Impalement is the driving of objects through the body, causing deep stabbing wounds. It can refer either to accidental events or to deliberate wounding used as a method of torture or execution. In stage magic, the illusion of impalement is employed to simulate the real thing.
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Torture and execution
Impalement as a method of torture and execution Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" . Hence, a capital crime was originally one involves a person being pierced with a long stake. The penetration could be through the sides, through the rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long.[citation needed] Its caliber is similar to that of the sigmoid colon at its commencement, but it is dilated near its termination, forming the rectal ampulla, through the vagina, or through the mouth. This method leads to a painful death, sometimes taking days. The stake would often be planted in the ground, leaving the impaled person suspended to die Death is the termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. The word refers both to the particular processes of life's cessation as well as to the condition or state of a formerly-living body.
In some forms of impalement, the stake would be inserted so as to avoid immediate death, and would function as a plug to prevent blood loss. After preparation of the victim, perhaps including public torture and rape, the victim was stripped and an incision was made in the perineum between the genitals and rectum. A stout pole with a blunt end was inserted. A blunt end would push vital organs to the side, greatly slowing death.
The pole would often come out of the body at the top of the sternum The sternum is a long flat bone (or, in some instances, set of three bones) shaped like a capital 'T' located in the center of the thorax (chest). It connects to the rib bones via cartilage, forming the anterior section of the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma and be placed against the lower jaw so that the victim would not slide farther down the pole. Often, the victim was hoisted into the air after partial impalement. Gravity and the victim's own struggles would cause him to slide down the pole.[citation needed]
History
Impalement of Judeans in a Neo-Assyrian relief.The use of impalement as a form of execution in civilizations of the Ancient Near East The Ancient Near East refers to early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Iran (Elam, Media, Parthia and Persia), Armenia, Anatolia (modern Turkey) and the Levant (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Crete). As such, it is a, such as the Neo-Assyrian empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 608 BC. During this period, Assyria assumed a position as possibly the most powerful nation on earth, and vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BC,, is evidenced by carvings and statues from the ancient Near East. According to Ancient Greek Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian historian Herodotus Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC). He was born in Caria, Halicarnassus (modern day Bodrum, Turkey). He is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain (3.159), Persian king Darius I Darius I or Darius the Great (Old Persian: �������������� > modern Persianداریوش بزرگ IPA: [dɒrjuʃ]) (c. 549 BC – October 486 BC), was a Zoroastrian Persian Shahanshah (Great King) of Persia. He reigned from September 522 to October 486 BC as the third Achaemenian King and called by some arguably " impaled 3,000 Babylonians Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi (fl. ca. 1696 – 1654 BC, short chronology) created an empire out of the territories of the former Akkadian Empire. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, and retained the when he took Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between: their execution is also recorded in the Behistun inscription The Behistun Inscription is a multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran. Impalement on a stake (stauros Stauros is the Greek word usually translated cross in the Bible, in reference to the device on which Jesus was executed. The meaning of the word has changed over the centuries. The Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott, the major reference work on the Greek language from Homeric to early Christian times, reports that the meaning of the word &) was practiced in ancient Greece.
In ancient Rome, the term "crucifixion Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. The term comes from the Latin crucifixio ("fixed to a cross", from the prefix cruci-, "cross", + verb figere, "fix or bind fast".)" could also refer to impalement.[citation needed] Ancient authors also report the use of "crucifixion" (which may have meant impalement as well)[citation needed] in Carthage Carthage refers to a series of cities on the Gulf of Tunis, from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BCE to the current suburb outside Tunis, Tunisia, where it was used for extreme cases of treachery and failure on the battlefield, usually combined with other forms of torture.
Impalement was frequently practiced in Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled and Europe Europe is one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and throughout the Middle Ages The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in. Vlad the Impaler passed into legend as a major user of the method. From the 14th to 18th century, impalement was a traditional method of execution for high treason In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of betrayal of one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife . A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the 1569 Union of Lublin between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and lasted until 1795. The new commonwealth was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th-century Europe.
Impalement was used in Sweden Sweden (pronounced /ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən, Swedish: Sverige pronounced [ˈsveːrijə] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and water borders with during the 17th century, particularly as a death penalty for members of the resistance in the former Danish provinces,[citation needed] the Scanian lands (the so-called "Snapphane A snapphane was a member of a 17th century pro-Danish guerrilla organization that fought against the Swedes in the Second Northern and Scanian Wars, primarily in the former eastern Danish provinces which in the course of these wars became southern Sweden)", where the stake was inserted between the spine and the skin of the victim. In that way, it could take four to five days before the victim died.
