Konstantin Roger Friedrich von Staufen was born in 1194 to Henrich von Staufen, Holy Roman Emperor (King of Germany) and Constance, Queen of Sicily. Heinrich's death in 1197 led to the disarray of his realms. Opposing factions elected two new Kings to succeed Heinrich. 1/10
Otto of Brunswick and Heinrich's younger brother, Philipp von Staufen, were both elected. In 1198, Constance died, and young Konstantin became King of Sicily taking the name Federigo (Friedrich). Federigo remained in Sicily with Pope as Regent, away from the German rivalry. 2/10
But the Pope struggled to maintain control. In 1209, Friedrich married Constanza de Aragon. The marriage, arranged by the Pope, got him military support with which he regained control of Sicily. Just in time too, since Otto was marching towards Sicily. 3/10
In 1208, Philipp von Staufen had been assassinated in Bamberg, leaving Otto with no rivals, except Friedrich. Friedrich marched into Germany to counter Otto, and was elected King by Otto's rivals. He also allied with France against Otto. 4/10
In 1214, Otto was defeated by the French, and Friedrich consolidated his new title. His son, Heinrich, was made in charge of Germany ruling through a Council of Regency. But the Pope was worried about Staufen dominance. To pacify Pope, Friedrich committed to lead a Crusade. 5/10
But he was more interested in his rule in Sicily, fortifying it and enlarging its harbours. He also founded a state university in Naples and worked towards the reorganization of the bureaucracy. In 1225, Friedrich married Queen Isabelle of Jerusalem. 6/10
Though Jerusalem had fallen to Salah al-Din ibn Ayyub (Saladin) in 1187, the Kingdom continued in Acre. But civil strife persisted after Saladin's death in his Empire. Friedrich managed to make peace with the Sultan of Egypt and gain shared control of Jerusalem for a decade. 7/10
Friedrich's stay in Jerusalem was short and the city was lost again in 1239. In Germany, Heinrich had come of age and ruled independently, allying with cities in northern Italy. This led to conflict between father and son, which ended in 1235 with Heinrich's imprisonment. 8/10
In 1237, Friedrich got his son, Konrad, elected as King, in place of Heinrich. But Friedrich's conflict with the Pope and northern Italy continued. Friedrich marched through northern Italy capturing cities. But as he marched on, the Pope died & Friedrich withdrew to Sicily. 9/10
In 1245, Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Friedrich from the Church. This led to German nobles electing a King against Friedrich. Friedrich retained most of his rule, but his unexpected death in 1250, followed soon by Konrad's in 1254 led to a long interregnum in the Empire. 10/10
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Marcus Cocceius Nerva was born around 30 AD to Marcus Cocceius Nerva and Sergia Plautilla. He came from a Roman noble family with ties to the imperial family and Nerva continued in the same vain becoming Praetor Elect in 65. 1/10
In 65, Nerva is supposed to have played an important role in revealing a conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Nero. But in 68, Nero got himself killed bringing the imperial dynasty to an end. Without an heir, the Empire plunged into chaos as different factions sought power. 2/10
25 years later, the brother of the French King who was dethroned (and executed later) became King of France. The Old World Order stuck around for a bit longer in Europe, and the oldest and the most diverse dynasty of Europe, the Capets / Robertiners, ruled France till 1848. 1/11
Thread on the 8 prominent rulers and 2 notable consorts of this dynasty on whom I have written so far. The earliest among them was before Capets were called Capets and from when France was not called France. 2/11
Lucius Tarquinius was born in 6th century BC in Rome. He was the son (more likely grandson) of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, King of Rome. The time of the Roman Kingdom is semi legendary, but there were written records of Lucius Tarquinius in existence till 2,000 years ago. 1/10
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, born as Lucumo, was a Greek based in the Etruscan city of Tarchuna, but shifted to Rome. He became prominent in Rome seizing power in 616 BC, when King Ancus Marius died leaving young sons under the care of Tarquinius. 2/10
We have had a huge controversy over raids at Kitex Garments and their subsequent plan to invest ₹3,500 crore (₹1,000 crore initially) in Telangana instead of Kerala.
But what got me interested was the spike in their stock.
While the spike may look huge in a week, their 5 year numbers are not rosy. But their market capitalization is only around ₹1,000 crore, a far cry from the ₹3,500 they are looking to invest.
So, are they looking to borrow or expecting new investors?
2/7
Their investment rhetoric is not new though. They had plans to invest ₹262 crore in 2013, but looked towards other Indian states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, and even Sri Lanka and China at the time. 3/7
The Expanse series has somewhat explored the early evolution of a space dwelling species, while the Hyperion Cantos has an entire species that separated from humans to explore the space. 2/2
Wondering if space race will advance if commercial mining of asteroids is opened up.
Jan Sobieski was born in 1629 to Jakub Sobieski and Zofia Danilowiczova. He belonged to the nobility of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with his father and maternal ancestors becoming the Voivode of various Voivodeships of the Commonwealth. 1/10
Well educated, Sobieski travelled Europe in his early years and took part in the battles the Commonwealth had to deal with, when Jan Kazimierz became King in 1648. He showed good potential for a future military career, though his elder brother, Marek, died in these wars. 2/10