Military Leaders

  • George Armstrong Custer | Quotes, Indian Wars & Death

    George Armstrong Custer Summary

    General George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876, sat atop his horse on a hill overlooking the banks of the Little Big Horn River in present-day Montana.

    The Civil War hero, renowned for his bravery and good fortune, was plotting an ambush on the plains’ most prominent Indian encampment ever assembled. Little did he know that this would be his Last Stand and the day when “Custer’s Luck” would finally run out after a career full of daring risks and near misses.

    George Armstrong Custer Facts

    George Armstrong Custer
    Rare Colour Image of George Armstrong Custer

    Born: 5 December 1839, (Ohio, New Romley, U.S)

    Death: June 25, 1876 (Aged 36)

    Cause of Death: Two Bullet Wounds

    Parents: Emanuel Henry Custer > Maria Ward Kirkpatrick

    Wife: Elizabeth Bacon Custer

    Custer’s Luck

    George Custer was a man full of contradictions and controversy, remembered by some as a gallant hero and by others as a bloodthirsty villain. He was both a lover and a fighter, a brave but reckless warrior, and a glory-hungry but disobedient soldier. Who exactly was General Custer, and why is he such a controversial figure?

    George Armstrong Custer Early Life

    George Armstrong Custer was born in Ohio on 5 December 1839. The youngest of 5 children, young as called him “Auntie” because he couldn’t pronounce his middle name, was sent to live with his older sister in Michigan at an early age. General Custer earned his teaching certificate in 1856, but they had bigger dreams for himself than teaching at grammar school.

    He entered West Point Military Academy in 1857, where he was known for spending more time on pranks than his studies. He was routinely reprimanded and constantly received demerits, often earning himself extra weekend guard duties. If would foreshadow future issues in his career, he was once even court-martialed for failing to stop a fight between two cadets. With all these extracurricular activities, it’s not surprising that he graduated last in his class in 1861.

    General Custer graduated from West Point into a country in chaos – the Civil War had just broken out in April of 1861, and Custer saw his opportunity for glory. He joined the Union Cavalry, where he attracted the attention of his superiors for his bold leadership style, daring cavalry charges, and tactical brilliance. In June 1863, he became the youngest Brigadier General in the Union Army at 23.

    The Boy General

    The Boy General
    A told by his wife Elizabeth Custer

    As “Boy General” called him, George Armstrong Custer got his first taste of leadership in battle just a few days later during the infamous Battle of Gettysburg. On the third and final day of the bloody conflict, Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry divisions attempted to take the Union Army’s rear by surprise when Custer’sforces cut him off.

    After a ferocious battle between thousands of horse riders, Custer’s men succeeded in driving off the Confederate cavalry, playing a decisive role in the Union’s victory in this critical battle. By the end of the Civil War, Custer’s daring and bravery had earned him a promotion to Major General in charge of a whole cavalry division. Highly unusual for an officer at the time, Custer was known for leading his men from the front rather than from the rear, and he was often the first to charge into battle. The nickname “Custer’s Luck” was created to describe General Custer’s fantastic good luck.

    He avoided severe injuries during his career despite participating in multiple significant battles and having 11 horses shot out from beneath him. General Custer was involved in some of the most defining moments of the Civil War. His cavalry forces blocked Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s final retreat, and General Custer was the one to receive General Lee’s white flag, signifying his wish to surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Custer was also present for signing the terms of surrender between Generals Lee and Grant on April 9, 1865.

    Custer was so central to the Union’s Civil War victory that General Philip Sheridan purchased the table used to sign the terms of surrender and gave it to Custer’s wife in gratitude for her husband’s service. Before the Civil War ended, Custer married Elizabeth “Libbie” Bacon in February 1864. Her father, a judge, was not supportive of the match, as he considered Custer to be “beneath” her. After initially rejecting him, he eventually won her over, and they began an intense courtship and a passionate letter-writing habit that would persist throughout their marriage.

    General Custer’s Famous Quotes

    Custer is famously quoted as saying, “I would be willing, yes glad, to see a battle every day during my life.” His life’s ambition was to gain fame and glory for his battlefield exploits. Libbie was his devoted partner in this endeavor, happily playing the part of the faithful lady to his daring warrior.

    Custer was also very luxurious; he paid close attention to his looks, especially his long, golden hair, which was perfumed with cinnamon oil. He always dressed in silk outfits with gold lace accents and big cowboy hats, which were the height of late 17th-century fashion.

    Indian Wars

    Battle of Little Big Horn
    Battle of Little Big Horn Custer’s Last Land (Rare Colour Image)

    In 1866 Genral Custer was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and he and Libbie headed to Kansas to help deal with the “Indian Problem.” After the Civil War had ended, he needed more land to accommodate American settlers, and as they expanded westward, they inevitably clashed with the local Indian tribes. By the 1860s, most of the local Indians had been ruthlessly forced onto reservations or killed, but the Great Plains were the last Indianholdout, and the Plains Indians vowed to avoid a similar fate.

    George Armstrong Custer participated in some raids and battles with the Sioux (pronounced “Soo”) and Cheyenne Indians over control of the western territories. General Custer faced two legendary Indian warriors, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, for the first time in 1873 when his unit was protecting a Northern Pacific Railroad Survey at Yellowstone.

    The government had been encouraging trains to stop so passengers could hunt the Buffalo for sport. The Indians relied on Buffalo for food, and the needless slaughter escalated tensions. Although he succeeded in driving them off this time, little did Custer know that he had just faced the warriors who would bring about his downfall years later. During this time, Custer once again demonstrated his disregard for authority when he left his regiment without permission to visit his wife, Libbie.

    He was again court-martialed for this exploit and stripped of his rank and pay for a year. His punishment only lasted10 months before General Sheridan reinstated him to lead a campaign against Cheyenne Indians. Custer was learning that fighting Indians was much different than fighting Confederate soldiers.

    The Indians had the advantage of being much more familiar with the terrain, and since they were fighting to preserve their way of life, they were much more motivated to fight to the bitter end than Custer’s career soldiers. By 1876, the Plains Indian Wars had reached a stalemate. In 1868 South Dakota’s BlackHills had been set aside for the Great Sioux Reservation; however, once gold was discovered in the hills just a few years later, the government quickly reneged on their deal and took over the land.

    General Custer was tasked with relocating the Indians to their new reservation, but things didn’t exactly go as planned. Rather than go quietly, most of the Indians traveled to the banks of the Little Big Horn River in present-day Montana to join Custer’sold adversaries Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse to fight for their freedom.

    On June 25, 1876, George Armstrong Custer was one of the first to arrive at the meeting point near the encampment, where he and the other generals planned to gather before finding the Indians and forcing them to surrender to the reservations. While waiting for the other generals to arrive, he decided that General Custer and his men would move in and surround the Indians, then wait for reinforcements.

    Once they had located the Indian’s camp, however, Custer decided to launch a surprise attack rather than wait for reinforcements. No one is quite sure why he thought this would be a good idea, but based on what we know about him, we can assume that arrogance and glory-seeking played a significant role in his leading his men to certain death. The battle famously came to be called “Custer’s Last Stand,” but in reality, he never even had a chance against such a mighty force of Indian warriors.

    Death of General Custer

    General Custer Burial
    General Custer Burial in West Point Cemetery, New York, United States

    George Armstrong Custer divided his 600 men into four groups – one group was to stay with the supplies, two groups were to attack the Indians from the south, and Custer’s group was to attack from the North. The south group was the first to attack, but they retreated almost immediately once it became apparent that they were outnumbered and outgunned. With more than 2,000 warriors, this was the largest gathering of Indians ever seen on the Great Plains.

    The Indians also had superior repeating rifles, bows, and arrows, while the Cavalryhad only single-shot rifles and .45 (pronounced “forty-five””) caliber revolvers. Not knowing that their comrades had retreated, General Custer and his men launched their attack on the North.

    Overwhelmed by the ‘Indians’ superior numbers and firepower, General Custer’scommand collapsed utterly, quickly becoming every man for himself. Within an hour, the Indians had massacred every one of General Custer’s 210 men, except for one lucky soul who General Custer had sent to send a message to the southern forces asking for reinforcements. Sadly, he ignored his message.

    George Armstrong Custer’s subordinates, Benteen and Reno, hated him and hated each other and had just narrowly escaped a similar fate. Whether it was cowardice, malice, or even drunkenness, we don’tdon’t know – all we know is that they did not come to Custer’s aid when he sent the message to “come quick.

    In keeping with his image as a daring leader, General Custer was found dead alongside 40 of his men, including his brother and nephew, with two bullet wounds – one near his heart and one in his head. To further add to the horrors of this massacre, the Indians ritualistically stripped and mutilated the bodies of the dead, possibly because they believed that the souls of disfigured bodies would be doomed to walk the earth forever.

    Upon seeing the naked bodies of his dead compatriots, a junior military officer famously exclaimed: “Oh, how white they look! How white!” he once believed that Custer had been spared this indignity, but he later revealed that his body had also been mutilated, but the details hushed up to protect his wife, Libbie. According to legend, some Cheyenne women pierced Custer’s eardrums so that he could learn to listen better, and they even put a stick up his ahem manhood. Custer was hastily buried where he fell with the rest of his men, but he was later disinterred and reburied with a grand ceremony at West Point.

    A memorial to him was erected in 1881 at the site of the battle. The Battle of Little Big Horn was the U.S.’s most significant defeat in the Plains Indian Wars. The Indians victory was short-lived, however. The American public demanded retribution for the death of General Custer, a decorated Civil War General and American folk hero.

    The army intensified their efforts to hunt down Indians and either relocate them or wipe them out completely. Facing unprecedented violence against his people, Crazy Horse finally surrendered in 1877, bringing the Plains Indian Wars to a close. We have his devoted wife, Libbie, to thank for the enduring power of General Custer’s controversial legacy. She lived another 57 years after his death and spent the rest of her life writing books and lectures about his heroism and gallantry.

    She was helped in her efforts by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a one-time scout for General Custer who went on to create his famous traveling Wild West show, a highlight of which was a reenactment of Custer’s last stand featuring real Native American warriors who had fought at Little Big Horn. Custer was even immortalized on the silver screen when future president Ronald Regan played him in the film Sante Fe Trail.

    General Custer himself had written his autobiography shortly before his death, and “My Life on the Plains” went on to become a bestseller. After Libbie’s death in 1933, the American public began to acknowledge that perhaps Custer wasn’t the flawless hero he had been made to be. At the height of his fame during the Plains Indians Wars, the New York Tribune wrote: “Future writers of fiction will find in General Custer most of the qualities which go to make up a first-class hero.” While his heroism may be up for debate in modern times, his legend certainly lives on even today. We suspect that the flamboyantly-monger wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

    Peoples Also Ask?

    Why is Custer so famous?

    George Custer was a man full of contradictions and controversy, remembered by some as a gallant hero and by others as a bloodthirsty villain. He was both a lover and a fighter, a brave but reckless warrior, and a glory-hungry but disobedient soldier. Who exactly was General Custer, and why is he such a controversial figure?

    Why did General Custer fail?

    In 1866 General Custer was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and he and Libbie headed to Kansas to help deal with the “Indian Problem.” After the Civil War had ended, he needed more land to accommodate American settlers, and as they expanded westward, they inevitably clashed with the local Indian tribes. By the 1860s, most of the local Indians had been ruthlessly forced onto reservations or killed, but the Great Plains were the last Indianholdout, and the Plains Indians vowed to avoid a similar fate.

    Why did Custer lose the Battle of Little Bighorn?

    Once they had located the Indian’s camp, however, Custer decided to launch a surprise attack rather than wait for reinforcements. No one is quite sure why he thought this would be a good idea, but based on what we know about him, we can assume that arrogance and glory-seeking played a significant role in his leading his men to certain death. The battle famously came to be called “Custer’s Last Stand,” but in reality, he never even had a chance against such a mighty force of Indian warriors.

    Who was General Custer and what happened to him?

    George Custer was a man full of contradictions and controversy, remembered by some as a gallant hero and by others as a bloodthirsty villain. He was both a lover and a fighter, a brave but reckless warrior, and a glory-hungry but disobedient soldier. Who exactly was General Custer, and why is he such a controversial figure?
  • Douglas MacArthur | History, WWII, Korean War & Death

    Douglas MacArthur Summary

    Douglas MacArthur was the flamboyant, controversial symbol of America’s dogged resolve during World War 2. He is among the most well-known war heroes with his trademark corn cobb pipe and his love of self-publicity. Though he often disregarded authority, Douglas MacArthur praised him for his bold, imaginative military strategy.

    Douglas MacArthur Facts

    American Military leader

    Born: 26 January 1880 (Little Rock, Arkansas U.S)

    Death: 5 April 1964 (84 Age), Washington D.C, U.S

    Cause of Death:  kidney and liver failure

    Parents: Arthur MacArthur Jr., Mary Pinkney Hardy MacArthur

    Wives: Louise Cromwell Brooks, Jean Faircloth ​

    Children: Arthur

    Place of burial: MacArthur Memorial

    Douglas MacArthur Early life

    Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. He was the last of three sons born to Arthur and Mary MacArthur.

    His father was a civil war veteran who had fought with distinction in such battles as Chickamauga and Murfreesboro, along with Sherman’s final push on Atlanta. He won the medal of honor for his bravery, setting a very high bar for his boys. Despite his father having been the state governor of Wisconsin, Arthur fell for a southern belle.

    Tensions were so high between the states that Mary’s brothers refused to attend the wedding. His father’s military career heavily influenced young Douglas. 

    He once commented that his first memory was the sound of bugles, and he loved the pomp and ceremony of the army. Arthur had been stationed at a series of remote western military posts when Douglas came along. When their youngest son was nine, the family relocated to Washington, D.C.

    Washington D.C

    For the next four years, Douglas attended the Force Public School.

    Force Public School

    In 1893, Arthur was posted to San Antonio, Texas.

    San Antonio, Texas

    There Douglas was enrolled at the West Texas Military academy.

    West Texas Military Academy

    He excelled academically and on the sports field, being named class valedictorian during his final year. Douglas MacArthur now set his sights on West Point Military Academy.

    West Point Military Academy

    West Point Military Academy

    His father tried to use his influence to secure a Presidential appointment for his son to the academy, but this was rejected by two Presidents, Cleveland and McKinley.

    This meant he would have to gain entry the old-fashioned way – by passing the entrance exam. Arthur hired a tutor to help Douglas MacArthur prepare for the exam.

    His diligence paid off, and he attained a 93.3 out of hundred. MacArthur later commented on his preparation for the exam. It was a lesson I never forgot. Preparedness is the key to success and victory.

    Douglas MacArthur’s mother instilled in him a firm belief that he was destined for greatness. By the time he entered West Point, Douglas had developed enough qualities to reinforce her belief. 

    He was strong, both mentally and physically. From his earliest days in military outposts in the west, he had become adept at horse riding and rifle shooting. In remembering that time in his life, he said. I learned to read and shoot even before I could read or write – almost before walking and talking.

    The teenage Douglas MacArthur was tall and handsome, and he projected an air of self-confidence that turned heads when he walked into a room. West Point Douglas’ first year at West Point was a challenging time for him. As the son of a senior officer and with a mother who stayed close by in a hotel to keep an eye on her beloved boy, he was subjected to more than the usual hazing that all first years have to endure. Still, he endured it with a stoic resolve that impressed senior students.

    While other first-year students were broken by the less intense hazing they experienced, Douglas maintained an air of composure, even cheerfulness, throughout the ordeal. 

    Douglas proved to be an excellent student in all respects. He stood first in his class in 1903 with an overall score of 98 percent. It seemed as if he was on the right track in anticipation of his mother’s greatness. As a top graduate from West Point, Douglas was now allowed to choose which branch of the armed services he entered.

    Engineering Corps

    He decided on the Engineering Corps, entering the service with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

    Philippines

    His first posting was to the Philippines, which had been an American colony for five years.

    His father, Arthur, had served there three years earlier, and he had warned his son and whoever else would listen that an insurrection was on the horizon on the island.

    Douglas was placed in charge of strengthening the military infrastructure on the island. Yet he had barely been there a month when he was attacked by a pair of bandits while traveling alone in the countryside.

    He beat off both attackers and then shot them dead. It was an early example of the fierce courage which would be his trademark. 

    Malaria

    This first assignment was cut short after less than a year when Douglas MacArthur contracted malaria. Once he had recovered, his father pulled some strings to have Douglas accompany him as a military aide on a tour of Asia.

    The two years he spent in China, Japan, and India developed MacArthur’s ideas about Asia that went against the grain of mainstream political thought. He considered Asian people to be equal to Americans.

    MacArthur, in itself, undercut the subtle racism underpinning U.S. policy toward the region. Furthermore, he was of the firm opinion that America’s future lay with the Far East and not, as the majority contended, with Europe.

    This set him at odds with the European-centric views of his superiors, which would persist throughout his lifetime. After his return from Asia, Douglas spent some years building up his experience and qualifications in the engineering corps.

    He attended engineering school in Washington, after which he was posted to Milwaukee and Kansas. By then, he had been promoted to captain.

    In January 1912, McArthur was posted to Panama. It would be a short excursion. He returned the following month to attend the funeral of his father. He was concerned about his mother’s mental health and requested a reposting to Washington, D.C., to be close to her.

    War Department

    Veracruz In 1914
    Veracruz In 1914 with gun

    Veracruz In 1914, Douglas MacArthur was assigned to the War Department to serve on the Veracruz Expedition in Mexico. Relations between the U.S. and Mexico had been deteriorating for some time.

    Tampico Affair

    An incident known as the Tampico Affair brought matters to a head. Nine American sailors were taken into custody by the Mexican government for entering off-limits areas of the city of Tampico in the state of Tamaulipas.

    Tampico released the sailors, but the Mexicans refused to provide the 21-gun salute demanded by the American government.

    Woodrow Wilson

    Woodrow Wilson
    Rare Colour image of Woodrow Wilson

    An outraged President, Woodrow Wilson, ordered the invasion of the port of Veracruz by the U.S. Navy. Douglas MacArthur was sent to Veracruz as a military advisor. However, he soon went beyond his job description when he recruited some local railroad engineers and headed out to hijack several trains that Veracruz believed to be sitting several miles down the line. To get there, he and his small group used a handcar.

