“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.” – Luke 23:33
Historically speaking, there’s nothing special about crucifixion. Perhaps tens of thousands were crucified throughout the Roman empire. Before the time of Jesus, in 87 B.C., a Hasmonean ruler named Alexander Jannaeus crucified 800 Jewish rebels in Jerusalem. During part of a siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D, the Roman military crucified as many as 500 Jewish people a day. Under these circumstances, to speak against the government, or worse, to actually revolt, could lead to unspeakably horrible consequences.