Terribly true or fantastically false?
Sometimes it’s hard to believe the way rotten rulers behaved. But can you tell the real life from the lies? Just answer ‘True’ or ‘False’ to these odd facts.
1 When Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1921–1996) of the Central African Republic was not murdering and eating children he was collecting stamps as a hobby.
2 Pope John XXI (ruled 1276–1277) got the job because he was a doctor, not a priest.
3 Alexander the Great (356–323 bc) made the world’s first rope bridge.
4 Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712–1786) is remembered for his sweet scent.
5 Ivan the Terrible (1530–1584) ordered the Archbishop of Novograd to be sewn into a bear skin.
6 An old woman saved her own life by promising a Mongol a pearl that she had swallowed.
7 Tamerlane the Great (1336–1405) defeated an enemy at sea without a fight.
8 Delhi was ruled by a sultana in 1236.
9 Murad IV of Turkey (1612–1640) forced his enemies to smoke themselves to death.
10 In 1591 Prince Dmitri of Russia (1350–1389) cut his own throat by accident.
Answers:
1) True. He even gave himself a title to make him the world’s greatest stamp collector: ‘Grand Master of the International Brotherhood of Knights Collectors of Postage Stamps.’
2) True. Three popes had died in five years. The Church decided it needed a fit man who could look after himself and would last a little longer. John was a doctor. He was fit. Sadly his fitness did not help when the roof of his palace fell down on his head.
3) False. When ruthless Al needed a bridge he wrecked a village, threw it in the river and his army walked across it. The villagers were left homeless, of course.
4) False. Frederick is remembered for (a) starting endless wars and (b) smelling horrible.
5) True. Hunting dogs, trained to kill bears, were sent to tear him apart.
6) False. The soldier killed her and cut her open to get the pearl – quicker than waiting for her to poo the pearl. His leader, Genghis Khan then ordered all the corpses to be cut open in search of treasure.
7) True. Tamerlane had defeated the city of Smyrna. A fleet of Smyrna’s allies set sail to attack him. Tamerlane lopped off the heads of the soldiers. He had them floated out to sea on candlelit dishes. The invader got the message.
8) True. Razia of Delhi in India was chosen by the sultan to rule from 1236 to 1240 because her brothers were a waste of space. But a ‘sultan’ is a man – she was Delhi’s first lady-sultan or ‘sultana’.
9) False. Murad IV hated smoking. He hated it so much he banned it from Turkey and had any smoker executed on the spot. His soldiers were beheaded or cut into quarters. If they smoked on the battlefield then they had their hands and feet crushed and were left for the enemy to finish off. Which just goes to show…
10) False. Dmitri’s wicked guardian said that Dmitri had been playing with a knife, had a fit and fell on the knife. If you are daft enough to believe that then the answer is ‘true’. But the Russians knew he’d been murdered. They attacked and killed the men who were supposed to guard Prince Dmitri. The little prince was only nine years old.