On Good Friday, possibly April 3, 33 AD, Jesus of Nazareth, prophet to Islam and Judaism, the Christ and Savior to Christians, was crucified by the Romans in Jerusalem. Crucifixion was a particularly brutal and drawn out process of execution often reserved for “dangerous” criminals, ones that threatened the status quo. Here we list 10 notable cases where a person was crucified.
Note: In April of 2019, the government of Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 37 suspected terrorists, one of those executions coming in the form of crucifixion! Thus, it is logical to conclude that crucifixion is still a “modern” form of execution. (Wow!)
Digging Deeper
10. Inaros II, 454 BC.
Also known as Inarus, this Egyptian was a rebel against the Persian occupiers. Allying himself with the Athenians, the Persians eventually won and captured Inaros, executing him by crucifixion. Records being what they were back then, historians debate whether Inaros was crucified or impaled. Note: Inaros I lived 200 years earlier and was also a rebel, this time against the Assyrians.
9. The Crucified Soldier, 1915.
An unidentified allied soldier said to be a Canadian, was allegedly crucified with bayonets against a barn door by German troops. The story ran in British newspapers (then all over the world) and was used on American posters to sell war bonds, and an American propaganda film The Prussian Cur (1918). Germany claimed the incident was false and just British propaganda. British Parliament asked for an investigation as to whether this was common German practice.
