triplets
list | passage
stringlengths 6
20.1k
| __index_level_0__
int64 0
834
|
|---|---|---|
[
"Tigranes the Great",
"sex or gender",
"male"
] |
Offspring
Tigranes had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zariadres, according to Appian and Valerius Maximus rebelled against Tigranes and was killed during a battle (possibly late 90s BCE). Appian also mentions an unnamed younger son who was executed for conspiring against Tigranes: he disregarded his father's health and wore Tigranes's crown (Tigranes having been injured during a hunting accident). His third son, Tigranes the Younger, who showed great care for his injured father and was rewarded for his loyalty, has already been mentioned. He is also alleged to have led a military campaign in 82 BCE. Tigranes was succeeded by his fourth and youngest son, Artavasdes II.
One daughter of Tigranes according to Cassius Dio married Mithridates I of Atropatene. Another daughter married Parthian prince Pacorus, son of Orodes II. Parchments of Avroman also mention his third daughter, Ariazate "Automa", who married Gotarzes I of Parthia.Although Cleopatra of Pontus is usually considered to be their mother (Appian writes that she gave birth to three sons), historian Gagik Sargsyan considered only Artavasdes II and one of the unnamed daughters to be her children. According to him, the rest had a different mother and were born before Tigranes became king. The reasoning behind it is that if Tigranes the Younger did indeed lead a campaign in 82 BCE, then he and hence his two older brothers (and possibly two sisters) would be too old to be Cleopatra's children. Another argument supporting this claim would be the situation with Ariazate. As she was probably the mother of Orodes I (r. 80–75 BC), then Ariazate could not have been the daughter of Cleopatra who married Tigranes only in 94 BCE at the age of 15 or 16. Sargsyan also proposed a possible candidate as Tigranes's first wife and the children's mother: Artaxiad princess Zaruhi, a daughter of Tigranes's paternal uncle Zariadres and granddaughter of Artaxias I. He also considered likely that the reason for the rebellion of Tigranes's son Zariadres was the birth of Artavasdes who was declared the heir by virtue of being born to a king and not a prince.
| 11
|
[
"Tigranes the Great",
"child",
"Artavasdes II of Armenia"
] |
Offspring
Tigranes had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zariadres, according to Appian and Valerius Maximus rebelled against Tigranes and was killed during a battle (possibly late 90s BCE). Appian also mentions an unnamed younger son who was executed for conspiring against Tigranes: he disregarded his father's health and wore Tigranes's crown (Tigranes having been injured during a hunting accident). His third son, Tigranes the Younger, who showed great care for his injured father and was rewarded for his loyalty, has already been mentioned. He is also alleged to have led a military campaign in 82 BCE. Tigranes was succeeded by his fourth and youngest son, Artavasdes II.
One daughter of Tigranes according to Cassius Dio married Mithridates I of Atropatene. Another daughter married Parthian prince Pacorus, son of Orodes II. Parchments of Avroman also mention his third daughter, Ariazate "Automa", who married Gotarzes I of Parthia.Although Cleopatra of Pontus is usually considered to be their mother (Appian writes that she gave birth to three sons), historian Gagik Sargsyan considered only Artavasdes II and one of the unnamed daughters to be her children. According to him, the rest had a different mother and were born before Tigranes became king. The reasoning behind it is that if Tigranes the Younger did indeed lead a campaign in 82 BCE, then he and hence his two older brothers (and possibly two sisters) would be too old to be Cleopatra's children. Another argument supporting this claim would be the situation with Ariazate. As she was probably the mother of Orodes I (r. 80–75 BC), then Ariazate could not have been the daughter of Cleopatra who married Tigranes only in 94 BCE at the age of 15 or 16. Sargsyan also proposed a possible candidate as Tigranes's first wife and the children's mother: Artaxiad princess Zaruhi, a daughter of Tigranes's paternal uncle Zariadres and granddaughter of Artaxias I. He also considered likely that the reason for the rebellion of Tigranes's son Zariadres was the birth of Artavasdes who was declared the heir by virtue of being born to a king and not a prince.
| 12
|
[
"Tigranes the Great",
"spouse",
"Cleopatra of Pontus"
] |
Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (Armenian: Տիգրան Մեծ, Tigran Mets; Ancient Greek: Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας Tigránes ho Mégas; Latin: Tigranes Magnus) (140 – 55 BC) was the king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries and reached its peak, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King or King of Kings. His empire for a short time was the most powerful state to the east of the Roman Republic.
Either the son or nephew of Artavasdes I, Tigranes was given as a hostage to Mithridates II of Parthia after Armenia came under Parthian suzerainty. After ascending to the Armenian throne, Tigranes rapidly expanded his kingdom by taking advantage of a weakened Parthian Empire and the decline of the Seleucid Empire. He also entered an alliance with Mithridates VI of Pontus by marrying his daughter Cleopatra. At its height, Tigranes' empire stretched from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were forcibly relocated to his new capital, Tigranocerta. An admirer of the Greek culture, Tigranes invited many Greek rhetoricians and philosophers to his court, and his capital was noted for its Hellenistic architecture.
Armenia came into direct conflict with Rome after Mithridates VI was forced to seek refuge in Tigranes' court. In 69 BC, Tigranes was decisively defeated at the Battle of Tigranocerta by a Roman army under the command of Lucullus, and a year later he met another major defeat at Artaxata, the old Armenian capital. The recall of Lucullus gave Tigranes a brief respite, but in 66 BC Armenia faced another Roman invasion led by Pompey, aided by Tigranes' own son, Tigranes the Younger. Tigranes chose to surrender and was allowed to retain the heartland of his kingdom as a Roman buffer state, while all of his conquests were annexed. He continued to rule Armenia as a formal ally of Rome until his death around 55 BC at the age of 85.Alliance with Pontus
During the First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC), Tigranes supported Mithridates VI of Pontus, but was careful not to become directly involved in the war.
He rapidly built up his power and established an alliance with Mithridates VI, marrying his daughter Cleopatra. Tigranes agreed to extend his influence in the East, while Mithridates set to conquer Roman land in Asia Minor and in Europe. By creating a stronger Hellenistic state, Mithridates was to contend with the well-established Roman foothold in Europe. Mithridates executed a planned general attack on Romans and Italians in Asia Minor, tapping into local discontent with the Romans and their taxes and urging the peoples of Asia Minor to raise against foreign influence. The slaughter of 80,000 people in the province of Asia Minor was known as the Asiatic Vespers. The two kings' attempts to control Cappadocia and then the massacres resulted in guaranteed Roman intervention. The senate decided that Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who was then one of the consuls, would command the army against Mithridates.The renowned French historian René Grousset remarked that in their alliance Mithridates was somewhat subservient to Tigranes.Offspring
Tigranes had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zariadres, according to Appian and Valerius Maximus rebelled against Tigranes and was killed during a battle (possibly late 90s BCE). Appian also mentions an unnamed younger son who was executed for conspiring against Tigranes: he disregarded his father's health and wore Tigranes's crown (Tigranes having been injured during a hunting accident). His third son, Tigranes the Younger, who showed great care for his injured father and was rewarded for his loyalty, has already been mentioned. He is also alleged to have led a military campaign in 82 BCE. Tigranes was succeeded by his fourth and youngest son, Artavasdes II.
One daughter of Tigranes according to Cassius Dio married Mithridates I of Atropatene. Another daughter married Parthian prince Pacorus, son of Orodes II. Parchments of Avroman also mention his third daughter, Ariazate "Automa", who married Gotarzes I of Parthia.Although Cleopatra of Pontus is usually considered to be their mother (Appian writes that she gave birth to three sons), historian Gagik Sargsyan considered only Artavasdes II and one of the unnamed daughters to be her children. According to him, the rest had a different mother and were born before Tigranes became king. The reasoning behind it is that if Tigranes the Younger did indeed lead a campaign in 82 BCE, then he and hence his two older brothers (and possibly two sisters) would be too old to be Cleopatra's children. Another argument supporting this claim would be the situation with Ariazate. As she was probably the mother of Orodes I (r. 80–75 BC), then Ariazate could not have been the daughter of Cleopatra who married Tigranes only in 94 BCE at the age of 15 or 16. Sargsyan also proposed a possible candidate as Tigranes's first wife and the children's mother: Artaxiad princess Zaruhi, a daughter of Tigranes's paternal uncle Zariadres and granddaughter of Artaxias I. He also considered likely that the reason for the rebellion of Tigranes's son Zariadres was the birth of Artavasdes who was declared the heir by virtue of being born to a king and not a prince.
| 13
|
[
"Tigranes the Great",
"family",
"Artaxiad Dynasty"
] |
Early years
In approximately 120 BC, the Parthian king Mithridates II (r. 124–91 BC) invaded Armenia and made its king Artavasdes I acknowledge Parthian suzerainty. Artavasdes I was forced to give the Parthians Tigranes, who was either his son or nephew, as a hostage. Tigranes lived in the Parthian court at Ctesiphon, where he was schooled in Parthian culture. Tigranes remained a hostage at the Parthian court until c. 96/95 BC, when Mithridates II released him and appointed him as the king of Armenia. Tigranes ceded an area called "seventy valleys" in the Caspiane to Mithridates II, either as a pledge or because Mithridates II demanded it. Tigranes' daughter Ariazate had also married a son of Mithridates II, which has been suggested by the modern historian Edward Dąbrowa to have taken place shortly before he ascended the Armenian throne as a guarantee of his loyalty. Tigranes would remain a Parthian vassal until the late 80s BC.When he came to power, the foundation upon which Tigranes was to build his Empire was already in place, a legacy of the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artaxias I, and subsequent kings. The mountains of Armenia, however, formed natural borders between the different regions of the country and as a result, the feudalistic nakharars had significant influence over the regions or provinces in which they were based. This did not suit Tigranes, who wanted to create a centralist empire. He thus proceeded by consolidating his power within Armenia before embarking on his campaign.He deposed Artanes, the last king of the Kingdom of Sophene and a descendant of Zariadres.Wars against the Parthians and Seleucids
After the death of Mithridates II of Parthia his son Gotarzes I succeeded him. He reigned during a period coined in scholarship as the "Parthian Dark Age," due to the lack of clear information on the events of this period in the empire, except a series of, apparently overlapping, reigns. This system of split monarchy weakened Parthia, allowing Tigranes II of Armenia to annex Parthian territory in western Mesopotamia. This land would not be restored to Parthia until the reign of Sinatruces (r. c. 78–69 BC).
The changes of fortune experienced by Tigranes were varied, for at first he was a hostage among the Parthians; and then through them he obtained the privilege of returning home, they receiving as reward therefore seventy valleys in Armenia; but when he had grown in power, he not only took these places back but also devastated their country, both that about Ninus (Nineveh), and that about Arbela; and he subjugated to himself the rulers of Atropene and Gordyaea (on the Upper Tigris), and along with these the rest of Mesopotamia, and also crossed the Euphrates and by main strength took Syria itself and Phoenicia —Strabo
In 83 BC, after bloody strife for the throne of Syria, governed by the Seleucids, the Syrians decided to choose Tigranes as the protector of their kingdom and offered him the crown of Syria. Magadates was appointed as his governor in Antioch. He then conquered Phoenicia and Cilicia, effectively putting an end to the last remnants of the Seleucid Empire, though a few holdout cities appear to have recognized the shadowy boy-king Seleucus VII Philometor as the legitimate king during his reign. The southern border of his domain reached as far as Ptolemais (modern Akko). Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were sent to his new metropolis of Tigranocerta.
At its height, his empire extended from the Pontic Alps (in modern north-eastern Turkey) to Mesopotamia, and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. A series of victories led him to assume the Achaemenid title of King of Kings, which even the Parthian kings did not assume, appearing on coins struck after 85 BC. He was called "Tigranes the Great" by many Western historians and writers, such as Plutarch. The "King of Kings" never appeared in public without having four kings attending him. Cicero, referring to his success in the east, said that he "made the Republic of Rome tremble before the prowess of his arms."Tigranes' coins consist of tetradrachms and copper coins having on the obverse his portrait wearing a decorated Armenian tiara with ear-flaps. The reverse has a completely original design. There are the seated Tyche of Antioch and the river god Orontes at her feet.Offspring
Tigranes had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zariadres, according to Appian and Valerius Maximus rebelled against Tigranes and was killed during a battle (possibly late 90s BCE). Appian also mentions an unnamed younger son who was executed for conspiring against Tigranes: he disregarded his father's health and wore Tigranes's crown (Tigranes having been injured during a hunting accident). His third son, Tigranes the Younger, who showed great care for his injured father and was rewarded for his loyalty, has already been mentioned. He is also alleged to have led a military campaign in 82 BCE. Tigranes was succeeded by his fourth and youngest son, Artavasdes II.
