The Medici ruled Florence, a rivaling family, the Pazzi wanted them dead.

So they plotted the perfect assassination…

But they forgot one thing: Lorenzo de’ Medici doesn’t die easily.

He would raise hell in Florence in his quest for vengeance.

🧵👇 The year is 1478 in Florence.
The Renaissance is in full swing.

Art, money, and power flow through the city.
And at the heart of it all?

The Medici.

Some myths refuse to die — because they hold the keys to our very survival.

They speak fundamental truths about the dangers we all face.

This one is about the lifeline every man must carry if he hopes to face what lurks within — and come back renewed. 🧵 Every 9 years, Athens paid a terrible price.

Seven young men.
Seven young women.
Sent to die in a maze beneath the palace of Crete.

Their executioner?
A monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull.

The Minotaur.

It should have been his crowning achievement… instead, it led to his ruin.

This is, perhaps, one of the strangest plot twists in history.

This is the tale of how "The Night Watch" destroyed Rembrandt’s career. 🧵 Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in 1606 in the Dutch Republic. By the 1630s, he had become one of the most sought-after painters in Amsterdam.

His mastery of light, shadow, and emotion set him apart.

But his greatest gamble would also be his downfall

It was never meant to be royal...

The palace in Amsterdam was built for the people, but today it belongs to the monarchy.

Inside, however, a hidden messages in the sculptures tell the story of an empire’s rise and fall…

🧵 The year is 1648.

The Dutch Republic has just won its independence from Spain.

Amsterdam is now one of the richest cities in the world, and its leaders want a monument to their power—a grand city hall that will show off their wealth and democracy.

Brothels, riots, and a fight for survival.

For centuries, "De Wallen" has been a battleground—between the law, the church, and the people who lived there.

A 🧵 on how it became the world’s most famous Red Light District. The year is 1385 AD.

Amsterdam is booming.

A small fishing village has grown into a major trade hub.

But where there are sailors, there is vice—De Wallen begins to take shape as an unofficial red-light district, catering to merchants and seafarers.

I've always been fascinated by greenhouses, I consider them the perfect fusion between architecture & nature.

Whether they be Victorian dreams frozen in time or jungle canopies thriving beneath futuristic domes, we need more of them.

Here are 20 that took my breath away. 👇 The year is 1638.

In Amsterdam, the Hortus Botanicus is founded as a medicinal herb garden for plague doctors.

Today, it’s one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, home to ancient plants, including a 300-year-old agave and a towering Victoria water lily.

Socrates suggested fear of death is akin to a child's fear of a prankster with a mask—stemming from ignorance rather than reason.

Luckily, he argued, this anxiety can be overcome.

A thread on unmasking the unknown and losing the fear of the inevitable.

🧵 Death is life’s only certainty, yet it remains our greatest unknown.

But is it something to fear? Or is our dread simply a trick of the mind—like mistaking a shadow for a monster?

Socrates had an answer.

You've probably (been) asked yourself:

"Why do men like the Roman Empire so much?"

It’s a fascinating question—one that reveals more about your psyche than just an interest in history.

A list of 18 reasons every man should know 👇 1) The Power of the Legion

Rome’s military was one of the most disciplined and effective fighting forces in history.

They were the sword with which Rome conquered the know world.

The discipline required to exercise and survive extreme violence speaks to the male mind.

On an ordinary day the people of Pompeii went about their lives until the sky turned black...

Then came the fire, the ash, and a force so powerful it buried an entire civilization in a single day.

Vesuvius had awakened, and no one was ready.

A 🧵 on the most infamous eruption. The year is 79 AD.

The Roman Empire is almost at its peak, and the city of Pompeii is a bustling hub of trade and luxury near the Bay of Naples.

People stroll through the Forum, bathe in grand thermae, and relax in lavish villas.

They have no idea what’s coming.

It is the year 1429 AD, as the Hundred Years' War ravaged France. 🇫🇷

A teenage girl from a small village claimed she had been sent by God to save her country.

Though she had never held a sword before, she would soon lead armies, inspire a nation, and face impossible odds...

🧵 The heroine of our story is born in the quiet village of Domrémy, in northeastern France, around the year 1412 AD.

Jeanne d'Arc’s early life was marked by simplicity—she was the daughter of farmers, living in a region that had known war for decades.

A goldsmith walks into a room filled with Italy’s greatest architects.

He tells them he can build a dome without scaffolding.

They all laugh, he walks out...

Three years later, he gets the contract.

A 🧵 on the greatest engineering marvel of the Renaissance. The year is 1418. Florence needs a miracle.

