The idea is to have a thread for curiosity satisfaction of sorts. We post random short things that we find interesting, things that don't need too much historical context in order to be a satisfying read in terms of information. For example, that Napoleon wasn't that short. Sourcing is encouraged for further reading.

Early hooliganism

The Nika riots lasted for about a week druing 532 AD in Constantinople. The riots could possibly one of the earliest examples of what is now known as football hooliganism. In stead of football, the sport was chariot racing. The rioters were basically the two participating factions standing united. They sieged Emperor Justinian's palace for five days before he hired a charismatic eunuch named Narses to smart talk to and bribe one part of the rioters, which enabled the emperor to crush the rest. About 30 000 rioters were killed.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

First firearms in warfare

The battle of Ain Jalut(1260) is the first known battle in history where guns were used. It is the tipping point for the Golden Horde and first time they were decidedly beaten. I assume the guns really sucked though b/c it says that the Malmuks used them to scare the Mongols' horses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut

Riots exist because a group of people need a way to show their love when it is being oppressed....so they show it through destruction, together.

Best sniper in history

Simo Häyhä, aka the White Death, was a Finnish farmer/hunter turned sniper during the Winter War against the USSR. 505 confirmed kills, and that's only with his sniper rifle. Preferred to not use a scope. Received a headshot and lived to be 96.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

[QUOTE=the_f_was_that;26983278]The idea is to have a thread for curiosity satisfaction of sorts. We post random short things that we find interesting, things that don't need too much historical context in order to be a satisfying read in terms of information. For example, that Napoleon wasn't that short. Sourcing is encouraged for further reading.

Early hooliganism

The Nika riots lasted for about a week druing 532 AD in Constantinople. The riots could possibly one of the earliest examples of what is now known as football hooliganism. In stead of football, the sport was chariot racing. The rioters were basically the two participating factions standing united. They sieged Emperor Justinian's palace for five days before he hired a charismatic eunuch named Narses to smart talk to and bribe one part of the rioters, which enabled the emperor to crush the rest. About 30 000 rioters were killed.

The Nika riots had nothing to do with hooliganism. They were a reaction to the tax and other imperial policies undertaken by Justinian. The fact that the riots began (and ended) in the Hippodrome has nothing to do with hooliganism. For a better understanding of these events it is worthwhile to consult Byzantium, The Early Centuries by Lord Norwich. Wikipedia can and should be avoided in matters pertaining to history.

Well, to me it reads like a rough concept of hooliganism. You have a sport, that sport has fans(factions in this case), different fans may share a common social background and they take aggression to a level that's ******ed. The interesting part is that they stood united for a long time, which is in stark contrast to my knowledge of football gangs, though they do unite sometimes on racist grounds for example.

I was less interested in the reasons, especially in presenting them, b/c it would have made the post too long. and cool part is the event itself.

I posted the link for whoever is interested to know more. You may be right that wiki articles are weak on history but in this case at least the taxes are actually stated in the article as a reason. I just chose to omit them b/c taxes are boring.

Assassins

The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis that existed between the late 11th to mid 13th century. It was founded by Hasan-i-Sabbah who was a follower of Ismaili Islam. As such, the order was a threat to Sunni Saljuq authority in Persia.

The word "assassin" is a transliteration of the Arabic word used derogatory for the order's members. The ones doing the assassinations were the lowest ranked and extremely devoted to the goal the Grandmaster. (If you squeeze your eyes a bit it's almost like a cult ninja organisation, but with Muslims, though I'm not sure whether ninjas were necessarily heavy on politics.)

They were skilled assassins who via targeted killings managed to gain control over some parts of Syria and Persia, while largely avoiding warfare and staying within their fortresses. Avoided killing civilians and concentrated only on the big fish. Did "business" with both sides of the Crusades.

In the end got largely destroyed by the Mongols.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins

Regarding hooligans, I am sorry if my response came across as a strong criticism. While I may disagree with the premise of hooliganism relating to the Nika revolt, I do appreciate the time you took in posting in this forum. Thank you again and please continue to post as this forum needs more threads.

In the case of the Nika riots, I found out about them whilst clicking away something about hooliganism in Wikipedia. Your input made me think about the structure of my posts and it was a form of valid criticism so I don't mind.

Gott mit uns

"God with us" from in German. I naively thought it was more or less a Third Reich thing. It turns out it was a popular motto since the 17th century in Germany and Prussia and can be traced back to the Bible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_mit_uns

Zanj Rebellion

A massive revolt that span over 15 years and grew to involve over 500 000 slaves. The location was around Basra, today located in Southern Iraq between 869 and 883. Some historians think it's the bloodiest revolt in the history of the Abbassid Empire. During its duration an independent state in Egypt was created, which was reoccupied again by the Abbassids after the revolt ended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanj_Rebellion

Most famous North Korean defector

No Kum-Sok landed on 21.09.1953 in a South Korean base abord a MiG-15. The pilot moved to the States and his biography reads to me that he has led a very fulfilling life. The plane itself was very important to current affairs since it was a new toy that outperformed all UN aircraft in the Korean War.