One daughter of Tigranes according to Cassius Dio married Mithridates I of Atropatene. Another daughter married Parthian prince Pacorus, son of Orodes II. Parchments of Avroman also mention his third daughter, Ariazate "Automa", who married Gotarzes I of Parthia.Although Cleopatra of Pontus is usually considered to be their mother (Appian writes that she gave birth to three sons), historian Gagik Sargsyan considered only Artavasdes II and one of the unnamed daughters to be her children. According to him, the rest had a different mother and were born before Tigranes became king. The reasoning behind it is that if Tigranes the Younger did indeed lead a campaign in 82 BCE, then he and hence his two older brothers (and possibly two sisters) would be too old to be Cleopatra's children. Another argument supporting this claim would be the situation with Ariazate. As she was probably the mother of Orodes I (r. 80–75 BC), then Ariazate could not have been the daughter of Cleopatra who married Tigranes only in 94 BCE at the age of 15 or 16. Sargsyan also proposed a possible candidate as Tigranes's first wife and the children's mother: Artaxiad princess Zaruhi, a daughter of Tigranes's paternal uncle Zariadres and granddaughter of Artaxias I. He also considered likely that the reason for the rebellion of Tigranes's son Zariadres was the birth of Artavasdes who was declared the heir by virtue of being born to a king and not a prince.
| 14
|
[
"Tigranes the Great",
"child",
"Ariazate"
] |
Offspring
Tigranes had four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zariadres, according to Appian and Valerius Maximus rebelled against Tigranes and was killed during a battle (possibly late 90s BCE). Appian also mentions an unnamed younger son who was executed for conspiring against Tigranes: he disregarded his father's health and wore Tigranes's crown (Tigranes having been injured during a hunting accident). His third son, Tigranes the Younger, who showed great care for his injured father and was rewarded for his loyalty, has already been mentioned. He is also alleged to have led a military campaign in 82 BCE. Tigranes was succeeded by his fourth and youngest son, Artavasdes II.
One daughter of Tigranes according to Cassius Dio married Mithridates I of Atropatene. Another daughter married Parthian prince Pacorus, son of Orodes II. Parchments of Avroman also mention his third daughter, Ariazate "Automa", who married Gotarzes I of Parthia.Although Cleopatra of Pontus is usually considered to be their mother (Appian writes that she gave birth to three sons), historian Gagik Sargsyan considered only Artavasdes II and one of the unnamed daughters to be her children. According to him, the rest had a different mother and were born before Tigranes became king. The reasoning behind it is that if Tigranes the Younger did indeed lead a campaign in 82 BCE, then he and hence his two older brothers (and possibly two sisters) would be too old to be Cleopatra's children. Another argument supporting this claim would be the situation with Ariazate. As she was probably the mother of Orodes I (r. 80–75 BC), then Ariazate could not have been the daughter of Cleopatra who married Tigranes only in 94 BCE at the age of 15 or 16. Sargsyan also proposed a possible candidate as Tigranes's first wife and the children's mother: Artaxiad princess Zaruhi, a daughter of Tigranes's paternal uncle Zariadres and granddaughter of Artaxias I. He also considered likely that the reason for the rebellion of Tigranes's son Zariadres was the birth of Artavasdes who was declared the heir by virtue of being born to a king and not a prince.
| 24
|
[
"Darius II",
"instance of",
"human"
] |
Issue
Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, one of whom fathered Artabazanes, who served as King of Media Atropatene in the second half of the 3rd century BC.
By Parysatis
Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Oxathres or Oxendares or Oxendras
Artoxexes
Ostanes
Amestris wife of Teritouchmes & then Artaxerxes II
& seven other unnamed childrenBy other wives
Artostes
The unnamed satrap of Media at 401 B.C.
| 2
|
[
"Darius II",
"spouse",
"Parysatis"
] |
Issue
Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, one of whom fathered Artabazanes, who served as King of Media Atropatene in the second half of the 3rd century BC.
By Parysatis
Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Oxathres or Oxendares or Oxendras
Artoxexes
Ostanes
Amestris wife of Teritouchmes & then Artaxerxes II
& seven other unnamed childrenBy other wives
Artostes
The unnamed satrap of Media at 401 B.C.
| 10
|
[
"Darius II",
"child",
"Ostanes"
] |
Issue
Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, one of whom fathered Artabazanes, who served as King of Media Atropatene in the second half of the 3rd century BC.
By Parysatis
Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Oxathres or Oxendares or Oxendras
Artoxexes
Ostanes
Amestris wife of Teritouchmes & then Artaxerxes II
& seven other unnamed childrenBy other wives
Artostes
The unnamed satrap of Media at 401 B.C.
| 21
|
[
"Darius II",
"child",
"Amestris"
] |
Issue
Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, one of whom fathered Artabazanes, who served as King of Media Atropatene in the second half of the 3rd century BC.
By Parysatis
Artaxerxes II
Cyrus the Younger
Oxathres or Oxendares or Oxendras
Artoxexes
Ostanes
Amestris wife of Teritouchmes & then Artaxerxes II
& seven other unnamed childrenBy other wives
Artostes
The unnamed satrap of Media at 401 B.C.
| 28
|
[
"Cassander",
"father",
"Antipater"
] |
Early history
In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and Lysimachus. His family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty.Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great's court in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father, Antipater, most likely to help uphold Antipater's regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary who was hostile to the Antipatrids suggested that Cassander had journeyed to the court to poison the King.Later history
As Antipater grew close to death in 319 BC, he transferred the regency of Macedon not to Cassander, but to Polyperchon, possibly so as not to alarm the other Diadochi through an apparent move towards dynastic ambition, but perhaps also because of Cassander's own ambitions. Cassander rejected his father's decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, and declared himself Regent in 317 BC. After Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city fell two years later, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana confined at Amphipolis.
Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander's half-sister, Thessalonike, and he had Alexander IV and Roxana poisoned in either 310 BC or the following year. By 309 BC, Polyperchon began to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed him to have the boy killed. After this, Cassander's position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC. In 307–304 BC he fought the so-called Four–Years' War against Athens. In 304 BC, his rival Antigonus Monophthalmus sent his son Demetrius Poliorcetes to aid Athens against Cassander. Demetrius succeeded in driving Cassander from central Greece and created a Hellenic League, the League of Corinth, against him. In the winter of 303–302 BC, Cassander opened negotiations with Antigonus with a view to establish peace, but Antigonus refused. At this Cassander turned to Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus and convinced them to reform the coalition of 314–311 against Antigonus. In early 302 BC, Cassander sent one of his generals, Prepelaus, with an army from Macedon to join Lysimachus in an invasion of Antigonus's territory in Asia-Minor. Cassander himself marched with the main Macedonian field army into Thessaly to stop Demetrius from advancing into Macedon. Demetrius invaded Thessaly with a numerically superior force, Cassander stopped his advance by refusing to give battle and fortifying his positions. Lysimachus and Prepalaus had been very successful in Asia-Minor and Seleucus was marching with an army to join them. In the spring of 302 BC, Antigonus marched with an army from Syria into Asia-Minor to confront his enemies; he confronted Lysimachus and drove him from Phrygia. Antigonus realizing that the war would probably have to be decided in a major battle in Asia-Minor recalled Demetrius from Thessaly. With Demetrius gone Cassander sent part of his army with his brother, Pleistarchus, to join Prepalaus, Lysimachus and Seleucus in Asia-Minor. In 301 BC, the combined armies of Lysimachus, Seleucus, Prepalaus and Pleistarchus faced the combined armies of Antigonus and Demetrius at Ipsus. After the Battle of Ipsus in which Antigonus was killed, Cassander was undisputed in his control of Macedon; however, he had little time to savour the fact, dying of dropsy in 297 BC.Cassander's dynasty did not live much beyond his death, with his son Philip dying of natural causes, and his other sons Alexander and Antipater becoming involved in a destructive dynastic struggle along with their mother. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexander's appeal for aid and ousted Antipater, killed Alexander V and established the Antigonid dynasty. The remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater II Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne.
| 4
|
[
"Cassander",
"spouse",
"Thessalonike of Macedon"
] |
Later history
As Antipater grew close to death in 319 BC, he transferred the regency of Macedon not to Cassander, but to Polyperchon, possibly so as not to alarm the other Diadochi through an apparent move towards dynastic ambition, but perhaps also because of Cassander's own ambitions. Cassander rejected his father's decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, and declared himself Regent in 317 BC. After Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city fell two years later, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana confined at Amphipolis.
Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander's half-sister, Thessalonike, and he had Alexander IV and Roxana poisoned in either 310 BC or the following year. By 309 BC, Polyperchon began to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed him to have the boy killed. After this, Cassander's position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC. In 307–304 BC he fought the so-called Four–Years' War against Athens. In 304 BC, his rival Antigonus Monophthalmus sent his son Demetrius Poliorcetes to aid Athens against Cassander. Demetrius succeeded in driving Cassander from central Greece and created a Hellenic League, the League of Corinth, against him. In the winter of 303–302 BC, Cassander opened negotiations with Antigonus with a view to establish peace, but Antigonus refused. At this Cassander turned to Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus and convinced them to reform the coalition of 314–311 against Antigonus. In early 302 BC, Cassander sent one of his generals, Prepelaus, with an army from Macedon to join Lysimachus in an invasion of Antigonus's territory in Asia-Minor. Cassander himself marched with the main Macedonian field army into Thessaly to stop Demetrius from advancing into Macedon. Demetrius invaded Thessaly with a numerically superior force, Cassander stopped his advance by refusing to give battle and fortifying his positions. Lysimachus and Prepalaus had been very successful in Asia-Minor and Seleucus was marching with an army to join them. In the spring of 302 BC, Antigonus marched with an army from Syria into Asia-Minor to confront his enemies; he confronted Lysimachus and drove him from Phrygia. Antigonus realizing that the war would probably have to be decided in a major battle in Asia-Minor recalled Demetrius from Thessaly. With Demetrius gone Cassander sent part of his army with his brother, Pleistarchus, to join Prepalaus, Lysimachus and Seleucus in Asia-Minor. In 301 BC, the combined armies of Lysimachus, Seleucus, Prepalaus and Pleistarchus faced the combined armies of Antigonus and Demetrius at Ipsus. After the Battle of Ipsus in which Antigonus was killed, Cassander was undisputed in his control of Macedon; however, he had little time to savour the fact, dying of dropsy in 297 BC.Cassander's dynasty did not live much beyond his death, with his son Philip dying of natural causes, and his other sons Alexander and Antipater becoming involved in a destructive dynastic struggle along with their mother. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexander's appeal for aid and ousted Antipater, killed Alexander V and established the Antigonid dynasty. The remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater II Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne.
| 6
|
[
"Cassander",
"family",
"Antipatrid dynasty"
] |
Early history
In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and Lysimachus. His family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty.Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great's court in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father, Antipater, most likely to help uphold Antipater's regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary who was hostile to the Antipatrids suggested that Cassander had journeyed to the court to poison the King.
| 12
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"family name",
"House of Karađorđević"
] |
Early life
Peter was born in Belgrade on 11 July [O.S. 29 June] 1844, the fifth of Prince Alexander Karađorđević and his consort Persida Nenadović's ten children. He was the grandson of Karađorđe, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) and the founder of the Karađorđević dynasty. Peter was not born in the Royal Court, which was undergoing renovations at the time, but at the home of merchant Miša Anastasijević. His birth was not met with much celebration because he was his parents' third son and his older brother Svetozar was the heir to the throne.His parents' oldest son, Aleksa, had died three years prior to Peter's birth, aged five, at which point Svetozar became heir. Peter did not become heir until Svetozar's death in 1847 at the age of six. Besides Belgrade, Peter spent much of his childhood in the town of Topola, from where the Karađorđević dynasty originated. He received his elementary education in Belgrade.Move to Cetinje
In 1883, Peter moved to Cetinje, the capital of the second independent Serb state, Montenegro, with the intention of marrying the eldest daughter of Montenegro's ruler, Prince Nicholas. Peter and Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš were married in Cetinje in the summer of 1883. The marriage upset the region's volatile geopolitical balance, causing great unease in the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Serbian capitals. Belgrade perceived it as a sign of increasing closeness between the Petrović-Njegoš and Karađorđević dynasties. Relations between the two Serb states worsened, as did relations between Austria-Hungary and Russia, which had been vying for power in the Balkans for decades.When his father died in the spring of 1885, Peter became the head of the House of Karađorđević and took the title of prince. Serbia, previously a principality, was declared a kingdom in 1882, and henceforth, the Serbian monarch used the title King of Serbia. Ljubica died during childbirth in March 1890. The couple had five children, three of whom reached adulthood: Helen (Jelena), Milena, George (Đorđe), Alexander (Aleksandar), and Andrew (Andrej). Milena died in infancy and Andrew died along with his mother during childbirth.Following his father's death, Peter's financial situation deteriorated and he became dependent on his father-in-law, as well as Russia and his brother George, for support. Following the Royal Serbian Army's rout in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Peter and Nicholas devised a plan to invade Serbia and overthrow the Obrenović dynasty. At the last minute, Nicholas abandoned the idea. Peter felt betrayed by the Prince's decision to back out, leading to long lasting animosity. Nevertheless, he remained in Cetinje until 1894, devoting himself to his surviving children, who finished their primary education there.In 1894, Peter moved to Geneva with his three children, where he was to remain until 1903. In 1899, Tsar Nicholas II invited Prince George and Prince Alexander, as well as Peter's nephew Paul, to attend the Corps des Pages military academy in Saint Petersburg free of charge. Due to his poor financial standing, which prevented him from sending the boys to private schools in Switzerland, Peter accepted the Tsar's offer.
