Phalaris

• Assassinated By: Telemachus of Acragas
• Year: 554 B.C.
• Cause of Fatality: The Brazan Bull
• Motive: To End His Tyrannical Rule

Phalaris was known for being absolutely horrible to people, and one heck of an evil man. Historians claim he was a cannibal who ate human babies. He is also known for using the “brazen bull.” This was a torture and execution device used to end anyone Phalaris felt like removing. That even included its inventor, Perilaus of Athens. Due to being such a tyrant, many people wanted him to be ended by someone.

The man to do it was Telemachus of Acragas. When Telemachus decided to take out Phalaris, he knew he needed to lead a major uprising as Phalaris still had an army. Telemachus succeeded and decided to end Phalaris the same way he ended others, via the Brazen Bull. Within it, one is trapped inside the bronze bull and a fire underneath cooks the person on the inside. Literally, Phalaris would have been melted inside it with his screams being heard the whole time.

Artaxerxes III and Artaxerxes IV

• Assassinated By: Bagoas
• Year: 338 and 336 B.C.
• Cause of Fatality: Poison
• Motive: To Gain Power

The Persian Empire is legendary, and the empire was filled with several notable assassinations. Firstly, Artaxerxes II was a tremendous ruler that expanded the empire even more than his father. He was the one who came in contact with the Spartans, for those unaware. After he passed, his son Artaxerxes III landed on the throne. He actually ordered that all the rest of the royal family be ended to secure his throne. He ruled on the Persian throne for quite a while until being poisoned. In 338 B.C. the eunuch and chiliarch known as Bagoas managed to poison him through his Artaxerxes’ own doctor.

This was done to put his son, known as Arses at the time, on the throne. Arses then became Artaxerxes IV and took the throne. He only held it for 2 years, as he became wise to Bagoas trying to control him. He actually tried to unsuccessfully poison Bagoas, but the eunuch realized this and poisoned him and his entire family first. The poison used is unknown but it was said to have worked relatively soon, as it shut down organs and made people bleed from their mouths. These life-endings rank as some of the most notable assassinations ever, as they led to the eventual end of the Persian Empire.

Bagoas

• Assassinated By: “Technically” Darius III
• Year: 336 B.C.
• Cause of Fatality: Poison
• Motive: Attempting To Poison The King

Bagoas had been successfully acting as a king-maker in the Persian Empire and everyone knew he had a role in what happened to the Artaxerxes line. He would install Darius III on the throne. Bagoas knew that he could be on the throne himself but that would make him a target. Acting as a “man behind the man” allowed him to be out of the spotlight but still have ultimate power through advising. He took out Artaxerxes III and IV due to both no longer caring for his advice and power pull.

Darius III could be installed and allow Bagoas to yet again have a chance to hold ultimate power as a major advisor for him, but Darius saw through what was going on. Bagoas plotted to poison Darius, but the Persian King found out. He then made Bagoas drink his own poison which ended him. This is one of the most notable assassinations in history due to how much power Bagoas tried to take. When he did not get his way, he ended kings and installed others. That needed to be stopped.

Leon Trotsky

• Assassinated By: Ramón Mercader (on orders from Joseph Stalin)
• Year: 1940
• Cause of Fatality: Ice Pick To The Skull
• Motive: To End His Opposition Of Stalin

Leon Trotsky was a powerful opponent to Joseph Stalin during the 1920s. This resulted in his deportation from the Soviet Union, causing him to end up in Mexico. He still spoke out against Stalin and continued his influential writings as well as teach Marxism. Now that World War I had passed, World War II began to slowly involve Russia and Stalin. Trotsky yet again was an unchecked problem for Stalin that needed to be ended. A man named Ramón Mercader, an undercover agent for Stalin, was sent to permanently silence Leon.

In August 1940, he met with Trotsky on the guise to speak with him about an article he wrote. When Trotsky looked down to read the article, Mercader pulled out a literal ice pick and struck Trotsky in his skull. Once his guards heard the commotion they ran in to help. Leon told his guards to not end the assassin, for “this man has a story to tell.” Trotsky passed a day later due to severe brain damage. On an interesting note, ice picks were used in brain operations by this point. They were very effective in lobotomies but were better life-ending weapons. Trotsky likely passed from a hematoma (brain bleed).

Tiberius Gracchus

• Assassinated By: Roman Senate
• Year: 133 B.C.
• Cause of Fatality: Beaten With Clubs
• Motive: To Avoid His Re-Election

Tiberius Gracchus was a politician in the second century B.C. within Rome and became one of the most notable assassinations in Roman history. He was popular with many Roman citizens as his agrarian reform law took land from wealthy landowners and given to poorer citizens. Tiberius was obviously disliked by the Senate, some of the most wealthy people in Rome. Tiberius served as the “Tribune of the Plebs.” This was an elected position, and their power was pretty impressive. Tribunes could even veto Senate decisions.

