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94-629: (Redirected from Spartacists ) Spartacist may refer to: An ancient supporter of Spartacus , who led a slave rebellion against the Roman Republic The Spartacus League , a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement in Germany during and just after World War I The modern Spartacist League, also known as the International Communist League ,

188-493: A T-shaped cross. It is a graffito found in a taberna (hostel for wayfarers) in Puteoli, dating to the time of Trajan or Hadrian (late 1st century to early 2nd century CE). Writers in the 2nd century who speak of the execution cross describe the crucified person's arms as outstretched, not attached to a single stake: Lucian speaks of Prometheus as crucified "above the ravine with his hands outstretched". He also says that

282-561: A Roman soldier, that had deserted and became enslaved, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator". The authors refer to the Thracian tribe of the Maedi , which occupied the area on the southwestern fringes of Thrace , along its border with the Roman province of Macedonia – present day south-western Bulgaria . Plutarch also writes that Spartacus's wife, a prophetess of

376-480: A Trotskyist international organisation Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Spartacist . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spartacist&oldid=866963160 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

470-435: A century or more after his death: Plutarch of Chaeronea (46 AD - 119 AD) and Appian of Alexandria (95 AD – AD 165). The specific works are Life of Crassus (early Second Century AD) by Plutarch and Civil Wars (early to mid Second Century AD) by Appian. Out of all surviving sources on Spartacus, none were written by eyewitnesses and are all later reconstructions, nor were the sources written by slaves or former slaves, and

564-670: A cross". In the Roman Empire , the gibbet (instrument of execution) for crucifixions took on many shapes. Seneca the Younger ( c.  4 BCE–65 CE ) states: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." According to Josephus , during Emperor Titus 's Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) , Roman soldiers nailed innumerable Jewish captives to crosses in various ways. At times

658-413: A crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have traditionally depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals, the person being crucified was usually stripped naked. Writings by Seneca the Younger state some victims suffered a stick forced upwards through their groin. Despite its frequent use by

752-491: A devotional practice. Ancient Greek has two verbs for crucify: anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), from stauros (which in modern Greek only means " cross " but which in antiquity was used for any kind of wooden pole, pointed or blunt, bare or with attachments) and apotumpanizo ( ἀποτυμπανίζω ) "crucify on a plank", together with anaskolopizo ( ἀνασκολοπίζω " impale "). In earlier pre-Roman Greek texts anastauro usually means "impale". The Greek used in

846-503: A distance of more than 100 miles. Classical historians were divided as to the motives of Spartacus. None of Spartacus's actions overtly suggest that he aimed at reforming Roman society or abolishing slavery . Plutarch writes that Spartacus wished to escape north into Cisalpine Gaul and disperse his men back to their homes. If escaping the Italian peninsula was indeed his goal, it is not clear why Spartacus turned south after defeating

940-399: A final thrust through the throat. The corpse was left on the cross for three days. If one condemned to crucifixion died in prison, his body was pickled and the punishment executed on the dead body. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi , one of the great 16th-century unifiers, crucifixion upside down (i.e, sakasaharitsuke ) was frequently used. Water crucifixion ( mizuharitsuke ) awaited mostly Christians:

1034-448: A gladiatorial school near Capua . Despite their small numbers initially, Spartacus's forces were able to defeat several Roman military units, swelling their ranks to an estimated 70,000 enslaved people and others. Spartacus proved himself a capable tactician, despite the lack of formal military training among his followers, which included a diverse mix of individuals. The rebellion posed a significant challenge to Roman authority, prompting

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1128-482: A hero and icon for communists and socialists. Karl Marx listed Spartacus as one of his heroes and described him as "the most splendid fellow in the whole of ancient history" and a "great general, noble character, real representative of the ancient proletariat ". Spartacus has been a great inspiration to left-wing revolutionaries, most notably the German Spartacus League (1915–18), a forerunner of