| 4
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"noble title",
"king"
] |
Move to Cetinje
In 1883, Peter moved to Cetinje, the capital of the second independent Serb state, Montenegro, with the intention of marrying the eldest daughter of Montenegro's ruler, Prince Nicholas. Peter and Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš were married in Cetinje in the summer of 1883. The marriage upset the region's volatile geopolitical balance, causing great unease in the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Serbian capitals. Belgrade perceived it as a sign of increasing closeness between the Petrović-Njegoš and Karađorđević dynasties. Relations between the two Serb states worsened, as did relations between Austria-Hungary and Russia, which had been vying for power in the Balkans for decades.When his father died in the spring of 1885, Peter became the head of the House of Karađorđević and took the title of prince. Serbia, previously a principality, was declared a kingdom in 1882, and henceforth, the Serbian monarch used the title King of Serbia. Ljubica died during childbirth in March 1890. The couple had five children, three of whom reached adulthood: Helen (Jelena), Milena, George (Đorđe), Alexander (Aleksandar), and Andrew (Andrej). Milena died in infancy and Andrew died along with his mother during childbirth.Following his father's death, Peter's financial situation deteriorated and he became dependent on his father-in-law, as well as Russia and his brother George, for support. Following the Royal Serbian Army's rout in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Peter and Nicholas devised a plan to invade Serbia and overthrow the Obrenović dynasty. At the last minute, Nicholas abandoned the idea. Peter felt betrayed by the Prince's decision to back out, leading to long lasting animosity. Nevertheless, he remained in Cetinje until 1894, devoting himself to his surviving children, who finished their primary education there.In 1894, Peter moved to Geneva with his three children, where he was to remain until 1903. In 1899, Tsar Nicholas II invited Prince George and Prince Alexander, as well as Peter's nephew Paul, to attend the Corps des Pages military academy in Saint Petersburg free of charge. Due to his poor financial standing, which prevented him from sending the boys to private schools in Switzerland, Peter accepted the Tsar's offer.
| 8
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"family",
"House of Karađorđević"
] |
Early life
Peter was born in Belgrade on 11 July [O.S. 29 June] 1844, the fifth of Prince Alexander Karađorđević and his consort Persida Nenadović's ten children. He was the grandson of Karađorđe, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) and the founder of the Karađorđević dynasty. Peter was not born in the Royal Court, which was undergoing renovations at the time, but at the home of merchant Miša Anastasijević. His birth was not met with much celebration because he was his parents' third son and his older brother Svetozar was the heir to the throne.His parents' oldest son, Aleksa, had died three years prior to Peter's birth, aged five, at which point Svetozar became heir. Peter did not become heir until Svetozar's death in 1847 at the age of six. Besides Belgrade, Peter spent much of his childhood in the town of Topola, from where the Karađorđević dynasty originated. He received his elementary education in Belgrade.Move to Cetinje
In 1883, Peter moved to Cetinje, the capital of the second independent Serb state, Montenegro, with the intention of marrying the eldest daughter of Montenegro's ruler, Prince Nicholas. Peter and Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš were married in Cetinje in the summer of 1883. The marriage upset the region's volatile geopolitical balance, causing great unease in the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Serbian capitals. Belgrade perceived it as a sign of increasing closeness between the Petrović-Njegoš and Karađorđević dynasties. Relations between the two Serb states worsened, as did relations between Austria-Hungary and Russia, which had been vying for power in the Balkans for decades.When his father died in the spring of 1885, Peter became the head of the House of Karađorđević and took the title of prince. Serbia, previously a principality, was declared a kingdom in 1882, and henceforth, the Serbian monarch used the title King of Serbia. Ljubica died during childbirth in March 1890. The couple had five children, three of whom reached adulthood: Helen (Jelena), Milena, George (Đorđe), Alexander (Aleksandar), and Andrew (Andrej). Milena died in infancy and Andrew died along with his mother during childbirth.Following his father's death, Peter's financial situation deteriorated and he became dependent on his father-in-law, as well as Russia and his brother George, for support. Following the Royal Serbian Army's rout in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Peter and Nicholas devised a plan to invade Serbia and overthrow the Obrenović dynasty. At the last minute, Nicholas abandoned the idea. Peter felt betrayed by the Prince's decision to back out, leading to long lasting animosity. Nevertheless, he remained in Cetinje until 1894, devoting himself to his surviving children, who finished their primary education there.In 1894, Peter moved to Geneva with his three children, where he was to remain until 1903. In 1899, Tsar Nicholas II invited Prince George and Prince Alexander, as well as Peter's nephew Paul, to attend the Corps des Pages military academy in Saint Petersburg free of charge. Due to his poor financial standing, which prevented him from sending the boys to private schools in Switzerland, Peter accepted the Tsar's offer.
| 17
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"country of citizenship",
"Kingdom of Serbia"
] |
Move to Cetinje
In 1883, Peter moved to Cetinje, the capital of the second independent Serb state, Montenegro, with the intention of marrying the eldest daughter of Montenegro's ruler, Prince Nicholas. Peter and Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš were married in Cetinje in the summer of 1883. The marriage upset the region's volatile geopolitical balance, causing great unease in the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Serbian capitals. Belgrade perceived it as a sign of increasing closeness between the Petrović-Njegoš and Karađorđević dynasties. Relations between the two Serb states worsened, as did relations between Austria-Hungary and Russia, which had been vying for power in the Balkans for decades.When his father died in the spring of 1885, Peter became the head of the House of Karađorđević and took the title of prince. Serbia, previously a principality, was declared a kingdom in 1882, and henceforth, the Serbian monarch used the title King of Serbia. Ljubica died during childbirth in March 1890. The couple had five children, three of whom reached adulthood: Helen (Jelena), Milena, George (Đorđe), Alexander (Aleksandar), and Andrew (Andrej). Milena died in infancy and Andrew died along with his mother during childbirth.Following his father's death, Peter's financial situation deteriorated and he became dependent on his father-in-law, as well as Russia and his brother George, for support. Following the Royal Serbian Army's rout in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Peter and Nicholas devised a plan to invade Serbia and overthrow the Obrenović dynasty. At the last minute, Nicholas abandoned the idea. Peter felt betrayed by the Prince's decision to back out, leading to long lasting animosity. Nevertheless, he remained in Cetinje until 1894, devoting himself to his surviving children, who finished their primary education there.In 1894, Peter moved to Geneva with his three children, where he was to remain until 1903. In 1899, Tsar Nicholas II invited Prince George and Prince Alexander, as well as Peter's nephew Paul, to attend the Corps des Pages military academy in Saint Petersburg free of charge. Due to his poor financial standing, which prevented him from sending the boys to private schools in Switzerland, Peter accepted the Tsar's offer.
| 19
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"place of death",
"Belgrade"
] |
World War I and its aftermath
The retired King, spending most of his time in various Serbian spas, remained relatively inactive during the First World War, although occasionally, when the military situation became critical, he visited trenches on the front-line to check up on morale of his troops. His visit to the firing line prior to the Battle of Kolubara in late 1914 boosted the morale of the retreating Serbian forces and announced a counter-offensive, sparking victory against numerically superior Austro-Hungarian forces (December 1914). Another memorable visit in 1915 involved King Peter, by then 71, picking up a rifle and shooting at enemy soldiers. Following the invasion of Serbia by the joint forces of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria in October 1915, King Peter I led the army and tens of thousands of civilian refugees through the high mountains of Albania to the Adriatic sea on a "Calvary known to few peoples".After the dramatic retreat in a harsh winter through the hostile environment of the Albanian highlands from Prizren to the Albanian littoral, a march that took more than 100,000 lives, the King and his army, exhausted by cold and famine, were eventually transported by the Allies to the Greek isle of Corfu in early 1916. For the rest of World War I King Peter I, already in very poor health, remained on Corfu, which became the seat of the Serbian government-in-exile until December 1918.
On 1 December 1918 King Peter I was proclaimed King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. King Peter stayed abroad until July 1919, then returned to Belgrade, where he died in 1921 at the age of 77. He was solemnly buried in his endowment in Oplenac, the Church of Saint George in the vicinity of Topola in Central Serbia, where his grandfather Karađorđe, the founder of the dynasty, had launched a large-scale insurrection against the Ottomans in 1804.
| 22
|
[
"Peter I of Serbia",
"place of burial",
"Oplenac"
] |
World War I and its aftermath
The retired King, spending most of his time in various Serbian spas, remained relatively inactive during the First World War, although occasionally, when the military situation became critical, he visited trenches on the front-line to check up on morale of his troops. His visit to the firing line prior to the Battle of Kolubara in late 1914 boosted the morale of the retreating Serbian forces and announced a counter-offensive, sparking victory against numerically superior Austro-Hungarian forces (December 1914). Another memorable visit in 1915 involved King Peter, by then 71, picking up a rifle and shooting at enemy soldiers. Following the invasion of Serbia by the joint forces of Germany, Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria in October 1915, King Peter I led the army and tens of thousands of civilian refugees through the high mountains of Albania to the Adriatic sea on a "Calvary known to few peoples".After the dramatic retreat in a harsh winter through the hostile environment of the Albanian highlands from Prizren to the Albanian littoral, a march that took more than 100,000 lives, the King and his army, exhausted by cold and famine, were eventually transported by the Allies to the Greek isle of Corfu in early 1916. For the rest of World War I King Peter I, already in very poor health, remained on Corfu, which became the seat of the Serbian government-in-exile until December 1918.
On 1 December 1918 King Peter I was proclaimed King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. King Peter stayed abroad until July 1919, then returned to Belgrade, where he died in 1921 at the age of 77. He was solemnly buried in his endowment in Oplenac, the Church of Saint George in the vicinity of Topola in Central Serbia, where his grandfather Karađorđe, the founder of the dynasty, had launched a large-scale insurrection against the Ottomans in 1804.
| 24
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"father",
"Sweyn II of Denmark"
] |
Life
Canute was born c. 1042, one of the many sons of Sweyn II Estridsson by an unknown mistress. He is first noted as a member of Sweyn's 1069 raid on England, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Canute was one of the leaders of another raid against England in 1075. When returning from England in 1075, the Danish fleet stopped in the County of Flanders. Because of its hostility towards William I of England, Flanders was a natural ally for the Danes. He also led successful campaigns to Sember and Ester, according to skald Kálfr Mánason.When Sweyn died, Canute's brother Harald III was elected king, and as Canute went into exile in Sweden, he was possibly involved in the active opposition to Harald. On 17 April 1080, Harald died, and Canute succeeded him to the throne of Denmark. On his accession, he married Adela, daughter of Count Robert I of Flanders. They had one son, Charles, who was born in 1084, and twin daughters Cæcilia (who later married Erik Jarl) and Ingerid (who later married Folke the Fat), who were born shortly before his death (ca. 1085/86). Ingerid's descendants, the House of Bjelbo, would ascend to the throne of Sweden and Norway and Canute IV's blood returned to the Danish throne in the person of Olaf II of Denmark.
| 5
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"spouse",
"Adela of Flanders"
] |
Life
Canute was born c. 1042, one of the many sons of Sweyn II Estridsson by an unknown mistress. He is first noted as a member of Sweyn's 1069 raid on England, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Canute was one of the leaders of another raid against England in 1075. When returning from England in 1075, the Danish fleet stopped in the County of Flanders. Because of its hostility towards William I of England, Flanders was a natural ally for the Danes. He also led successful campaigns to Sember and Ester, according to skald Kálfr Mánason.When Sweyn died, Canute's brother Harald III was elected king, and as Canute went into exile in Sweden, he was possibly involved in the active opposition to Harald. On 17 April 1080, Harald died, and Canute succeeded him to the throne of Denmark. On his accession, he married Adela, daughter of Count Robert I of Flanders. They had one son, Charles, who was born in 1084, and twin daughters Cæcilia (who later married Erik Jarl) and Ingerid (who later married Folke the Fat), who were born shortly before his death (ca. 1085/86). Ingerid's descendants, the House of Bjelbo, would ascend to the throne of Sweden and Norway and Canute IV's blood returned to the Danish throne in the person of Olaf II of Denmark.