In Malay Sunni Islam Adat Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a tape format used for simultaneously recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a format similar to that used by consumer VCRs. The product was announced in January 1991 at the NAMM convention in Anaheim, California. The first ADAT recorders shipped over a year later in law, the traditional punishment for adultery before the modern age was that of impalement, known in Malay as Hukum Sula. A pole was inserted through the anus and pushed up to pierce the heart or lungs of the condemned, the pole thereupon being hoisted and inserted into the ground.
The Zulu The Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group of an estimated 10–11 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. Their language, Zulu, is a Bantu language; more specifically, part of the Nguni subgroup. The Zulu Kingdom played a major role in of South Africa used impalement (ukujoja) as a form of punishment for soldiers who had failed in the execution of their duty, people accused of witchcraft Witchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers, usually to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property. Other uses of the term distinguish between bad witchcraft and good witchcraft, with the latter often involving healing, or who had exhibited cowardice.[1]
The Araucanian The Mapuche are one of the indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. Historically Mapuches were known as Araucanians by the Spaniards. This is now considered pejorative by some people. Mapuche make up about 4% of the Chilean population, who are particularly concentrated in the Araucania Region chief Caupolican Caupolicán was a Toqui, the military leader of the Mapuche people of Chile, that commanded their army during the first Mapuche rising against the Spanish conquistadors from 1553 to 1558 suffered this death as a prisoner during the Spanish conquest of Chile The Conquest of Chile is a period in Chilean historiography that starts with the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola, in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598 or alternatively with the Destruction of the Seven Cities. This was the period of Spanish conquest of land, founding of cities. The method used was to make him sit on a stake while his wife was forced to watch.[2] In 1578 the chief Juan de Lebú would be executed by the same manner.
The French occupiers of Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula resorted to this method of execution towards Suleiman al-Halabi Suleiman al-Halabi, also known as Soleyman El-Halaby , (1777–1800) was a Syrian student who assassinated French general Jean Baptiste Kléber. He was executed by impalement, the Syrian Kurdish student who assassinated the general Kléber Categories: Surnames | Given names | French-language surnames | German-language surnames.
Athanasios Diakos, a Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1830, with later assistance from several European powers, against the Ottoman Empire, who were assisted by their vassals, the Egyptian Khedivate and partly the Vilayet of Tunisia, was impaled and burned by the Ottoman army.
In India impalement is often referred to in folk tales and fairy tales as punishment for the wicked — usually imposed by a good king at the end of the story. In the Bengal Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent. Today it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical region, it is known as Shul (Bengali: শূল). In ancient Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ் நாடு, pronounced [t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ]) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the States of Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by India impalement was referred as Kazhuvetram usually for royal treason. A form of impalement existed in medieval Kerala Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം, pronounced [Kēraḷam]) is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act bringing together the areas where Malayalam was the dominant language used as a method of executing. This punishment was meted out to people belonging to lower classes.[3]
References
- ^ Cmdt S.Bourquin. "The Zulu Military Organization and the Challenge of 1879". Military History Journal, Vol. 4, Num. 4. http://web.archive.org/web/20080125054940/http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol044sb.html. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ^ Jerónimo de Vivar. "Crónicas de Los Reinos de Chile, Ficha Capítulo CXXXVI". artehistoria. http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/cronicas/contextos/10896.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ^ Chapter-8 MEDIEVAL KERALA History Textbook, Kerala State Kerala (Malayalam: കേരളം, pronounced [Kēraḷam]) is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act bringing together the areas where Malayalam was the dominant language
See also
- Impalement arts Impalement arts are a type of performing art in which a performer plays the role of human target for a fellow performer who demonstrates accuracy skills in disciplines such as knife throwing and archery. Impalement is actually what the performers endeavour to avoid - the thrower or marksman aims around the target rather than at him or her. The
- Iron maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris. Since their inception, the group have released a collective total of thirty-one albums: fifteen studio albums; seven live albums; four EPs; and five compilations
- Penetrating trauma Penetrating trauma is an injury that occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating an open wound. In blunt, or non-penetrating trauma, there may be an impact, but the skin is not necessarily broken. The penetrating object may remain in the tissues, come back out the way it entered, or pass through the tissues and
- Punishment Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group. Inflicted unpleasantness without authority is not punishment, but is characterized as something else. Punishment may be administered following a formal decision process, or informally
- Decapitation Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by means of a guillotine. Ritualistic decapitation after execution by some other means, sometimes followed by
- Vlad III the Impaler Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia , more commonly known as the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Ţepeş pronounced [ˈvlad ˈt͡sepeʃ]) or Draculea, was a three-time voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462
Categories: Execution methods | Torture
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:21:02 GMT+00:00
Movies.ie Everything from the impalement scene, the hard hitting violence and even the cruelty of real life animals, still makes Cannibal Holocaust one of the most ...
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