Combing (torture)

Combing, sometimes known as carding, (despite carding being a completely different process), is a sometimes-fatal form of torture in which iron combs designed to prepare wool and other fibres for woolen spinning are used to scrape, tear, and flay the victim's flesh.

The iron combs typically used for torture were sturdy instruments with one or two rows of teeth, each a few inches in length and designed to prepare wool and other fibres for woolen spinning. Used for combing rough fibres, these instruments resembled miniature garden rakes.

The tradition that a torturous death by combing with a kanphos was inflicted by Croesus was recorded by Herodotus. Later mentions from the Middle East and Asia Minor often associate combing with heroic martyrdom for the sake of belief in the Abrahamic God and loyalty to one's Jewish, Christian, or Muslim faith. Specific episodes of combing are mentioned in the Talmud.

In the 6th century BC, when Croesus's half-brother Pantaleon failed to seize and hold the throne of the Lydian Empire, one of his supporters was captured. According to the description given by Herodotus, Croesus tortured the life out of his captive by having him "hauled over a comb".

As described in the Mishnah, Rabbi Akiva, a Judean Tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century, said the Shema prayer as he was combed to death by agents of Ancient Rome. Evoking this memorable incident, a writer for Haaretz metaphorically described political corruption in contemporary Israel as "an iron comb of torture".

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