| 6
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"sibling",
"Harald III of Denmark"
] |
Life
Canute was born c. 1042, one of the many sons of Sweyn II Estridsson by an unknown mistress. He is first noted as a member of Sweyn's 1069 raid on England, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Canute was one of the leaders of another raid against England in 1075. When returning from England in 1075, the Danish fleet stopped in the County of Flanders. Because of its hostility towards William I of England, Flanders was a natural ally for the Danes. He also led successful campaigns to Sember and Ester, according to skald Kálfr Mánason.When Sweyn died, Canute's brother Harald III was elected king, and as Canute went into exile in Sweden, he was possibly involved in the active opposition to Harald. On 17 April 1080, Harald died, and Canute succeeded him to the throne of Denmark. On his accession, he married Adela, daughter of Count Robert I of Flanders. They had one son, Charles, who was born in 1084, and twin daughters Cæcilia (who later married Erik Jarl) and Ingerid (who later married Folke the Fat), who were born shortly before his death (ca. 1085/86). Ingerid's descendants, the House of Bjelbo, would ascend to the throne of Sweden and Norway and Canute IV's blood returned to the Danish throne in the person of Olaf II of Denmark.
| 15
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"sibling",
"Olaf I of Denmark"
] |
Aborted attempt on England
However, Canute's ambitions were not purely domestic. As the grandnephew of Canute the Great, who had ruled England, Denmark and Norway until 1035, Canute considered the crown of England to be rightfully his and regarded William I of England as a usurper. In 1085, with the support of his father-in-law, Count Robert, and Olaf III of Norway, Canute planned an invasion of England and called his fleet in leding at the Limfjord. The fleet never set sail, as Canute was preoccupied in Schleswig by the potential threat of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor with whom both Denmark and Flanders were on unfriendly terms. Canute feared an invasion by Henry, whose enemy Rudolf of Rheinfelden had sought refuge in Denmark.The warriors of the fleet, mostly made up of peasants who needed to be home for the harvest season, got weary of waiting and elected Canute's brother Olaf (the later Olaf I of Denmark) to argue their case. That raised the suspicion of Canute, who had Olaf arrested and sent to Flanders. The leding was eventually dispersed, and the peasants tended to their harvests, but Canute intended to reassemble within a year.
| 16
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"position held",
"monarch of Denmark"
] |
Canute IV (c. 1042 – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy (Danish: Knud IV den Hellige) or Saint Canute (Sankt Knud), was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne. Slain by rebels in 1086, he was the first Danish king to be canonized. He was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as patron saint of Denmark in 1101.
| 21
|
[
"Canute IV of Denmark",
"manner of death",
"homicide"
] |
Legacy
The reign of Canute has been interpreted differently through the times; from a violent king who tyrannized his subjects, to a strict but fair ruler who devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church and fought for justice without regard to his own person. He was never a thoroughly popular saint in Denmark, but his sainthood granted the Danish monarchy an aura of divine legitimacy. The cause of the rebellion which killed Canute is unknown, but has been speculated as originating in fines issued to the peasants breaking the leding of 1085 as specified in the Chronicon Roskildense, or as a result of his vigorous tithe policy.The document of his donation to Lund Cathedral was the oldest comprehensive text from Denmark, and provided broad insights into Danish post-Viking Age society. The donation might have had the aim of establishing the Danish Archdiocese of Lund according to Sweyn II Estridsson's wishes, which was finally achieved in 1104. Canute's son Carl became Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127, ruling as Charles the Good. Like his father, Charles was slain in a church by rebels (in Bruges, 1127), and later beatified by the Catholic church. According to Niels Lund, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Copenhagen, Canute's abortive invasion of England "marked the end of the Viking Age."In 2008, an X-ray computed tomography was taken of Canute, which showed that he was right-handed and of a slender build. It also specified his cause of death as a thrust to the sacrum through the abdomen, negating Ælnoth's account. He had no injuries indicating he fought against multiple enemies, which can be seen as supporting an account saying he faced his death without a struggle.
| 26
|
[
"Ismail I",
"noble title",
"king"
] |
Ismail I (Persian: اسماعیل, romanized: Esmāʿīl, pronounced [esmɒːʔiːl]; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (شاه اسماعیل), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (Shahanshah) from 1501 to 1524. His reign is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires.The rule of Ismail I is one of the most vital in the history of Iran. Before his accession in 1501, Iran, since its conquest by the Arabs eight-and-a-half centuries earlier, had not existed as a unified country under native Iranian rule, but had been controlled by a series of Arab caliphs, Turkic sultans, and Mongol khans. Although many Iranian dynasties rose to power amidst this whole period, it was only under the Buyids that a vast part of Iran properly returned to Iranian rule (945–1055).The dynasty founded by Ismail I would rule for over two centuries, being one of the greatest Iranian empires and at its height being amongst the most powerful empires of its time, ruling all of present-day Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, most of Georgia, the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of modern-day Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It also reasserted the Iranian identity in large parts of Greater Iran. The legacy of the Safavid Empire was also the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", its architectural innovations, and patronage for fine arts.One of his first actions was the proclamation of the Twelver denomination of Shia Islam as the official religion of his newly-founded Persian Empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam, which had major consequences for the ensuing history of Iran. He caused sectarian tensions in the Middle East when he destroyed the tombs of the Abbasid caliphs, the Sunni Imam Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man, and the Sufi Muslim ascetic Abdul Qadir Gilani in 1508. Furthermore, this drastic act also gave him a political benefit of separating the growing Safavid Empire from its Sunni neighbors—the Ottoman Empire to the west and the Uzbek Confederation to the east. However, it brought into the Iranian body politic the implied inevitability of consequent conflict between the Shah, the design of a "secular" state, and the religious leaders, who saw all secular states as unlawful and whose absolute ambition was a theocratic state.
Ismail I was also a prolific poet who under the pen name Khaṭāʾī (Arabic: خطائي, lit. 'the wrongful') contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language. He also contributed to Persian literature, though few of his Persian writings survive.
| 5
|
[
"Ismail I",
"place of death",
"Ardabil"
] |
Life
In 1488, the father of Ismail was killed in a battle at Tabasaran against the forces of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar and his overlord, the Aq Qoyunlu, a Turkic tribal federation which controlled most of Iran. In 1494, the Aq Qoyunlu captured Ardabil, killing Ali Mirza Safavi, the eldest son of Haydar, and forcing the 7-year-old Ismail to go into hiding in Gilan, where under the Kar-Kiya ruler Soltan-Ali Mirza, he received education under the guidance of scholars.
When Ismail reached the age of 12, he came out of hiding and returned to what is now Iranian Azerbaijan along with his followers. Ismail's rise to power was made possible by the Turkoman tribes of Anatolia and Azerbaijan, who formed the most important part of the Qizilbash movement.
| 10
|
[
"Ismail I",
"father",
"Shaykh Haydar"
] |
Origins
Ismail I was born to Martha and Shaykh Haydar on July 17, 1487, in Ardabil. His father, Haydar, was the sheikh of the Safavid tariqa (Sufi order) and a direct descendant of its Kurdish founder, Safi-ad-din Ardabili (1252–1334). Ismail was the last in this line of hereditary Grand Masters of the order, prior to his ascent to a ruling dynasty.
His mother Martha, better known as Halima Begum, was the daughter of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, by his Pontic Greek wife Theodora Megale Komnene, better known as Despina Khatun. Despina Khatun was the daughter of Emperor John IV of Trebizond. She had married Uzun Hassan in a deal to protect the Empire of Trebizond from the Ottoman Turks. Ismail was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and King Alexander I of Georgia.
Roger Savory suggests that Ismail's family was of Iranian origin, likely from Iranian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan where they assimilated into the Turkic Azeri population. His ancestry was mixed, from various ethnic groups such as Georgians, Greeks, Kurds and Turkomans; the majority of scholars agree that his empire was an Iranian one.In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, a significant Sufi order in Gilan, from his spiritual master and father-in-law Zahed Gilani. The order was later known as the Safavid. One genealogy claimed that Sheikh Safi (the founder of the order and Ismael's ancestor) was a lineal descendant of Ali. Ismail also proclaimed himself the Mahdi and a reincarnation of Ali.
| 25
|
[
"Ismail I",
"mother",
"Halima Begum"
] |
Origins
Ismail I was born to Martha and Shaykh Haydar on July 17, 1487, in Ardabil. His father, Haydar, was the sheikh of the Safavid tariqa (Sufi order) and a direct descendant of its Kurdish founder, Safi-ad-din Ardabili (1252–1334). Ismail was the last in this line of hereditary Grand Masters of the order, prior to his ascent to a ruling dynasty.
His mother Martha, better known as Halima Begum, was the daughter of Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, by his Pontic Greek wife Theodora Megale Komnene, better known as Despina Khatun. Despina Khatun was the daughter of Emperor John IV of Trebizond. She had married Uzun Hassan in a deal to protect the Empire of Trebizond from the Ottoman Turks. Ismail was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and King Alexander I of Georgia.
Roger Savory suggests that Ismail's family was of Iranian origin, likely from Iranian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan where they assimilated into the Turkic Azeri population. His ancestry was mixed, from various ethnic groups such as Georgians, Greeks, Kurds and Turkomans; the majority of scholars agree that his empire was an Iranian one.In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, a significant Sufi order in Gilan, from his spiritual master and father-in-law Zahed Gilani. The order was later known as the Safavid. One genealogy claimed that Sheikh Safi (the founder of the order and Ismael's ancestor) was a lineal descendant of Ali. Ismail also proclaimed himself the Mahdi and a reincarnation of Ali.
| 26
|
[
"João II of Portugal",
"instance of",
"human"
] |
John II (Portuguese: João II; [ʒuˈɐ̃w]; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (Portuguese: o Príncipe Perfeito), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigorating the Portuguese economy, and renewing his country's exploration of Africa and Asia.
| 0
|
[
"João II of Portugal",
"noble title",
"king"
] |
John II (Portuguese: João II; [ʒuˈɐ̃w]; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (Portuguese: o Príncipe Perfeito), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigorating the Portuguese economy, and renewing his country's exploration of Africa and Asia.Early life
Born in Lisbon, the son of King Afonso V of Portugal by his wife, Isabella of Coimbra, John II succeeded his father as ruler of Portugal in 1477, when the king retired to a monastery, but only became king in 1481, after the death of his father and predecessor.
As a prince, John II accompanied his father in the campaigns in northern Africa and was made a knight after the victory in the Conquest of Arzila in 1471. In 1473, he married Leonor of Viseu, an infanta of Portugal and his first cousin.
Even at a young age, John was not popular among the peers of the kingdom since he was immune to external influence and appeared to despise intrigue. The nobles (including particularly his half second cousin Ferdinand II, the Duke of Braganza) were afraid of his future policies as king.
| 9
|
[
"João II of Portugal",
"country of citizenship",
"Kingdom of Portugal"
] |
John II (Portuguese: João II; [ʒuˈɐ̃w]; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (Portuguese: o Príncipe Perfeito), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigorating the Portuguese economy, and renewing his country's exploration of Africa and Asia.Early life
Born in Lisbon, the son of King Afonso V of Portugal by his wife, Isabella of Coimbra, John II succeeded his father as ruler of Portugal in 1477, when the king retired to a monastery, but only became king in 1481, after the death of his father and predecessor.
As a prince, John II accompanied his father in the campaigns in northern Africa and was made a knight after the victory in the Conquest of Arzila in 1471. In 1473, he married Leonor of Viseu, an infanta of Portugal and his first cousin.
Even at a young age, John was not popular among the peers of the kingdom since he was immune to external influence and appeared to despise intrigue. The nobles (including particularly his half second cousin Ferdinand II, the Duke of Braganza) were afraid of his future policies as king.
| 10
|
[
"João II of Portugal",
"mother",
"Isabella of Coimbra"
] |
Early life
Born in Lisbon, the son of King Afonso V of Portugal by his wife, Isabella of Coimbra, John II succeeded his father as ruler of Portugal in 1477, when the king retired to a monastery, but only became king in 1481, after the death of his father and predecessor.
As a prince, John II accompanied his father in the campaigns in northern Africa and was made a knight after the victory in the Conquest of Arzila in 1471. In 1473, he married Leonor of Viseu, an infanta of Portugal and his first cousin.
Even at a young age, John was not popular among the peers of the kingdom since he was immune to external influence and appeared to despise intrigue. The nobles (including particularly his half second cousin Ferdinand II, the Duke of Braganza) were afraid of his future policies as king.
| 14
|
[
"João II of Portugal",
"place of death",
"Alvor"
] |
Legacy
John II died at Alvor at age 40 without legitimate children. Despite his attempts to have his illegitimate son Jorge, Duke of Coimbra, succeed him, he was succeeded by his first cousin and brother in-law, Manuel I.
