15 Notable Crucifixions in History

Still, another apostle of Jesus who died by crucifixion was Saint Philip. He is traditionally described Philip as the apostle who proselytized in Greece, Syria and Phrygia. He was martyred by crucifixion in the city of Hierapolis. According to this account, through a miraculous healing and his preaching Philip converted the wife of the proconsul of the city. This enraged the proconsul, and he had Philip, Bartholomew, and Mariamme all tortured. Philip and Bartholomew were then crucified upside down, and Philip preached from his cross. As a result of Philip’s preaching the crowd released Bartholomew from his cross, but Philip insisted that they not release him, and Philip died on the cross.

Crucifixion of Saint Rajden the First-Martyr

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Saint Rajden the First-Martyr also known as Saint Razdhen of Tsromi was a Persia-born Christian saint and martyr in Georgia, who died during the oppression of Christian Iberia (E. Georgia) by the Persian Empire. In 456, king Peroz I of Persia demanded that the Iberians joined his expedition against the Byzantine Empire. King Vakhtang refused to comply and a Persian army attacked the country. The forces were uneven and the Iberians suffered defeat. Rajden, who headed a defense of the Armazi fortress at the capital Mtskheta, was captured alive and sent to the Persian court. After a brief imprisonment, he was handed over to the Persian governor of Tsromi, Georgia. He was ordered to renounce Christianity, but Rajden refused. Subjected to extensive tortures, he was finally crucified and struck by several arrows.

Crucifixion of Johanan ben Ha-galgol

Johanan ben Ha-galgol is the name of a man whose remains in an ossuary were discovered by archaeologists in 1968 near Jerusalem. The remains show clearly that the man had been crucified. One of the notable facts about the discovery of this man’s remains is that it proves crucifixion victims were nailed through their wrists, as opposed to the palms. Both the grave and the remains have been dated to between 7 A.D. and 70 A.D. One nail had also been driven through both of the man’s feet, as described in the Bible in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Crucifixion of Saint Simeon

Simeon of Jerusalem was the son of Clopas was a Jewish Christian leader and is traditionally considered the second Bishop of Jerusalem. He was crucified either 106 or 107.

Crucifixion of Joseph ibn Naghrela

Joseph ibn Naghrela or Joseph ha-Nagid (1035-1066) was a vizier (governor) to the Berber king Badis al-Muzaffar of Granada, during the Moorish rule of Andalusia, and the leader of the Jewish community there. On December 30, 1066 (9 Tevet 4827), Muslim mobs stormed the royal palace where Joseph had sought refuge, then crucified him. In the ensuing massacre of the Jewish population, most of the Jews of Granada were murdered. “More than 1,500 Jewish families, numbering 4,000 persons, fell in one day.”

Crucifixion of Archbishop Joachim of Nizhny Novgorod

Archbishop Joachim of Nizhny Novgorod was reportedly crucified upside down, on the Royal Doors of the Cathedral in Sevastopol, Russia in 1920.

Crucifixion of Wilgefortis

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Wilgefortis was venerated as a saint and represented as a crucified woman. Her name is thought by some to derive from the Old German “heilige Vartez” (holy face), a translation of the Italian “Volto Santo”; others believe it to derive from the Latin “virgo fortis” (strong woman). In England her name was Uncumber, and in Dutch Ontkommer (where her name means escaper). In German lands she was known as Kümmernis (where her name means “grief” or “anxiety”). She was known as Liberata in Italy and France, and Librada in Spain, again as “liberator” from tribulations or husbands.

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

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The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the best-known case. Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to crucifixion (most likely in AD 30 or 33) by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Iudaea province. According to the New Testament, this was at the instigation of the Jewish leaders, who were scandalized at his claim to be the Messiah. The civil charge was a claim to be King of the Jews.

Crucifixion was in use by the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the 6th century BC up to the 4th century AD. In the year 337 AD, Emperor Constantine I abolished it in his empire, out of veneration for Jesus Christ, the most famous victim of crucifixion. It has sometimes been used even in modern times.

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