1222-588: A mystical prefiguring of the cross of Christ". The earliest example, written around the late 1st century, is the Epistle of Barnabas , with another example being Clement of Alexandria ( c.  150  – c. 215). Justin Martyr ( c.  100  – c.  165 ) sees the cross of Christ represented in the crossed spits used to roast the Passover lamb . In popular depictions of

1316-410: A series of military campaigns against it. Ultimately, Marcus Licinius Crassus was tasked with suppressing the revolt. Despite initial successes and attempts to negotiate and escape to Sicily , Spartacus's forces were defeated in 71 BC. Spartacus was presumed killed in the final battle, although his body was never found. The aftermath of the rebellion saw the crucifixion of 6,000 surviving rebels along

1410-492: A slave revolt and gather reinforcements. However, he was betrayed by the pirates, who took payment and then abandoned the rebels. Minor sources mention that there were some attempts at raft and shipbuilding by the rebels as a means to escape, but that Crassus took unspecified measures to ensure the rebels could not cross to Sicily, and their efforts were abandoned. Spartacus's forces then retreated toward Rhegium. Crassus's legions followed and upon arrival built fortifications across

1504-543: A slave-owning oligarchy , has been featured in literature, television, and film. The philosopher Voltaire described the Third Servile War as "the only just war in history". Although this interpretation is not specifically contradicted by classical historians, no historical account mentions that the goal was to end slavery in the Republic . There are two main sources on Spartacus, both of which were written

1598-404: A square shaft 10 millimetres ( 3 ⁄ 8  in) across. The titulus would also be fastened to the cross to notify onlookers of the person's name and crime as they hung on the cross, further maximizing the public impact. There may have been considerable variation in the position in which prisoners were nailed to their crosses and how their bodies were supported while they died. Seneca

1692-461: A stake, or affixed to a tree, upright pole (a crux simplex ), or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes ) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum ). Seneca the Younger wrote: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet". Crucifixion

1786-555: A statement by Plutarch, it appears that some of the escaped slaves preferred to plunder Italy, rather than escape over the Alps. Toussaint Louverture , a leader of the slave revolt that led to the independence of Haiti , has been called the "Black Spartacus". Adam Weishaupt , founder of the Bavarian Illuminati , often referred to himself as Spartacus within written correspondences. In modern times, Spartacus became

1880-405: A sword with a broad, straight blade ( gladius ), about 18 inches long. In 73 BC, Spartacus was among a group of gladiators plotting an escape. About 70 slaves were part of the plot. Though few in number, they seized kitchen utensils, fought their way free from the school, and seized several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armour. The escaped slaves defeated soldiers sent after them, plundered

1974-494: A transverse beam, sometimes with a small projection in the upright. New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specify the shape of that cross, but subsequent early writings liken it to the letter T. According to William Barclay , because tau is shaped exactly like the crux commissa and represented the number 300, "wherever the fathers came across the number 300 in the Old Testament they took it to be

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2068-401: A tree, not dedicated to any particular gods, and flogging him to death. Tertullian mentions a 1st-century AD case in which trees were used for crucifixion, but Seneca the Younger earlier used the phrase infelix lignum (unfortunate wood) for the transom ("patibulum") or the whole cross. Plautus and Plutarch are the two main sources for accounts of criminals carrying their own patibula to

2162-503: A truce with Crassus. When Crassus refused, Spartacus and his army broke through the Roman fortifications and headed to Brundusium with Crassus's legions in pursuit. When the legions managed to catch a portion of the rebels separated from the main army, discipline among Spartacus's forces broke down as small groups independently attacked the oncoming legions. Spartacus now turned his forces around and brought his entire strength to bear on

2256-419: A wood block. When no longer able to lift himself, the condemned would die within a few minutes. This theory has been supported by multiple scholars. Other scholars, including Frederick Zugibe , posit other causes of death. Zugibe suspended test subjects with their arms at 60° to 70° from the vertical. The test subjects had no difficulty breathing during experiments, but did suffer rapidly increasing pain, which