The nickname the Perfect Prince is a posthumous appellation that is intended to refer to Niccolò Machiavelli's work The Prince. John II is considered to have lived his life exactly according to the writer's idea of a perfect prince. Nevertheless, he was admired as one of the greatest European monarchs of his time. Isabella I of Castile usually referred to him as El Hombre (The Man).The Italian scholar Poliziano wrote a letter to John II that paid him a profound homage:
| 17
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"instance of",
"human"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 0
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"work location",
"Denmark"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 1
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"country of citizenship",
"Denmark"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 2
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"sibling",
"Canute IV of Denmark"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 4
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"occupation",
"monarch"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 7
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"given name",
"Harald"
] |
Legacy
Saxo Grammaticus scorned Harald as a weak and ineffective king yielding to the will of the common people, while Ælnoth called him a "by the people beloved lawmaker". He is also described as a man who let others control his actions, possessing a mild temper. Perhaps this gives the explanation for his nickname Harald the Whetstone (Danish: Harald Hen or Hein), in other words, Harald the Soft.The legal reforms of Harald were not fully accepted until the reign of Valdemar II the Victorious in the 13th century. The historicity of his coinage reform has also been called into question.
| 11
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"father",
"Sweyn II of Denmark"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 12
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"family",
"House of Estridsen"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 13
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"sex or gender",
"male"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 16
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"position held",
"monarch of Denmark"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 21
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"noble title",
"king"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 22
|
[
"Harald Hen",
"family name",
"Hen"
] |
Harald Hen (Runic Danish for "Harald the Whetstone"; c. 1040 – 17 April 1080) was King of Denmark from 1076 to 1080. Harald III was an illegitimate son of Danish king Sweyn II Estridsson, and contested the crown with some of his brothers. He was a peaceful ruler who initiated a number of reforms. Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV the Saint. Four of his half-brothers were in turn crowned Danish kings.
| 23
|
[
"Philip V of Macedon",
"place of death",
"Amphipolis"
] |
Final years
However, Rome continued to be suspicious of Philip's intentions. Accusations by Macedon's neighboring states, particularly Pergamon, led to constant interference from Rome. Feeling the threat growing that Rome would invade Macedon and remove him as king, he tried to extend his influence in the Balkans by force and diplomacy. However, his efforts were undermined by the pro-Roman policy of his younger son Demetrius, who was encouraged by Rome to consider the possibility of succession ahead of his older brother, Perseus. This eventually led to a quarrel between Perseus and Demetrius which forced Philip to decide reluctantly to execute Demetrius for treason in 180 BC. This decision had a severe impact on Philip's health and he died a year later at Amphipolis towards the end of 179 B.C.
He was succeeded by his eldest son Perseus, who ruled as the last king of Macedon.
| 5
|
[
"Philip V of Macedon",
"father",
"Demetrius II Aetolicus"
] |
Early life
Philip was the son of Demetrius II of Macedon and Chryseis. Philip was nine years old when his father died in 229 BC. His elder paternal half-sister was Apama III. Philip's great-uncle, Antigonus III Doson, administered the kingdom as regent and then king until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old (Plb. 4.2.5, 4.5.3-4; Just. 28.4.16, 29.1.1).Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was compared to Alexander the Great, modelled himself on Philip II, and is said by Polybius to have become a universal beloved of the Greeks (κοινός τις...ἐρώμενος...τῶν Ἑλλήνων; Plb. 7.8.11) because of his benevolent conduct towards them. He had a close relationship with Aratus of Sicyon, who until 213 BC held a prestigious position at his court.After ascending to the throne, in the first year of his reign Philip V pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of Macedonia.
| 7
|
[
"Philip V of Macedon",
"time period",
"Hellenistic period"
] |
Philip V (Greek: Φίλιππος Philippos; 238–179 BC) was king (Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) and a struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon against Rome in the First (212-205 BC) and Second Macedonian Wars (200-196 BC), losing the latter but allying with Rome in the Roman-Seleucid War against Antiochus III of the Seleucids. He died in 179 BC from illness after efforts to recover the military and economic condition of Macedonia and passed the throne onto his elder son, Perseus of Macedon
| 8
|
[
"Philip V of Macedon",
"child",
"Demetrius"
] |
Early life
Philip was the son of Demetrius II of Macedon and Chryseis. Philip was nine years old when his father died in 229 BC. His elder paternal half-sister was Apama III. Philip's great-uncle, Antigonus III Doson, administered the kingdom as regent and then king until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old (Plb. 4.2.5, 4.5.3-4; Just. 28.4.16, 29.1.1).Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was compared to Alexander the Great, modelled himself on Philip II, and is said by Polybius to have become a universal beloved of the Greeks (κοινός τις...ἐρώμενος...τῶν Ἑλλήνων; Plb. 7.8.11) because of his benevolent conduct towards them. He had a close relationship with Aratus of Sicyon, who until 213 BC held a prestigious position at his court.After ascending to the throne, in the first year of his reign Philip V pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of Macedonia.Final years
However, Rome continued to be suspicious of Philip's intentions. Accusations by Macedon's neighboring states, particularly Pergamon, led to constant interference from Rome. Feeling the threat growing that Rome would invade Macedon and remove him as king, he tried to extend his influence in the Balkans by force and diplomacy. However, his efforts were undermined by the pro-Roman policy of his younger son Demetrius, who was encouraged by Rome to consider the possibility of succession ahead of his older brother, Perseus. This eventually led to a quarrel between Perseus and Demetrius which forced Philip to decide reluctantly to execute Demetrius for treason in 180 BC. This decision had a severe impact on Philip's health and he died a year later at Amphipolis towards the end of 179 B.C.
He was succeeded by his eldest son Perseus, who ruled as the last king of Macedon.
| 10
|
[
"Philip V of Macedon",
"mother",
"Chryseis of Macedon"
] |
Early life
Philip was the son of Demetrius II of Macedon and Chryseis. Philip was nine years old when his father died in 229 BC. His elder paternal half-sister was Apama III. Philip's great-uncle, Antigonus III Doson, administered the kingdom as regent and then king until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old (Plb. 4.2.5, 4.5.3-4; Just. 28.4.16, 29.1.1).Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was compared to Alexander the Great, modelled himself on Philip II, and is said by Polybius to have become a universal beloved of the Greeks (κοινός τις...ἐρώμενος...τῶν Ἑλλήνων; Plb. 7.8.11) because of his benevolent conduct towards them. He had a close relationship with Aratus of Sicyon, who until 213 BC held a prestigious position at his court.After ascending to the throne, in the first year of his reign Philip V pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of Macedonia.
| 14
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"instance of",
"human"
] |
Antigonus II Gonatas (Greek: Ἀντίγονος Γονατᾶς, Antigonos; c. 320 – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had invaded the Balkans.Birth and family
Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. In the year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further struggles for territory and dominance.
The careers of Antigonus's grandfather [Antigonus Monophthalmus] and father showed great swings in fortune. After coming closer than anyone to reuniting the empire of Alexander, Antigonus Monophthalmus was defeated and killed in the great Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and the territory he formerly controlled was divided among his enemies, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.Chremonidean War
With the restoration of the territories captured by Pyrrhus, and with grateful allies in Sparta and Argos, and garrisons in Corinth and other cities, Antigonus securely controlled Macedonia and Greece. The careful way he guarded his power shows that he wished to avoid the vicissitudes of fortune that had characterized the careers of his father and grandfather. Aware that the Greeks loved freedom and autonomy, he was careful to grant a semblance of this in as much as it did not clash with his own power. Also, he tried to avoid the odium that direct rule brings by controlling the Greeks through intermediaries. It is for this reason that Polybius says, "No man ever set up more absolute rulers in Greece than Antigonus." The tyrants installed or maintained by Gonatas include: Cleon (Sicyon, c. 300–280 BC), Euthydemus and Timocleidas (Sicyon c. 280–270 BC), Iseas (Keryneia, resigned 275 BC), Aristotimus (Elis, assassinated 272 BC), Aristippus the Elder (Argos, from 272 BC), Abantidas (Sicyon, 264–252 BC), Aristodemus the Good (Megalopolis, assassinated 252 BC), Paseas (Sicyon, 252–251 BC), Nicocles (Sicyon, 251 BC), Aristomachus (Argos, assassinated 240 BC), Lydiadas, (Megalopolis, c. 245–235 BC), and Aristippus (Argos, 240–235 BC).
The next stage of Antigonus's career is not documented and what we know has been patched together from a few historical fragments: Antigonus seems to have been on very good terms with Antiochus, the Seleucid ruler of Asia, whose love for Stratonice, the sister of Antigonus, is very famous. Such an alliance naturally threatened the third successor state, Ptolemaic Egypt. In Greece, Athens and Sparta, once the dominant states, naturally resented the domination of Antigonus. The pride, which in the past had made these cities mortal enemies, now served to unite them. In 267 BC, probably with encouragement from Egypt, an Athenian by the name of Chremonides persuaded the Athenians to join the Spartans in declaring war on Antigonus (see Chremonidean War).
The Macedonian king responded by ravaging the territory of Athens with an army while blockading them by sea. In this campaign he also destroyed the grove and temple of Poseidon that stood at the entrance to Attica near the border with Megara. To support the Athenians and prevent the power of Antigonus from growing too much, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the king of Egypt, sent a fleet to break the blockade. The Egyptian admiral, Patroclus, landed on a small uninhabited island near Laurium and fortified it as a base for naval operations.
The Seleucid Empire had signed a peace treaty with Egypt, but Antiochus's son-in-law, Magas, king of Cyrene, persuaded Antiochus to take advantage of the war in Greece to attack Egypt. To counter this, Ptolemy dispatched a force of pirates and freebooters to raid and attack the lands and provinces of Antiochus, while his army fought a defensive campaign, holding back the stronger Seleucid army. Although successfully defending Egypt, Ptolemy II was unable to save Athens from Antigonus. In 263/2 or 262/1 BC, the Athenians and Spartans, worn down by several years of war and the devastation of their lands, made peace with Antigonus, who thus retained his hold on Greece.
Ptolemy II continued to interfere in the affairs of Greece and this led to war in 261. After two years in which little changed, Antiochus II Theos, the new Seleucid king, made a military agreement with Antigonus, and the Second Syrian War began. Under the combined attack, Egypt lost ground in Anatolia and Phoenicia, and the city of Miletus, held by its ally, Timarchus, was seized by Antiochus II. In 255 BC, Ptolemy made peace, ceding lands to the Seleucids and confirming Antigonus in his mastery of Greece.
Two years later, however, the Egyptian interfered again, inducing with his subsidies the Macedonian governor of Corinth and Euboea, Alexander, son of Craterus, to challenge his king, seeking independence as a tyrant. Alexander's revolt was
the most serious threat to the Macedonian hegemony in Greece, and since Antigonus' military efforts were unsuccessful, he probably resolved to poison the traitor in 247 BC. By offering a marriage with his heir Demetrius II Aetolicus Antigonus took in his widow Nicaea and regained control of Corinth in the winter of 245/44 BC.
| 0
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"father",
"Demetrius I of Macedon"
] |
Birth and family
Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. In the year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further struggles for territory and dominance.
The careers of Antigonus's grandfather [Antigonus Monophthalmus] and father showed great swings in fortune. After coming closer than anyone to reuniting the empire of Alexander, Antigonus Monophthalmus was defeated and killed in the great Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and the territory he formerly controlled was divided among his enemies, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.King of Macedonia
Antigonus against Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, Macedonia's western neighbour, was a general of mercurial ability, widely renowned for his bravery, but he did not apply his talents sensibly and often snatched after vain hopes, so that Antigonus used to compare him to a dice player, who had excellent throws, but did not know how to use them. When the Gauls defeated Ptolemy Ceraunus and the Macedonian throne became vacant, Pyrrhus was occupied in his campaigns overseas. Hoping to conquer first Italy and then Africa, he got involved in wars against Rome and Carthage, the two most powerful states in the western Mediterranean. He then lost the support of the Greek cities in Italy and Sicily by his haughty behaviour. Needing reinforcements, he wrote to Antigonus as a fellow Greek king, asking him for troops and money, but Antigonus politely refused. In 275 BC, the Romans fought Pyrrhus at the Battle of Beneventum which ended inconclusively, although many modern sources wrongly state that Pyrrhus lost the battle. Pyrrhus had been drained by his recent wars in Sicily, and by the earlier "Pyrrhic victories" over the Romans, and thus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus.