As far as I can understand, this was the second MiG-15 the Americans got their hands on(the story of the first one is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciszek_Jarecki) but this was the first that was inspected in superb detail, test flights, disassembling of the plane and all that jazz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-Sok

Munir Redfa snagged a MiG 21 in 1966, which was a pretty big deal since the MiG 21 was pretty much unbeatable in a dogfight until then. What's perhaps more interesting is that according to Annie Jacobsen's new book "Area 51" the MiG 21 was then sent to Area 51 for additional reverse engineering. There, an Air Force Lieutenant-General named Robert M. Bond crashed it into Jackass Flats just outside the secret base in April, 1984. The General died in the crash when his helmet strap broke his neck after ejection.

The States just moved up a notch imv b/c they have a place called Jackass Flats.

Jacobsen's book has been thrashed by two historians and knowing such detail about someone's death would require access to medical records I doubt civilians have, so...pinch of salt.

Battle of Kadesh

The battle with the largest chariots involvement in Antiquity. It's generally dated to 1274 BC and involves the New Kingdom of Egypt and the Hittie Empire. The goal for the Egyptians was to conquer the city of Kadesh, which doesn't exist today. Ultimately, they fail to do so, however home, draw and away win are all considered possible outcomes of the battle. After the battle some 15 years of warfare followed which ended with the earliest known peace treaty in history.

If you're like me and know next to nothing about Ancient Egypt and read about the Hittie Empire for the first time, there's a lot of clickies in this article, and you can waste a ton of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kadesh

Cleisthenes

The guy who thought "Democracy is a good thing." and went with it. Responsible for political and legislative reforms in Athens that brought about democracy. The clicky is mostly boring detailing of what he did but I think he should figure itt nonetheless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleisthenes

Secessio plebis

This was a sort of a strike by the Roman plebs, which materialised in the plebs leaving Rome, effectively freezing it, and thus giving them leverage to impose their will upon the participians to agree to the plebeians' demands. This happened several times with the last one leading to a passing of a law which made future resolutions passed by the plebeians binding for all citizens, which basically elevated their citizen status.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secessio_plebis

Agoge

The Spartan school. Produced extremely tough soldiers in inhumane conditions. Without going through the agoge one would be denied citizenship. Only the heir apparent was exempt. A thoroughly good read imo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoge

Ostracism

A method via which Athenian citizens could be kicked out of Athens for 10 years by vote. It was a perculiar way to kick somebody out of Athens with a concept very differing from Athenian law. Exiles could be recalled earlier and their property remained intact. A good read for people interested in law and local politics in Ancient Greece imo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracism

Democritus

The father of modern science. Considering the ideas he held and the time period he lived in, an unbelievably terrific person imo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democritus

Nobody is going to accept any of this stuff...they'd rather keep spouting what they learned in "school".

I'm simply putting stuff up with the hope that people eventually join me. Why would anyone have to accept it?


Ten thousand

About 10 000 Greek mercenaries took part in a brother vs brother battle for the Persian throne. Cyrus the Younger, together with his bodyguards, charged his brother and king Arsaces and got killed early in the battle, which basically ended the battle itself with the rest of Cyrus's Persian forces fleeing the battlefield and the other side avoiding serious encounter with the Greeks. Just like that the Greek mercenaries were basically alone in the middle of Persia in 401 BC (Battle of Marathon 480 BC; Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC). The senior commanders got murdered via Persian treachery but the rest set about covering this distance. About 6000 made it and got there in 399 BC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cunaxa#Aftermath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Thousand_%28Greek%29

Good point. I appreciate it.

(The Battle of Marathon was in 490 BC, an obvious typo, but it should be noted.)

First female to win a gold in the Olympics

Cynisca was a Spartan princess who bred horses. Her horses won the four horse chariot races on 396 BC and 392 BC. The article gives an insight into the position of women in Ancient Greece,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyniska

I only gotz an AA degree, I might be more pliable.

I dropped out in the 9th grade...I'm not sure whom gets owned on that one

IDK if this is well known or not, but:

British Taxes in America

Several of the British taxation measures which led to the eventual separation of the colonies from Britain were actually reduction in taxes. The Sugar Act, for example, reduced the tax on molasses by 50%. The Tea Act actually made tea in the colonies cheaper. These measures (separated by about ten years) were first seen as an effort to undermine smuggling operations, and eventually seen as a way of getting Americans to accept the British authority to tax for the purpose of revenue, which was seen as a great offense. Even though the tea/sugar would be cheaper, the colonists felt that accepting such measures would lead to increased reduction in American liberty.