The royals of old seem to have lived
lives set apart from the masses they once ruled. Yet, their individual
styles of governance and personal lives are still of great study
and interest today. The following offerings relate facts and trivia
about various royals throughout time.
Hammurabi was one of the world's
earliest kings; he ruled from Babylon, the capital of his kingdom
and first came to power in 1792 BC.
Hammurabi is known chiefly for his
infamous code, a written set of laws that contained roughly three
hundred articles describing various crimes and their punishments.
One law stipulated that a husband may divorce a woman, but he must
also return her dowry. A divorced woman also retained custody of
any children.
Alexander the Great was the
son of Philip II, the King of Macedonia., part of northern Greece.
His empire spanned nearly all the lands then known to Greece including
the whole of Greece, Babylon, Persia, and Egypt.
The famous volcanic eruption that
destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii took place roughly two months
into the reign of Roman Emperor Titus.
Charlemagne began his reign
over the Franks in the year 768 and ruled until his death. Many
historians consider him the founder of both France and Germany.
Charlemagne's laws were severe. A
thief's first offense resulted in the loss of an eye. A second offense
called for the slitting of nostrils. The third penalty was death.
King Wu is considered the first
ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty.
King Stephen is credited with
founding the kingdom of Hungary in the year 1000. King Stephen is
also Saint Stephen.
The Incan Emperor known as Atahualpa
was murdered by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1533.
Chinese Emperor Gao Zu founded
the Tang Dynasty in the year 618.
Virginia, a U.S. state, is named for
England's virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth I. Her parents were
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Egyptian Queen Cleopatra had
four children-known of them produced by the marriages with her brothers.
The reign of French King Louis
VIV lasted for seventy-two years. Revered as the Sun King, Louis
XIV moved his capital to Versailles where he lavishly enhanced the
unprecedented palace with gardens, art, and spectacular décor.
Marie Antoinette was born in
Vienna. She was the fifteenth child! She is a direct descendent
of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
Ivan the Terrible was the first
ruler of Russia to take the title of czar. Ivan won the throne at
age three.
Russian Czar Peter the Great
ruled from 1696 to 1725. He became the country's ruler when he was
twenty-four.
Catherine the Great was born
in 1729 in what is today Poland. Her reign in Russia lasted thirty-four
years.
Elizabeth of York, wife of English
King Henry VII is, even today as evident on sets of playing
cards, the queen of hearts.
Henry the VIII had two of his
six wives beheaded. Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I and Catherine
Howard shared this gruesome fate.
Queen Mary was the first formally
crowned Queen of England. Known as Bloody Mary, she was responsible
for the burning of Protestants in her kingdom.
Isabella married Ferdinand of Aragon
in 1469. She and King Ferdinand are credited with laying the foundation
for a unified Spain.
The last Romanov Czar, Nicholas
II was killed, along with his wife and five children during
the Russian Revolution in 1918.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito married
a cousin, Princess Nagako Kuni. They had seven children.
WWI prompted Queen Victoria's
sons to change their surname from Wettin to Windsor.- J. A. Young