Pyrrhus's retreat from Italy, however, proved very unlucky for Antigonus. Returning to Epirus with an army of eight thousand foot and five hundred horse, he was in need of money to pay them. This encouraged him to look for another war, so the next year, after adding a force of Gallic mercenaries to his army, he invaded Macedonia with the intention of filling his coffers with plunder. The campaign, however, went better than expected. Making himself master of several towns and being joined by two thousand deserters, his hopes started to grow and he went in search of Antigonus, attacking his army in a narrow pass and throwing it into disorder at the Battle of the Aous River. Antigonus's Macedonian troops retreated, but his own body of Gallic mercenaries, who had charge of his elephants, stood firm until Pyrrhus's troops surrounded them, whereupon they surrendered both themselves and the elephants. Pyrrhus now chased after the rest of Antigonus's army which, demoralised by its earlier defeat, declined to fight. As the two armies faced each other, Pyrrhus called out to the various officers by name and persuaded the whole body of infantry to desert. Antigonus escaped by concealing his identity. Pyrrhus now took control of upper Macedonia and Thessaly, while Antigonus held on to the coastal towns.
But Pyrrhus now wasted his victory. Taking possession of Aegae, the ancient capital of Macedonia, he installed a garrison of Gauls, who greatly offended the Macedonians by digging up the tombs of their kings and leaving the bones scattered about as they searched for gold. He also neglected to finish off his enemy. Leaving him in control of the coastal cities, he contented himself with insults. He called Antigonus a shameless man for still wearing the purple, but he did little to destroy the remnants of his power.
Before this campaign was finished, Pyrrhus had embarked upon a new one. In 272 BC, Cleonymus, an important Spartan, invited him to invade Laconia. Gathering an army of twenty-five thousand foot, two thousand horse, and twenty-four elephants, he crossed over to the Peloponnese and occupied Megalopolis in Arcadia. Antigonus, after reoccupying part of Macedonia, gathered what forces he could and sailed to Greece to oppose him. As a large part of the Spartan army led by king Areus was in Crete at the time, Pyrrhus besieged Sparta with great hopes of taking the city easily, but the citizens organized stout resistance, allowing one of Antigonus's commanders, Aminias the Phocian, to reach the city with a force of mercenaries from Corinth. Soon after this, the Spartan king, Areus, returned from Crete with 2,000 men. These reinforcements stiffened resistance, and Pyrrhus, finding that he was losing men to desertion every day, broke off the attack and started to plunder the country.
The most important Peloponnesian city after Sparta was Argos. The two chief men, Aristippus and Aristeas, were keen rivals. As Aristippus was an ally of Antigonus, Aristeas invited Pyrrhus to come to Argos to help him take over the city. Antigonus, aware that Pyrrhus was advancing on Argos, marched his army there as well, taking up a strong position on some high ground near the city. When Pyrrhus learned this, he encamped about Nauplia and the next day dispatched a herald to Antigonus, calling him a coward and challenging him to come down and fight on the plain. Antigonus replied that he would choose his own moment to fight and that if Pyrrhus was weary of life, he could find many ways to die.
The Argives, fearing that their territory would become a war zone, sent deputations to the two kings begging them to go elsewhere and allow their city to remain neutral. Both kings agreed, but Antigonus won over the trust of the Argives by surrendering his son as a hostage for his pledge. Pyrrhus, who had recently lost a son in the retreat from Sparta, did not. Indeed, with the help of Aristeas, he was plotting to seize the city. In the middle of the night, he marched his army up to the city walls and entered through a gate that Aristeas had opened. His Gallic troops seized the market place, but he had difficulty getting his elephants into the city through the small gates. This gave the Argives time to rally. They occupied strong points and sent messengers asking Antigonus for help.
When Antigonus heard that Pyrrhus had treacherously attacked the city, he advanced to the walls and sent a strong force inside to help the Argives. At the same time Areus arrived with a force of 1,000 Cretans and light-armed Spartans. These forces attacked the Gauls in the market place. Pyrrhus, realising that his Gallic troops were hard pressed, now advanced into the city with more troops, but in the narrow streets this soon led to confusion as men got lost and wandered around. The two forces now paused and waited for daylight. When the sun rose, Pyrrhus saw how strong the opposition was and decided the best thing was to retreat. Fearing that the gates would be too narrow for his troops to easily exit the city, he sent a message to his son, Helenus, who was outside with the main body of the army, asking him to break down a section of the walls. The messenger, however, failed to convey his instructions clearly. Misunderstanding what was required, Helenus took the rest of the elephants and some picked troops and advanced into the city to help his father.
With some of his troops trying to get out of the city and others trying to get in, Pyrrhus's army was now thrown into confusion. This was made worse by the elephants. The largest one had fallen across the gateway and was blocking the way, while another elephant, called Nicon, was trying to find its rider. This beast surged against the tide of fugitives, crushing friend and foe alike, until it found its dead master, whereupon it picked him up, placed him on its tusks, and went on the rampage. In this chaos Pyrrhus was struck down by a tile thrown by an old woman and killed by Zopyrus, a soldier of Antigonus.
Halcyoneus, one of Antigonus's sons, heard that Pyrrhus had been killed. Taking the head, which had been cut off by Zopyrus, he rode to where his father was and threw it at his feet. Far from being delighted, Antigonus was angry with his son and struck him, calling him a barbarian and drove him away. He then covered his face with his cloak and burst into tears. The fate of Pyrrhus reminded him all too clearly of the tragic fates of his own grandfather and his father who had suffered similar swings of fortune. He then had Pyrrhus's body cremated with great ceremony.
After the death of Pyrrhus, his whole army and camp surrendered to Antigonus, greatly increasing his power. Later, Halcyoneus discovered Helenus, Pyrrhus's son, disguised in threadbare clothes. He treated him kindly and brought him to his father who was more pleased with his behaviour. "This is better than what you did before, my son," he said, "but why leave him in these clothes which are a disgrace to us now that we know ourselves the victors?" Greeting him courteously, Antigonus treated Helenus as an honoured guest and sent him back to Epirus.
This was not the end of Antigonus' problems with Epirus: shortly after Alexander II, the son of Pyrrhus and his successor as king of Epirus, repeated his father's adventure by conquering Macedonia. However, only a few years later, Alexander was not only expelled from Macedonia by Antigonus' son Demetrius, but he also lost Epirus and had to go into exile in Acarnania. His exile didn't last long, as the Macedonians had to abandon Epirus eventually under pressure from Alexander's allies, the Acarnanians and the Aetolians. Alexander seems to have died about 242 BC, leaving his country under the regency of his wife Olympias who proved anxious to have good relations with Epirus' powerful neighbour, as was sanctioned by the marriage between the regent's daughter Phthia and Antigonus' son and heir Demetrius.
| 13
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"family",
"Antigonid dynasty"
] |
Birth and family
Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. In the year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further struggles for territory and dominance.
The careers of Antigonus's grandfather [Antigonus Monophthalmus] and father showed great swings in fortune. After coming closer than anyone to reuniting the empire of Alexander, Antigonus Monophthalmus was defeated and killed in the great Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and the territory he formerly controlled was divided among his enemies, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.
| 16
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"mother",
"Phila"
] |
Birth and family
Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. In the year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further struggles for territory and dominance.
The careers of Antigonus's grandfather [Antigonus Monophthalmus] and father showed great swings in fortune. After coming closer than anyone to reuniting the empire of Alexander, Antigonus Monophthalmus was defeated and killed in the great Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and the territory he formerly controlled was divided among his enemies, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.Demetrius's general
The fate of Antigonus Gonatas, now 18, was closely tied with that of his father Demetrius, who escaped from the battle with 9,000 troops. Jealousy among the victors eventually allowed Demetrius to regain part of the power his father had lost. He conquered Athens and in 294 BC he seized the throne of Macedonia from Alexander, the son of Cassander.
Because Antigonus Gonatas was the grandson of Antipater and the nephew of Cassander through his mother, his presence helped to reconcile the supporters of these former kings to the rule of his father.
In 292 BC, while Demetrius was campaigning in Boeotia, he received news that Lysimachus, the ruler of Thrace and the enemy of his father, had been taken prisoner by Dromichaetes, a ruler of the Getae. Hoping to seize Lysimachus' territories in Thrace and Asia, Demetrius delegated command of his forces in Boeotia to Antigonus and immediately marched north. While he was away, the Boeotians rose in rebellion, but were defeated by Antigonus, who bottled them up in Thebes.
After the failure of his expedition to Thrace, Demetrius joined his son at the Siege of Thebes. As the Thebans defended their city stubbornly, Demetrius often forced his men to attack the city at great cost, even though there was little hope of capturing it. It is said that, distressed by the heavy losses, Antigonus asked his father: "Why, father, do we allow these lives to be thrown away so unnecessarily?" Demetrius appears to have showed his contempt for the lives of his soldiers by replying: "We don't have to find rations for the dead." But he also showed a similar disregard for his own life and was badly wounded at the siege by a bolt through the neck.
In 291 BC, Demetrius finally took the city after using siege engines to demolish its walls. But control of Macedonia and most of Greece was merely a stepping stone to his plans for further conquest. He aimed at nothing less than the revival of Alexander's empire and started making preparations on a grand scale, ordering the construction of a fleet of 500 ships, many of them of unprecedented size.
Such preparations and the obvious intent behind them, naturally alarmed the other kings, Seleucus, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Pyrrhus, who immediately formed an alliance. In the spring of 288 BC Ptolemy's fleet appeared off Greece, inciting the cities to revolt. At the same time, Lysimachus attacked Macedonia from the east while Pyrrhus did so from the west. Demetrius left Antigonus in control of the rest of Greece, while he hurried to Macedonia.
By now the Macedonians had come to resent the extravagance and arrogance of Demetrius, and were not prepared to fight a difficult campaign for him. In 287 BC, Pyrrhus took the Macedonian city of Beroea and Demetrius's army promptly deserted and went over to the enemy who was much admired by the Macedonians for his bravery. At this change of fortune, Phila, the mother of Antigonus, killed herself with poison. Meanwhile, Athens revolted. Demetrius therefore returned and besieged the city, but he soon grew impatient and decided on a more dramatic course. Leaving Antigonus in charge of the war in Greece, he assembled all his ships and embarked with 11,000 infantry and all his cavalry to attack Caria and Lydia, provinces of Lysimachus.
As Demetrius was chased across Asia Minor to the Taurus Mountains by the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus, Antigonus attained success in Greece. Ptolemy's fleet was driven off and Athens surrendered.
| 17
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"manner of death",
"natural causes"
] |
Antigonus II Gonatas (Greek: Ἀντίγονος Γονατᾶς, Antigonos; c. 320 – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had invaded the Balkans.
| 23
|
[
"Antigonus II Gonatas",
"spouse",
"Phila"
] |
Birth and family
Antigonus Gonatas was born around 320 BC. The origin of the Hellenistic nickname Gonatas is unknown. He was descended from the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) on both his father's and mother's side. His father was Demetrius Poliorcetes, himself the son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who then controlled much of Asia. His mother was Phila, the daughter of Antipater, who had controlled Macedonia and the rest of Greece since 334 BC and was recognized as regent of the empire, which in theory remained united. In the year of Antigonus Gonatas' birth, however, Antipater died, leading to further struggles for territory and dominance.
The careers of Antigonus's grandfather [Antigonus Monophthalmus] and father showed great swings in fortune. After coming closer than anyone to reuniting the empire of Alexander, Antigonus Monophthalmus was defeated and killed in the great Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC and the territory he formerly controlled was divided among his enemies, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.
| 30
|
[
"Mindaugas",
"religion or worldview",
"Catholicism"
] |
Mindaugas (German: Myndowen, Latin: Mindowe, Old East Slavic: Мендог, Belarusian: Міндоўг, Polish: Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. During the summer of 1253 he was crowned King of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects.While Mindaugas's ten-year reign as king was marked by many state-building accomplishments, his conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued. The western part of Lithuania — Samogitia — strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas of Pskov. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis gained the title of Grand Duke c. 1270.
Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only King of Lithuania; while most of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as Kings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of the Lithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization. In the 1990s the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. This day is now an official national holiday in Lithuania, Statehood Day.
| 3
|
[
"Mindaugas",
"significant event",
"baptism"
] |
Path to coronation
Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along with the Samogitians of western Lithuania, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia (Tautvilas and Edivydas' brother-in-law), and Vasilko of Volhynia. The princes of Galicia and Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, disrupting Vaišvilkas' supremacy. Tautvilas strengthened his position by traveling to Riga and accepting baptism by the Archbishop. In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through the lands of Nalšia into the domains of Mindaugas in Lithuania proper, and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him. Attacked from the north and south and facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use the conflicts between the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga to further his own interests. He succeeded in bribing Order Master Andreas von Stierland, who was still angry at Vykintas for the defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts".
