 Those who could verify that they were Roman citizens were to be beheaded, rather than undergoing the much more horrific experience of crucifixion.In the Roman Republic of the early 1st century BC, it became the tradition for the severed heads of public enemies—such as the political opponents of Marius and Sulla, for example—to be publicly displayed on the Rostra in the Forum Romanum after execution.Perhaps the most famous such victim was Cicero who, on instructions from Mark Antony, had his hands (which had penned the "Philippicae" against Antony) and his head cut off and nailed up for display in this manner.