    The group was able to command a total of five engines. On the way back to headquarters, they came under attack from rebels on horseback.

    Douglas MacArthur shot at least three of the attackers. When he returned, he noticed that there were three bullet holes in his clothing, yet he remained unscathed.

    MacArthur’s commanding officer was greatly impressed by his daring ingenuity. He recommended Douglas MacArthur for a Medal of Honor. However, the honors board questioned the Advisability of this enterprise, having been undertaken without the knowledge of the commanding general on the ground.

    By 1915, Douglas MacArthur was back in Washington, D.C., where he immersed himself in his work at the War Department. In 1915 he was promoted to major.

    Bureau of Information

    A short time later, he was made the army’s first chief of the Bureau of Information, which was essentially a military press office. His experience taught him valuable lessons about the power of the press and the need to cultivate a solid public persona. 

    The Great War The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Douglas MacArthur wanted the National Guard to be sent to Europe to play its part in the war effort. He came up with the idea of a ‘rainbow’ national guard force made up of guardsmen from every state. This avoided any inter-state rivalry.

    42nd Rainbow division 

    As a result, he became the Chief of Staff of the 42nd Rainbow Division. It left for France in October 1917. The 42nd Rainbow division was posted behind the front lines to complete their training. MacArthur’s duties were primarily administrative, which was a source of frustration for him.

    He longed to get in on the action, going so far as to volunteer for trench raids with a neighboring French division. Douglas MacArthur found himself under gas attack on one such raid, yet he still managed to make it to safety. 

    The French were highly impressed with his actions, awarding him the Croix de Guerre. As well as volunteering to help on French raids, he eventually led some American ones. Every time he was the first man over the top. His bravery didn’t go unnoticed. 

    June 1917

    He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and promoted to Brigadier General in June 1917. He won two more Distinguished Service Crosses, leading his men in a defensive mission during the Kaiser’s Offensive in the Summer of 1918.

    The horrors he witnessed during that offensive prompted him to make the quip. Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword never encountered automatic weapons. Yet, Douglas MacArthur excelled in the thick of battle.

    July 1918

    By July 1918, he had earned 4 Silver Stars, two Croix de Guerre, and the French Legion of Honor. Still, he wasn’t done.

    October 1918

    During the tremendous American offensive of October 1918, he won two more silver stars and, despite being gassed, refused to stay out of the thick of the action.

    George Patton

    He came into contact with Future General George Patton, who called MacArthur ‘the bravest man I have ever met. The climax of MacArthur’s World War One experience was the taking of the French city of Chatillon. After spotting a weakness in the German defenses, he led an attack that overran the town.

    The capture of Chatillon was a crucial victory in the war’s final weeks. It won him yet another Distinguished Service Medal. Between the Wars Returning to the United States as a celebrated

    Camp Meade, Maryland

    War hero Douglas MacArthur was assigned to Camp Meade, Maryland, for a time before returning to Washington, D.C. He was involved in preparing a manual on the best use of the new weapon of warfare, the tank. After studying the subject, he became convinced that tanks should be used for more than just infantry support; they should constitute a separate fighting force of their own.

    Louise Brooks Cromwell

    In 1922, Douglas MacArthur married Louise Brooks Cromwell, described by the New York Times as ‘one of Washington’s most beautiful and attractive young women.’ She was also one of the richest, coming from a wealthy dynasty. Louise, who brought two young children to the marriage, had previously courted Douglas MacArthur‘s superior, General Pershing.

    The older man was unhappy with the situation, threatening to send Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines if he went ahead with the marriage. In less than a year, MacArthur was sent to the Philippines as a brigade commander in the Philippine Division.

    During this posting, he established close ties to the Philippine ruling powers. He also witnessed the poor treatment of the indigenous people, becoming a champion.

    IV Corps in Georgia

     In 1925, Douglas MacArthur was promoted to Major General and returned to the United States as commander of the IV Corps in Georgia. Lingering Civil War tensions made his command untenable, and he was transferred to the III Corps in Maryland.

    By 1927, MacArthur’s marriage was in trouble. He and Louise were just too different, and though he was devoted to her two children, they separated at the end of that year and were officially divorced two years later, in 1929. Douglas MacArthur then threw himself into a new role.

    America’s Olympic Committee

    Rare Colour Image of America’s Olympic Committee for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam

    He was given the role of President of America’s Olympic Committee for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. In one famous incident during the Games when the U.S. boxing coach threatened to withdraw the team due to perceived bias on the judging panel, Douglas MacArthur pulled him aside and told him . . . Americans don’t quit.

    Following the Olympics, McArthur was sent back to the Philippines. Then, in 1930, he was appointed U.S. Army chief of staff, the youngest man at the time to hold the position.

    He made critical administrative changes during the difficult Depression years. Yet the most noteworthy episode during his tenure as Chief of staff came in 1932 when he oversaw the army’s response to a protest by war veterans in Washington. During the confrontation, soldiers fired on the veterans, with several of them being killed.

    The backlash fell squarely on Douglas MacArthur‘s shoulders, and his reputation suffered a setback. With the election of Franklin Roosevelt to the presidency, tensions between the Commander in Chief and his Chief of staff reached an all-time high.

    When Roosevelt refused to increase the military budget, Douglas MacArthur made the following caustic comment When we lose the next war, and an American boy lying in the mud with an enemy bayonet through his belly and an enemy foot on his dying throat spits out his last curse, I wanted the name not be MacArthur but Roosevelt.

    Despite their differences, Roosevelt and MacArthur had mutual respect for one another. The President extended the four-year chief of staff post by a year. In 1935, Douglas MacArthur once more went to the Philippines.

    Manuel Quezon 

    Manuel Quezon
    Rare Colour Image of Manuel Quezon

    This time he came at the personal invitation of President Manuel Quezon to act as a military adviser to create a defense force on the island. He retired from active service in the U.S. Army to take up the role.

    July 1941

    World War Two In July 1941, Roosevelt brought Douglas MacArthur back. He appointed him commander of the U.S. forces in the Far East. The immediate focus, naturally, was to build up U.S. forces in the Philippines.

    Pearl Harbor

    Five months later, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war. It seemed clear to Douglas MacArthur that the Philippines would be the next Japanese target.

    That attack came within two weeks. Douglas MacArthur had neither the workforce nor the time to prepare harbor, wiped out a proper defense and half of his air force.

     December 22, 1941

    On December 22, 1941, the Japanese advanced on Manilla. Acting on his initiative, Douglas MacArthur pulled his forces back to the Bataan peninsula.

    Corregidor

    He set up his headquarters on the island fortress of Corregidor. Her personal press corps with him allowed him to publicize his valiant defense against the Japanese. However, his forces and supplies were too few, and his situation was hopeless.

    Bataan

    President Roosevelt gave the command for him to evacuate Bataan. At first, he refused, only complying when Roosevelt promised to give him his theatre of operations in the Pacific. Douglas MacArthur then escaped from Bataan, making a daring getaway by the sea. However, his forces stayed on the island.

    April 1942

    The Japanese overtook them in April 1942, with many dying on the next Bataan death march. Douglas MacArthur now set up his base of operations in Australia.

    From there, he made his famous promise I said to the people of the Philippines, whence I came, and I shall return. For two years, he worked indefatigably to make that promise a reality. Roosevelt appointed him as the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area.

    Charles Nimitz

    He worked closely with the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Charles Nimitz. Together they devised a plan to attack the Japanese through the central Pacific Islands, which was Nimitz’s focus, and oust them from the Philippines, which Douglas MacArthur was committed to what they called Operation Cartwheel.

    Solomon Islands

    Nimitz advanced his naval forces through the Solomon Islands while Douglas MacArthur advanced along.

    New Guinea

    New Guinea coast of the northeast. He used an island-hopping strategy to bypass the main areas of Japanese strength. During this time, MacArthur’s reputation among the American public had achieved hero status. By the end of 1944, he was poised to invade the Philippines.

    However, the authority for the invasion was denied by both Admiral Nimitz and the President. With his well-tuned publicity machine, he managed to pressure a change of mind, and Nimitz gave the go-ahead for the invasion.

    October 19, 1944

    On October 19, 1944, Douglas MacArthur landed at Leyte Gulf.

    Leyte Gulf

    Over the next few months, he pushed on to fully liberate the Philippines.

    Central Plain

    His men finally crossed the Central Plain to take control of the capital at Manila in March 1945. During the Post War Years, Douglas MacArthur received the Japanese surrender.

    September 2, 1945

    At Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Following the war, he was placed in command of the occupation of the Allied occupation of Japan. He was charged with rebuilding the Japanese economy and demobilizing its military.

    Korean War – H5

    In 1950, Douglas MacArthur served as the United Nations forces commander in the Korean War. 

    Harry S.Truman 

    His tenure came to an abrupt end the following year when ongoing tensions with President Truman on the approach toward the Chinese led to his dismissal as U.N. Commander in Chief. 

    Truman was attempting to pursue a peaceful negotiation with the Chinese, while Truman was a vocal advocate for military intervention. The situation became untenable when he wrote a letter to a Republican senator calling for a military invasion of China.

    Douglas MacArthur read the letter aloud in Congress. henry gave Truman the excuse to get rid of the trouble-making general. Douglas MacArthurlearned about his firing through a radio report.

    Douglas MacArthur was still very popular with the public, and his firing by Truman created a backlash that led many to call for the President’s impeachment. With his typical caustic style, Truman addressed the situation with the following fired him because he wouldn’t respect the authority of the President.

    That’s the answer to that. I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch; although he was, that’s not against the law for generals. If it were half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. Fading Away His firing by Truman had made Douglas MacArthureven more popular than ever.

    Upon his return to the U.S., he was given a ticker tape parade through the streets of New York, the largest the city had ever seen. He was invited to give a farewell address to Congress, in which he delivered the famous line Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.

    Waldorf Astoria

    He moved into the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, where he remained for the rest of his days. Douglas Douglas MacArthur spent his retirement years in quiet seclusion. However, in 1961 he was contacted by President Kennedy and asked for advice on the Asian situation. MacArthur told him to stay out of Vietnam.

    In 1961, Douglas MacArthur made his final trip to the Philippines, where he met with old friends. On his return to the States, he began working on his autobiography.

    April 5, 1964

    The end came on April 5, 1964, due to liver disease. He was honored with a full state funeral. More than 150,000 people paid their respects to one of America’s great war titans.

    Douglas MacArthur Death

    Douglas MacArthur Death
    Rare Colour Image of Douglas MacArthur’s last salute

    On March 2, 1964, General Douglas MacArthur was admitted to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He had sought care for abdominal pain and had to have his gallbladder removed. But the gallstones had already caused inflammation in his liver. 

    A cascade of health issues followed. Following surgery for hemorrhaging in his esophagus, he had to have his spleen removed, and then his kidneys began to fail. He underwent a massive blood transfusion, but it wasn’t enough. 

    Douglas MacArthur fell into a coma when his liver and kidneys failed later that month. He died at 84 years old on April 5, 1964. MacArthur was survived by his wife, Jean, and his son, Arthur. But his lasting legacy is a complex one. Some praise him as a hero who stood up to Communist expansion.

    In contrast, others see him as an egotist who sacrificed his men and risked the future of America itself for personal political gain. They say history will be the judge. However, for Douglas MacArthur, the verdict is still out.

    People Also Ask?

    How did Douglas MacArthur die?

    Douglas MacArthur fell into a coma when his liver and kidneys failed later that month. He died at 84 years old on April 5, 1964.

    What did Douglas MacArthur do in WW2?

    World War Two In July 1941, Roosevelt brought Douglas MacArthur back. He appointed him commander of the U.S. forces in the Far East. The immediate focus, naturally, was to build up U.S. forces in the Philippines.

    When did Douglas MacArthur die?

    In contrast, others see him as an egotist who sacrificed his men and risked the future of America itself for personal political gain. They say history will be the judge. However, for Douglas MacArthur, the verdict is still out.
  • Blackbeard | Biography, Legend, Death & Facts

    Summary of Blackbeard

    No other pirate in history ever reached the level of infamy achieved by Edward Teach,  aka Blackbeard. Despite being  dead for over three hundred years,  

    The memory of Edward Teach is still very much alive in modern popular culture. But what about the man behind the beard? It is generally thought that Edward was born around 1680, somewhere around Bristol,  England. As was customary for pirates, Edward Teach may have been an assumed name,  and many surname variations are recorded,  including Thack, Tack, and Teach.

    Historian Colin Woodward is adamant that he went by Thatch and that an error by a newspaper report in the Boston News-Letter started the misnomer that he was known as Teach. When researching Blackbeard,  Woodward found that accounts in which he was referred to as Edward Thatch came from those who knew him. Spelling had yet to be standardized, and people’s names were often spelled phonetically.

    This inconsistency – coupled with the variety of accents at the time – could explain the assortment of surnames attributed to the famous pirate. This confusion adds to the mystique and makes it impossible to find any record of Blackbeard’s alter ego.

    Facts about Blackbeard

    Blackbeard Biography, Legend & Facts
    Edward Teach (Blackbeard) English Pirate

    Real Name: Edward Teach

    Nickname: Blackbeard

    Born: c. 1680, Bristal, England

    Died: 22 November 1718 (aged 35–40), Ocracoke, Province of North Carolina

    Cause of Death: killed in action (stab wounds and gunshot wounds)

    Rank: Captain

    The base of operations: Atlantic West Indies

    Blackbeard Early Life

    The names Thatch do appear in  Bristolian census rolls in the early 18th century. According to Robert Earl Lee, the author of  Blackbeard, the Pirate, Teach – or Thatch – was born into an intelligent and well-to-do family,  making it more likely that his name was an alias. Lee was also the person to pinpoint  Blackbeard’s approximate date of birth, as he deduced that Black beard would have been between thirty-five to forty when he died. 

    In truth, not much is known about Edward’s youth, other than that he went to sea at a young age. By the time he was in his early twenties, he was a privateer in the West Indies.  

    He possibly arrived on a merchant vessel or slave ship, and by 1706, he was based in Jamaica. Genealogist and historian Baylus Brooks found compelling evidence suggesting Edward might have had family living in Jamaica.

    He found a record of Edward and Lucretia Teach and their son, Cox Teach, in the Jamaican settlement of  Spanish Town in 1700. Brooks believes that Teach and Teach were interchangeable names and common variants of Teach. As there had been a 1739 report that an English visitor to Jamaica had met members of the late Blackbeard, Brooks concluded that Edward Teach was the father of the famed buccaneer. 

    Edward Teach was a captain and a man of status who had been wed twice before marrying Lucretia. Brooks also discovered a document from 1706  written on a Royal Navy ship by Edward Teach’s son, also named Edward Teach. In the text,  Teach the younger relinquishes any right to his dead father’s Jamaican estate, leaving it  to his stepmother for the “love and affection I have for and bear towards my brother and  sister Thomas Teach and Rachel Teach.”  

    Brooks theorizes that Thomas and Rachel were Edward’s half-siblings. While there is no solid proof that Brook’s findings relate to Blackbeard, the evidence is captivating. During the War of the Spanish Succession from  1701 to 1714, privateers were employed by many European powers. Privateers were essentially pirates who had the backing of their monarch. They were free to plunder the ships and settlements of rival countries without the fear of reprimand from their native governments.  Privateering was a profitable yet shady business.  

    Privateers and Pirates of the West Indies

    Privateers and pirates of the wst indies
    The privateers sailed in privately owned armed ships and were indistinguishable from other pirates.

    The privateers sailed in privately owned armed ships and were indistinguishable from other pirates. After the war ended in 1714, many  privateers continued their business under the moniker “pirate.” The man who would become Blackbeard was among this number. 

    The first time Blackbeard came onto the scene as a fully blown pirate was serving under Benjamin Hornigold. Hornigold was another ex-privateer and apprenticed Edward in piratical ways. These men, amongst many others, were drawn into piracy when a fleet of Spanish ships was wrecked in a hurricane on  Florida’s Atlantic coast in 1715.  

    The ships were loaded with treasure, causing many seafarers to descend on the area. Seeing potential in Edward, Hornigold soon elevated him to captain and gave him his own vessel and a small crew.

    The Gentleman Pirate

    In 1717, they sailed together across the Caribbean Sea and plundered any ships they came across. During this time, they came across Stede Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,”  A plantation owner from Barbados. Bonnet’s crew was unhappy with their command, so Blackbeard took over Bonnet’s ship, the Revenge, for a short time. Off the coast of the Island of Martinique, Hornigold, Blackbeard, and Bonnet captured a French Dutch Flute called La Concorde.  

    This acquisition would be the biggest of Hornigold’s career as a pirate, and he equipped Blackbeard with the vessel that would become almost as famous as the man himself. La Concorde was a slave ship that was sailing to the Americas from Africa.  

    The size and speed of the slave ships made them the perfect vessels for piracy, which may have been the reason Blackbeard and Hornigold targeted it. On its last fateful voyage as a slave ship, Captain Pierre Dosset reported that there were  516 enslaved people aboard when they left Juda, but sixty-one died during the crossing. They were headed to Martinique but were intercepted by the pirates and captured just before reaching their destination.

    The crew had also suffered fatalities and illness, and it took only two volleys from the pirate’s cannons for Captain Dosset to surrender. La Concorde, plus her crew and hostages,  were then taken to the island of Bequia, where the cabin boy, Louis Art – along with three or four of his crewmates – voluntarily joined the pirates.

    Blackbeard then commandeered the captured vessel and forced ten more French crew members to stay aboard. Included in this number were three surgeons, two carpenters, and the ship’s cook. Some theorize that Blackbeard gave the enslaved people the chance to join, but most of them were left as captives of the remaining French sailors.  

    Blackbeard then provided the French crew who had not joined the pirates with a forty-ton Bermuda sloop to transport the enslaved Africans to their designated destination.  

    The Queen Annes Revenge

    The French sailors called their new ship  Mauvaise Recontre, aptly meaning “bad encounter.” Blackbeard added cannons to his newly acquired ship and gave her a new name: The Queen Annes Revenge. It is unknown why Blackbeard chose this name for his ship, but it is thought that it displayed his loyalty to the House of Stuart, of which Queen Anne was the last monarch. Shortly after this event, Blackbeard and Hornigold parted ways.