In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment by Pope Innocent IV as king. The Pope welcomed a Christian Lithuania as a bulwark against Mongol threats; in turn, Mindaugas sought papal intervention in the ongoing Lithuanian conflicts with the Christian orders. On 17 July 1251, the pope signed two crucial papal bulls. One ordered the Bishop of Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral. The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly subordinate to the Holy See, rather than to the Archbishop of Riga. This autonomy was a welcome development. The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known. His wife, two sons, and members of his court were baptized; Pope Innocent wrote later that a multitude of Mindaugas's subjects also received Christianity.The process of coronation and the establishment of Christian institutions would take two years. Internal conflicts persisted; during the spring or summer of 1251, Tautvilas and his remaining allies attacked Mindaugas's warriors and the Livonian Order's crossbow-men in Voruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Tviremet Castle (presumed to be Tverai in Samogitia). Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to rejoin Daniel of Galicia.
| 6
|
[
"Mindaugas",
"child",
"Vaišvilkas"
] |
Sources, family, and name
Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-Lithuanian bias, particularly the Hypatian Codex. They are also incomplete: both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's coronation, but failed to mention either the date or the location. Other important sources are the papal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. The Bychowiec Chronicles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard, since they assert an ancestry from the Palemonids, a noble family said to have originated within the Roman Empire. His year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark. His father is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke (ein kunic grôß), but is not named; later chronicles give his name as Ryngold. Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas' sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to Daniel of Halych. Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two wives, Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because two children – a son named Vaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married to Svarn in 1255 – were already leading independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language. Mindaugas's name in historic texts was recorded in various distorted forms: Mindowe in Latin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Rus', among others. Since Rus' sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Rus' rendition was Mindovg, which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as Mindaugas or Mindaugis. In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix -as, which has since been widely accepted. Mindaugas is an archaic disyllabic Lithuanian name, used before the Christianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components: min and daug. Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).
| 10
|
[
"Mindaugas",
"sibling",
"Dausprungas"
] |
Sources, family, and name
Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-Lithuanian bias, particularly the Hypatian Codex. They are also incomplete: both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's coronation, but failed to mention either the date or the location. Other important sources are the papal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. The Bychowiec Chronicles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard, since they assert an ancestry from the Palemonids, a noble family said to have originated within the Roman Empire. His year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark. His father is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke (ein kunic grôß), but is not named; later chronicles give his name as Ryngold. Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas' sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to Daniel of Halych. Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two wives, Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because two children – a son named Vaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married to Svarn in 1255 – were already leading independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language. Mindaugas's name in historic texts was recorded in various distorted forms: Mindowe in Latin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Rus', among others. Since Rus' sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Rus' rendition was Mindovg, which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as Mindaugas or Mindaugis. In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix -as, which has since been widely accepted. Mindaugas is an archaic disyllabic Lithuanian name, used before the Christianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components: min and daug. Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).
| 21
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"instance of",
"human"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.Biography
Accession to the throne
Sweyn was born in England, as the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, the latter of whom was the daughter of King Sweyn I Forkbeard and sister of Kings Harald II and Canute the Great. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king Anund Jacob of Sweden for a time. He pillaged the Elbe-Weser area in 1040, but was caught by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who released him shortly thereafter.Svend was made a jarl under Danish king Harthacnut (the two were first cousins), and led a campaign for him against Norway, but was beaten by Magnus I of Norway. When Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend the jarl of Jutland. In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the Battle of Lyrskov Heath at Hedeby, near the present-day border of Denmark and Germany. Sweyn won a great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in Viborg in Jutland. He was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to Sweden. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in Scania.The war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus' uncle Harald Hardrada returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald. In 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided: Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark. Upon hearing of Magnus' death Sweyn said, "Now so help me God, I shall never yield Denmark".Family
Sweyn's first marriage was to Gyda of Sweden, daughter of king Anund Jacob of Sweden. His second marriage, in 1050, was to Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, the stepmother of Gyda. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen ordered that the union be dissolved, which was effectuated by Pope Leo IX. After Harald Hardrada's death, Sweyn married his widow Tora Torbergsdatter. He took one mistress after another during his life. Sweyn fathered at least 20 children, of whom only one was born in wedlock.With Gunnhildr:
| 0
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"work location",
"Denmark"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 1
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"place of birth",
"England"
] |
Biography
Accession to the throne
Sweyn was born in England, as the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, the latter of whom was the daughter of King Sweyn I Forkbeard and sister of Kings Harald II and Canute the Great. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king Anund Jacob of Sweden for a time. He pillaged the Elbe-Weser area in 1040, but was caught by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who released him shortly thereafter.Svend was made a jarl under Danish king Harthacnut (the two were first cousins), and led a campaign for him against Norway, but was beaten by Magnus I of Norway. When Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend the jarl of Jutland. In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the Battle of Lyrskov Heath at Hedeby, near the present-day border of Denmark and Germany. Sweyn won a great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in Viborg in Jutland. He was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to Sweden. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in Scania.The war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus' uncle Harald Hardrada returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald. In 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided: Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark. Upon hearing of Magnus' death Sweyn said, "Now so help me God, I shall never yield Denmark".
| 2
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"place of death",
"Denmark"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 3
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"country of citizenship",
"Denmark"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 4
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"occupation",
"monarch"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 6
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"given name",
"Svend"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 7
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"child",
"Eric I of Denmark"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 13
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"child",
"Niels"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 14
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"child",
"Canute IV of Denmark"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 19
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"family",
"House of Estridsen"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.Biography
Accession to the throne
Sweyn was born in England, as the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, the latter of whom was the daughter of King Sweyn I Forkbeard and sister of Kings Harald II and Canute the Great. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king Anund Jacob of Sweden for a time. He pillaged the Elbe-Weser area in 1040, but was caught by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who released him shortly thereafter.Svend was made a jarl under Danish king Harthacnut (the two were first cousins), and led a campaign for him against Norway, but was beaten by Magnus I of Norway. When Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend the jarl of Jutland. In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the Battle of Lyrskov Heath at Hedeby, near the present-day border of Denmark and Germany. Sweyn won a great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in Viborg in Jutland. He was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to Sweden. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in Scania.The war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus' uncle Harald Hardrada returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald. In 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided: Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark. Upon hearing of Magnus' death Sweyn said, "Now so help me God, I shall never yield Denmark".
| 22
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"father",
"Ulf the Earl"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.Biography
Accession to the throne
Sweyn was born in England, as the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, the latter of whom was the daughter of King Sweyn I Forkbeard and sister of Kings Harald II and Canute the Great. Sweyn grew up a military leader, and served under king Anund Jacob of Sweden for a time. He pillaged the Elbe-Weser area in 1040, but was caught by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, who released him shortly thereafter.Svend was made a jarl under Danish king Harthacnut (the two were first cousins), and led a campaign for him against Norway, but was beaten by Magnus I of Norway. When Harthacnut died in 1042, Magnus claimed the Danish throne and made Svend the jarl of Jutland. In 1043, Sweyn fought for Magnus at the Battle of Lyrskov Heath at Hedeby, near the present-day border of Denmark and Germany. Sweyn won a great reputation at Lyrskov Heath, and had the Danish nobles crown him king in Viborg in Jutland. He was defeated by Magnus on several occasions, and had to flee to Sweden. Eventually he managed to return and establish a foothold in Scania.The war between Magnus and Sweyn lasted until 1045, when Magnus' uncle Harald Hardrada returned to Norway from exile. Harald and Sweyn joined forces, and Magnus decided to share the Norwegian throne with Harald. In 1047 Magnus died, having stated on his deathbed that his kingdom would be divided: Harald would get the throne of Norway, while Sweyn would be king of Denmark. Upon hearing of Magnus' death Sweyn said, "Now so help me God, I shall never yield Denmark".
| 23
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"manner of death",
"natural causes"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.
| 24
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"spouse",
"Gyda of Sweden"
] |
Family
Sweyn's first marriage was to Gyda of Sweden, daughter of king Anund Jacob of Sweden. His second marriage, in 1050, was to Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, the stepmother of Gyda. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen ordered that the union be dissolved, which was effectuated by Pope Leo IX. After Harald Hardrada's death, Sweyn married his widow Tora Torbergsdatter. He took one mistress after another during his life. Sweyn fathered at least 20 children, of whom only one was born in wedlock.With Gunnhildr:
| 25
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"spouse",
"Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir"
] |
Family
Sweyn's first marriage was to Gyda of Sweden, daughter of king Anund Jacob of Sweden. His second marriage, in 1050, was to Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, the stepmother of Gyda. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen ordered that the union be dissolved, which was effectuated by Pope Leo IX. After Harald Hardrada's death, Sweyn married his widow Tora Torbergsdatter. He took one mistress after another during his life. Sweyn fathered at least 20 children, of whom only one was born in wedlock.With Gunnhildr:
| 26
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"mother",
"Estrid Svendsdatter"
] |
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson (Old Norse: Sveinn Ástríðarson, Danish: Svend Estridsen; c. 1019 – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through his mother's line. He was married three times, and fathered 20 children or more out of wedlock, including the five future kings Harald Hen, Canute the Saint, Oluf Hunger, Eric Evergood, and Niels.
He was courageous in battle, but did not have much success as a military commander. His skeleton reveals that he was a tall, powerfully built man who walked with a limp.Consolidation of power
Sweyn's connection to the Danish kings was his mother Estrid Svendsdatter, and he took the matronymic surname Estridsson after her, emphasizing his link to the Danish royal house. He also minted his own coins.
Sweyn sought to consolidate his power through links to the church as well as foreign powers, and actively sought the friendship of the popes. He wanted his eldest son Knud Magnus crowned by the Pope, but Knud died on the journey to Rome. He also unsuccessfully pressed for Harald Bluetooth, the first Christian king of Denmark, to be sanctified. He was an ally of Emperor Henry III against Count Baldwin V of Flanders in 1049, and Sweyn assisted his son-in-law Gottschalk in the Liutizi Civil War of 1057.After Harald Hardrada was killed, and William the Conqueror had conquered England, Sweyn turned his attention to England, once ruled by his uncle Canute the Great. He joined forces with Edgar Atheling, the last remaining heir of the Anglo-Saxon royal house, and sent a force to attack king William in 1069. However, after capturing York, Sweyn accepted a payment from William to desert Edgar, who then returned into exile in Scotland. Sweyn failed another attempt in 1074/1075.
| 27
|
[
"Sweyn II of Denmark",
"spouse",
"Tora Torbergsdatter"
] |
Family
Sweyn's first marriage was to Gyda of Sweden, daughter of king Anund Jacob of Sweden. His second marriage, in 1050, was to Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttir, the stepmother of Gyda. The Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen ordered that the union be dissolved, which was effectuated by Pope Leo IX. After Harald Hardrada's death, Sweyn married his widow Tora Torbergsdatter. He took one mistress after another during his life. Sweyn fathered at least 20 children, of whom only one was born in wedlock.With Gunnhildr:
| 28
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"occupation",
"monarch"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
| 3
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"place of birth",
"Heidelberg"
] |
Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 5
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"sibling",
"Galyani Vadhana"
] |
Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 7
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"native language",
"Thai"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
| 11
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"family",
"House of Mahidol"
] |
Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 26
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"position held",
"King of Thailand"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
| 27
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"manner of death",
"homicide"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.I can't, even for a moment, stop missing him. I would have thought that we will never be apart throughout my lifetime. It was our destiny. I've never thought of being the king, [I] only want[ed] to be his brother.
However, in a 1980 BBC documentary, Bhumibol stated that although the court ruled that the death was 'proven' not an accident, "one doesn't know." He noted in English:The investigation provided the fact that he died with a bullet wound in his forehead. It was proved that it was not an accident and not a suicide. One doesn't know. ... But what happened is very mysterious, because immediately much of the evidence was just shifted. And because it was political, so everyone was political, even the police were political, [it was] not very clear.
I only know [that] when I arrived he was dead. Many people wanted to advance not theories but facts to clear up the affair. They were suppressed. And they were suppressed by influential people in this country and in international politics.
| 31
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"sibling",
"Bhumibol Adulyadej"
] |
Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.Reign
As the new king was still a child and was still studying in Switzerland, the National Assembly appointed Colonel Prince Anuwatjaturong, Lieutenant Commander Prince Aditya Dibabha, and Chao Phraya Yommaraj (Pun Sukhum) as his regents.
In 1938, at age thirteen, Ananda Mahidol visited Siam for the first time as its monarch. The king was accompanied during his visit by his mother and his younger brother, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram was prime minister at the time and during most of Ananda Mahidol's brief reign (Phibunsongkhram is remembered for being a military dictator and for changing the name of the country from Siam to Thailand in 1939).
| 32
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"noble title",
"king"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 34
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"father",
"Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince Father"
] |
Name
Ananda Mahidol (Thai: อานันทมหิดล; RTGS: Ananthamahidon) is his given name, and is one word in Thai. King Vajiravudh, his uncle, sent a telegram on 13 October 1925 giving him this name, which means "the joy of Mahidol". When he held his birth rank of Mom Chao—the lowest rank of Thai princes—he used the surname Mahidol, his father's given name. His full name and title was thus Mom Chao Ananda Mahidol Mahidol (Thai: หม่อมเจ้าอานันทมหิดล มหิดล).
