Imperator Cat
@CatImperator

Historian, Writer, Geek, Felinophile. Questioning everything.

Joined November 2021
6,975 Photos and videos
β€œπ‘€π‘œπ‘ π‘‘ π‘π‘’π‘œπ‘π‘™π‘’, 𝑖𝑛 π‘“π‘Žπ‘π‘‘, 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘˜π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘π‘™π‘’ 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘β„Ž, 𝑏𝑒𝑑 π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘šπ‘’π‘β„Ž π‘šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 π‘‘π‘œ π‘Žπ‘π‘π‘’π‘π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘‘ π‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘¦ β„Žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿ.” ~ Thucydides
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#OTD in 1066, Harald Hardrada, or Harald III, the King of Norway, died in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. A bloody end of his claim to the English throne Few know, however, that before becoming king, Harald spent 15 years in exile in Kievan Rus' and a leader of the Varangian Guard in the Roman Empire. nitter.net/CatImperator/status/18…
Imperator Cat
@CatImperator
10 Nov 2024
So you wanna be a Varangian? The bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperor, ready to die for his master, but also spend hours of boredom carving graffiti during a solemn mass in Hagia Sophia? It is an arduous and dangerous work, but it also brings wealth and fame. A thread 🧡
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You do not want to be in front of the medieval Roman kataphractoi charging at you at full speed One of the most terrifying and destructive experiences on a medieval battlefield.
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For more than a millennium, the Theodosian Walls protected Constantinople from myriad of enemies They also kept the Empire safe, as more than once the Romans were on a brink, with enemy's plans thwarted by imposing ramparts. In facts, the Walls would not be breached until May 1453, doing their duty through entirety of the Middle Ages And that role would continue till the early 20th century. As it can be seen on this 1934 photo (colorised) Truly one of the most magnificent achievements of the Roman Empire
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patrimonio-arquitectonico.co… Original photo can be found here
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Theodora after her husband, emperor Justinian, ordered the massacre of the mob at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, crushing the Nika Riots. And executed the ringleaders.
Oli London
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The Empire that Refused to Die For thousand of year after the fall of the West, Roman Empire remained the beacon of civilization Light in the darkness. And when the candle finally went dim, it sparkled the Rennaisance, ushering Europe (and the world) into the early modern age.
Simon Kuestenmacher
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The giant flag of the French ship Le Genereux, which was captured by one of Admiral Nelson's captains, Sir Edward Berry at the Battle of the Malta Convoy in 1800. It is truly a gigantic flag, a 16 m by 8.3 m tricolour (With humans for scale)
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"Furor Teutonicus" Painting by Paja Jovanović (ca. 1899) depicting the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. This painting has a fascinating, albeit sad history. As you see, this is not the painting. Just a memory. In 1910 it was bought by the National Museum of Fine Arts of Santiago de Chile but went missing. Only some sketches of Jovanović's artwork survived.
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Mosaic of Justinian II during his second reign. Featured are also emperors who temporarily replaced him, Leontius and Tiberius III πŸ™ƒ
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Praetorian Guard of emperor Hadrian, ca. 130 AD, colorized 'Augustus caesar praetoria' reenactment group Check that magnificient plumage!
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It was to be a crown achievement of emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Liberation of inner Anatolia from the Seljuks. In 1176 AD, Manuel assembled a large army, perhaps 40,000 men, and took personal command. It was not to be. The Romans suffered a terrible defeat after the Seljuks ambushed them in the mountain pass near the ruined fortress of Myriokephalon. One fourth of the army was reportedly lost. Things would soon get worse. While the Romans scored several victories over Seljuks in the years that followed, Manuel's death in 1180 would plunge the Empire into a crisis. A crisis which would eventually lead to the fateful 1204. Myriokephalon was not only the end of Manuel's dream. It was the last, and unsuccessful effort to take back all of Anatolia.
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Battle of the Guadalete and death of the king of the Visigoths, Roderic, 711 AD It was the first major battle of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Roderic was killed in the battle, along with many members of the Visigothic nobility, opening the way for the capture of the capital of Toledo. πŸ–ΌοΈGiuseppe Rava
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The chief architect of Alexander the Great, Dinocrates, wanted to impress his master and suggested that the entire Mount Athos be carved into a huge statue of Alexander the Great and a city be built in the palm of the statue. Alexander was unwilling to do this, as Dinocrates had not considered that the inhabitants need to eat.πŸ™ƒ Instead, Dinocrates would plan a new capital in the fertile Nile delta - Alexandria ad Aegyptum.
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Just a brief disclaimer - ai used since it does not look so bad. Quite faithful to the modern day shape of the hill and 1841 engraving. Not my work.
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Imagine fighting a powerful enemy for decades, keeping him at bay. And then, abandoning this working strategy. Gambling everything on one single battle - a battle that ends not only in annihilation of your army, death of your ruler, but also utter collapse of the defenses, and loss of most of your country. Not only the loss of territories but also the very loss of your sovereignty, for centuries, with your lands becoming part of the other realm. That is what happened at the Battle of Mohacs, on August 29, 1526, where one battle, in less than three hours, changed the fate of the Kingdom of Hungary for good. And the fate of (Central) Europe. With the Ottoman Turks taking most of the country, including the capital of Buda (liberated in 1686), and the Austrian Habsburgs becoming new rulers, until 1918.
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For comparison Before and After Mohacs
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While I am constantly gushing about Rome and Constantinople. There was one city that ruled over the Eastern Mediterranean centuries before Romans took the stage. Probably the first multicultural megalopolis on the Mediterreanean, and even after Roman conquest, an undisputed cultural and intellectual capital of the Graeco-Roman world Alexandria ad Aegyptum
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Many, including Hollywood, promote the idea that the early Empire (Augustan) legionaries look the best Well, I don't agree. Pictured, 6th to 7th century AD, Roman troops
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#OTD, a disaster took place in... ...9 AD, in the Teutoburg Forest, in the ancient forests of Germania, the three Roman legions faced their doom Legio XVII, XVIII and XIX. After their destruction, the Romans never used those names again.
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