For over a century, the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral has been waiting for its dome.

The problem?

No one knows how to build one big enough to cover its 150-foot-wide base.

A contest is announced.

The Baltic Crusades were not fought in the sands of the Levant, but in the dark forests of Europe.

A holy war against pagans—waged with fire & steel.

Yet they weren’t fighting for the Holy Land… they were carving out their own kingdom.

A devastating campaign would follow.🧵 The year is 1198.

In the shadow of the Third Crusade, another war is brewing—not in the Holy Land, but in the frozen north.

The target?

The last pagan strongholds of Europe.

The warriors? A band of German knights with ambitions far beyond faith.

When J. Robert Oppenheimer saw explosion he created, he uttered a chilling phrase:

'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'

But the story of how he got there is even more haunting.

A 🧵 on the birth of the atomic bomb, complete with declassified rare footage It began with a warning.

In 1939, Albert Einstein and physicist Leó Szilárd penned a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Their message? The Nazis were working on a weapon unlike anything the world had seen. The U.S. had to act first.

Julius Caesar met his match in Gaul, a brilliant strategist who pushed Rome to the brink.

He united warring tribes and came closer than anyone to breaking the Roman war machine.

This is the story of Vercingetorix, the last great king of the Gauls and his famous last stand. The year is 52 BC.

The Roman Republic stands at the height of its power, stretching from Spain to the eastern edges of the Mediterranean.

Yet, in the dense forests and rolling hills of Gaul, a storm is brewing—one that threatens to shatter Julius Caesar’s ambitions.

An empire so powerful it built the world’s largest temple.

Then, it collapsed—leaving behind a mysterious, overgrown ruin.

What happened to the Khmer Empire? At its peak, the Khmer Empire ruled over much of Southeast Asia. Its capital, Angkor, was a megacity bigger than medieval Paris, home to over a million people.

And at its heart stood Angkor Wat—the greatest temple ever built.

In the shadow of Rome’s towering empire, the Praetorian Guard stood as both revered protectors and ruthless power brokers of the ancient world.

This is the story of their darkest power play—an auction to sell Rome to the highest bidder...

A thread 🧵 Our story begins in the year 193 AD.

The Roman Empire, once the pinnacle of power and order, is now ruled by chaos.

The assassination of Emperor Commodus (son of Marcus Aurelius) on New Year’s Eve has left a dangerous power vacuum.

The word "Mamluk" means “owned” in Arabic.

As young boys they were taken from their homes, brought to Egypt and forged into the warrior elite.

However, they would not remain servants forever. Eventually, they seized control.

This is the story of the slaves who ruled an empire. It is the 12th century AD and the Ayyubids Sultunate is ruling Egypt and Syria.

They starts importing young boys from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Turkic steppe.

Why? Because they needed a loyal, highly trained military force separate from local tribal factions.

As he lopped his head clean off, he grinned and said,

'Who looks like a clown now?!'"

A thread on history’s most lethal men—and their, quite frankly, 'fabulous' attire. If medieval mercenaries had a dress code, the Landsknechte shredded it like their enemies.

These 16th-century German soldiers didn't just fight wars—they strutted onto battlefields in billowing sleeves, striped pantaloons, and feathered hats big enough to smuggle a parrot.

In 1799, a French soldier dug up an unremarkable rock in Egypt.

What he had actually found was the key to deciphering a lost language that unlocked the secrets of the pharaohs.

I went to London to see it for myself.

Here is its story and what it actually tells us 🧵 The Rosetta Stone sits in a glass case at the British Museum, surrounded by visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the artifact that changed our understanding of ancient Egypt.

Ivan IV started as a child prodigy and ended as a mad tyrant.

He built an empire with fire, but drowned it in blood.

This is the rise and fall of Russia’s most terrifying ruler and its first Tsar. 🧵 The year is 1533 AD. When Ivan was just 3 years old, his father, Grand Prince Vasili III, died.

Power fell into the hands of corrupt nobles (boyars), who ruled in his name—but treated him like a pawn.

For centuries, the Roman might seemed unstoppable.

But from the sands of Palmyra, a queen rose to challenge it.

Zenobia’s rebellion would shake the empire to its core—and Rome would stop at nothing to destroy her.

A thread on the warrior queen who defied an Empire. 🧵 The year is 267 AD.

Palmyra was a wealthy trade city in modern-day Syria and a vital buffer state between Rome and Persia.

Its ruler, Odaenathus, who was loyal to Rome laid slain.

The assassins? Persian agents.

The widow? The protagonist of our story: Septimia Zenobia.