With his accession, he became known as Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua Ananda Mahidol (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวอานันทมหิดล). Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua is the title of a Thai king prior to coronation.
After his death, King Bhumibol Adulyadej posthumously renamed him to elevate his title to that of a crowned king. He was posthumously renamed again in 1996, so as to give him an auspiciously long name similar to the names of Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, Vajiravudh, and Prajadhipok. Nowadays, Thais refer to him officially as Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha Ananda Mahidol Phra Atthama Ramathibodindara (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดลฯ พระอัฐมรามาธิบดินทร), an abbreviation of the name given to him in 1996.Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 35
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"family",
"Chakri dynasty"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.Early life
Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time. He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.
He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).
The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University. Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old. His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.
He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate. Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne. It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.
Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland. However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.
| 36
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"country of citizenship",
"Siam"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
| 40
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"sex or gender",
"male"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.
| 52
|
[
"Ananda Mahidol",
"place of death",
"Boromphiman Residential Hall"
] |
Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.Death
On 9 June 1946, the king was found shot dead in his bedroom in the Boromphiman Throne Hall (a modern residential palace located in the Grand Palace), only four days before he was scheduled to return to Switzerland to finish his doctoral degree in law at the University of Lausanne.
| 57
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"present in work",
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.
| 0
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"field of work",
"magic"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.
| 6
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"cause of death",
"falling"
] |
Literature
In the 1949 audiobook release, the Queen (voiced by Eleanor Audley) wears a yellow dress and a red cape. She tells the Huntsman to take Snow White to the forest and leave her there to die. In the end of the book, after being chased by the dwarfs, the Queen dies when she slips while climbing the mountain and falls into the sea. The Queen's story from the film is itself subject of the 2018 storybook release Disney Villains: The Evil Queen.One chapter in Todd Strasser's 1993 Disney's the Villains Collection/Stories from the Films is dedicated to Snow White and the Queen. She is also a subject of one of the illustrated books in the Disney Princess series My Side of the Story, titled Snow White/The Queen (2004), which portrays her as a misunderstood positive character.The novel Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino, published by Disney Press in 2009, tells a story much more sympathetic to the Queen than most other Disney media. The book shows how the Queen became the villain from the film, much in the style of The Killing Joke, with the Magic Mirror, here possessed by the spirit of her abusive father, having been a corrupting influence. According to the book, her mother was a witch and the King died in a war against another kingdom prior to the events of the film. After her husband's death, the Queen slowly descends into madness. By the end of the novel, Snow White gets the mirror and the Queen becomes the spirit inside the mirror after her death in the film.
The Queen is one of the Overtakers, villains of The Kingdom Keepers novel series. She was introduced in 2011 in the fourth book of the saga, Power Play, alongside Cruella De Vil. Like Maleficent, she is very powerful and is able to cast almost any spell with a flick of her finger; she can also transform herself and other characters. In Power Play, when Maleficent and Chernabog are captured by the Keepers, the Queen becomes the new leader of the Overtakers.
Melissa de la Cruz wrote the Descendants prequel novel Isle of the Lost. In that book, it is revealed that the Evil Queen once tried to overthrow Maleficent as the ruler of the Isle.
| 12
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"based on",
"Queen"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.Conception, design and portrayal
Walt Disney changed the Queen from Snow White's biological mother in the Brothers Grimm story into her stepmother. Early concepts for the film called for a "fat, batty, cartoon type, self-satisfied" Queen. However, Disney became concerned that such an approach would make the character seem less plausible. Sensing that more time was needed for the development of the Queen, he advised that attention be paid exclusively to "scenes in which only Snow White, the Dwarfs, and their bird and animal friends appear." Disney further developed the main plot himself (Ollie Johnston said the film's story was based on the idea that the Queen's character was going to murder "another drawing" and Disney decided to make it appear believable), finding a dilemma in the characterization of the Queen, whom he envisioned as a mixture of Lady Macbeth and the Big Bad Wolf, and decided to set on "a high collar stately beautiful type" whose "beauty is sinister, mature, plenty of curves – she becomes ugly and menacing when scheming." According to a description in her card in the Disney Villains set, "the Witch's ugliness symbolises the evil disguised by the Queen's beauty."The Queen's appearance was inspired by the "ageless ice goddess" character of Queen Ayesha ("She who must be obeyed") from the 1935 film She, played by Helen Gahagan. The Queen, who was originally to be named Grimhilde (but who is never actually named in the film), was also modeled in part on Princess Kriemhild in the 1924 film Die Nibelungen. The Queen's face may have been inspired by Joan Crawford and also Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Gale Sondergaard. Her costume and figure may have been inspired by a column statue at the Naumburg Cathedral depicting Uta von Ballenstedt, the wife of Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen who was widely regarded as the most beautiful woman of Medieval Germany. Also noted was her resemblance to two 1930s American movie stars from Europe, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. The Queen and Snow White were refined by Grim Natwick and Norm Ferguson, who would often override Walt Disney's instructions. As in the case of other characters for the film, the Queen's appearance had to be approved by Albert Hurter before being finalised. One pre-final version of the queen had her wear a looser hood and a different crown and the edge of her cape was fur trimmed, as it can be seen in Gustaf Tenggren's pictures.Unlike much of Disney's animation of human characters in this period, none of Art Babbitt's lead animation work on the character was rotoscoped. The animators were noted to prefer to draw the Queen over Snow White "because she was more real and complex as a woman, more erotic, and driven to desperate acts by her magic mirror." The character, however, turned out to be especially problematic for the animators, as she had to be "regally beautiful, with confined but graceful movements," and "the experiments on her lovely cruel mouth and eyes alone represent drawings enough to fill a paper house." The sequence of her transformation in particular was the film's toughest to visualise using trick effects, especially since Disney insisted on showing how the Queen felt as she changed.
| 14
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"occupation",
"ruler"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.
| 16
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"manner of death",
"accidental death"
] |
Literature
In the 1949 audiobook release, the Queen (voiced by Eleanor Audley) wears a yellow dress and a red cape. She tells the Huntsman to take Snow White to the forest and leave her there to die. In the end of the book, after being chased by the dwarfs, the Queen dies when she slips while climbing the mountain and falls into the sea. The Queen's story from the film is itself subject of the 2018 storybook release Disney Villains: The Evil Queen.One chapter in Todd Strasser's 1993 Disney's the Villains Collection/Stories from the Films is dedicated to Snow White and the Queen. She is also a subject of one of the illustrated books in the Disney Princess series My Side of the Story, titled Snow White/The Queen (2004), which portrays her as a misunderstood positive character.The novel Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino, published by Disney Press in 2009, tells a story much more sympathetic to the Queen than most other Disney media. The book shows how the Queen became the villain from the film, much in the style of The Killing Joke, with the Magic Mirror, here possessed by the spirit of her abusive father, having been a corrupting influence. According to the book, her mother was a witch and the King died in a war against another kingdom prior to the events of the film. After her husband's death, the Queen slowly descends into madness. By the end of the novel, Snow White gets the mirror and the Queen becomes the spirit inside the mirror after her death in the film.
The Queen is one of the Overtakers, villains of The Kingdom Keepers novel series. She was introduced in 2011 in the fourth book of the saga, Power Play, alongside Cruella De Vil. Like Maleficent, she is very powerful and is able to cast almost any spell with a flick of her finger; she can also transform herself and other characters. In Power Play, when Maleficent and Chernabog are captured by the Keepers, the Queen becomes the new leader of the Overtakers.
Melissa de la Cruz wrote the Descendants prequel novel Isle of the Lost. In that book, it is revealed that the Evil Queen once tried to overthrow Maleficent as the ruler of the Isle.
| 24
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"relative",
"Snow White"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.
| 26
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"present in work",
"A Disney Halloween"
] |
Film and television
The Queen is featured in some Disney television specials like Our Unsung Villains (1956) and Disney's Greatest Villains (1977). Segments of the Queen's appearance are also shown in A Disney Halloween (1981) and in Disney's Halloween Treat (1982). She makes small cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse, voiced by Susanne Blakeslee (where she is seen sitting with Lady Tremaine in her queen form, and with Madam Mim and Witch Hazel in her witch form) and in the films Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Runaway Brain (1995), shown there in her witch form.
In the live-action television special Disney's Golden Anniversary of Snow White (1987), the Queen is played by Jane Curtin in a parodic scenario. She casts a spell on Grumpy in an attempt to get him to persuade the other Dwarfs to retire and destroy the original film after the 50 years. After the failure of this, her Mirror convinces her to finally quit "this whole curse business" and focus on her current career as a television horror host.
The Queen (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee) is the main villain in the 2005 direct-to-video animated film Once Upon a Halloween, but appears only in the Witch version despite misleading cover art (furthermore, only her shadow is shown). In it, the Queen plots to conquer Halloween and asks her cauldron to show several villains to which one of them helps her in her plan. The cauldron also explains its origins as it is one of the cauldrons formerly owned by the three witches from The Black Cauldron. Eventually, the cauldron turns against the Wicked Queen and makes her vanish into nothingness.
Early on into the project that would become the mostly live-action film Enchanted (2007), it was actually supposed to be a direct-to-video animated sequel to Disney's Snow White (with a working title of "Snow White 2") in which Narissa (back then often misspelled as "Noriss") was the evil Queen's sister who would kidnap six of the dwarfs to lure Snow White, the Prince, and their 13-year-old daughter Rose aided by Dopey, into a trap. In the ultimately unrelated story of the released film, Susan Sarandon's character of Queen Narissa still had her characteristics, powers, and physical features were inspired by the Queen from Snow White as well as by Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Hank Tucker's storyboard shows how Narissa would appear as just the Evil Queen in an early version of the film's animated opening.In a possibly related Mike Disa's and Evan Spiliotopoulos' abandoned pitch for the DisneyToons' Snow White prequel film The Seven Dwarfs, a beautiful girl similarly named Narcissa appears to aid the dwarfs against an evil wizard, who would be eventually revealed as her father whom she would betray and trap him inside a mirror. Narcissa steals the ancient magic secrets of the Olden Dwarfs, marries and then murders Snow White's father, and "begins her reign as the Evil Queen, with the damned soul of her own father forever encased in the Magic Mirror as her slave. Thus, the dwarfs must live in hiding to protect their families from the Queen's vengeance." Three computer-animated sequels to The Seven Dwarfs "were to follow the title characters return home to families and friends after the Evil Queen's death in Snow White."In a 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie titled Descendants, the aged Evil Queen (played by Kathy Najimy) is among a host of other villains who have been imprisoned on a forbidden Isle of the Lost, and her daughter Evie (played by Sofia Carson) is among their offspring who are allowed to return into the kingdom to attend school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes (Evie's father is unidentified). The Evil Queen seemed to have joined forces with Maleficent, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil in trying to take over Auradon. Its title image features the iconic red apple of the Evil Queen, which was prominently featured in a teaser trailer. Carson returned as Evie in 2017's Descendants 2 and 2019's Descendants 3.
In Justin Merz's and Evan Daugherty's script for the live-action spin-off Rose Red, currently in development, Snow White's sister Rose Red is going to "join Grumpy and the fellow Dwarves on a journey to find the Evil Queen and break her curse." Another project in development was Michael Seitzman's television series Book of Enchantment.In The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, the Queen, in her old hag form (voiced by Tress MacNeille), plays a prominent role in the episode "Once Upon an Apple", where she goes up against Mickey Mouse.
Gal Gadot will portray the character in a live-action version of the animated film.
| 28
|
[
"Evil Queen (Disney)",
"instance of",
"animated character"
] |
The Evil Queen, also known as the Wicked Queen, Queen Grimhilde, or just the Queen, is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and remains a villain character in their extended Snow White franchise. She is based on the Evil Queen character from the 1812 German fairy tale "Snow White".
In the film, similar to the Brothers Grimm story it is based on, the Evil Queen is cold, sadistic, cruel, and extremely vain, owning a magic mirror, and obsessively desiring to remain the "fairest in the land". She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land; such love triangle element is one of Disney's changes to the story. This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise, which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs. The film's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms' story; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch in the stepmother's disguised form. The Queen dies in the film, but lives on in a variety of non-canonical Disney works.
The film's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant, and originally animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Lucille La Verne. Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen. The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley, June Foray, Janet Waldo, Eda Reiss Merin, Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee, and was portrayed live by Anne Francine (musical), Jane Curtin (50th anniversary TV special), Olivia Wilde (Disney Dream Portraits), and Kathy Najimy (Descendants).
This version of the fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public, and is considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains. Besides in the film, the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions, including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White, such as Fantasmic!, The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The film's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works.
| 31
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.