Vercingetorix and ritual strangulation
Martin Read > March 6th, 2003, 10:26 AM
Vercingetorix (over-warrior-king), was certainly killed though I cannot find an original source on how this was done . Strangled, beheaded, or stabbed, in public or in secret?
It was standard Roman practice to kill prominent captives after they had graced a triumph. It was unusual to inprison people in the pre-Modern world, it cost money after all.
Claudius, Aurelian and a few other emperors were considered unusually lenient in allowing such as Caratacus and Zenobia of Palmyra and other prominent captives to live. It is notable that these were cases where the captive was not considered to be of further political danger. In both cases the captive went on to live an ostensibly free life. Indeed Zenobia went on to marry a wealthy Roman aristocrat.
In Christian times captives could be reasonably sure of lenient treatment. Gelimer former King of the Vandals, after he graced a triumph in Constantinople, was given extensive estates in Asia Minor and made a Roman Patrician by Justinian. This only applied to foreign captives, pretenders to the throne and usurpers could be fairly sure of death, later, in the Byzantine era mutilation and or blinding were often substituted.