    Blackbeard continued to engage in piracy, while Hornigold decided to take advantage of the offer of a king’s pardon that was extended to all British pirates. Around this time, Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet also parted ways, although the two would meet up again in  March 1718. Bonnet failed to capture a ship, and his crew left to join Blackbeard.  He became Blackbeard’s prisoner, although he was treated well. Eventually,  Bonnet would take up command later that summer. 

    In late 1717, though, Blackbeard and his crew sailed north, plundering ships near St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Nevis, and Antigua, arriving in  Puerto Rico by December. In a few months, by early 1718, Blackbeard had amassed a crew of 300-400 sailors. He had cultivated his signature look of long black hair and a huge black beard tied with ribbons by this time.  

    This fearsome-looking man’s reputation soon grew,  probably due to his theatrical flair of adding fuses to his wild hair and lighting them before an attack so thick smoke encircled his face. The version of the Jolly Roger attributed to Blackbeard was probably the least jolly of all the variations.

    Blackbeard’s flag depicted a skeleton with horns, holding an hourglass in one hand while the other held a spear pointed at a bleeding heart. Supposedly this signaled to Blackbeard’s victims that their time was running out, and death awaited any who resisted. However, the first appearance of this design is in an article published in 1912 and was only associated with Blackbeard much later, so it is impossible to verify whether this was actually the flag he flew.  

    We also now know that Edward did not really like using violence and, despite his heavily armed ship, most of his success came from the fear he inspired. His reputation and dramatic appearance allowed him to take many vessels with little to no bloodshed. Of course, the articles and rumors that circulated about him at the time painted him as a cruel and murderous villain. 

    By April 1718, Blackbeard’s crew were in the Bay of Honduras, where they captured a sloop named Adventure and forced the captain – David Herriot  – to join them. They then sailed east, passing near the Cayman Islands, and off the coast of  Cuba, they added a Spanish sloop to their fleet. The following month, Blackbeard made the most brazen attack of his piratical career. 

    Blackbeard’s blockade of Charleston

    In May 1718, Blackbeard’s fleet blocked the port of Charleston, South Carolina, for nearly a week. The pirates seized ships arriving or attempting to leave, and they captured the crew and passengers of one boat, holding them hostage. You may think gold and jewels would be the pirate’s motivation for this audacious attack. However,  the ransom that Blackbeard demanded in exchange for the return of the hostages was a chest of medicine.

    Once the medication had been delivered, the pirates released all the captives and continued up the coast. It seems that disease was more of a threat to the pirates than the law.  Archaeologists excavating the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge – which was discovered in 1996  – found a urethral syringe containing traces of mercury, which was used to treat syphilis. 

    Imagine trying to use that on a swaying ship! After leaving Charleston, the Queen Anne’s Revenge and the Adventure were both grounded on a sandbar in North Carolina and abandoned. Herriot later  stated in a deposition, “the said Thatch’s ship Queen Anne’s Revenge run aground off of the Bar  of Topsail-Inlet” and that the Adventure had “run aground likewise about a Gun-shot from  the said Thatch.” During this deposition, Herriot claimed that Blackbeard had intentionally grounded the ships to break up the company, which may have become increasingly unmanageable,  and demanded their share of the loot.  

    Blackbeard left some pirates stranded and absconded with a smaller handpicked crew and the most valuable plunder. Blackbeard and his select crew sailed to Bath to meet with Governor Charles Eden.  The relationship between Eden and Blackbeard has been much speculated, with some thinking they were close friends and others believing they merely had a working relationship. Eden granted the king’s pardon to Blackbeard and his crew, doubling the population of Bath and adding citizens that had valuable combat experience to the populous.

    The fact that these newcomers also brought considerable wealth probably helped ingratiate them into the community. It seemed that  Edward’s piratical career was over. He married a local girl and set up a home on Ocracoke Island,  becoming a model citizen … for about a minute! Soon, Blackbeard was back at sea. He returned to  Bath with a ship he claimed to have found deserted and floating in the ocean. Whether anyone believed this was a moot point, as Blackbeard was granted salvage rights of the vessel and legally allowed to keep the ship’s cargo of sugar and cocoa.

    This allowance was most likely aided by some barrels of sugar being given as bribes to the authorities. However, Blackbeard’s salvation lasted just about as long as his civilized life. Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia was less amicable to the pirates, as were many powerful traders who saw piracy as undermining their legitimate business. Spotswood dispatched Lieutenant Robert Maynard and a British naval force to deal with Blackbeard and his crew, offering one hundred pounds for the capture of Edward, dead or alive. Blackbeard had less than thirty men at his command when he boarded his sloop to face the British force.

    Death of Blackbeard

    Death of BlackBeard

    On November 22, 1718, the British ships ran aground on a sandbank, and Blackbeard fired his cannons at the stranded vessels. One of the ships, commanded by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, drifted towards Blackbeard’s ship. The pirates boarded the boat, and a bloody battle broke out.  

    This battle would be the deadliest of Blackbeard’s career and one that he would not survive. It was recorded that Blackbeard “stood his ground and fought with great fury, till he received five and twenty wounds and five of them by shot.  At length, as he was cocking another pistol, having fired several before, he fell down dead.” About a year after Blackbeard began his solo piratical career, he was dead, and his head hanging from the bowsprit of Maynard’s sloop. 

    The stories and legends relating to Blackbeard make it impossible to know the truth behind the man and his time as the most feared pirate that sailed the seven seas. Some say he was a heartless cutthroat who routinely tortured those aboard any ship he targeted. Others think he was an intelligent and well-educated man who didn’t kill anyone until his final battle. Regardless of the long-obscured reality, the myth of Blackbeard endures and continues to fascinate to this day. 

    People Also Ask?

    Was Blackbeard a real person?

    Historian Colin Woodward is adamant that he went by Thatch and that an error by a newspaper report in the Boston News-Letter started the misnomer that he was known as Teach. When researching Blackbeard,  Woodward found that accounts in which he was referred to as Edward Thatch came from those who knew him. Spelling had yet to be standardized, and people’s names were often spelled phonetically.

    Who is the most famous pirate?

    No other pirate in history ever reached the level of infamy achieved by Edward Teach,  aka Blackbeard. Despite being  dead for over three hundred years,  

    How did Blackbeard die?

    On November 22, 1718, the British ships ran aground on a sandbank, and Blackbeard fired his cannons at the stranded vessels. he would not survive. It was recorded that Blackbeard “stood his ground and fought with great fury, till he received five and twenty wounds and five of them by shot. 
  • Bahadur Shah II | Biography, Achievements, & Facts
    Bahadur Shah II
    Portrait of Bahadur Shah II, c. 1850 Mughal Emperor of India, King of Delhi, 20th Mughal Emperor

    Full Name: Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar II

    Born: 24 October 1775, Shahjahanabad, Mughal Empire (present-day Old Delhi, India)

    Died: 7 November 1862 (aged 87), Rangoon, Burma Province, British India

    Burial: 7 November 1862, Rangoon, Burma

    Spouse: Taj Mahal, Zinat Mahal, Sharaful-Mahal, Akhtar Mahal, Rahim Bakhsh Bai, Hanwa

    Issue: Mirza Dara Bakht, Mirza Mughal, Mirza Fath-ul-Mulk Bahadur, Mirza Khizr Sultan, Mirza Jawan Bakht, Mirza Shah Abbas, Mirza Abu Bakr

    Bahadur Shah Zafar II

    Bahadur Shah II – A bad omen is not picky when it falls on anyone beating a wealthy or a poor family and likewise,  there are some families whose descendants have lost their glorious days to begging such as the Abbasid empire who lost everything and baked in the streets of Baghdad. the miserable family of the nawabs of Bengal and the golden royal lineage of the Mughal emperors of India today we are talking about the last  Mughal emperor of India bahadur shah Zafar with whom the last son of the Mughal empire sang his poems have come down to us and one can glean from them.

    Bahadur Shah Zafar was an emotional and thoughtful man who believed in the oneness of all he was also a man who believed in all religions. and one of his verses extols the fact that Hindus and Muslims are people with similar ethos but unfortunately, his goodness was taken advantage of in 1857 sepoys of the East India company both Hindus and Muslims revolted as they felt that the new cartridges issued to them the Enfield rifles were greased with the fat of pigs and cows the revealings of boys seized the town of Meerut  Kanpur and Delhi the supports needed a leader and they opted to make Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader. 

    A massive rebellion broke out two decades later now hailed as India’s first ward of independence some mutant soldiers declared that now the frail  82 year old as the leader of their insurrection the emperor who preferred writing poetry to wage war knew that the chaotic uprising was doomed and was still and still agreed to become the leading British forces surrounded Delhi within a month and ruthlessly crushed.

    The revolt executed all ten of Zafar’s surviving sons and two of whose heads were presented to him before dinner and they were killed at the Khuni all Darwaza in Delhi despite the royal family surrendered and he was called into the same red fort that turned into a court of the trial of the British East India company.

    Bahadur Shah Zafar was not good enough to be a warrior but he loved his country all the same and proved his point as the British were the men of service in the Mughal court but later made him a puppet monarch he revolted as the British did not do the same and betrayed the Mughals he complained about the amount of wealth that the British took away from India the balance sheet of the deaths caused by British was higher than the British killed in the first revolt of 1857.

    Death of Bahadur Shah Zafar

    Bahadur Shah Zafar Death

    The frail old king knew that there was no point in proving his point to the British court as they have already made up their mind to punish him his only wish was to remain in Delhi to stay closer to his country but the east India company did not grant his wish he and his whole family were imprisoned and sent to Rangoon in Burma for a life.

    Sentence his lines reflected the pain he writes alas what a revolution due to the cruelty of the age Delhi slipped out of Zafar’s hand in the moment captain h nelson Davis recalls the last sight of the emperor who was no less than a beggar he lived in a prison he lived in the prison for four years and wrote his last wishes on the walls.

    how unfortunate for Zafar’s funeral not even two yards of land was found my friend the empathy moved nelson as he saw the frail emperor dead without a prayer or an open window of freedom thus the last king of India crossed the line of life as his plane funeral was taking its force these lines resonated in captain nelson’s ears when the time came for the tomb there was no land available for the last crown prince of  India

    In the whole of Rangoon, the captain writes that he saluted the king for the last time and left if we ever go to Rangoon you will still find his grave and the citizens of Myanmar have built a devotional relationship with him that Bahadur Shah Zafar may have been the emperor of  Hindustan but he was greater than that they call him baba because he was so learned he knew everything.

  • Vlad the Impaler | Biography, Dracula, Death, & Facts
    Vlad Dracula the Impaler
    Vlad III portrait at Ambras Castle (c. 1560), is shown to be a copy of an original painted during his lifetime.
    Born: 1428–1431 Died: December 1476 – January 1477 (aged 45 – 49) Spouse: Unknown first wife, Jusztina Szilágyi Parents: Vlad II of Wallachia (Father), Eupraxia of Moldavia (Mother) Issue: Mihnea House: Drăculești, House of Basarab Religion: Eastern Orthodox, Disputed Roman Catholic

    Vlad the Impaler (Dracula)

    Vlad The Impaler Dracula

    Vlad the Impaler (Dracula): In 1431, more than four hundred years before Bram Stoker published his famous Dracula, a chubby baby boy born in Transylvania would be affectionately named Vlad III Dracula. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Vlad the Impaler would grow up to inspire a  story about a legendary blood-sucking vampire. Although Vlad’s family hailed from Transylvania,  the region today is Romania.

    In the medieval era, the Romanian royals didn’t go for family loyalty,  and Vlad’s family secured allegiance elsewhere. Vlad’s dad was Vlad II, one of many illegitimate sons of Mircea I of Wallachia. As such, he didn’t have much intention or chance of ruling the region even though illegitimate heirs were still allowed to rule. When Sigismund of Luxembourg, the  King of Hungary, decided to found a Chivalric Order – called the Order of the Dragon – one of his recruits was the young prince Vlad the Impaler.  

    This move proved beneficial for Vlad, as the  Order of the Dragon supported instating him as king following the murder of his father and half-brothers at the hands of Wallachian boyars (nobles). This move helped him gain power over Transylvania. As a tribute to the Order, Vlad’s family would henceforth be known as  Dracula, meaning Son of Dracul; Son of the Dragon. 

    Christianity in the Ottoman Empire

    Christians in Ottoman Empire
    Ottoman official registering Christian boys for the devşirme. Ottoman miniature painting from the Süleymanname, 1558

    Vlad III was five, his father began to rule  Wallachia, and the family moved there. The Order of the Dragon was distinctly Christian, which put Wallachia in conflict with the rising Islamic Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire. In 1442, Vlad the Impaler and his younger brother, Radu, were sent to the Ottoman Sultan Murad II court. However, they were more like hostages than guests and stayed as insurance that Vlad II would support Ottoman policies. The throne of Wallachia was heavily contested, and Vlad II sent his sons voluntarily in exchange for the Ottoman’s support of his rule.  

    However, there is some dispute about how Vlad the Impaler and Radu ended up in the court of the Sultan. Some historians state that Vlad II had traveled to Gallipoli after refusing to support the Ottoman invasion of Transylvania and that Vlad II had been imprisoned with his sons but was released a year later. Whatever the exact circumstance,  Vlad and Radu were left with the Sultan, and Vlad II promised the Ottomans a yearly tribute and a supply of young men for their army.

    Mircea II of Wallachia

    The eldest son of Vlad II was Mircea II, and while he was close with his father, he disagreed with his policies regarding the Ottomans. Mircea  II led Wallachian forces against the Ottomans and successfully recaptured a fortress that his father subsequently made him give back. These circumstances meant that Vlad II had proved to be a fickle ally to the Order of the Dragon.

    He had not supported the Christians in their war against the Ottomans, and the extenuating circumstances of his son’s detention were not considered. After a disastrous Christian defeat in the Battle of Varna,  resentment soon grew amongst the Wallachian nobles, who revolted in 1447, tortured Mircea, and buried him alive. Vlad II also died that same year. Still, in the Sultan’s court, Vlad III would not hear of the deaths until his return to Wallachia in 1448 at the age of seventeen. His time with the Ottomans had not been all bad. He had been tutored in art, philosophy, and science, as well as horsemanship and combat.  

    Radu the Handsome

    Vlad the Impaler’s younger brother had been seven when they arrived in the Ottoman court and was young enough to accept this new life. Radu grew up to be known as Radu the Handsome, and some believe his close relationship with Sultan Mehmed II was more than friendly. Vlad, however, was eleven when he came to the Ottoman court, so he held on to his animosity towards the Ottomans.

    He engaged himself in combat training, perhaps as an outlet for his rage. Vlad needed Ottoman support to win back his father’s throne despite his deep-seated hatred. Backed by the Ottoman governors of Northern Bulgaria, Vlad held the throne for only several months before he was forced to flee.

    Vladislaus II of Hungary

    Vlad would soon cut his ties with the Ottomans and turned to their enemies, the Hungarians. King Ladislaus V of Hungry disliked Vlad’s rival  – Vladislav II of Wallachia – and decided to back Vlad. When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, Europe was on high alert and expected a full invasion. While some of Vladislav’s forces were engaged in battle with the Ottomans, Vlad led a small group of exiled boyars and mercenaries against Vladislav, and it is thought that he killed the current ruler with his own hand. 

    In 1456, Vlad had the throne again. It is thought one of their early actions as ruler, or voivode, was to stop paying the annual tribute to the Ottomans that had previously ensured peace between the two powers. This act caused friction amongst the boyars, who had historically been in constant conflict with each other. Vlad felt that these internal intrigues were the cause of the throne of Wallachia’s constantly changing hands, and he had had enough. His way of dealing with them involved cruel and unusual punishment, and it  shows why earned him the moniker “Impaler.” At a banquet at the palace of Targoviste, Vlad ordered several boyars to be impaled for their treachery.  

    The number of boyars varies and is thought to be anywhere between 50 and 500, but he had undoubtedly made an impact whatever the number. Vlad’s refusal to continue to pay tribute angered the Sultan, especially as the Ottomans had raised  Vlad to be loyal.

    Sultan Mehmed II decided to try and depose Vlad and install Radu on the throne instead. Mehmed sent two dedicated men to assassinate Vlad, but the plot was discovered, and  – you guessed it – the Sultan’s men got impaled. Vlad’s court chroniclers made meticulous records of all the impaling so as not to lose track. Vlad had 1,350 Ottomans impaled, 6,840 people impaled  in Dirstor, Catal, and Dripotrom, 630 in Turucaia, 6,414 in Giurgiu, 1,460 in Rahova, 210 in Marotiu,  and 749 in Novigrad and Sistovica.

    Punishment with Vlad Tepes

    These were men, women, and children; no one was spared. There are many tales of Vlad’s penchant for horrific forms of punishment during his six years as ruler of Wallachia. In one story, he cut the hands off a man’s wife as she had not mended or washed her husband’s shirt. He rid Wallachia of any “undesirables,” including beggars, thieves,  the old, and the sick, by inviting them to a banquet. Once they were all inside, he burned the building down. He is also said to have nailed the caps to the heads of visiting Ottoman embassies when they refused to remove them in his presence.

    Vlad’s rule was cemented by strategy as well as cruelty. He chose the Poenari Citadel as his main fortress, as its hill-top position made it nearly impossible to lay siege to it, let alone conquer it. Even his passion for impaling was strategic. He had perfected the method for impaling people without damaging their vital organs, meaning that they stayed alive – and in pain – for hours or even days. This act had a profound effect on the morale of his opposers. 

    Night Attack at Târgoviște

    Night Attack
    The Battle With Torches by Romanian painter Theodor Aman.

    In 1462, Vlad’s most infamous battle took place.  Vlad fought off the Ottoman army of between 90,000 and 250,000 with a force of 30,000 men and boys.  As strategic as ever, Vlad harassed the Ottoman forces with night attacks. He further undermined them by destroying food sources and poisoning water wells that they might use. On June 16, Vlad and a few of his men dressed as Turks and entered the enemy camp in an attempt to assassinate or capture the Sultan. The plan ultimately didn’t come to fruition but was successful in that their disguises created so much confusion that the Turks started fighting amongst themselves.

    The demoralized Ottoman army marched on to Targoviste but was met with a deserted town in a forest of over 20,000 impaled corpses of men, women, and children. Understandably, the Turks  retreated, with Sultan Mehmed II declaring “it was not possible to deprive of his  country a man who had done such great deeds, who had such a diabolical understanding of  how to govern his realm and his people.” Another tale from this campaign states that  Vlad ordered the noses to be cut off of his captives and sent to the Hungarian King  Matthias Corvinus to prove his victory.

