Execution by elephants

Execution by elephants

For thousands of years, it was common in countries of South and Southeast Asia, and especially in India, the method of killing death row prisoners. Asian elephants were used to crush, dismember, or torture prisoners in public executions.

Trained animals were versatile, able to kill a victim immediately or torture it slowly for a long time. Serving the rulers, elephants were used to show the absolute power of the ruler and his ability to control wild animals.

The type of execution by prisoners of war by elephants usually caused horror, but at the same time the interest of European travelers was described in many magazines and stories about the life of Asia.

This practice was ultimately suppressed by the European empires, which colonized the region where the execution was widespread, in the 18th-19th centuries.

Although the execution by elephants was primarily characteristic of the countries of Asia, this practice was sometimes applied by the western powers of antiquity, in particular Rome and Carthage, mainly for the reprisal of rebel soldiers.