2350-402: Is a wickedness; to put him to death is almost parricide. What shall I say of crucifying him? So guilty an action cannot by any possibility be adequately expressed by any name bad enough for it." Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club , an act called crurifragium , which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves. This act hastened

2444-627: Is central to Christianity and the cross (sometimes depicted with Jesus nailed to it ) is Christianity's preeminent religious symbol . His death is the most prominent example of crucifixion in history, which in turn has led many cultures in the modern world to associate the execution method closely with Jesus and with Christian spirituality. Other figures in Christianity (such as the apostle Saint Peter ) are traditionally believed to have undergone crucifixion as well. Today, limited numbers of Christians voluntarily undergo non-lethal crucifixions as

2538-681: Is consistent with the Roman use of crucifixion to achieve a prolonged, agonizing death. However, Zugibe's positioning of the test subjects necessarily did not precisely replicate the conditions of historical crucifixion. In 2023, an analysis of medical literature concluded that asphyxiation is discredited as the primary cause of death from crucifixion. There is scholarly support for several possible non-asphyxiation causes of death: heart failure or arrhythmia , hypovolemic shock , acidosis , dehydration , and pulmonary embolism . Death could result from any combination of those factors, or from other causes, including sepsis following infection due to

2632-475: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Spartacus Spartacus ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Σπάρτακος , translit.   Spártakos ; Latin : Spartacus ; c.  103–71 BC ) was a Thracian gladiator ( Thraex ) who was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War , a major slave uprising against

2726-476: Is known about him beyond the events of the war, and surviving accounts are contradictory. All sources agree he was a former gladiator and accomplished military leader. Spartacus is described as a Thracian by birth, possibly from the Maedi tribe. Before his enslavement and role as a gladiator, he had served as a soldier with the Romans. His revolt began in 73 BC when he, along with about 70 other gladiators, escaped

2820-619: The Acts of the Apostles 2:23 . The English term cross derives from the Latin word crux , which classically referred to a tree or any construction of wood used to hang criminals as a form of execution. The term later came to refer specifically to a cross. The related term crucifix derives from the Latin crucifixus or cruci fixus , past participle passive of crucifigere or cruci figere , meaning "to crucify" or "to fasten to

2914-487: The Ancient Roman custom of crucifixion may have developed out of a primitive custom of arbori suspendere —hanging on an arbor infelix ("inauspicious tree") dedicated to the gods of the nether world. This hypothesis is rejected by William A. Oldfather, who shows that this form of execution (the supplicium more maiorum , punishment in accordance with the custom of our ancestors) consisted of suspending someone from

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3008-546: The Appian Way . Spartacus's motives remain a subject of debate, with some sources suggesting he aimed to escape Italy, while others hint at broader social reform goals. His legacy has endured, inspiring cultural works and becoming a symbol for resistance and revolutionary movements, influencing figures like Karl Marx and being likened to the "Black Spartacus," Toussaint Louverture . The rebellion, interpreted as an example of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against

3102-785: The Communist Party of Germany . A January 1919 uprising by communists in Germany was called the Spartacist uprising . Spartacus Books , one of the longest running collectively-run leftist book stores in North America, is also named in his honour. The village of Spartak , in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine , is also named after Spartacus. Spartacus's name was also used in athletics in the Soviet Union and communist states of Central and Eastern Europe . The Spartakiad

3196-547: The Roman Republic . Historical accounts of his life come primarily from Plutarch and Appian , who wrote more than a century after his death. Plutarch's Life of Crassus and Appian's Civil Wars provide the most comprehensive details of the slave revolt. Despite being a significant figure in Roman history, no contemporary sources exist, and all accounts were by those not directly involved, significantly later, and without perspectives from slaves or eyewitnesses. Little