    When Mehmed retreated, he left Vlad’s brother Radu and a reduced force of Ottoman soldiers to continue fighting for the throne. After numerous defeats – and the impaling of around 30,000 Ottoman soldiers – Radu somehow managed to win the support of the boyars. Perhaps they were not too keen on all the impaling.

    In August 1462, Vlad was forced into exile. He hoped that his old allies, the Hungarians, would support him financially and help him raise an army, but instead, the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus imprisoned him. The raven had caught a dragon. Unbeknownst to Vlad, Matthias did not have the funds for outright war and had spent a lot of the Pope’s money in his own military endeavors. Instead, he wanted to spend his money on the beautification of his province.

    Matthias allegedly forged letters to send to the Pope to justify  Vlad’s imprisonment that implicated Vlad in an alliance with the Ottomans. For around fourteen years, Vlad remained the prisoner of Matthias. After this time, Matthias released Vlad and recognized him as the rightful ruler of Wallachia. However, this recognition did not extend as far as to provide him with an army. Vlad’s release could have been due to a renewed threat from the Ottomans. Radu had died in early 1475, and Vlad was able to depose the current Voivode, Basarab  Lakota, who was sympathetic to the Ottomans. Unfortunately, Vlad’s latest rule did not last longer than a year before he was killed. 

    Vlad demonstrated many cruelties throughout his life, possibly inspired by his time as a captive of the Sultan. But Vlad wasn’t just motivated by hate; he was also motivated by love. While most of the details of Vlad’s personal life are obscure, it is known that he had two or three wives and that he loved his children. It is thought that he never married his one true love, Katharina Siegel, who was a Saxon and the daughter of the weaver’s guild leader. They were together for the last twenty years of Vlad’s life and had five children. Katharina stayed faithful to Vlad throughout his imprisonment in Hungary and resigned to a nunnery after his death. 

    Many in Romania consider Vlad III a national hero despite his worldwide legacy. Although cruel, he was one of the most respected rulers of Wallachia,  as well as a brilliant politician and warrior. He cared for his family and country and devoted his life to attempting to stabilize the tumultuous rule of Wallachia. He also had a passion for justice and wanted to exterminate crime. His extreme methods successfully rid the country of murderers, rapists, and thieves.

    A testament to Vlad’s command of his country was that a  golden cup should be kept by a public fountain and would be free to be used by everyone. It was never stolen under his leadership. Vlad hated dishonesty and famously tricked a noble by arranging a theft of 50 gold coins from the noble, who subsequently complained that he had been robbed of 100 gold coins.

    Vlad also ushered in economic progress for the region, taxing the  Saxon merchants who had previously traded in Wallachia tax-free. Of course, any Saxon merchant who tried to get out of paying tax was impaled. Many of the stories we have of Vlad come from documents made using the new Gutenberg press. Many of these documents were produced by the many enemies of Vlad. As well to the Ottoman Turks, Vlad had also made enemies of the Saxons,  the wealthy landowners of Wallachia, the Hungarian nobles, and anyone else who showed support for any other prospective ruler.  

    The families of all his victims wanted to discredit his rule by portraying him in a horrifying light. Alongside the reports of his many impalings were tales that he drank blood, ate human flesh, and enjoyed taking his meals surrounded by his torture victims. These stories may not have been true,  but they created a lasting impression in the minds of Europeans. While there is some doubt as to whether Vlad Dracula was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s vampire, the man and the myth are now intrinsically linked. 

  • Napoleon I | Biography, Achievements, & Facts
    Napoleon Bonaparte
    Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor of France)

    Reign: 17 May 1804

    –  6 April 1814, 20

    March 1815 – 22

    June 1815

    Coronation: 2 December 1804

    Predecessor:

    First Consul himself

    Successor: Louis

    XVIII of France

    (King of Italy)

    Full name:

    Napoleon Bonaparte

    Born:

    Napoleon Bonaparte

    15 August 1769, Azacio

    Died: 5 May 1821

    (age 51), Longwood,

    St. Helena

    Mausoleum:

    Les Invalides

    Spouses: JosephineBuhnens

    and Mary Lewis

    Children: Napoleon II

    House: Bonaparte Kul

    Parents:

    Carlo Bonaparte,

    Lie down Ramolino

    Religion: Roman Catholicism

    Napoleon Bonaparte was Undoubtedly one of the best military strategists of all time, this man conquered much of Europe before being exiled, only to return to France and start another war before permanently being exiled to a tiny island quite literally in the middle of nowhere, where he died.

    Napoleon Bonaparte Early Life

    Napoleon was born Napoleone di Bonaparte on August 15, 1769 in Corsica, to Italian parents. His father, Carlo Buonaparte, was Corsica’s representative to the French Royal Court from 1777 until he died in 1785. As a child, Napoleon spoke French with a Corsican accent, and as a result, other children would bully him. He turned to books and was, quote, “distinguished for his application in mathematics. He [was] fairly well acquainted with history and geography.

    Napoleon Bonaparte turned 9, he traveled to France to attend a military academy, and when he completed his studies there, he attended the “École Militaire”, training to become an artillery officer. Immediately after graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 1st Artillery regiment. During this time, and during the French Revolution, he became a supporter of Robespierre, who was famous for decapitating people and eventually decapitated himself. Also during this time, he was quickly promoted, reaching the rank of Brigadier General in 1793, when he was just 24 years old. It was here that he embarked on his first-ever military campaign.

    In 1796, he became the commander of the French Army in Italy, winning a whole lot of battles, and becoming a hero in France. Then, in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte went to Egypt, to try and protect French trading interests, and to join up with the ruler of Mysore to try and kick the British out of India. This was during the War of the Second Coalition; there would be many, many wars to come in the future.

    Napoleon’s expedition failed, but in 1799, the French Revolution ended, and since Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous military leader, he became the new leader of France. He was called the First Consul. A year later, in 1800, Napoleon won his first significant victory as the head of his country. At the battle of Marengo, his French forces fought and defeated Austrian forces, taking 8,000 men captive, while the Austrians only captured 900.

    This victory gave Napoleon Bonaparte further power in France — up to this point, his campaign against the Austrians wasn’t going so well, and this battle changed it. Napoleon turned this battle into a propaganda weapon; he named his horse Marengo, as well as several ships. His power escalated quickly, in 1804, he declared himself Emperor of France and basically became King of France. Europe was by then in war (multiple wars, actually).

    Napoleonic Wars

    Napoleonic Wars

    One war was fought from 1803-to 1806, another from 1806 to 1807, another in 1809, yet another one from 1812 to 1814, and finally another one in 1815. These wars were the beginning of what would be known as the Napoleonic Wars. The War that went from 1803 to 1806 was called the War of the Third Coalition.

    In this war, France, Spain, and a couple of other minor countries fought against the Holy Roman Empire, Britain, Russia, Sweden, and a couple of other countries. It was during this war that the famous Battle of Austerlitz took place — often heralded as Napoleon’s greatest victory, his French Grandée Armée won against Austrian and Russian forces that were 50% larger than his own. As a result of this war, Napoleon’s new “French Empire” was recognized, France gained a whole lot of land, and the Holy Roman Empire, an empire that lasted for almost a thousand years, dissolved.

    The next war fought between 1806 and 1807 was the War of the Fourth Coalition. During this war, Napoleon’s French forces (along with his Spanish allies) fought against Prussia (a part of Germany, basically), Russia, and Britain. Napoleon won again, and Prussia lost over half of its land. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and made his brother King of Spain, in what would be known as the Peninsular War.

    The war after that (so many wars) was fought in 1809, and was known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. It was fought between France and Britain and a newly-formed Austria. France won, it gained land, and so did a couple of its puppet states. As a result of all these wars, Napoleon controlled much of Europe.

    In 1812, however, Napoleon Bonaparte met his first major defeat. He invaded Russia. And he lost in much the same way that Hitler would over a century later. He lost due to the Russian winter. About 75% of Napoleon’s army either perished or were injured in some way. Then, a year later, in 1813, another war broke out. This war was known as the War of the Sixth Coalition. France and its allies were attacked by Russia, Prussia, and the United Kingdom. It was during this war that the famous Battle of Leipzig was fought.

    This battle, also known as the Battle of Nations, was fought between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and was the largest battle in Europe until World War 1.

    Napoleon Bonaparte lost this battle, as well as the war, and was forced to abdicate and surrender. France lost a whole lot of land, and Louis XVIII became the king of France. Louis the eighteenth was the brother of Louis the sixteenth, who was guillotined (or decapitated) during the French Revolution). Napoleon was then exiled to Elba, but he couldn’t stay still.

    Napoleon Bonaparte Death

    Napoleon Bonaparte Death
    The Death of Napoleon’ captures the general’s final moments

    In 1815, he snuck out of Elba, returned to France, and declared himself Emperor again. This wouldn’t normally be so easy; however, most of the French Army was still loyal to Napoleon, giving him legitimacy. The other countries (namely Britain, Russia, and Germany) didn’t like the fact that Napoleon returned. They said that Napoleon was an outlaw, and started another war to overthrow him.

    This war was known as the Hundred Days War, and also as the War of the Seventh Coalition. This war was Napoleon’s final war; he was finally defeated at Waterloo and was exiled. This time, he was exiled somewhere more remote — Saint Helena, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He would die there six years later, in 1821, at the age of 51, due to what was probably stomach cancer.

  • Julius Caesar | Biography, Conquests, Facts, & Death
    Julius Caesar's
    The Tusculum portrait, is likely the sole surviving Caesar sculpture during his lifetime. Turin, Italy’s Archaeological Museum.

    Born: 12 July 100 BC Rome, Italy

    Died: 15 March 44 BC (aged 55) Rome, Italy

    Cause of death: Assassination (stab wounds)

    Parents: Gaius Julius Caesar, Aurelia

    Spouse(s): Cossutia (disputed), Cornelia (m. 84 BC; d. 69 BC), Pompeia (m. 67 BC; div. 61 BC), Calpurnia (m. 59 BC)

    Children: Julia, Caesarion, Augustus (adoptive)

    Resting place: Temple of Caesar, Rome

    Occupation: Politiciansoldier

    Notable work: Bellum Gallicum, Bellum Civile

    Office: Consul (59, 48, 46–45, 44 BC), Dictator (49–44 BC)

    Julius Caesar Roman ruler

    Gaius Julius Caesar Renowned military general, statesman, author, and historian, you probably don’t know much about him, except that he was the dictator of the Roman Republic, and supposedly said, “Et Tu, Brute?” before being stabbed to death.

    Julius Caesar’s Early Life

    Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12th, 100 BCE in Rome. His parents were both highly influential families, his father being a praetor, governing a province near modern-day Istanbul, and his mother’s family producing many census or modern-day presidents. Nobody knows what else Caesar did in his childhood; the two famous biographies of him written by Suetonius and Plutarch (two famous historians) only begin when he was a teenager. Then, when Caesar was about 15, in 85 BCE, his father died, and Caesar became head of his family. Caesar then got married, but Caesar’s uncle, Gaius Marius, was fighting a war, and lost, so he was exiled.

    The person who won the war, Sulla, targeted Caesar since he was related to the guy who lost and stripped Caesar of his inheritance. Caesar was forced to go into hiding, but his mother’s family, who were supporters of Sulla, the guy who won, persuaded Sulla to pardon Caesar. Caesar, however, thought that Sulla might still come after him, so he left Rome and joined the Roman Army, winning the Civic Crown (the high award in the Roman Army) for his part in the Siege of Mytilene, which was basically suppressing a rebellion. Then, in 79 BCE, Sulla voluntarily stepped down from the post of dictator and died a year later.

    In Rome, he became a lawyer and made a name for himself as a good orator. Then, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates, and the pirates asked for 20 talents of gold as ransom. Caesar said “no, I’m not worth 20 talents, I’m worth fifty! Ask for fifty talents as ransom! Now!”

    The pirates did so, the ransom was paid, and then Caesar hunted down the pirates and killed them all. In 73 BCE, he became a pontifex or Roman priest. Then, Caesar was elected a military tribune, the bottom ring on the ladder of Roman politics. In 63 BCE, he ran for Pontifex Maximus (or head priest of the Roman Empire) and won. Next year, in 62 BCE, he became a praetor, and the year after that, he became governor of Hispania Ulterior or southern Spain.

    The year after that, in 60 BCE, Caesar ran for the post of consul and won. Here, he joined in an alliance — not official— between himself and two other guys, Pompey and Crassus. The alliance was called the first triumvirate, or rule of three men. Since consulships only lasted a year, Caesar was then assigned a governorship, but he wasn’t content with that. Since he was governor, he had control over four legions or about 20,000 soldiers. Over the next eight years, from 58 to 50 BCE,

    Caesar conquered Gaul or modern-day France. In 50 BCE, the Roman Senate ordered Caesar to return to Rome and disband his army. Caesar said no, and prepared for war. The next year, in 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon (the boundary where no army was to cross), and famously said, “the die is cast”. For the next four years, Rome was in a civil war, with Caesar coming out on top. The next year, a month before he was assassinated, Caesar proclaimed himself dictator in perpetuity. A lot of people didn’t like this, and a plot to assassinate Caesar was hatched. About a month or two later (exact figures are disputed).

    Julius Caesar’s Death

    Julius Caesar's Death
    Last words of Julius Caesar

    on March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar walked into the Senate. As he was about to take his seat, a crowd of Senators surrounded him. They pulled off his toga and started stabbing him. He was stabbed 23 times. Interestingly enough, there’s no evidence or proof that he did say, “Et tu, Brute?” Most evidence points to him saying nothing while he was being stabbed. After Caesar was assassinated, the Roman Republic collapsed, and, in 27 BCE, Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, became head of the new Roman Empire. So, that’s the life of Gaius Julius Caesar,

  • Gunduz Bey | Biography, Death & Facts

    Gunduz Bey Summary

    Gunduz Bey was the Eldest Son of Ertugrul Ghazi and elder brother of Osman Ghazi I some Historians believed that Gunduz Alp was the name of the father of Ertugrul Ghazi, But most historians mentioned in their books the name of Ertugrul Ghazi’s father as Suleiman Shah.

    Facts about Gunduz Bey

    Gunduz Bey
    Gunduz Bey, Son of Ertugrul Ghazi

    Full Name: Gündüz Bey

    Born: 1245, Sogut, Kayı Tribe (now Sogut, Turkey)

    Death: 1299, Inegol, Ottoman State (now Inegol, Turkey)

    Cause of Death: Martyr

    Children: Aydoğdu Bey, Aktimur Bey

    Parents: Ertuğrul, Halime Hatun

    Gunduz Bey Early Life

    Gunduz Bey was born in 1245, in Sogut, Kayı Tribe (now Sogut, Turkey). Gunduz Bey was the first son of Ertugrul Ghazi and Halima Sultan. Gunduz Bey was fearless and brave since childhood. He fought many battles in his life with bravery.

    Recently, three Osman I coins were found in Yenişehir, Bursa Which is from the Ottoman period on which is written Osman S/O Ertugrul S/O Gunduz Alp So that’s why historians believe that Ertugrul Ghazi’s father’s name was Gunduz Alp. So Ertugrul Ghazi’s son was named after his grandfather name Gunduz Alp.

    The year 1245 C.E is also said to be the year of birth of Gunduz Bey When Osman was born, Gunduz was 10 years old Some historians have also mentioned the differences between ‘Osman and Gunduz, in which the discipline of the tribe, and regard to the relationship with the neighbors, I have mentioned a little bit of disagreement on these things. and Gunduz Alp was interested in the leadership of Tribe But the Ottoman authoritative writer’s Ashiq Pashazad and Ibn Bibi rejected this historical view and wrote that Gunduz Alp was extremely in love with his younger brother Osman.

    Osman Ghazi had certain qualities that Gunduz Alp made him the ruler of the Tribe by himself, And Gunduz had taken part in every war against neighbors, but especially against the Byzantine Christians. He stood by his younger brother for the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.

    Christian historians also mentioned the differences between Osman Ghazi and his uncle Dundar Bey, And it is said that ‘Osman killed his uncle as a benefactor of the Byzantines But neutral historians have imagined the story of Dundar Bey’s murder as a fabrication.

    These historians believe that Christian historians and anti-Osman people in Turkey blamed Osman Ghazi for the assassination was used to defame Osman Ghazi To prove his personality suspicious because there was no written history at that time A fabricated story has been told to prove Osman Ghazi a tyrant if you look at the ground reality, Dundar Bay was 92 or 94 years old at that time. And was killed for opposing the attack on a fort So this just seems to contradict reality for such a frail person. And that can’t be a valid reason for such an elderly person. However, Osman Ghazi had a lot of respect for him because of his father Initially, there was some disagreement between Osman Bey and Dundar Bey over the seat, but later it ended.

    Gündüz Bey Death

    Gunduz Bey

    Gündüz Bey, who later became known as Ghazi, was a very brave and combatant person. Your fight against the Byzantine Empire was a supreme example of courage and bravery. When Osman Ghazi founded his own separate government, he was appointed chief of a region. Gunduz Bey in 1303 C.E against the Byzantines Army in İnegöl which is located in Bursa province, Martyred in the battle, you are buried in August. Gunduz Alp’s character has been seen in two drama serials. In Dirilis Ertugrul, 2 Actors played his character.

    Gunduz Alp
    Burial: Turgutalp (Genci) village, İnegöl,

    The childhood character was very well played by Yaman Tümen. Yaman was born in 2010 in Istanbul. The youthful role of Gunduz Alp was played by Arif Diren also in Dirilis Ertugrul. He was born in Istanbul in 1991. Arif had previously worked in films and various commercials But working in Dirilis Ertugrul’s drama, he managed to gain worldwide acclaim. The last part of Gunduz alp’s life is seen in another drama Kurulus Osman, the Character played by Emre Basalak. He was born in 1989 in Istanbul. He worked in so many films and dramas, but he became famous due to Gunduz’s character.

