The journal of John Crawfurd records another method of execution by elephant in the kingdom of Cochinchina (modern south Vietnam), where he served as a British envoy in 1821. The condemned Person is made fast to a Stake driven into the Ground for the Purpose, and the Elephant is brought to view him, and goes twice or thrice round him, and when the Elephant's Keeper speaks to the monstrous Executioner, he twines his Trunk round the Person and Stake, and pulling the Stake from the Ground with great Violence, tosses the Man and the Stake into the Air, and in coming down, receives him on his Teeth, and making him off again, puts one of his fore Feet on the Carcase, and squeezes it flat. Alexander Hamilton provides the following account from Siam: įor Treason and Murder, the Elephant is the Executioner. In Siam, elephants were trained to throw the condemned into the air before trampling them to death.
While African elephants are significantly larger than Asian elephants, African powers were not known to make as much use of the animals in warfare or ceremonial affairs compared to their Asian counterparts.Īsian powers Southeast Asia Įlephants are widely reported to have been used to carry out executions in Southeast Asia, and were used in Burma and Malaysia from the earliest historical times as well as in the kingdom of Champa on the other side of the Indochinese Peninsula. However, the practice was already well established by that time and continued well into the 19th century. The earliest records of such executions date back to the classical period.
Geographical scope of executions by elephantĮxecution by elephant has been done in many parts of the world, by both Western and Eastern empires. The ruler was thus seen as maintaining a moral and spiritual domination over wild beasts, adding to their authority and mystique among subjects. Their use as instruments of state power sent the message that the ruler was able to preside over very powerful creatures who were under total command. Elephants have long been used as symbols of royal authority (and still are in some places, such as Thailand, where white elephants are held in reverence). The use of elephants in such fashion went beyond the common royal power to dispense life and death.
#323 CANDY CRUSH WIKI TRIAL#
Elephants were occasionally used in trial by ordeal in which the condemned prisoner was released if he managed to fend off the elephant. On one occasion, Akbar was recorded to have had a man thrown to the elephants to suffer five days of such treatment before pardoning him. The Mughal Emperor Akbar is said to have "used this technique to chastise 'rebels' and then in the end the prisoners, presumably much chastened, were given their lives". The kings of Siam trained their elephants to roll the convicted person "about the ground rather slowly so that he is not badly hurt". Several such exercises of mercy are recorded in various Asian kingdoms.
#323 CANDY CRUSH WIKI DRIVER#
Historically, the elephants were under the constant control of a driver or mahout, thus enabling a ruler to grant a last-minute reprieve and display merciful qualities. Elephants can be trained to execute prisoners in a variety of ways, and can be taught to prolong the agony of the victim by inflicting a slow death by torture or to kill the condemned quickly by stepping on the head. The intelligence, domesticability, and versatility of the elephant gave it considerable advantages over other wild animals such as lions and bears used as executioners by the Romans. While primarily confined to Asia, the practice was occasionally used by Western powers, such as Ancient Rome and Carthage, particularly to deal with mutinous soldiers. The practice was eventually suppressed by the European colonial powers that colonised the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. The sight of elephants executing captives both horrified and attracted the interest of European travellers and was recorded in numerous contemporary journals and accounts of life in Asia. Most commonly employed by royalty, the elephants were used to signify both the ruler's absolute power and his ability to control wild animals. The animals were trained and versatile, able to kill victims immediately or to torture them slowly over a prolonged period. But for now.Illustration from the Akbarnama, the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal emperorĮxecution by elephant was a common method of capital punishment in South and Southeast Asia, particularly in India, where Asian elephants were used to crush, dismember or torture captives in public executions. Note: I had to do this fast, so I did it quick and dirty, so it's not real pretty. :/ If it has to stay a while, I'll pretty it up more.
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