'Those About to Die Salute You': The Battle on Lake Fucinus
In AD 52 Emperor Claudius made 19,000 condemned men fight a real naval battle on an Italian lake, with soldiers and catapults waiting to kill any who fled.
Execution
Trials, punishments and executions.
The Lioness of Brittany: A Widow's Revenge at Sea
When France beheaded her husband and spiked his head over Nantes, Jeanne de Clisson took up arms, massacred a garrison and went to sea to kill French merchants.
The Queen Who Served Justice in a Nutshell
Under Queen Ranavalona I, guilt and innocence in Madagascar were decided by swallowing a deadly nut. Tens of thousands died, many of them willing participants.
The Man Who Was Roasted on a Throne then Eaten Alive
In 1514 a Hungarian crusade against the Ottomans collapsed into a peasant revolt. Its leader, György Dózsa, was captured, roasted alive on a red-hot iron throne and eaten by his own starved men.