  • Queen of Sheba | Legend, History, & Bible

    Queen of Sheba: The Ancient Middle East and the Arab  World were famous for their folktales and storytelling abilities. This tendency existed across the entire religious spectrum, including but not restricted to the jews. Merchants and traders passed these stories around the region, which makes historians question the veracity of these tales. Some tales have multiple versions, others are soaked with supernatural intent that is simply impossible to verify, and some tales have no physical and historical evidence to back them up, yet. This tradition of storytelling has presented scholars with question marks on every turn. Some stories have suitable archaeological evidence to back them up, while others do not. In the case of the latter, it is quite easy to call their validity into question. One such tale is the tale of the Queen of Sheba. The major trouble with this story is the existence of various versions; still, historians are divided about whether such a figure even existed in the first place! The different versions could easily have been the consequence of the local storytelling fervor. Whether myth or history, the Queen of  Sheba is a beacon of female empowerment, a woman who inspires us with her guiding wisdom, selflessness, and bold demeanor. Three major religions recall the story, in varying scope: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

    Who Was Queen of Sheba

    Queen of Sheba
    Queen of Sheba

    Queen of Sheba: The Ethiopian national epic, Kebra Nagast, translated as “the Glory of the Kings,” also speaks of the Queen of Sheba. Kebra Nagast, as well as the Quran, the Hebrew Bible’s Books of the Chronicle, the Bible, and the Jewish Antiquities, all mention a single radical event of the queen’s life: her visit to meet King Solomon of Israel. If we stick with the Hebrew version, the queen visited Solomon sometime around 950 B.C. The trouble with that particular chronology, as with several other chronologies, is that historians find it hard to trace her exact origins. Some people think she came from Yemen, some say southern Arabia, and others claim Africa. Archaeological results show that Ethiopia was home to some of the earliest civilizations on the planet. Egyptian hieroglyphs associate the land with an abundance of trade, especially in gold. The first known kingdom of Ethiopia, formed between 1000 and 700 BCE, D’mt, depicts its fair share of ruins today and might have been a neighboring kingdom or under the direct rule Queen of Sheba. General estimations describe the Kingdom of Sheba, wherever it may have been, as a lucrative land – unsurprising as it probably had access to both Egypt and Israel. All this speculation puts Ethiopia as a serious contender for the queen’s home. In the Ethiopian tradition, the queen is remembered as Makeda. The Quran mentions that she averted her people away from the worship of the sun and turned them into monotheistic believers. Makeda was faithful to her followers and was a determined figure of authority.

    Queen of Sheba and Her Mighty Throne

    Queen of Sheba and Her Mighty Throne

    Queen of Sheba: However, in ancient times, queens rarely ruled without a king at the helm. When the king of Sheba died or was unexpectedly removed from the throne, Makeda rose to prevent chaos from prevailing. As details of the exact region are murky, some think that Makeda ruled the Kingdom of Aksum, whereas others believe that the Sabaean migration, which brought about the Kingdom of Aksum, took place a few centuries later. Whatever the case may be, Makeda stepped into the role of the ruler and restored security and stability to her land. The problem arose when she realized that she had not been groomed for the role like most male heirs usually were. As such, she lacked the necessary education required to rule such a vast kingdom. She was in desperate need of a mentor, and her yearning for guidance gained ground every day. As destiny would have it, just 2000 miles away sat the son of David, the mighty King Solomon of Israel. David had slain Goliath as a youngster and had earned a name for himself long before becoming king. Understandably, Solomon had big shoes to fill. Solomon was David’s illegitimate son with Bathsheba. It is said that God asked Solomon for his ultimate desire. Instead of opting for wealth, glory, or fame, Solomon decided to choose wisdom, and thus, wisdom was granted unto him. His wisdom soon became the talk of ancient times,  and it helped him and his kingdom grow rich. He set out to construct a magnificent and colossal temple in honor of his God. Such an undertaking would inspire him to search far-off lands for priceless fabrics and tempting metals, leading him through Israel and into Egypt and Assyria – even across the Mediterranean. In his attempt to build the largest temple the world had ever seen, Solomon sent out a request throughout the land, asking the people for the finest building materials. Tamrin, a well-known merchant who resided in the Kingdom of Sheba, had seen the majestic pyramids and the riches of the pharaohs. He had even walked the Silk Road to China. When the opportunity arose, he decided to set his sail for Israel. Upon reaching Jerusalem, Tamrin was in complete awe of the wealth and culture of Israel. The gleaming armors of the soldiers, the bronze ingots, the luxurious fabrics, the laden merchants, the music in the streets, and the palace decorations were a remarkable sight. Finally, he was awarded the company with  King Solomon and approached the throne. He was surprised by the ways of the humble king.  For someone who ruled as wealthy and glamorous a kingdom, his personality exuded a certain earthiness. Impressed by the king’s wisdom – and fully aware of Queen Makeda’s search for a  mentor – he returned to Sheba with a purpose. When Tamrin started regaling the tales of Solomon in front of Makeda, she was instantly taken by the king’s disposition and love for pensive contemplation. She could see that the Israeli king had genuinely impressed Tamrin – and Tamrin had seen quite a lot of the world, so much admiration was quite unusual. Enamored by the tales of Solomon, she would summon Tamrin every day and learn about his sayings and habits. Makeda had a strong desire to rule her kingdom in the same vein as Solomon ruled his. She decided to travel to Israel to meet him. With her kingdom safe and sound and her people fond of her policies, she set off. To ward off hostile gestures and convey a sense of camaraderie between the two kingdoms, Makeda prepared a gift for Solomon. It took almost 800 camels and a few mules and donkeys to carry the stones and gold to Israel.

    Soloman’s Temple

    Soloman's Temple
    Soloman’s Temple

    Solomon had completed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and now had a lot of time on his hands. There were no overwhelming foes in the land, nor were there any grievances among the people. All was well, yet he could not shake off a thirst for something more: something that was missing from his wealth, his nation’s prosperity, and his God-gifted wisdom. He kept thinking back to Tamrin, the merchant who was cynical towards everyone but highly praised his queen. Solomon was getting impatient, but the day finally arrived when Makeda reached Israel. Solomon stood and saw as the hordes of camels made their way to his city. As she entered the room, her tall and slender body, dark skin, and flamboyant yet fearless attitude immediately attracted the king of Israel.  In the Islamic and Christian versions of the tale, the queen stepped over a glass floor,  thinking it was a stream of water. According to the Muslim accounts, the glass floor was constructed to reveal the queen’s legs as demons had warned Solomon of her hairy and unnatural limbs. The Ethiopian accounts do not mention the floors at all. Despite the difference in details, the intention of the visit is consistent across all accounts. Makeda had left her home, traveled a long distance, and arrived in Solomon’s court to test his wisdom.  She had prepared some tough questions and wanted to test the limits of the king’s intellect. Solomon had shown the utmost hospitality to the queen, bestowing her with the most lavish guest quarters, the finest food, and the most desirable entertainers. Makeda had seen luxury all her life, but this was beyond even her comprehension. One day, she requested an audience with the king,  which she was immediately granted. This time, the air of awkwardness had been lifted as they both exhumed their usual royal gaits and mannerisms. Makeda had prepared a set of riddles to test Solomon. In ancient stories, solving complex riddles was often treated as the epitome of an individual’s intellectual ability. She started with different puzzles, asked him difficult questions, and tried to beguile him with complicated dilemmas. Solomon had been expecting all this and was more than up to the task. He answered her initial riddles easily,  but Makeda had several more ready to go. The visits continued over the days, and every day she would visit Solomon to ask him difficult questions. The daily interactions worked as a  catalyst for their physical attraction to each other. Makeda knew she had traveled the land to learn from the king, and falling in love with him would hinder that objective. At the same time,  she knew that Solomon had developed reciprocal feelings for her. Solomon was a monotheist man,  and Makeda was a worshipper of the sun and moon at that point in her life. She was taken by  Solomon’s humility and his trust in one God. She admired his knowledge so much that she converted to his faith. As the two of them got closer and closer, their temptations gave into the moment, and one night, Solomon had a chamber prepared for the two of them. It was time for Makeda to leave for home, but the nostalgia of their night beckoned her back to Solomon. She had gained the wisdom she had sought so much, and there was no professional reason to stay in Israel for long. As they parted, Solomon gave her a ring, telling her to remember him by it. He further said that if she should bear him a son, the ring would be a sign for him and that she should send him to Solomon. They both knew it was goodbye; to stay any longer would be unwise and unfaithful to their respective kingdoms. So, they said their final greetings, and Makeda started her journey back home. Solomon had awarded her with luxurious gifts for her kingdom. Six thousand camels hauled the embroidered garments, the precious gemstones, and the rest of the lavish items. On her way back, the journey became arduous by the day as Makeda realized that she was pregnant.

    The traveling party had to halt at different points due to scheduling conflicts or administrative issues. She knew that she could not give birth to her child in Sheba. Nine months and five days after their departure from Jerusalem, she gave birth to a baby boy. Her people welcomed her and her son with open arms. The kingdom rejoiced in the news of a male heir, and the arrival of the gifts meant that they were even richer than before.

    Menelik
    Menelik

    The son, Menelik, was around twelve years old when he started to get curious about his biological father. He pestered his mother, and she had to tell him that his father was far away, and the journey was long. But Makeda’s tactics did not work for long, and the little boy stayed adamant in his desire to travel to Jerusalem. With his mother’s blessing, he left Sheba and headed for Israel. The boy had promised her mother that he would return, so after he met with Solomon, Solomon crowned him the King of Sheba and set him off with pomp. When he returned, Sheba had gained something it had been missing for a long time: a male ruler. As Makeda watched her son, the spitting image of Solomon, take the reins of the kingdom, she rested easily and faded from the spotlight. Not much is known about Makeda after her son took the throne. What is remembered and cherished about the queen of Sheba is her desire for wisdom and knowledge and her courage to undertake the most difficult journey for the sake of her kingdom and its prosperity.       

  • Genghis Khan | Biography, Empire & Facts

    The Genghis Khan

    The life of Genghis Khan, particularly the empire he built, presents an engaging incongruity. A political and military genius, Genghis created the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever known. Yet, the legacy he left to his heirs proved unsustainable. The Mongol Empire has riven asunder through internal disunity and a distinct lack of cultural cohesion. Before getting started with the story of Genghis Khan, it is worth noting that we lack reliable historical accounts of his life and the internal workings of the Mongol Empire.

    Genghis Khan Early Life

    Genghis Khan
    Genghis Khan

    The Mongols were primarily illiterate and did not have a form of writing in their earlier stages. While the empire adopted writing based heavily on the Uyghur language during its rule, literacy levels were exceedingly low amongst the rank and file and the leadership. Therefore, most of what we know comes from the accounts of their enemies. Needless to say, these sources were not particularly fond of Genghis Khan and his followers. The picture they paint is unflattering. The medieval era was filled with violence, including countless acts that today would be considered atrocities However, according to many sources, the armies of Genghis Khan stood out in their cruelty and brutality. The English Benedictine Monk Matthew  Paris wrote, “detestable nation of Satan that poured out like devils from Tartarus so that they  are rightly called Tartars.” Tartarus was the ancient Greek name for hell, so Paris was engaging in a clever and revealing bit of wordplay. Though there may have been some exaggeration in these portrayals, even the educated allies of Genghis Khan found his policies to be barbaric and frightening. Many leaders claim to be self-made, but the great  Mongol leader truly rose from utter obscurity to the pinnacle of power. On the one hand, the story of Genghis Khan was outstanding. Born with the name Temüjin, he was the son of a chieftain in Mongolia. We know so little about his background that we are unsure about the exact date of his birth; however, he most likely was born between 1155 and 1167. During the childhood of the future universal leader, his father was killed by a rival chieftain. Genghis and his mother were cast out of the clan.  According to legend, his fathers’  enemies captured the young Genghis Khan, making him wear a wooden collar and stay outside the camp. He made his escape but was detected by a member of the clan – who was so impressed with the boy and the fire in his eyes that he helped Genghis escape. Whether true or not, the story illustrates the charisma of the budding leader. After a series of crafty political maneuvers,  the young leader gained a strong following. While rising to the top, Genghis faced a rebellion from his jealous rivals. Genghis was soon challenged by Jamukha, the most potent regional clan leader, for supremacy. Emerging victorious, he united a large coalition of Mongol tribes under his banner. Though he never controlled all of the Mongolian clans, he was considered the supreme leader of the area by outsiders. By 1206, he had indeed established himself as by far the most powerful ruler on the Steppe. Temüjin was granted the title of Emperor  – of khagan. However, he preferred the title of universal leader or Genghis Khan.

    Genghis Khan Historical Background

    Genghis Khan

    The new emperor used his power to create a new political system. He removed many of the tribal structures of the Eurasian Steppe and replaced them with something akin to the  European feudal system. The Mongols were not particularly numerous people. However, Genghis added to their numbers by subjugating other ethnic groups and clans throughout the Steppe. Some of his earliest and most important successes were against the Tatars. The Mongols subjugated these peoples of Turkic ethnic descent. The great general is said to have slaughtered anyone amongst the Tatars taller than a cart axle. However, considering how many warriors he added to the Mongol army, that is undoubtedly an exaggeration. Once most of the people of the Steppe had been united behind Genghis Khan, he launched attacks against the more powerful sedentary societies in the area. At first, the campaigns were limited by a lack of knowledge and experience in siege warfare. This disadvantage meant that the Mongols’ enemies could often hide behind walls and wait until the besiegers were distracted. However, as Mongol conquests expanded into the Muslim world, Genghis and his advisors picked up many vital pointers. Amongst them were the secrets of siege warfare and the importance of controlling urban and rural areas. The increased sophistication of the Mongol war machine allowed for the defeat of more powerful enemies. In 1210, his longtime enemies, the  Western Xia Dynasty of northwestern China, became vassals of the Mongols. They provided a large tax base and an increased source of personnel to facilitate further expansion. Most importantly,  the conquest provided the Mongols with a reasonable degree of control over the Silk Road,  the center of international trade at that time. The next victim of Mongol expansion was the Jin Dynasty of northern China. In 1215, Genghis oversaw the conquest of the Jin capital of  Zhongdu. Instead of continuing to brutalize China, Genghis appointed his general, Muqali, to oversee the piecemeal subjugation of the country. Nonetheless, the consolidation of Mongol China continued apace. Seven years after the death of Genghis Khan, his son, Ögedei Khan, besieged and conquered Caizhou, the new capital, and ended the Jin Dynasty. The emperor was interested in expanding his purview to the west. Thus, the Mongols next pursued a war against the Qara Khitai kingdom.  

    Mongol in Khwarazmian Empire

    This entity was nominally a Chinese kingdom in central Asia, controlled by other nomads of the Steppe.  That kingdom was eradicated in 1218, thus creating a Mongolian hegemony in China and the central Steppe. Next, the Mongol army conquered and destroyed the Khwarazmian Empire, which ruled parts of Iran and Afghanistan. From the Mongol perspective,  this was a war for their honor and reputation. The royal house of Khwarazm had harassed and killed messengers and trade caravans under the personal protection of the emperor. Therefore,  he saw the conflict as a personal vendetta. It was here that Genghis Khan won his reputation for brutality. Entire populations were decimated, and every building and garden defiled. In 1221,  the Khwarazmian Empire had been decimated. Genghis was not done. Showing an understanding that Mongolia was now a massive power, he split the army. He led part of the army into  Afghanistan and then onward to northern India. Meanwhile, he ordered his trusted commander,  Jebe, into the Caucasus and, ultimately, Russia. Jebe and his soldiers defeated the Georgians in conflict and went all the way to Crimea.

    Western Xia

    They then defeated a coalition of several Russian princes. Genghis died in 1227 while attending an uprising by Western Xia. The circumstances of his death are unclear. He may have been killed in battle, but some sources claim he met his end in a hunting accident. No other individual in human history conquered territory on that scale before – or since – and even the conquests of Alexander the Great pale in comparison. On the other hand, the tale of a charismatic leader uniting bickering tribes into a powerful conquering force was a feature of the medieval period. These nomadic leaders are emblematic of a more significant structural issue about the socioeconomics of the time.   Indeed, the era saw the last hurrah of the nomadic lifestyle and its traditional clashes with sedentary societies. The steppes of Asia had bred large and powerful nomadic cultures. Their power was increased by their mastery of horse-riding. Adding to their power was the disarray of many sedentary cultures bordering the Eurasian Steppe. The medieval era was notable for the lack of strong centralized governments. In many parts of Asia and Europe, fractured feudal or semi-feudal political systems replaced the more efficient empires of antiquity. Meanwhile,  the modern state was still centuries away. Geographic elements also played a part in the rise of the Mongolian Empire. Like many other nomadic medieval cultures, the Mongols hailed from the Eurasian Steppe – the easternmost part of it, to be precise. The Steppe is a vast grassland stretching from Manchuria to modern-day Hungary. So why did that area encourage and sustain the nomadic lifestyle? First of all, it is flat and is therefore comfortable for rapid horse riding. Second, it is primarily a grassy territory and provides sustenance for horses and the other grazing animals that nomads typically rely on. When all is told, the successes of Genghis Khan would have been impossible without the specific circumstances. Nonetheless, he was a remarkable leader, able to leverage all of these advantages spectacularly. The general had an intuitive ability to keep his disparate followers focused and united.

