Below you will find a list of documented instances where flaying was used as punishment. While it is often thought of as an ancient method of punishment – some of the dates may surprise you in the end:
· Yahu-Bihdi , ruler of Hamath , flayed alive by the Assyrians under the rule of Sargon II
· Sisamnes , Herodotus documented that this corrupt judge was flayed alive under the rule of Cambyses II of Persia for accepting a bribe.
· Marsyas , This satyr was flayed alive in Greek mythology as a result of having the nerve to challenge Apollo.
· Xipe Totec , According to Aztec mythology, this figure is known as the god of death and rebirth who was flayed. Each year, slaves served as sacrifices and were flayed in his honor.
· Rabbi Akiva , The Romans flayed this man because he publicly taught the Torah. This punishment was described in the Talmud.
· Roman Emperor Valerian , The Persians took Valerian as a prisoner and in 260 AD , was flayed. Some documentation states that his flayed skin was used to construct a footstool.
· Hurufi Imad ud , Din Nesimi , Before being flayed alive in 1404 (or 1417), this Islamic poet who focused on Turkic extraction was sentenced to death by a Timurid governor. His charges were heresy.
· Hypatia of Alexandria , In 415, this Neo , Platonist philosopher was flayed while still alive.
· Mani , The founding prophet, who brought about Manichaeism (a major Gnostic religion that survived between the 3rd and 7th centuries) is believed to have been flayed (or beheaded).
· Saint Andrew Bobola , This Polish Jesuit underwent a host of unimaginable punishments, including being burned, strangulation, and being partly flayed while still breathing. In the end, he was killed by a sabre stroke.
· Daskalogiannis , This Cretan rebel who fought against the Ottoman Empire is said to have been flayed while still alive. In history, he was known as a man who used his education to teach others, as well as lead. Under the orders of the Pasha of Handax , he was captured and tortured , meeting his end in June of 1771.
· Marco Antonio Bragadino , This Venetian lawyer and military officer was flayed during the Conquest of Famagusta (which took place in Cyprus). All of this was the doing of the Turks.
· Pierre Basile , While others were hanged, it was Basile that was flayed while alive , under the orders of the mercenary leader named Mercadier. This was punishment for the shooting and murder of King Richard I of England , using a crossbow. All of this took place during the siege of Chalus in March 1199.
· Nat Turner , The punishment for leading a slave rebellion in Virginia was flaying, losing your head, and being quartered, as seen in the case of Nat Turner (November 11th, 1831). Under his leadership, the most significant uprising in antebellum southern United States took place.
· Karenni Village , In 2000, it was reported that the government troops in Mayanmar entered the Karenni village and flayed all of the males that lived there