3290-555: The Tokugawa Shogunate . Several related crucifixion techniques were used. Petra Schmidt, in "Capital Punishment in Japan", writes: Execution by crucifixion included, first of all, hikimawashi (i.e, being paraded about town on horseback); then the unfortunate was tied to a cross made from one vertical and two horizontal poles. The cross was raised, the convict speared several times from two sides, and eventually killed with

3384-556: The calcaneum heel bones, found in 2007, could be a second archaeological record of crucifixion. The find in Cambridgeshire ( United Kingdom ) in November 2017 of the remains of the heel bone of a (probably enslaved) man with an iron nail through it, is believed by the archeologists to confirm the use of this method in ancient Rome. The length of time required to reach death could range from hours to days depending on method,

3478-440: The praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber , who besieged Spartacus and his camp on Mount Vesuvius, hoping that starvation would force Spartacus to surrender. They were taken by surprise when Spartacus used ropes made from vines to climb down the steep side of the volcano with his men and attacked the unfortified Roman camp in the rear, killing most of the militia. The rebels also defeated a second expedition against them, nearly capturing

3572-401: The stipes providing some semblance of modesty if viewed from the front. Such concessions were "unique" and not made outside a Jewish context. Several sources mention some sort of seat fastened to the stipes to help support the person's body, thereby prolonging the person's suffering and humiliation by preventing the asphyxiation caused by hanging without support. Justin Martyr calls

3666-688: The Christian New Testament uses four verbs, three of them based upon stauros ( σταυρός ), usually translated "cross". The most common term is stauroo ( σταυρόω ), "to crucify", occurring 46 times; sustauroo ( συσταυρόω ), "to crucify with" or "alongside" occurs five times, while anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), "to crucify again" occurs only once at the Epistle to the Hebrews 6:6 . Prospegnumi ( προσπήγνυμι ), "to fix or fasten to, impale, crucify" occurs only once, at

3760-490: The High Sele Valley, which at that time was part of Lucania. In this area, since 1899, there have been finds of armour and swords of the Roman era. Plutarch, Appian, and Florus all claim that Spartacus died during the battle, but Appian also reports that his body was never found. Six thousand survivors of the revolt captured by the legions of Crassus were crucified , lining the Appian Way from Rome to Capua,

3854-732: The Maedi tribe, was enslaved with him. The name Spartacus is otherwise manifested in the Black Sea region. Five out of twenty Kings of the Thracian Spartocid dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus and Pontus are known to have borne it, and a Thracian "Sparta" "Spardacus" or "Sparadokos", father of Seuthes I of the Odrysae , is also known. One modern author estimates that Spartacus was c.  30 years old at

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3948-628: The Persian ceremony of royal adoration . In Carthage , crucifixion was an established mode of execution, which could even be imposed on generals for suffering a major defeat. The oldest crucifixion may be a post-mortem one mentioned by Herodotus. Polycrates , the tyrant of Samos , was put to death in 522 BCE by the Persians, and his dead body was then crucified. The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, including being impaled on

4042-449: The Roman soldiers crucified Jewish captives before the walls of Jerusalem and out of anger and hatred amused themselves by nailing them in different positions. In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg (300 lb), but the crossbeam would not be as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg (100 lb). The Roman historian Tacitus records that

4136-410: The Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape criticism by some eminent Roman orators. Cicero , for example, described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears". Elsewhere he says, "It is a crime to bind a Roman citizen; to scourge him

4230-476: The Younger recounts: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." One source claims that for Jews (apparently not for others), a man would be crucified with his back to the cross as is traditionally depicted, while a woman would be nailed facing her cross, probably with her back to onlookers, or at least with

4324-475: The city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate , and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post. The person executed may have been attached to

4418-482: The cross by rope, though nails and other sharp materials are mentioned in a passage by Josephus, where he states that at the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest". Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities. While

4512-460: The crucifixion of Jesus (possibly because in translations of John 20:25 the wounds are described as being "in his hands"), Jesus is shown with nails in his hands. But in Greek the word "χείρ", usually translated as "hand", could refer to the entire portion of the arm below the elbow, and to denote the hand as distinct from the arm some other word could be added, as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded

