Sometimes, men convicted of really heinous crimes, such as plotting against the king, were strapped to the mouths of cannons, which were then fired, blowing their bodies to pieces. (This mode of punishment was pioneered by the British to punish mutineers in India.) Although this was actually a mercifully quick way to go, the image created deep psychological dread. Most dreaded of all, however, was the punishment known as Siah Chah—“Black Well.” I’ll leave the details of that one to the readers’ imagination.