In 133 B.C. Tiberius actually vetoed ALL Senate decisions when they opposed his agrarian reform law. The People’s Assembly still had to vote for him each election. On election day Tiberius actually showed up in a mourning costume saying his defeat would mean prosecution and his end. The Senate decided to beat him until he no longer breathed right there, then tossed him in the Tiber River for good measure. Being beaten like this is not always fatal, but for Tiberius, it was due to the likely internal bleeding and potential TBI he would have sustained. Plus, if he did not pass from that, he would have drowned in the river.

King Edward II

• Assassinated By: Unknown
• Year: 1327
• Cause of Fatality: Internal Organ Burning
• Motive: To Avoid Potential Escape and Coup

King Edward II was the King of England from 1307 to 1327 and is ultimately remembered as a failure. Historians claim he was indecisive in major moments while also being lazy and incompetent. Any small issue resulted in outbursts and overreactions by King, and everyone could see problems. Soon, Edward II’s wife Isabella with her lover Roger Mortimer invaded England in the hopes of removing him from the throne. Edward was captured and forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his son, Edward III.

Edward II was then locked up in Berkeley Castle. He would pass away the following year but the way he did has been passed down via stories for 700 years. Apparently, an assassin was sent to end Edward in a gruesome way. The assassin used a red-hot poker and inserted it up into Edward’s hindquarters. This ended up burning his internal organs, yet leaving no markings to show it was an assassination. Many believe it is just propaganda, but it does make sense due to his early passing.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• Assassinated By: Gavrilo Princip
• Year: 1914
• Cause of Fatality: Gunshot Wound
• Motive: Sought To End Austro-Hungarian Rule Over Bosnia and Herzegovina

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Of course, this was a major empire at the time and Franz remaining alive would only lead to this empire continuing. A Serbian society called the Black Hand wanted to put an end to it in 1914. A man named Danilo Ilić sent six assassins via motorcycle to end the Archduke while on his motorcade route in Sarajevo. Two assassins got cold feet and bowed out.

Another assassin threw a bomb but it bounced off a convertible and blew up the car behind Franz. Knowing he’d be caught, he swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the Milijack River. Sadly for him, the pill was out of date and did not end him and the river was not deep so he was beaten by a crowd. One of the other six assassins, Gavrilo Princip, was getting a sandwich when he saw Franz’s car reversing. He took the opportunity to run up and shoot Franz, triggering World War I. Talk about notable assassinations, right? It’s unlikely Princip thought he’d start a World War doing this.

Commodus

• Assassinated By: Narcissus
• Year: 192 AD
• Cause of Fatality: Strangulation
• Motive: To End His Rule

There are many reasons people wanted to get rid of Commodus. Most Roman rulers were chosen and adopted by the Emperor. They felt using biological sons or daughters would not be best, but it was hard to question such a wise Emperor like Marcus Aurelius. He was the last great Emperor of Rome, and many thought his son would continue the greatness. Marcus made Commodus co-ruler with him, but Commodus became sole ruler upon his father’s passing.

Soon, Commodus became a tyrant and dictator who saw himself as God-like. By November of 192 AD, he was becoming a problem for everyone, and his wife Marcia felt he had gone mad. She poisoned his food but he upchucked to rid himself of it. Those behind ending Commodus sent his wrestling partner, Narcissus, to end his life. He would do just that by strangling Commodus in his bath. Resulting in one of the most notable assassinations in history.

Grigori Rasputin

• Assassinated By: Prince Felix Yusupov, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and Vladimir Purishkevich
• Year: 1916
• Cause of Fatality: Assumed To Be Gunshot Wound To Head
• Motive: To End His Influence On Russian Emperor and Empress

Grigori Rasputin was a weird dude, who gained power once he met the Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra. Their son, Alexei, suffered from hemophilia and Rasputin helped to “heal” him. The major part of his career happened when Nicholas left Russia to fight in World War I, leaving Rasputin and Alexandra alone. It is widely assumed the two had an affair as Rasputin’s power began to increase with the Emperor away.

Eventually, many felt that Rasputin was overplaying his hand and developing too much power. He might be whispering in the Empress’ ear but that was a critical role. So Russian nobleman plotted to end him. This is what led to one of the most notable assassinations in history. First, the assassins attempted to poison him with cyanide tea and cakes, as well as poisoned wine but none affected him. He was then shot in the chest and left to pass, but once the men came back he rose up and attacked them. Rasputin was then shot in the head and wrapped up in cloth, and thrown into the Malaya Neva River.

SOURCES:

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Smithsonian Magazine

New York Times

Slate

Live Science

Encyclopedia Britannica

PLOS ONE

Journal Storage

History.com

Biography.com