4606-519: The crucifixion of Jesus but is not discussed in ancient sources. Some scholars interpret the Alexamenos graffito ( c.  200 ), the earliest surviving depiction of the crucifixion, as including such a foot-rest. Ancient sources also mention the sedile , a small seat attached to the front of the cross, about halfway down, which could have served a similar purpose. In 1968, archaeologists discovered at Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northeast Jerusalem

4700-441: The death march, the prisoner, probably still nude after the scourging, would be led through the most crowded streets bearing a titulus – a sign board proclaiming the prisoner's name and crime. Upon arrival at the place of execution, selected to be especially public, the convict would be stripped of any remaining clothing, then nailed to the cross naked. If the crucifixion took place in an established place of execution,

4794-566: The death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor , abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire in 337 out of veneration for Jesus Christ , its most famous victim. Crucifixion was intended to be a gruesome spectacle: the most painful and humiliating death imaginable. It was used to punish slaves , pirates , and enemies of

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4888-471: The disciplined Roman armies. They spent the winter of 73–72 BC training, arming and equipping their new recruits, and expanding their raiding territory to include the towns of Nola , Nuceria , Thurii , and Metapontum . The distance between these locations and the subsequent events indicate that the slaves operated in two groups commanded by Spartacus and Crixus. In the spring of 72 BC, the rebels left their winter encampments and began to move northward. At

4982-422: The earliest source was at least a generation after the war. The Greek essayist Plutarch describes Spartacus as "a Thracian of Nomadic stock", in a possible reference to the Maedi tribe. Appian says he was "a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator". Florus described him as one "who, from a Thracian mercenary, had become

5076-418: The end of the χείρ, i.e., "he wounded him in the hand". A possibility that does not require tying is that the nails were inserted just above the wrist, through the soft tissue , between the two bones of the forearm (the radius and the ulna ). A foot-rest ( suppedaneum ) attached to the cross, perhaps for the purpose of taking the person's weight off the wrists, is sometimes included in representations of

5170-602: The enormity of the outrage or by Athenian deference to local feeling." Some Christian theologians , beginning with Paul of Tarsus writing in Galatians 3:13 , have interpreted an allusion to crucifixion in Deuteronomy 21:22–23 . This reference is to being hanged from a tree, and may be associated with lynching or traditional hanging. However, Rabbinic law limited capital punishment to just 4 methods of execution: stoning, burning, strangulation, and decapitation, while

5264-406: The execution of a Persian general at the hands of Athenians in about 479 BC: "They nailed him to a plank and hung him up ... this Artayctes who suffered death by crucifixion." The Commentary on Herodotus by How and Wells remarks: "They crucified him with hands and feet stretched out and nailed to cross-pieces; cf. vii.33. This act, supposedly unusual on the part of Greeks, may be explained by

5358-426: The first use of crucifixion under Islamic rule, attributing it variously to Muhammad himself (for murder and robbery of a shepherd) or to the second caliph Umar (applied to two slaves who murdered their mistress). Classical Islamic jurisprudence applies the verse 5:33 chiefly to highway robbers, as a hadd (scripturally prescribed) punishment. The preference for crucifixion over the other punishments mentioned in

5452-497: The gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex . This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing the condemned. Frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T ( crux commissa ) or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism ( crux immissa ). The most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion depicts an individual on

5546-468: The isthmus at Rhegium, despite harassing raids from the rebels. The rebels were now under siege and cut off from their supplies. At this time, the legions of Pompey returned from Hispania and were ordered by the Senate to head south to aid Crassus. Crassus feared that Pompey's involvement would deprive him of credit for defeating Spartacus himself. Hearing of Pompey's involvement, Spartacus tried to make