    The distribution of resources within the Mongol Empire was a case in point. Raiding nomads are primarily motivated by loot gained through incursions. Genghis made sure that the rewards were shared between the various clans and spread throughout the ranks. Therefore, even the lowliest soldiers received a fair share of the plunder. This unusual measure cemented the loyalty of the troops and helped prevent splintering and mutiny. Another brilliant measure was the manner in which Genghis integrated new clans and tribes into his military following their conquest. The Mongols would ruthlessly execute the leadership and nobility. However, they would keep the lion’s share of the soldiers and their families alive and ready to join the Mongol cause. Through these measures, Genghis overcame the spirit of clannish divisiveness and created a  united military and political machine, which he used to pursue conquest ruthlessly. There is a colloquial phrase accusing reactionaries of being “somewhere to  the right of Genghis Khan.” However, he had some reasonably tolerant and far-sighted policies. For example, the Mongol Empire practiced religious freedom. In addition, it encouraged commerce with neighboring societies and other cultures to enrich the coffers. He also forbade hunting during the breeding season. However, Genghis Khan is primarily famed for his military leadership. Raiding nomads are not known for their organization, but the troops of the Mongol Empire proved a notable exception. Genghis divided them into units in a manner not dissimilar to a modern military. A group of ten soldiers (equivalent to a small platoon) was an  Araban, while a 100-soldier team, essentially a company, was a Sun. The Mingghans were similar to brigades and numbered 1,000 soldiers, while the division-like tumors comprised 10,000 men. The praise that Khan receives for his abilities is justified. However, it is important to remember that no leader can build an empire single-handedly. This fact is doubly true when we consider the unreliable modes of communication extant at the time. It would have been impossible to centralize military efforts or governance of a territory spanning from Beijing to Baghdad. The subcommanders and warriors of the Mongol Empire took the initiative in many cases and did so with remarkable aplomb. The Mongol Empire survived the death of the emperor. His third son, Ögedei Khan, inherited the title of Genghis Khan and expanded the borders of the Mongol Empire. However, the Empire did not last into the 1300s. The rivalry between competing factions blunted the military power of the Mongols. Another factor weakening long-term Mongolian holdings was the relatively weak culture of the Mongolian nomads. The increasingly smaller successor kingdoms to the Mongol Empire saw local culture and elites subsume their occupiers culturally.

  • Genghis Khan | Biography, Conquests, Achievements, & Facts
    Genghis Khan Statue
    Genghis Khan

    Born: Temujin, c 1162, near Lake Baikal

    Died: August 18, 1227, (aged 65)

    Spouse: Borte, Yisui, Juerbiesu, Khulan Khatun, Yesulun Khatun, Yesugen Khatun, Moge Khatun, Ibaqa Khatun

    Issue: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, Alakhai Bekhi, Tolui, others

    Empire: Mongol Empire

    Rise of Genghis Khan

    The Famous Genghis Khan—innovative leader, military genius, or violent warmonger? As the first great emperor of the Mongol Empire, attributed with founding the largest contiguous empire in history and slaughtering thousands of people in the process, Genghis Khan was a man of many talents. Born into the brutality of life on the Mongolian Steppe in 1162, he faced many hardships as a boy. Enemy Tartars killed his father when he was young, and his family of seven children and a single mother struggled to survive. Life was so brutal for young Khan; he allegedly killed his own brother in a fight over dominance and food. But in keeping with his formidable reputation, Khan essentially freed himself from poverty to become a capable warrior and military strategist at the age of 20. By 1206, he had managed to garner many supporters, who helped him form alliances with the leaders of other important tribes. And once Khan had successfully established several confederations under his name, he turned his eye to conquest. To understand how Genghis Khan came to be the giant historical figure he is today, it is important to become familiar with the Mongol people and their origins. For many, many centuries, they inhabited the vast lands of modern-day Mongolia and northern China, stretching from forests of Siberia to the dry sands of the Gobi Desert. But life in the Mongol steppe was not easy. Harsh weather and permafrost made mining and construction extremely difficult, as well as simply living. Arid land and poor soil plagued agricultural efforts and made farming nearly impossible for the Mongols, who had to squeeze out lifeblood from a vast sea of grasslands and deserts. With only small pockets of the forest here and there, and massive expanses of open land, navigating the Mongol landscape was forbidding and arduous—that is, until the domestication of the horse around 3500 BCE. Once the Mongols established their livelihood through a form of equine nomadism, things improved significantly for their way of life. Along with metalworking innovation, the steppe society and culture advanced enough to form several initial empires, such as

    the Tartar and Khamag confederacies. These early dynasties served as models for the later unification of the steppes under the rule of Genghis Khan, who would finally rise to power in the realm around 1186. But Khan’s first year as ruler was also not easy. As Khan worked to gather more and more warriors to form alliances and build strength, his childhood friend, Jamukha, became threatened and decided to attack him. Khan had to flee for his life, but in the end, he came out on top through the steadfast respect of all those who approached him. Compared to Jamukha’s cruelty and dishonesty, Khan’s reliable reputation grew more popular in the region, causing many unattached tribes to swear their fealty to him.

    Rise and fall of Mongol Empire

    Rise of Mongol Empire - TS HISTORICAL
    Rise of Mongol Empire

    One of Genghis Khan’s most remarkable traits was his patience and long-term vision. He knew the confederacies around him shifted their alliances quickly and without reason, which meant the vicious cycles of warring and revenge would never really cease; they would only continue to present new enemies. So, instead of taking immediate revenge on his traitorous old friend, Jamukha, Khan tallied the characteristics of his various opponents and carefully plotted how to demolish each one in the most effective way. Trust no one, defeat everyone became his general approach. Because Khan’s first order of business was to crush the Tartars who killed his father (the richest of all the nomadic confederacies), he reached out to the Jurkin clan for help. But when they failed to show up and even raided the camp in his absence, Khan accused their leaders of treason and executed them. Even so, Khan left the remaining clansmen alive to assimilate as free men, taking away their desire for revenge. By 1202, the steppes were slowly unifying, and Khan was finally able to attack the Tartars. As he did with previous enemies, Khan killed the Tartar men and integrated the remaining women and children into his own tribe. He even took a few Tartar brides. In this way, Khan was responsible for essentially merging Tartar and Mongol cultures into one. And when he was not focusing on wars and conquests, Khan created a Mongolian code of law with a judicial branch and a growing state administration. Khan was just as dedicated to loyalty as he was to violence. So, when some followers of his old friend, Jamukha, turned the traitor into Khan, they were the ones to die. And when Jamukha refused to join Khan’s followers, he was executed like a noble, with no blood spilled and an honorary burial. After this incident in 1206, Khan became the undisputed ruler of the area, with no real opponents left in the steppes. At this point in his rule, Khan was about 44 years old. He sat at the head of a warmongering horde of soldiers, all of whom were eager to rove around Asia, looking for more conquests to unite the realm into a single empire. And Khan was more than happy to lead them in this effort, beginning his expansion the very next year, in 1207.

    Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty

    Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty - TS HISTORICAL
    Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty – TS HISTORICAL

    Khan and his Mongol army went north and quickly conquered the “Siberian Forest people,” essentially bringing two key regions under his control. Once this easy conquest was under his belt, he turned his ambitious gaze south towards China and the Xi Xia state, where control of access to the Silk Road could be taken. This conquest was important for a few reasons. Even if Khan had wanted to back off a bit from his relentless attacks on nearby people, he ultimately had no choice but to facilitate these military campaigns. Controlling an army of anywhere from 30,000 to 200,000 warriors at any given time was a lot like holding a vicious Pitbull on a short leash. It had to be taken care of and fed with more and more riches. Without their share of loot and plunder, the loyalty of Khan’s Mongol army was fleeting at best. And so, in the spring of 1209, after two reconnaissance raids to gather intelligence and loot, Khan’s army marched into the Xi Xia region to fight their first battle with an organized state. Suffice it to say, Khan and his men marched in undetected and annihilated the Xia army. Even though his army had no siege warfare strategies in place to penetrate the fortress guarding the mountain pass—a shortcoming that delayed his victory by almost a year—Khan eventually destroyed the Xi Xia forces and compelled them to surrender. After receiving an immense tribute of camels, woolen cloth, trained falcons, and carts of silk – not to mention the daughter of the Xi Xia ruler—Khan removed his forces from the realm and returned home to the steppes, only to find more enemies at his doorstep. As Khan and his men made their way back to their own territory, another rival force known as the Jin dynasty approached with a large envoy. Married to the traditional belief that all people of the steppes should bow to them in submission, Jin demanded Khan kneel in the direction of their capital to demonstrate his inferior position. But Khan being Khan chose to spit at their feet and continue his progression north, confident he had just instigated a future conflict with Jin. And by spring of the following year, 1211.

    Mongol Empire Dissolved - TS HISORICAL
    Mongol Empire Dissolved

    The Mongol army of some 100,000 men marched on the Jin Empire, only to find they were outnumbered by about 200,000 warriors. Even so, the Mongols defeated Jin in early 1215 with some exceptional cavalry fighting, going on to burn, plunder and rape their way through the capital. And Jin became another casualty of Khan’s conquest in China. The Mongols went on to fight the Persians. They then pledged peace, only to renew the conflict again until 1221, when Khan realized that he had brought the entirety of modern-day Central Asia and parts of northeastern Iran under control of the Mongol Empire. And so, he headed home. Eventually, his feud with Xi Xia picked up a few years later, in 1227, giving the Mongol army a new campaign to wage. But Khan—ruler and military god—fell ill around that time and died, leaving his four sons with their own mini kingdoms to rule. Khan’s son Ögödei led the empire, which now stretches from China to the Caspian Sea, the most continuous stretch of territory for an empire outside of the British. The famous Mongol Empire finally dissolved in 1368 after a significant number of campaigns and expansions—and some failures. When the Mongols failed to conquer Egypt in 1260, the dynasty fragmented and suffered from fights over succession. This military loss also weakened the central government in China and contributed to the eventual fall of the dynasty. While the epic story of the Mongol Empire and its relentless conquest may have ended, the memory of legendary Genghis Khan most certainly will not.

  • Adolf Hitler | Biography, Rise to Power, Quotes, & Facts

    Adolf Hitler Early Life

    Adolf Hitler - TS HISTORICAL
    Adolf Hitler (President, Paul von Hindenburg
    (1933–1934) )

    Born: 20 Aprail 1889, Braunau am Inn, Austria

    Died: 30 Aprail, 1945, Fuhrerbunker, Berlin, Germany

    Parents: Alois Hitler, Klara Hitler

    Spouse: Eva Braun (m,1945-1945)

    Political Party: Nazi Party (1921-1945)

    Cabinet: Hitler Cabinet

    Cause of Death: Suicide by Gunshot

    Wars: World War I

    Western Front – First Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Arras, Battle of Passchendaele

    Adolf Hitler: There is a sociological phenomenon known as “Godwin’s Law,” which states that if an online chat lasts long enough, someone will bring up Adolf Hitler, and it has happened several times. That’s right, it’s finally time to talk about Adolf Hitler, the most notorious Nazi of all time. about World War II and the Holocaust, but few people know about Adolf Hitler’s personal life. His early years and rise to power demonstrate how one guy exploited the German people’s fear and wrath to influence other people. He turned a country into a force of hatred and destruction that claimed the lives of millions of people.

    Adolf Hitler: Today, on Biographics, we have brought you about the life of Adolf Hitler. Early Life This story begins even before Adolf Hitler’s birth. His father, Alois, was an illegitimate child of a 42-year-old peasant named Maria Anna Schicklgruber. She had never been married and supported herself by working as a housekeeper for wealthy Jewish families in Austria.

    Maria left the name of Alois’ father blank on his baptism certificate, so no one has any way of knowing who Hitler’s biological grandfather actually is. A few years later, Maria married a man named Johann Georg Hiedler, so she and Alois both took on his last name. But when the priest wrote their marriage certificate, he spelled their last name “Hitler”, instead. This means “the one who lives in a hut”. It’s not exactly the most flattering last name, but for some reason, they decided to keep it. Maria died at age 51 when Alois was just 10 years old.

    He went to live on his stepfather’s family’s farm, where he worked hard to earn his keep. As a teenager, he apprenticed under a cobbler and learned the art of leather making. He was ambitious, so he got a job with the Austrian Ministry of Finance, and this put him firmly in the middle class.

    Rise of Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler: Alois Hitler got married and divorced twice before marrying his third wife, Klara Pölzl. They had two children who died in infancy before finally giving birth to a healthy son on April 20th, 1889. They named him “Adolphus Hitler”. They went on to have another son, Edmund, in 1894.

    Adolf Hitler was rebellious and lazy from a very young age and did not get good grades. His father was a very angry man, and he would beat Adolf frequently when he misbehaved. His mother, in contrast, was very protective and would show him, unconditional love, no matter how badly he behaved. At 8 years old, he began singing in his church choir and his mother fawned over him, telling him that he was the most talented boy in church. She believed in him so much, that she paid for him to have private voice lessons.

    He told his parents that he wanted to be a Catholic priest, and he was already preaching to the other children. Up until this point, there was a small sliver of hope that maybe Hitler could have turned out to be a normal person, but in the year 1900, his younger brother Edmund died of measles. The graveyard

    where Edmund was buried just so happened to be across the street from their house, so he was never able to properly mourn and move on with his life. Adolf Hitler was only 11 years old at that time, and he became very depressed.

    The boy spent a lot of time hanging out in the graveyard, lying next to his brother’s grave late into the night. He would talk out loud to his dead brother and stare at the stars. According to Hitler, he was afraid of his father, and only loved his mother. Adolf could probably see that his son desperately needed discipline and structure in his life, but Klara was always there to swoop in and baby him. Unfortunately, Alois did not live long enough to make sure Adolf learned to take responsibility for himself.

    Hitler’s Mother Dies

    Klara Hitler Death - TS HISTORICAL
    Klara Hitler

    Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler was 14 years old when Alois Hitler died in 1903. When Adolf chose to drop out of high school at the age of 16, Klara didn’t object. Instead of pushing him to actually do something with his life, his mother allowed him to become a “NEET”- which is someone who is not participating in education, employment, or training. As we mentioned earlier, their family was middle-class.

    They were not wealthy by any means, and now that his father passed away, his mother was on a strict budget. But young Adolf liked to walk around town wearing fancy clothes and a cane, pretending to be an independently wealthy man.

    He had never worked a single day in his entire life. His mother built up his ego so much, that he truly believed that he deserved to get everything handed to him, simply because he existed. Whenever people in town asked young Adolf Hitler what he planned to do with his life, he declared that he would be the greatest artist in the world. Hitler applied to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts but was denied admission. “I was so confident that I would be successful that receiving my rejection came as a bolt from the blue,” he wrote.

    The works of art that have been attributed to Hitler are nothing special, even after years of practice. It’s clear that he had delusions of grandeur. Klara Hitler died of breast cancer in 1907 when Adolf Hitler was 18 years old. He was crushed because he loved his mother more than anyone in the world. Now that both of his parents were dead, you would think that he would- know, get a job, maybe? But, no. He still had a baffling sense of entitlement and believed that he shouldn’t have to work because he still believed he could be Europe’s greatest artist.

    Hitler moved to Vienna and lived like a king off of the inheritance his parents left behind. Alois Hitler worked his entire life to save up that money for retirement, and Adolf spent all of it in just one year. He was so broke, that he was forced to live in homeless shelters. Desperate for income, Hitler wrote to family and friends, asking them to support his life as an artist.

    Considering that the majority of his relatives were in the working class, the replies were not surprising; They told him to get a job. However, he convinced at least one aunt to start sending him money for his basic needs. After years of practicing on a daily basis, he finally started making a small income by selling watercolor paintings to local businesses and tourists, but he would never be able to support himself fully from his art. Life in Germany After World War I In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, Germany, and continued to paint and sell his watercolors.

    Adolf Hitler Join Milliatary

     Adolf Hitler Join Military - TS HISTORICAL
    Adolf Hitler Join Military

    Adolf Hitler: When World War I began, there was a new sense of enthusiasm in German pride. His career as a painter clearly wasn’t going anywhere, so he joined the German army. Once he was in the military, he thrived after having some discipline and structure in his life.

    He still had a lot of confidence in himself no matter what he did, and this helped him rise through the ranks until he became a Corporal. He believed Germany should have won the war, of course, and he blamed “Jewish propaganda” as the reason why they didn’t win. When the war was over in 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to step down from his throne.

    Germany created a new government called the Weimar Republic, and they signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. In Article 231 of the treaty, it says, “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility […] for causing all the loss and damage[…] as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.

    ” They were forced to pay money to all of the countries for all of the damage that they caused, as well as give up 13% of their land. Following the war, the Weimar Republic struggled to deal with the crippling debt from the Treaty of Versailles.

    This new government tried to create new jobs through public works projects, but the country simply could not afford to pay for them. So, instead of taking responsibility for their problems and trying to come up with a solution that made sense, they tried to take the easy way out and just print more money. Now, if you have even basic knowledge about how economics works, printing excess money means that there is more currency in circulation, and its overall value goes down.

    The people in charge had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and between 1921 and 1923, they went through a period of “hyperinflation”, where the value of one US dollar was equal to several trillion German marks. Money was so worthless, kids were using stacks of money as building blocks and cutting it up to make kites.

    Whenever someone needed to buy something at the store, they had to carry a wheelbarrow full of cash with them. Adolf Hitler secured a job working for the German Army as a “confidential informant”, which was basically someone who spied on average citizens to make sure they didn’t get into trouble.

    Adolf Hitler Book Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

    Mein Kampf (My Struggle) - TS HISTORICAL
    Mein Kampf (My Struggle) BY
    Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler: In 1919, he attended a meeting of the German Workers Party at a beer hall. Even though he was sent as a spy, he realized that he actually agreed with everything the Workers Party was saying. They blamed the Jews for all of the country’s problems, and they wanted Germany to go back to the glorious land it once was.

    This organization was the precursor to the National Socialist German Workers Party, or- you guessed it- the Nazis. Adolf Hitler decided to join the party. He was good at public speaking, so he was able to encourage new members to join, too. As the years went on, he began to rise the ranks of the Nazi leadership. And by November 8th, 1923,

    Hitler led over 2,000 members of the Nazi party into the center of Munich, and they attempted to overthrow the German government. The Beer Hall Putsch was born out of this. Hitler and many of the other protestors were arrested for treason. While he was in jail, Hitler began to write about his life and his ideas. He was supposed to be in prison for five years, but he only served 9 months and was released in 1925. When he was free, he published his autobiography, Mein Kampf, which means “My Struggle”.

    The book became a best-seller, and the proceeds made Hitler a millionaire. It sold so well, that he continued to make $1 million a year, which is the equivalent to over $14,000,000 a year in today’s money. The German people felt that the Weimar Republic was a total failure because the members of their government were incompetent. Many people could tell that it was only a matter of time before there was another revolution. Thousands of people joined either the Communist Party or the Nazis.

    But the wealthy business owners in Germany did not want the Communists to take over, because capitalism would be destroyed. As a result, the wealthy began to financially assist the Nazis. These donations, along with Hitler’s new windfall of money, helped make the Nazi party bigger, and better. . In a world where there was so much poverty, the Nazis seemed to be prospering, and many people began to believe that it was truly the best option.

