Guy de Lusignan was born around 1150 to Hugues de Lusignan, Lord of Lusignan and Bourgogne de Rancon as the sixth of their seven sons. By 1168, Guy's eldest brother, Hugues, had died and the elder Hugues captured in battle in the Levant at Harim in 1164. 1/10
Lusignan was part of the vast Duchy of Aquitaine then ruled by Duchess Eleonore and her husband, King Henri of England. Geoffrey, another elder brother of Guy, attempted to acquire more land but was dealt with, harshly, by King Henri. 2/10
Geoffrey and Guy retaliated by ambushing Duchess Eleonore while traveling in Aquitaine. Though the Duchess escaped, her lieutenant, Earl Patrick of Salisbury was killed. The Lusignan brothers were seen in Levant not long after that. 3/10
The Levant had been occupied by Crusader states since the turn of the century. But the lead state, Kingdom of Jerusalem, was struggling. King Baudouin was doing well defending his Kingdom, but leprosy was taking its toll on him and he had no immediate heirs. 4/10
The King had two sisters, elder Sibylle and younger Isabelle. By 1177, the 17 year old Sibylle was already a widow and needed to look for a new suitor. There were no shortage of suitors, especially from the other Crusader provinces, but the attached politics was murky. 5/10
Guy de Lusignan's elder brother, Aimery, rumoured to be the lover of King Baudouin's mother, Agnes de Courtenay, seems to have retained influence in the court. In the middle of all the political battles in the background, it was Guy de Lusignan who married Princess Sibylle. 6/10
In a move that divided everyone in the Crusader states, the two married in 1180. Guy was made Regent of the Kingdom but failed when Kerak was besieged by Salah al-Din ibn Ayyub in 1183. King Baudouin had to rescue the struggling forces, despite his failing health. 7/10
King Baudouin died in 1185 and was quickly followed by his successor, Sibylle's son from her first marriage, the next year. Sibylle became Queen regnant and made Guy King. But his leadership eventually led to the defeat at Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem in 1187. 8/10
Captured at Hattin, King Guy was released by Salah al-Din in 1188. An attempt to go to Crusader held Tyre was prevented by Corrado di Monferrato. Queen Sibylle's death in 1190 and her sister's marriage to Corrado di Monferrato complicated Guy's claim to the Kingdom. 9/10
Guy and Corrado recovered Acre, which became the new capital of the Kingdom, in 1191 with the help of newly arrived Crusaders. But Isabelle was now the new Queen. Guy ended up with the island of Cyprus instead and was succeeded by his brother, Aimery, on his death in 1194. 10/10
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William Marshal was born around 1147 to John FitzGilbert, Master Marshal of the English King's household, and Sibyl de Salisbury, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury. It was a tumultous time in England with the Anarchy in full flow. 1/10
Initially loyal to King Etienne, John FitzGilbert switched to Empress Matilda's side during the civil war. In 1152, after FitzGilbert's castle at Newbury was besieged by the King, young William, then his father's fourth and youngest son, was given away as a hostage. 2/10
John d'Anjou was born in 1166 as the youngest child of Henri d'Anjou, King of England, and Eleonore d'Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine. As his parents' fourth son to reach adulthood, a regnal role was unlikely in the offing for Prince John. 1/10
King Henri also ruled over Normandy, Anjou and Maine. When his third son, Geoffrey, married Constance de Bretagne, Duchess of Brittany, it brought a large part of France under Angevin control. But Prince John was unlikely to inherit any of his parents' domains. 2/10
When India reorganized its states based on language - The state of Kerala was formed today, among others, when former princely states of Thiruvithaankoor (Travancore) and Kochi (Cochin) were joined with Malabar district of Madras state. 1/2
Tamil speaking parts of Travancore were transferred to Madras, while part of South Kanara district was added to the newly formed state. Lakshadweep islands were spun off into a union territory directly ruled by centre (Which is still the case). 2/2
Threads on how Karnataka was formed out of multiple states
Flavius Iulius Crispus was born around 303 to Flavius Valerius Constantinus and Minervina. His grandfather, Constantius, was Caesar of West, working out of Augusta Treverorum (Trier). In 305, Constantius was promoted to Augustus of West after Diocletian & Maximian abdicated. 1/10
Constantius died in 306, making Flavius Valerius Severus, who had become the Caesar of West in 305, the new Augustus. But the troops of Constantius proclaimed his son, Constantine, as Augustus. With a civil war in the offing, Constantine was named the new Caesar of the West. 2/10
Hērakleios was born around 575 to Hērakleios and Epiphania. It is likely Hērakleios had Armenian ancestry, though the Kingdom of Armenia had been divided up by the Roman Empire and Sasanian Persian Empire over a century earlier. 1/10
The Roman Empire had seen a period of expansion and decline before Hērakleios was born and was in deep financial stress. Mauricius, who became Augustus in 582 and married his predecessor's daughter, was able to reverse some of the Empire's earlier military defeats. 2/10
Marinus was supposed to have been born in the 270s in Rab, Roman Dalmatia. A stonemason by trade, he ended up in Rimini in Italy, where he may have preached Christianity along with Gaudentius. 1/10
Christians were at times persecuted by the Romans for their refusal to accept "Pax Romana". Marinus is said to have fled Rimini in 301 for the nearby mountains. In 303, the Roman Emperors unleashed the strongest persecution against Christians to show resistance is futile. 2/10