5640-487: The legions commanded by the consuls Lucius Publicola and Gnaeus Clodianus, which left his force a clear passage over the Alps . Appian and Florus write that he intended to march on Rome itself. Appian also states that he later abandoned that goal, which might have been no more than a reflection of Roman fears. Based on the events in late 73 BC and early 72 BC, which suggest independently operating groups of escaped slaves and

5734-415: The legions in a last stand, in which the rebels were routed completely, with the vast majority of them being killed on the battlefield. The final battle that saw the assumed defeat of Spartacus in 71 BC took place on the present territory of Senerchia on the right bank of the river Sele in the area that includes the border with Oliveto Citra up to those of Calabritto, near the village of Quaglietta, in

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5828-444: The man had been placed in a sort of sidesaddle position, but the true length of the nail, 11.5 centimetres ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches), suggests instead that in this case of crucifixion the heels were nailed to opposite sides of the upright. As of 2011, the skeleton from Giv'at ha-Mivtar was the only confirmed example of ancient crucifixion in the archaeological record. A second set of skeletal remains with holes transverse through

5922-441: The most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion may depict a crucified woman, whether real or imaginary. Crucifixion was such a gruesome and humiliating way to die that the subject was somewhat of a taboo in Roman culture, and few crucifixions were specifically documented. One of the only specific female crucifixions that are documented is that of Ida, a freedwoman (former slave) who was crucified by order of Tiberius. Crucifixion

6016-521: The most significant for later legal developments is verse 5:33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter. The corpus of hadith provides contradictory statements about

6110-603: The nail touch him." The Jewish king Alexander Jannaeus , king of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE, crucified 800 rebels, said to be Pharisees , in the middle of Jerusalem. Alexander the Great is reputed to have crucified 2,000 survivors from his siege of the Phoenician city of Tyre , as well as the doctor who unsuccessfully treated Alexander's lifelong friend Hephaestion . Some historians have also conjectured that Alexander crucified Callisthenes , his official historian and biographer, for objecting to Alexander's adoption of

6204-452: The owner's slaves would be crucified as punishment. Both men and women were crucified. Tacitus writes in his Annals that when Lucius Pedanius Secundus was murdered by a slave, some in the Senate tried to prevent the mass crucifixion of four hundred of his slaves because there were so many women and children, but in the end tradition prevailed and they were all executed. Although not conclusive evidence for female crucifixion by itself,

6298-524: The passage in Deuteronomy was interpreted as an obligation to hang the corpse on a tree as a form of deterrence. The fragmentary Aramaic Testament of Levi (DSS 4Q541) interprets in column 6: "God ... (partially legible)- will set ... right errors. ... (partially legible)- He will judge ... revealed sins. Investigate and seek and know how Jonah wept. Thus, you shall not destroy the weak by wasting away or by ... (partially legible)- crucifixion ... Let not

6392-453: The period of crucifixion to three days. Crucifixion involves affixing or impaling the body to a beam or a tree trunk. Various minority opinions also prescribed crucifixion as punishment for a number of other crimes. Cases of crucifixion under most of the legally prescribed categories have been recorded in the history of Islam, and prolonged exposure of crucified bodies was especially common for political and religious opponents. Crucifixion

6486-484: The person was often deliberately kept alive as long as possible to prolong their suffering and humiliation, so as to provide the maximum deterrent effect. Corpses of the crucified were typically left on the crosses to decompose and be eaten by animals. Islam spread in a region where many societies, including the Persian and Roman empires, had used crucifixion to punish traitors, rebels, robbers and criminal slaves. The Qur'an refers to crucifixion in six passages, of which

6580-534: The physician's hands, while the third recovered. Josephus gives no details of the method or duration of the crucifixion of his three friends. Crucifixion (or impalement), in one form or another, was used by Persians , Carthaginians , and among the Greeks, the Macedonians . The Greeks were generally opposed to performing crucifixions. However, in his Histories , ix.120–122, Greek writer Herodotus describes