    In the 1920s and ’30s, investigative journalists began to dig into Adolf Hitler’s past, once he was becoming more of a public figure. Several magazines published a theory that Hitler’s mysterious biological grandfather was actually Jewish. Of course, Hitler claimed that this was all fake news propagated by the Jews and that he was a pure-blooded Aryan German, even though his dark hair and eyes are far from the blonde-haired-blue-eyed ideal he loved so much.

    The Great Depression

    The Great Depression
    The Great Depression

    Adolf Hitler: Hitler’s grandmother, Maria Schicklgruber, got child support payments from a Jewish man named Leopold Frankenberger, according to Hans Frank, the Nazi Governor of Poland.

    The young man was just 19 when he got 42-year old Maria pregnant, and he did not want to marry her after their affair. In 2010, a DNA test confirmed that Hitler did, in fact, have Jewish, and even African ancestry. Hitler’s Rise to Power It was clear that the German people were angry, and plenty of people were trying to come up with peaceful solutions to retaining a democratic government.

    In 1924, a man named Charles G. Dawes came up with the plan to borrow money from American banks, and use those loans to pay for the coal industry. Germany would sell coal to France, and it would help to pay down its debt. This was known as the “Dawes’ Plan,” and it actually worked for a while. For the first time in years, Germany had hope of recovery. Charles Dawes was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925. But in 1929, the United States stock market crashed, and Germany could no longer rely on American loans. The Great Depression was just getting started at this point.

    The Weimar Republic’s constitution contained a clause called Article 48, which gave the President the power to enforce any law. In 1930, President Paul von Hindenburg began to use Article 48 to create new laws in a desperate attempt to fix the nation’s economy. There was a tremendous amount of civil unrest, and the Nazi party was growing larger and more powerful every day.

    President Hindenburg could see that the Nazis posed a threat to the Weimar Republic, so he decided that the only way to maintain democracy in Germany was for the parties to work together. He appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933. Just four weeks later, on February 27th, 1933, the “Reichstag” Parliament building was set on fire.

    Germany – The Third Reich

    Germany – The Third Reich

    Adolf HItler: Hitler claimed that the Communists did this, and he convinced President Hindenburg to create laws that banned the freedom of the press and peaceful protest. Of course, this was just a ploy to get rid of the Communist party from Germany, and many people believe that the Nazis were actually behind the arson. In the summer of 1934, Hitler and his devout followers, Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Goring began The Night of the Long Knives.

    They staged a major coup by assassinating the Weimar Republic’s most influential members. Hitler began to ban all of the trade unions and made all other political parties illegal. The only choice a German citizen had anymore was to be a Nazi. This was his “Third Reich”, which was an empire that was apparently going to last a thousand years. Hitler used a lot of hyperbole in his talks. He claimed that everything was the “greatest”, and made outlandish promises about the future of Nazi Germany.

    A lot of people look back in history and wonder how the German people could have let this happen. How could they have been so foolish as to give so much power to a mad man? But put yourself in the German’s shoes for just a second. You’re at rock bottom, with absolutely no hope of feeding your family or finding any meaning in your life and career. When suddenly, a man with confidence comes along and convinces you that you are special. You’re a part of this magical “master race”, and he knows exactly who to blame for all of your problems, and how to make it all better.

    The Germans were caught off guard and fell for it hook, line, and sinker. The Holocaust and World War II Hitler’s plan to improve the German economy was exactly the same way he got money all his life. Instead of working for it, he was simply going to take it from the people who worked hard to actually earn it. One of his first decrees was to increase the wages of the German people by 10.9%, which made everyone happy straight away.

    Then, he declared that they would decrease trade with foreign nations, and put the money towards military spending, instead, because they were going to make Germany great and glorious once again. At this point, Germany was just as broke as it was before, and the money had to come from somewhere.

    Adolf Hitler believed that by conquering other countries, they could steal the wealth of other nations, and use that money to run the Third Reich. So, if you’re going to steal from someone, why not start with the wealthiest people in Europe? The homes of Jews were raided, and valuable artwork, gold, and property were taken. Then, he moved on to the ethnic cleansing of the Sinti and Roma people, simply because they were vagabonds “gypsies” that he didn’t like having around.

    Hitler was determined to entirely disregard the Treaty of Versailles’ restraints on Germany. As we mentioned earlier, Germany had lost 13% of its territory, but he believed that this perfect Aryan race needed space to grow…Like, a lot of space.

    He called this the “Lebensraum”, which means “living space”, and he wanted to spread German territories throughout the world. Even though he claimed that he wanted to exterminate all of the Jews, Hitler decided to pick and choose who he felt was worthy of living. He was grateful to a Jewish doctor named Eduard Bloch, who treated his mother’s breast cancer. Bloch and his wife were successfully evacuated from Austria. Hitler’s personal chauffeur, Emil Maurice, was also half-Jewish, and yet he was still allowed to join the SS because they had been friends for years.

    Hitler continued to find like-minded friends and signed a treaty in 1936 to join forces with Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini. Meanwhile, Japan was invading China, and they had similar aspirations to conquer territory for their own empire, so they also joined the Axis Powers. These three nations began their plan for the new world order. The concentration camps created a source of free slave labor for the Nazis, which dramatically cut down on costs.

    The Third Reich continued to become more powerful as the years went on. Millions of people were dying, all because one man decided to selfishly take everything he could possibly want, and he convinced others to do the same. The Women of Hitler’s Life After becoming wealthy from the sales of Mein Kampf in 1925, Hitler had his older half-sister, Angela Raubal, move into his home with her children, and she became his housekeeper.

    Geli Raubal, his 17-year-old niece, was his obsession. Her friends would say that they always thought they had an oddly close relationship for an uncle and niece, and many historians have gone as far as to say that Geli was the “love of his life”. When Geli was 19, she began having a secret affair with Hitler’s half-Jewish chauffeur, Emil Maurice. When Hitler found out, he was outraged, and Maurice was fired. Hitler sent his sister Angela and her children to live in a large house that he purchased, in order to get them away from the city. Because Geli was a medical student in Munich, Hitler recommended that she stay in the apartment with him alone.

    Hitler forbids her from having friends. She became a prisoner in the apartment, and he would not allow her to go anywhere outside of school unless he was there as a chaperone. Even before becoming Chancellor of Germany, Hitler still employed a driver and Nazi bodyguards, who were also there to make sure Geli never escaped. In 1931, Geli was now 23 years old, and she asked if she could go on a trip to Vienna to start taking singing lessons. Not surprisingly,

    Hitler refused to let her leave. Geli finally snapped, and they got into a heated argument. During the fight, Geli announced that she had fallen in love with a young man in her classes at medical school, and they were now engaged to be married. She demanded that he let her leave the apartment so that she could be with her fiance.

    The next morning, Geli’s body was found in her bedroom with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was holding Hitler’s gun in her hand. It was ruled a “suicide”. But since she had so much to live for, plenty of people theorize that Hitler’s jealousy got the best of him and that he murdered his niece. Many historians consider this to be a huge turning point in Hitler’s life because it would have been the first time he committed murder outside of the war. Historians have been able to find romantic connections to 8 different women in Hitler’s life, but he had just one long-term relationship with a woman named Eva Braun.

    Adolf Hitler: He met her during a Nazi party meeting the same year that Geli died, in 1929. Eva was just 17 years old, and he was 40, but they were very attracted to each other. Since there was such a huge age gap, Hitler claimed that she was his “private secretary”, and kept their relationship a secret.

    He wanted it to be a casual relationship so that he could remain single and enjoy sleeping with other women whenever he wanted. But Eva Braun was truly in love with Hitler, and it was breaking her heart that he refused to acknowledge that she was his girlfriend. She attempted suicide by shooting herself in the chest in 1932. Apparently, she purposely copied what happened to his niece, because she knew it would trigger an emotional response from him.

    The bullet missed her heart, and she got medical attention right away. If this was an elaborate cry for attention, it worked, because Hitler ran to her bedside at the hospital with a bouquet of roses, and told her that he loved her. Satisfied that her guilt trip worked, Eva Braun continued to act like the crazy lovesick teenager that she truly was.

    She propped up pictures of Hitler during meals whenever she ate alone so that she could pretend he was there, too. Eva even got jealous of the attention Hitler gave to his dog, Blondi. She would reportedly kick the dog whenever it got close to her. But Hitler could never see Eva as anything more than one of his many mistresses.

    Death of Hitler

    Death of Hitler - TS HISTORICAL
    Death of Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler Death: She never got the love and attention that she wanted from him. In 1935, she attempted suicide again- this time by overdosing on sleeping pills. After she recovered, she demanded that if Hitler didn’t want her to reveal his secret affairs, they needed to live together in his bunker. He agreed to let her stay as long as they slept in different rooms. Death, Legacy, and Conspiracy After years of death and destruction, World War II was finally over, and the Allies won the war.

    On April 30, 1945, Soviet soldiers were closing in on Adolf Hitler’s bunker. He finally agreed to marry Eva Braun, but only if she agreed to a suicide pact with him. She happily agreed, and she wore a black dress to their wedding. Their modest ceremony was officiated by Joseph Goebbels, who was the best man. In his last will and testament, Hitler requested that his body should be burned after his death. When the Russians stormed the bunker, they discovered that his skull and other bone fragments had survived the flames.

    For years, the USSR did not allow anyone else to access Hitler’s remains. Since those bodies in the bunker could have belonged to anyone, many people felt that they did not have any real proof that he actually died. This sparked conspiracy theories that he may still be alive. Some people believed that he escaped in a submarine to start a new life in Argentina, in a German colony called La Cumbrecita.

    The idea was so ridiculous, it was turned into a comedy movie called Iron Sky. But in 2018, scientists finally confirmed that the teeth extracted from the skull in Russia is, in fact, Adolf Hitler, because it matches his dental records. People can finally have closure because he did indeed die in that bunker in 1945.

    The Nazi party became illegal in Germany, and it was forbidden to even read his autobiography, Mein Kampf, until very recently. Unfortunately, Nazism has not gone away completely. It was never outlawed in the United States, and this brought on a revival of the Neo-Nazi movement. As long as we continue to imagine Hitler as a monster that only comes along once in a lifetime, we will fail to be prepared for when another evil dictator comes along. When power falls into the wrong hands, history may be doomed to repeat itself.

     

  • Alexander the Great | Biography, Empire, Death, & Facts

    Alexander the Great Summary

    Alexander The Great: It is said that he himself was born from Zeus, a semi-deity in the flesh. He tames an unbroken wild horse who feared approaching full-grown men at the age of 12, and that horse would lead him to military victory after military victory until his untimely death at age 32.

    He was taught by one of the ancient great thinkers of the world. Alexander the Great‘s name says it all. But how much is true of Alexander, and what is fiction? And finally, with a whopping zero Instagram followers, can we really say he was that great? Haters and historians alike will tell you.

    Who Alexander the Great

    Alexander The Great - TS HISTORICAL

    Also Known as Alexander III, Alexander of Macedonia

    Born: 21 July 356 BC
    Pella, Macedon, Ancient Greece

    Died: 13 June 323 BC (aged 32)
    Babylon, Mesopotamia

    Father: Philip II of Macedon

    Mother: Olympias of Epirus

    Spouse: Roxana of Bactria, Stateira II of Persia, Parysatis II of Persia

    Dynasty: Argead

    Religion: Greek polytheism

    Issue: Alexander IV
    Heracles (alleged illegitimate son)

    Role In: Battle of Gaugamela, Battle of Granicus, Battle of Issus, Siege of Aornos, Battle of the Hydaspes

    Alexander the Great was born in (356 BC) to King Philip II of Macedonia and his wife Olympias. A true Greek, on the other hand, understands that Alexander was Zeus’ love child, who had a nasty habit of descending to Earth and taking the form of various animals in order to seduce women. Zeus was the original frat boy in many ways. Alexander’s father was already an influential figure – both a brilliant military leader and a politician.

    He transformed Macedonia into a military and cultural powerhouse via force of arms and political intrigue, which was a remarkable achievement considering Macedonias status in the ancient world.

    The backwoods of Greece. Phillips’s goals, however, were not restricted to the strengthening of Macedonia; he had a dream, which he would pass down to his son, Alexander, of conquering Persians’ powerful kingdom. To date, Persia had been a world superpower, premier in many fields of science and philosophy, it was backed by a formidable military that tried again and again to destroy the stubborn, and defiant, Greeks. To say the least, conquering this enormous nation was a highly optimistic dream.

    At the age of 13, Alexander was personally tutored by Aristotle, a man so famous that even if you know nothing about his teachings, you definitely recognize the name. Aristotle, one of the greatest minds of the ancient world, piqued the young prince’s interest and honed his already strong intellect. Aristotle taught Alexander philosophy, medicine, politics, and art, as well as the importance of treating non-Greeks as slaves.

    Alexander’s Attack on India

    Alexander Attack of India

    Alexander The Great in order to secure his hold on Persia, Alexander granted large amounts of freedom to Persian territories, even allowing them to govern themselves in exchange for loyalty to him. He did not force conversions of Persian culture or religion, the way most rulers did back in his day, and instead actually adopted many Persian customs for himself.

    This made him very popular with the Persians, although it made him just as unpopular with his own Macedonian troops. Alexander killed one of his generals and personal friends after he drunkenly ridiculed Alexander’s adoption of Persian culture.

    This proved to further drive a wedge between him and his native Macedonians. Feeling that further conquests would help stabilize his political situation, and further feed his appetite for glory, Alexander rallied his forces once more and marched on India. the unity that his conquests had brought to two of the greatest people of the ancient world would spur the Hellenistic age, and Alexander founded many of the ancient world’s most important centers of cultural and scientific development.

    The establishment of a silver standard for currency, which eased trade across his former realm, was one of his great achievements. His liberating of huge amounts of wealth from the former Persian empire’s treasury also greatly boosted trade and wealth across the Mediterranean, and a period of prosperity settled over the region.

    Death of Alexander the Great

    Alexander The Great Death

    Alexander’s reign was short-lived, however, since he died mysteriously at the age of 32, making him one of history’s shortest-lived monarchs. Some believe he was poisoned by a political foe, of which he had a plethora on both the Greek and Persian sides. Others though believe that he died due to malaria which he contracted during his travels in India.

    Whatever the cause of his death, Alexander proved to be the only thing holding the fragile empire he had created together, and following his passing, it immediately began to fall apart at the seams. His generals began to war amongst themselves in a bid to become the new supreme ruler. Ultimately it’s unknown if Alexander could have really held his empire together even if he had lived. His conquests had brought together many disparate peoples under one banner, most of them who did not share a common culture.

    Even while alive his empire strained and groaned under the pressure of revolution, and it was only his political shrewdness along with savagery against his political enemies that kept it together alive. How long this could have lasted though remains in doubt, and ultimately it’s likely even if he had not died from disease or poison.

  • Abdurrahman Gazi | Biography, History

    Abdurrahman Gazi History

    If you have also seen the Ertugrul Ghazi serial then I can say with the hope that this character must have made an important place in your heart and mind, I am talking about Abdur Rahman Gazi, today’s article we are going to talk about Abdurrahman Gazi. What is the real history of How did his life go and at which places did he study and from where to where did his age go, that is, how old did he get he will also talk about his love.

    Adurrahman Ghazi
    Abdurrahman Ghazi Friend of Ertugrul Ghazi

    Full Name: Rasool Hazrat Abdurrahman bin off

    Born: 12th century, place of birth is unknown.

    Died: 1329 CE

    Allegiance: Ottoman Empire, Kayi Tribe

    Rank: Military Commander

    Nationality: Oghuz Turkish

    Religion: Islam

    Buried: Samandıra, Istanbul, Turkey

    Who Was Abdurrahman Gazi ?

    Abdurrahman Gazi belonged to the Kayi Tribe and his full name is Mansukh by the name of the famous Sahabey Rasool Hazrat Abdurr ahman bin Off. Even in Urdu date, you have been called by Abdurrahman, Abdurrahman was a very brave and brave soldier and a very special friend of Hazrat Ertugrul Ghazi, when the foundation of Khilafat-e-Osmania was laid, at that time Hazrat Abdurrahman Gazi was very important Because Abdurrahman Gazi was such a soldier who found the era of Suleiman Shah also found the era of his son Ertugrul Ghazi and also found the era of his son.

    Abdurrahman Gazi fought many wars with the Ottoman army and won many places. It was famous about Abdurrahman Gazi Ghazi that Abdurrahman Gazi never sleeps at night without shooting arrows at the enemy. And never come down on horseback without wielding a sword during the day. Hazrat Abdurrahman Gazi fought a lot of wars and conquered big forts, many of which belonged to the Byzantine army. Told that Fateh belongs only and only to the right.

    Hazrat Abdurrahman Gazi was a very brave and warlike soldier. He was very loyal to his master and religion. His stature was long and the beard was very thick, he was as soft as he was hard to see from inside. It is said about Abdul Rehman Ghazi that due to your views and views, many people in Byzantine areas had converted to Islam.

    Abdurrahman Gazi also fought for a long time with Osman Ghazi, son of Ertugrul Ghazi, and during the era of Hazrat Osman Ghazi, he also mentored Fozio many times and tell you when Usman killed his uncle because his uncle had betrayed him, then at that time also Hazrat Abdurrahman Gazi was also present with Hazrat Usman Ghazi. Abdurrahman Gazi, the grandfather of Suleiman Shah i.e. Ertugrul i.e. Osman Ghazi, even in his last days, his service was carried out by Abdurrahman Gazi.

    One of the most important feats of Abdur Rahman Gazi was to conquer a strong and famous fort-like Aydos, which was a very difficult task because that fort was the strongest and most important fort of the Byzantine army. The story of this fort near Baz Morrakhin is associated with a love affair.

    The story is like this. The girl of the landlord of the palace had seen in a dream that a person had saved her from falling in the pit, so that person was very beautiful, due to which she had fallen in love with that person so in real life that girl when Abdul When Rahman saw the face of Ghazi in the army of his enemy, he immediately recognized it and she came to know that this is the person of my dream.

    So she threw a stone towards a soldier on which it was written that I will give you this sultanate, if you come again at night to raid this fort, then I will enter you inside this palace. Abdul Rehman Ghazi did the same and therefore made it appear as if they wanted to go back to the end of the fort and they realized their failure and they returned after chasing their army.

