historically, the elephants were under the constant control of a driver or "mahout", thus enabling a ruler to grant a last-minute reprieve and display merciful qualities. several such exercises of mercy are recorded in various asian kingdoms. the kings of siam trained their elephants to roll the convicted person "about the ground rather slowly so that he is not badly hurt". the mughal emperor akbar the great is said to have "used this technique to chastise 'rebels' and then in the end the prisoners, presumably much chastened, were given their lives". on one occasion, akbar was recorded to have had a man thrown to the elephants to suffer five days of such treatment before pardoning him. elephants were occasionally used in trial by ordeal in which the condemned prisoner was released if he managed to fend off the elephant.