6674-516: The praetor commander, killing his lieutenants, and seizing the military equipment. Due to these successes, more and more slaves flocked to the Spartacan forces, as did many of the herdsmen and shepherds of the region, swelling their ranks to some 70,000. At its height, Spartacus's army included many different peoples, including Celts, Gauls, and others. Due to the previous Social War (91–87 BC), some of Spartacus's ranks were legion veterans. Of

6768-435: The punishment of " decimation ", in which one-tenth of his men were slain to make them more afraid of him than their enemy. When Spartacus and his followers, who for unclear reasons had retreated to the south of Italy , moved northward again in early 71 BC, Crassus deployed six of his legions on the borders of the region and detached his legate Mummius with two legions to maneuver behind Spartacus. Though ordered not to engage

6862-600: The rebels, Mummius attacked at a seemingly opportune moment but was routed. After this, Crassus's legions were victorious in several engagements, forcing Spartacus farther south through Lucania as Crassus gained the upper hand. By the end of 71 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium ( Reggio Calabria ), near the Strait of Messina . According to Plutarch, Spartacus made a bargain with Cilician pirates to transport him and some 2,000 of his men to Sicily , where he intended to incite

6956-461: The region surrounding Capua, recruited many other slaves into their ranks, and eventually retired to a more defensible position on Mount Vesuvius . Once free, the escaped gladiators chose Spartacus and two Gallic slaves— Crixus and Oenomaus —as their leaders. Although Roman authors assumed that the escaped slaves were a homogeneous group with Spartacus as their leader, they may have projected their own hierarchical view of military leadership onto

7050-419: The remains of one Jehohanan , who was crucified in the 1st century CE. The remains included a heel bone with a nail driven through it from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, perhaps because of striking a knot in the upright beam, which prevented it being extracted from the foot. A first inaccurate account of the length of the nail led some to believe that it had been driven through both heels, suggesting that

7144-473: The same time, the Roman Senate , alarmed by the defeat of the praetorian forces, dispatched a pair of consular legions under the command of Lucius Gellius and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus . The two legions were initially successful—defeating a group of 30,000 rebels commanded by Crixus near Mount Garganus —but then were defeated by Spartacus. These defeats are depicted in divergent ways by

7238-405: The seat a cornu , or "horn," leading some scholars to believe it may have had a pointed shape designed to torment the crucified person. This would be consistent with Seneca's observation of victims with their private parts impaled. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned could take up to a few days to die, but death was sometimes hastened by human action. "The attending Roman guards could leave

7332-403: The shape of the letter Τ (the Greek letter tau ) was that of the wooden instrument used for crucifying. Artemidorus , another writer of the same period, says that a cross is made of posts (plural) and nails and that the arms of the crucified are outstretched. Speaking of the generic execution cross, Irenaeus ( c.  130–202 ), a Christian writer, describes it as composed of an upright and

7426-399: The site only after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim." The Romans sometimes broke the prisoner's legs to hasten death and usually forbade burial. On the other hand,

7520-576: The slaves that joined Spartacus ranks, many were from the countryside. Rural slaves lived a life that better prepared them to fight in Spartacus's army. In contrast, urban slaves were more used to city life and were considered "privileged" and "lazy." In these altercations, Spartacus proved to be an excellent tactician , suggesting that he may have had previous military experience. Though the rebels lacked military training , they displayed skilful use of available local materials and unusual tactics against

7614-528: The spontaneous organization, reducing other slave leaders to subordinate positions in their accounts. The response of the Romans was hampered by the absence of the Roman legions, which were engaged in fighting a revolt in Hispania and the Third Mithridatic War . Furthermore, the Romans considered the rebellion more of a policing matter than a war. Rome dispatched militia under the command of

7708-421: The state. It was originally reserved for slaves (hence still called "supplicium servile" by Seneca), and later extended to citizens of the lower classes ( humiliores ). The victims of crucifixion were stripped naked and put on public display while they were slowly tortured to death so that they would serve as a spectacle and an example . According to Roman law, if a slave killed his or her owner, all of

