight of the body, the person gradually slid down until, after a few hours, the stake came out through the chest or neck.
The ruler of Wallachia, Vlad III Tepes (“the impaler”) Dracula, distinguished himself with particular cruelty. According to his instructions, the victims were impaled on a thick stake, in which the top was rounded and oiled. The stake was inserted into the anus to a depth of several tens of centimeters, then the stake was placed vertically. The victim, under the influence of the gravity of his body, slowly slid down the stake, and sometimes death occurred only after a few days, since the rounded stake did not pierce the vital organs, but only went deeper into the body. In some cases, a horizontal bar was installed on the stake, which prevented the body from sliding too low, and ensured that the stake did not reach the heart and other critical organs. In this case, the death of rupture of internal organs and great blood loss did not come very soon.
King Edward of England was executed by impalement. The nobles rebelled and killed the monarch by driving a red-hot iron rod into his anus. Impaling was used in the Commonwealth until the 18th century, and many Zaporizhian Cossacks were executed in this way. With the help of smaller stakes, rapists were also executed (they drove a stake into the heart) and mothers who killed their children (they were pierced with a stake after being buried alive in the ground).

Hanging by the rib
A type of death penalty in which an iron hook was thrust into the side of the victim and hung up. Death came from thirst and blood loss after a few days. The hands of the victim were tied so that he could not free himself. Execution was common among the Zaporizhian Cossacks. According to legend, Dmitry Vishnevetsky, the founder of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, the legendary “Baida Veshnivetsky”, was executed in this way.

stoning
After the appropriate decision of the authorized legal body (the king or the court), a crowd of citizens gathered to kill the guilty person by throwing stones at him. At the same time, small stones should have been chosen so that the condemned person would not be exhausted too quickly. Or, in a more humane case, it could be one executioner, dropping one large stone from above on the condemned.
Currently, stoning is used in some Muslim countries. On January 1, 1989, stoning remained in the legislation of six countries of the world. An Amnesty International report gives an eyewitness account of a similar execution in Iran:
“Next to a wasteland, a lot of stones and pebbles were poured out of a truck, then they brought two women dressed in white, bags were put on their heads ... A hail of stones fell on them, turning their bags red ... The wounded women fell, and then the guards of the revolution broke through their heads with shovels to finally kill them.

Throwing to Predators
The oldest type of execution, common among many peoples of the world. Death came because the victim was bitten by crocodiles, lions, bears, snakes, sharks, piranhas, ants.

Walking in circles
A rare method of execution, practiced, in particular, in Russia. The victim's stomach was steamed in the area of ​​the intestines, so that he would not die from blood loss. Then they took out an intestine, nailed it to a tree and forced it to walk in a circle around the tree. In Iceland, a special stone was used for this, around which they walked according to the verdict of the Thing.

Buried alive
A type of execution not very common in Europe, which is believed to have come to the Old World from the East, but there are several documentary evidence of the use of this type of execution that have come down to our time. Burial alive was applied to Christian martyrs. In medieval Italy, unrepentant murderers were buried alive. In Germany, female child killers were buried alive in the ground. In Russia of the 17th-18th centuries, women who killed their husbands were buried alive up to the neck.

crucifixion
Condemned to death, the hands and feet were nailed to the ends of the cross or the limbs were fixed with ropes. This is how Jesus Christ was executed. The main cause of death during crucifixion is asphyxia caused by developing pulmonary edema and fatigue of the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles involved in the process of breathing. The main support of the body in this position is the hands, and when breathing, the abdominal muscles and intercostal muscles had to lift the weight of the whole body, which led to their rapid fatigue. Also, squeezing the chest with tense muscles of the shoulder girdle and chest caused stagnation of fluid in the lungs and pulmonary edema. Additional causes of death were dehydration and blood loss.