    The army, reached that fort to raid and with the help of that girl, Abdul Rehman Ghazi entered that fort with some of his soldiers, due to which the fort became Fateh. And after that Abdurrahman Gazi married that girl, after which Allah also blessed him with a child from that girl. Abdurrahman Gazi is the person who is also known by the name of doing Aydos Castle Victory.

    Abdurrahman Gazi Tomb

    Tomb of Abdurrahman Ghazi
    Tomb of Abdurrahman Ghazi

    He died in 1329 CE during the reign of Orhan Gazi. He was buried in a village in Erzurum Turkey. His grave is an honorary grave outside Ertugrul Gazi’s mausoleum.

  • Turgut alp | History, Axe, Tomb & Facts

    Turgut Alp History

    Turgut Alp i.e. Nurgul was a true friend of Hazrat Ertugrul Ghazi and he is included in Sultanate-e-Osmania basic Janisaro; When Osman Ghazi also died, his son i.e. Hazrat Ertugrul Ghazi’s grandson also gave his blessings because apparently he had attained a long life of 125 years and he kept fighting and fighting in Maidan-e-Jung till the end. Fighting was martyred in his childhood, his wife was martyred by the Mongols in front of her eyes and later her wife was also burnt alive by the Mongols,

    So that is why she was brought up by Ertugrul’s mother i.e. Haima Hanum. and he was a childhood friend of Ertugrul Ghazi and was brought up with him. His weapon was his famous axe.

    Turgut Alp Real Image
    Turgut Alp Real Image

    Name: Turgut, Nurgul

    Born: Turkey Kayi tribe, c. 1200

    Died: 1324/25

    Burial: Turgutalp (Genci) village, Inegol, Turkey

    Allegiance: Ottoman Empire

    Rank: Military Commander

    Turgut Alp Axe

    Turgut Axe
    Turgut Alp Axe

    Turgut Alp was the first such soldier of date and the first such Jabaz of Islamic date to shoot arrows and swords. Made his weapon 1 ax. When this wonderful man Mujahid of the Turgut world used to turn his ax by saying Ya Allah, the senses of all the enemies who came in his jade were blown away and after getting this ax, the last destination and the next destination used to be only and only hell. The special thing about his ax is that his ax is 92cm long and the weight of his ax is 1kg 650g.

    If we talk about history, he had the strongest ax in history so far and he is such a person who kept fighting with that ax all his life after that, in 1325AD he fought against Kuffar i.e. at the age of 125, he jammed-e-Shahadat Nosh said When this zealous Marde Mujahid said martyrdom and said goodbye to this world, then behind this ie this person’s legacy was only and only its axe, you will be surprised to know that Hazrat Nurgul is the person who has the longest time.

    Till now he has done jihad on the battlefield because he attained the age of 125 years and spent his whole life in jihad and fighting for Islam in Maidan-e-Jung. This is the reason why the record of doing Jihad for the longest time in Islamic dating is in the name of this personality.

    His weapon was his Azeem Axe, which is still present in this world and is kept in the Turk’s museum and is increasing its glory. A lot of people go to see that ax and apparently after the arrival of the Ertugrul Ghazi serial when common people also recognized him, more and more people started queuing to see his axe.

    Turgut Alp Tomb
    Turgut Alp Tomb, Türbesi, Turkey

    Turgut Alp Tomb

    Turgut Alp tomb is present in 1 cemetery of Turgut Alp village Turkey and let us tell you that 1 Mazar near Ertugrul Ghazi’s Mazar has been built after his name, although it is not his real tomb it is only and only for his realization. His real Mazar is Turgut Alp village, which has been named after him and is present in his cemetery.

  • Salahuddin Ayyubi- History, Crusades & Facts
    Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi
    Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb

    Full name : Salāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb

    Born: 1137 AD Iraq, Tikrit, Upper Mesopotamia, Abbasid Caliphate

    Died: 4 March 1193 AD (age 55-56) Damascus, Ayyubi Sultanate of Syria

    Empire: Ayyubi Sultanate (Founder)

    Parents: Sit Khatoon, Najm al-Dan Ayyub

    Tomb: Damascus, Umayyad Mosque

    Wife: Ismat ad-din Khatoon

    Investiture: Cairo, 1174

    Children: Al-Afdl ibn Salah ad-Din, Az-Zahir Ghazi, Al-Aziz Usman

    Who was Salahuddin Ayyubi?

    Salahuddin Ayyubi is a brilliant hero in Islamic history who is respected by Muslims and Christians alike for his justice and kindness. This is about 1137 AD. In the Iraqi city of Tikrit, in the house of Amir Najmuddin Ayyub of a Zengid dynasty, a boy was born, who was named Yusuf, and today the whole world knows the name of Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi.

    Salahuddin Ayyubi’s full name was Salāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb. Salahuddin Ayyubi was raised by his uncle Shirkuh, who according to history was a commander in the Zengid dynasty, He used to accompany Salahuddin Ayubi in training in combat techniques and in combat activities. And used to give them war information.

    Rise of the Ayyubi Empire

    Rise of the Ayyubi Empire

     

    Salahuddin Ayyubi rose rapidly through the ranks of the Jangi Sultanate due to his intelligence and aggression. After the invasion of Egypt in 1169, he was appointed governor of Egypt. After the death of Nuruddin Jangi, his successors could not take over the empire.

    In 1171 AD Salahuddin Ayyubi laid the foundation of the Ayyubi kingdom. And by 1182 AD, he had conquered Syria, Egypt, and Aleppo and incorporated them into his kingdom. Saladin’s greatest ambition was to take Jerusalem. During the reign of Hazrat Umar Farooq, the first Muslim Qibla, Jerusalem was conquered. Due to the internal turmoil of the Muslims after the First Crusade, Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders.

    In 1177 AD, Salah-ud-din Ayubi launched his first invasion of Jerusalem. And he failed to succeed. Salahuddin Ayyubi made his second attack two years later in 1179 AD, in which the king of Jerusalem was defeated but managed to escape. The King of Jerusalem and Salahuddin signed a peace contract in 1180 AD. But the agreement did not last long. Kirk Fort Governor Raynald was an ardent Christian who attacked and killed pilgrims on their way to Hajj.

    Sultan-Salahuddin-Ayubi persuades the King of Jerusalem to punish Ronald, but the King of Jerusalem does not. As a result, Raynald gains even greater strength and sends an army to attack the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Is. On the way, Salahuddin Ayyubi’s army defeated Raynald’s army. After the untimely death of the king of Jerusalem, Raynald continued to attack and kill Muslims. Saladin vows to kill Raynald with his own hands upon learning of the incident.

    Battle of Hattin

    Battle-of-Hattin
    Battle of Hattin

    Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi had always aspired to conquer Baitul Muqaddas. When Nooruddin Jangi was killed, there was no such capable person present who could sit on the throne after him. So all the people consulted and put the entire Sultanate of Nooruddin Jangi in the hands of Salahuddin Ayyubi. And when Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi was placed on the throne, he was only 21 years old.

    Now Salahuddin Ayyubi got the opportunity to conquer Betul Muqaddas, which he was always looking for. Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi had made the goal of his life to conquer Betul Muqaddas as soon as he sat on the throne of Egypt. When Salahuddin Ayyubi got rid of all the difficulties in Egypt and strengthened his sultanate very much in Egypt. So they decided to set out on the way to Betul Muqaddas and Salahuddin Ayyubi with his army set out towards Jerusalem to conquer Betul Muqaddas.

    Salahuddin-din-Ayyubi marched towards Jerusalem with a large army. During this (Battle of Hattin) the battle of Hattin took place. The Crusaders were badly defeated in this battle, about 30,000 of their warriors were killed and thousands of soldiers were captured. During that battle, Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi captured Raynald and killed him. After this battle, Sultan Salahuddin besieged Jerusalem and a week later Jerusalem was conquered. After a hundred years, the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem. Salahuddin was a courageous man. Who, during the Crusades, treated the Crusaders so well that Christians still respect them greatly.

    History of Baitul Muqaddas

    baitul Muqaddas - TS HISTORICAL

    Masjid-e-Aqsa in Jerusalem, Palestine, which we know as Baitul Muqaddas, is the only place in the world where people of three religions claim their rights. That is, Masjid-e-Aqsa is such a place which has a lot of importance in Christianity too and Jews also give it a lot of importance and on the third-hand people who believe in Islam also give a lot of importance to Baitul Muqaddas and Betul Muqaddas to Islam.

    Because Baitul Muqaddas is Qibla-e-Awal of Islam, that is, before Kaaba-e-Sharif, prayers were offered to face Qibla-e-Awal and this is the reason why Baitul Muqaddas has so much importance in Islam. It has been given that after Kaaba-e-Sharif in Islam, if a building is considered to be the biggest time, then it is Baitul Muqaddas. Due to the association of three religions with Baitul Muqaddas, there has always been a war between Muslims, Jews, and Christians to assert their right over Qibla-e-Awal.

    Death of Sultan-Salahuddin-Ayyubi

    Salahuddin Ayyubi Death
    Tomb of Salahuddin Ayyubi

    Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi died on 4 March 1193 due to a high fever. Sultan-Salahuddin-Ayyubi donated all his property. In his lifetime, he fought more than a hundred wars and ruled for twenty years. His life was very simple; He never built a palace for himself. And he spent much of his life on the conquest of Jerusalem. He spent his whole life in a tent or on the battlefield with his soldiers. Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi was buried in Damascus, Syria.

  • Humayun | Second Mughal Emperor, Tomb & Death

    Summary

    Humayun, also known as Nasir ud-din Muhammad, was the second Mughal king of India who was more courageous than the consolidator of his empire. Humayun was the child of the Founder of the Mughal EmpireJahiruddin Muhammad Babur” and the father of the 3rd Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.

    Facts About Humayun

    Humayun - TS HISTORICAL
    Mirza Nasir ud-din Baig Muhammad Khan Humayun
    BornMarch 6, 1508, Kabul, Afghanistan
    DiedJanuary 15, 1556, Delhi, India
    SpouseHamida Banu Begam > Mah Chuchak Begum > Bega Begum
    ParentsBabur > Meham Begum

    The early life of Humayun

    Nasir Ud-Din Humayun was born on 6 March 1508 in Kabul where his father Zahir ad-Din Babur was planning an invasion of India. He had led small forces for his father and had been fairly capable. However, when he became Padishah of the Mughal Empire at the age of 22, he wasn’t the only ruler of the Empire. His brothers were given portions of the empire to rule while remaining under the command of Humayun.

    This succession plan actually comes from the Turko-Mongol tradition that Babur descended from. Genghis Khan himself had divided his realm among his four sons. This idea of collective sovereignty, where all sons of the king had equal claim to the throne, was inherited from the Mongols by the Timurids and that’s what Babur himself did.

    Kamran Mirza was given Kabul and Kandahar. Askari Mirza was given Multan and Hindal Mirza was given Malwa. Almost as soon as Humayun came to power, the brothers started plotting to take the throne from him.

    Kamran marched from Kabul to Lahore to secure the allegiance of men loyal to his father. Also taking advantage of Babur’s death, the Afghan tribes of the east, who had previously been in power before the Mughals, began raiding Mughal territory. Humayun led his army east to deal with the Afghans where Mahmud Lodi, the brother of the last Lodi Sultan, had declared himself Sultan of Hindustan.

    Humayun faced and defeated his army at Lakhnau. Almost immediately after doing that, he got the news that the Sultan of Gujarat was planning to attack the Mughals with the help of the Portuguese who had sent up trading posts on the Gujarati shore.

    Humayun Attack on Gujrat

    Humayun Attack on Gujrat
    Humayun Attack on Gujrat

    In 1535, Humayun attacked and defeated the Sultan of Gujarat and even took some strategic forts but he failed to end the Sultan and annex Gujarat in its entirety. That was because the Afghans were back. This time they had united behind an extraordinarily capable commander named Sher Khan Suri. He was really no match for Sher Khan and his army. The Afghans used guerrilla tactics in the eastern forests against Humayun who was famous for his addiction to wine and opium.

    Sher Khan, on the other hand, was disciplined and collected. He was born Farid Khan in 1486 in Haryana. Because of his talent and valor, he was given the name of Sher Khan, meaning the Lion Khan or more accurately, the Lion King.

    In the 1510s, he had become a freelance soldier or as we call them, mercenaries. Mercenaries were in high demand in India due to the absence of central authority before the Mughals. Various groups militarized to protect themselves and then started selling their services.

    When Babur defeated the Afghan Lodi dynasty, their former soldiers, who were now out of work, united behind Sher Khan. Sher Khan was managing to pay them because he was protecting a wealthy widow from the Lodi establishment. Her money and his leadership created a formidable force. Initially, he paid off the Mughal governors with a tribute to keep himself safe from them while he built power.

    By 1537, he was powerful enough to invade Bengal and end the ruling dynasty. He crowned himself Sultan there, changing his name to Sher Shah Suri. By this time, he was aware of the threat he posed and so, Humayun attacked Bengal. Sher Shah’s forces melted into the interior and used guerrilla tactics.

    In 1538, his other younger brother, Hindal attacked Agra, the Mughal capital, and seized the throne for himself. Kamran also marched towards Agra to strike a deal with Hindal and divide the empire among themselves. When Humayun heard of this news, he rushed back but the Monsoon hindered his ability to maneuver his army.

    Sher Shah took advantage of this and attacked Humayun, badly defeating him. He was barely able to get away with his life. He was able to regroup in Agra where he pardoned his brothers and tried to present a united front against the Afghan threat. However, his brothers refused to cooperate. Kamran even withdrew to Lahore and raised his banners for independence.

    In May 1540, the Mughal and Afghan forces met at Kanauj where the Mughal army was defeated. Humayun withdrew to Lahore but Sher Shah pressed on until Lahore too belonged to him. Humayun and his brother Hindal were left without land to rule. Kamran and Askari still held some holdings in Afghanistan.

    Second Mughal Emperor

    The Mughal Empire

    Sher Shah Suri established himself in Delhi and Agra and started to rule his new Suri Empire. He was as great a ruler as a commander by all reasonable measures. He reminds me of another great ruler of India, Ala ad-Din Khalji, a man Sher Shah himself looked up to. He reorganized noblemen and held the way land. He introduced a trimetallic currency with the Gold Mohur, the Silver Rupiya and the Copper Dam.

    Additionally, he understood the need for Central Asian goods, especially war horses, so he built a great road known as the Grand Trunk Road, which runs from Afghanistan to Bengal, connecting all of North India. Previously, this route was covered by many roads which weren’t always in great condition. Meanwhile, Humayun and his brother Hindal were wandering homeless across Western India looking for allies.

    While they didn’t find many of them, Humayun did find a wife from an Indian nobleman’s family. She soon gave birth to Humayun‘s first son, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad. He finally got some hope from the Safavid Shah Tahmasp. He visited him in Herat first and then in the Safavid capital of Qazvin. Tahmasp, as his father had done to Babur, offered him support if he converted to Shi’ism. Humayun agreed.

    He was given an army with which he first attacked Kabul and Kandahar. Both brothers evaded capture, but he took both cities and started planning his invasion of India from Kabul, as his father had some twenty years earlier. The same year, 1545, Sher Shah died in a cannon accident. The road to India was becoming more open as He invited supporters from all over India to help him in his invasion.

    While Humayun did that, Kamran also raised an army. Humayun finally defeated his brother in 1553, but he couldn’t bring himself to execute him. After all, it’s said that Babur had told Humayun, on his deathbed, not to hurt his brothers no matter how much they deserved it. Kamran was blinded and exiled to Mecca. With the Safavids on his side and the issues with his brothers resolved, he invaded India. The Suri Empire had weakened by this time due to internal problems. With his loyal general Bairam Khan on his side, Humayun swept across India and finally entered Delhi in 1555 after 15 years in exile.

    The Mughal Empire was back. Humayun would rule for only six months as the Padishah of Hindustan, but these six months made Mughal Empire what it would be for centuries to come. Unlike his father, Humayun seems to have liked India, given that he married an Indian Muslim woman and urged his officials to take Indian wives.

    He didn’t consider himself first among equals as his father did. He created a centralized government with him in the centre. He also greeted the sun every morning, which is quintessentially Indian tradition. Also, he reorganized the land and put as much of it as possible directly under the Mughal crown instead of noblemen. He was wise enough to see the good policies of his rival, Sher Shah Suri and kept the good ones, such as his monetary reforms. All these things started making the Mughal Empire a truly Indian Empire. His successor would bring this Indianization to completion.

    Humayun’s Tomb

    Humayun ka Maqbara
    Humayun’s Tomb

    In January 1556, he fell from the stairs of his library in Purana Qila, Delhi. His young son, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad, only 13 years of age was put on the throne. Immediately, powers from around the Mughal court began competing for influence over the boy king. However, Jalal ad-Din would be no one’s puppet. Instead, he would be the great Shahanshah Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Akbar.

    Humayun’s Tomb was built in the 1560s under the patronage of the great emperor Humayun’s son Akbar The garden-mausoleum was built in collaboration by Persian and Indian artisans and was far superior to any other tomb built in the Islamic world. Humayun’s garden tomb is a char bagh (a four-quadrant garden depicting the four rivers of paradise in the Qur’an), with lakes connected by channels. The garden can be accessed from the south and west through high gates, with pavilions in the center of the east and north walls.

    Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi was the first magnificent royal mausoleum associated with Mughal architecture, reaching its pinnacle 80 years later at the Taj Mahal. Humayun’s Tomb is part of a 27.04-hectare complex that includes Nila Gumbad, Isa Khan, Bu Halima, and Afsarwala, all 16th-century Mughal garden tombs. Baber’s Tomb and Arab Sarai, where artisans live. Humayun‘s tomb is being built.

    People Also Ask?

    What was Humayun famous for?

    The Safavids on his side and the issues with his brothers resolved, he invaded India. The Suri Empire had weakened by this time due to internal problems. With his loyal general Bairam Khan on his side, Humayun swept across India and finally entered Delhi in 1555 after 15 years in exile.

    How did Humayun died?

    In January 1556, he fell from the stairs of his library in Purana Qila, Delhi.

    Who was Humayun defeated by?

    In 1535, Humayun attacked and defeated the Sultan of Gujarat and even took some strategic forts but he failed to end the Sultan and annex Gujarat in its entirety. That was because the Afghans were back. This time they had united behind an extraordinarily capable commander named Sher Khan Suri.

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