7802-425: The time he started his revolt, which would put his birth year c.  103 BC . According to the differing sources and their interpretation, Spartacus was a captive taken by the legions. Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school ( ludus ) near Capua belonging to Lentulus Batiatus . He was a heavyweight gladiator called a murmillo . These fighters carried a large oblong shield ( scutum ), and used

7896-479: The two most comprehensive (extant) histories of the war by Appian and Plutarch. Alarmed at the continued threat posed by the slaves, the Senate charged Marcus Licinius Crassus , the wealthiest man in Rome and the only volunteer for the position, with ending the rebellion. Crassus was put in charge of eight legions, numbering upwards of 40,000 trained Roman soldiers; he treated these with harsh discipline, reviving

7990-476: The upright stipes . Notorious mass crucifixions followed the Third Servile War in 73–71 BCE (the slave rebellion led by Spartacus ), and other Roman civil wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Crassus ordered the crucifixion of 6,000 of Spartacus' followers who had been hunted down and captured after the slave defeat in battle. Josephus says that in the siege that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,

8084-463: The verse or for their combination (which Sadakat Kadri has called "Islam's equivalent of the hanging, drawing and quartering that medieval Europeans inflicted on traitors") is subject to "complex and contested rules" in classical jurisprudence. Most scholars required crucifixion for highway robbery combined with murder, while others allowed execution by other methods for this scenario. The main methods of crucifixion are: Most classical jurists limit

8178-462: The vertical beam ( stipes ) might be permanently embedded in the ground. In this case, the condemned person's wrists would first be nailed to the patibulum , and then he or she would be hoisted off the ground with ropes to hang from the elevated patibulum while it was fastened to the stipes . Next the feet or ankles would be nailed to the upright stake. The 'nails' were tapered iron spikes approximately 13 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in) long, with

8272-463: The victim's health, and the environment. A theory attributed to Pierre Barbet held that, when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the typical cause of death was asphyxiation . He wrote that the condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by the arms, leading to exhaustion , or have his feet supported by tying or by

8366-414: The wounds caused by the nails or by the scourging that often preceded crucifixion, or from stabbing by the guards. Since death does not follow immediately on crucifixion, survival after a short period of crucifixion is possible, as in the case of those who choose each year as a devotional practice to be non-lethally crucified. There is an ancient record of one person who survived a crucifixion that

8460-664: Was a Soviet bloc version of the Olympic games . This name was also used for the mass gymnastics exhibition held every five years in Czechoslovakia. The mascot for the Ottawa Senators , Spartacat , is also named after him. Several sports clubs around the world, in particular the former Soviet and the Communist Bloc, were named after the Roman gladiator. Crucifixion The crucifixion of Jesus

8554-566: Was generally performed within Ancient Rome as a means to dissuade others from perpetrating similar crimes, with victims sometimes left on display after death as a warning. Crucifixion was intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating , literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and period. One hypothesis suggested that

8648-406: Was intended to be lethal, but was interrupted. Josephus recounts: I saw many captives crucified, and remembered three of them as my former acquaintances. I was very sorry at this in my mind, and went with tears in my eyes to Titus, and told him of them; so he immediately commanded them to be taken down, and to have the greatest care taken of them, in order to their recovery; yet two of them died under

8742-572: Was introduced into Japan during the Sengoku period (1467–1573), after a 350-year period with no capital punishment. It is believed to have been suggested to the Japanese by the introduction of Christianity into the region, although similar types of punishment had been used as early as the Kamakura period . Known in Japanese as haritsuke ( 磔 ) , crucifixion was used in Japan before and during

8836-417: Was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding centurion and his soldiers. First, the condemned would be stripped naked and scourged. This would cause the person to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of shock . The convict then usually had to carry the horizontal beam ( patibulum in Latin ) to the place of execution, but not necessarily the whole cross. During

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