Welding in boiling water
Welding in liquid was a common type of death penalty in different countries of the world. In ancient Egypt, this type of punishment was applied mainly to persons who disobeyed the pharaoh. The slaves of the pharaoh at dawn (specially so that Ra saw the criminal) made a huge fire, over which there was a cauldron of water (and not just water, but the dirtiest water, where waste was poured, etc.) Sometimes whole families.
This type of execution was widely used by Genghis Khan. In medieval Japan, boiling water was applied mainly to ninja who failed an assassination and were captured. In France, this execution was applied to counterfeiters. Sometimes intruders were boiled in boiling oil. There remains evidence of how in 1410 in Paris a pickpocket was boiled alive in boiling oil.

Pouring lead or boiling oil down the throat
It was used in the East, in Medieval Europe, in Russia and among the Indians. Death came from a burn of the esophagus and strangulation. The punishment was usually set for counterfeiting, and often the metal from which the offender cast coins was poured. Those who did not die for a long time were cut off the head.

Execution in a bag
lat. Poena cullei. The victim was sewn into a bag with different animals (snake, monkey, dog or rooster) and thrown into the water. Practiced in the Roman Empire. Under the influence of the reception of Roman law in the Middle Ages, it was adopted (in a slightly modified form) in a number of European countries. Thus, in the French code of customary law "Livres de Jostice et de Plet" (1260), created on the basis of Justinian's Digest, it is said about the "execution in a bag" with a rooster, a dog and a snake (the monkey is not mentioned, apparently for reasons of rarity this animal for medieval Europe). Somewhat later, an execution based on poena cullei also appeared in Germany, where it was used in the form of hanging a criminal (thief) upside down (sometimes hanging was carried out by one leg) together (on the same gallows) with a dog (or two dogs hung on the right and left from the executed). This execution was called the "Jewish execution", since over time it began to be applied exclusively to Jewish criminals (it was applied to Christians in the rarest cases in the 16th-17th centuries).

Excoriation
Skinning has a very ancient history. Even the Assyrians skinned captured enemies or rebellious rulers and nailed them to the walls of their cities as a warning to those who would challenge their power. The Assyrian ruler Ashurnasirpal boasted that he flayed so many skins from the guilty nobility that he covered the columns with it.
Especially often used in Chaldea, Babylon and Persia. In ancient India, the skin was removed by fire. With the help of torches, she was burned to meat all over her body. With burns, the convict suffered for several days until death. In Western Europe, it was used as a method of punishment for traitors and traitors, as well as for ordinary people who were suspected of having love affairs with women of royal blood. Also, the skin was torn off the corpses of enemies or criminals for intimidation.

ling chi
Ling-chi (Chinese: “death by a thousand cuts”) is a particularly painful method of execution by cutting off small fragments from the body of the victim for a long period of time.
It was used in China for high treason and parricide in the Middle Ages and during the Qing dynasty until its abolition in 1905. In 1630, a prominent Ming commander Yuan Chonghuan was subjected to this execution. The proposal to abolish it was made back in the 12th century by the poet Lu Yu. During the Qing dynasty, ling-chi was performed in public places with a large gathering of onlookers for the purpose of intimidation. Surviving descriptions of the execution differ in detail. The victim was usually drugged with opium, either out of mercy or to prevent her from losing consciousness.

In his History of Torture of All Ages, George Riley Scott quotes from the notes of two Europeans who had the rare opportunity to be present at such an execution: their names were Sir Henry Norman (he saw this execution in 1895) and T. T. Ma-Dawes:

“There is a basket covered with a piece of linen, in which lies a set of knives. Each of these knives is designed for a certain part of the body, as evidenced by the inscriptions engraved on the blade. The executioner takes one of the knives at random from the basket and, based on the inscription, cuts off the corresponding part of the body. However, at the end of the last century, this practice, in all likelihood, was supplanted by another, which left no room for chance and provided for cutting off parts of the body in a certain sequence with a single knife. According to Sir Henry Norman, the convict is tied to the likeness of a cross, and the executioner slowly and methodically cuts off first the fleshy parts of the body, then cuts the joints, cuts off individual limbs and ends the execution with one sharp blow to the heart ...