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.

Visigothic princess by birth, Queen of Austrasia by marriage.

Her life is an intriguing tale of power, vengeance and bloodshed.

A gripping story about the brutal rise and fall of "The Dark Queen"🧵 Brunhilda was born around 543 AD, a princess of the powerful Visigothic Kingdom in Spain.

She was cultured, educated, and Catholic—unlike most of her Arian Christian family.

Then, she was married off to King Sigebert I of Austrasia, a rising power in the Frankish world.

Before the clash of steel and the roar of battle, there was another sound—deep, guttural growls from creatures bred to kill.

War dogs didn’t just fight alongside ancient armies; they led the charge, leaving terror in their wake.

"Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!"

🧵 The use of dogs in warfare predates the Romans, with early civilizations such as the Assyrians, Greeks and Egyptians employing dogs in various combat roles.

No ruins. No records. No proof.

Yet it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

A lush, terraced paradise supposedly built in the middle of a barren desert—its story has captivated humanity for centuries.

Here's what we know—and what we don't. 🧵 The tale begins in Babylon, a city of splendor in modern-day Iraq, ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BC.

According to legend, Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis, who longed for the green mountains of her homeland.

After 3 legions were obliterated in the depths of Teutoburg Forest, Rome sent their best commander on a punitive expedition.

Would the cursed forests swallow his fate or would he restore Rome's honor?

This is the tale of Germanicus and the hunt for the lost eagle standards. Germanicus legacy begins when a fellow commander called Publius Quinctilius Varus and his legions were wiped of the face of the earth after being ambused in Teutoberg Forest.

We think of the Senate as an organ to keep check on power—but in Rome, it often became the very source of it.

They built the empire, but did the Roman Senate also destroy it?

A thread 🧵 on one of history’s most powerful institutions. The Senate began humbly as an advisory council to the kings of Rome.

Made up of 100 noblemen, their role was to offer wisdom—but not to rule.

When the monarchy fell in 509 BC, the Senate stepped up, becoming the backbone of the new Roman Republic.

Not all periods of peace are created equal.

Tom Holland wrote: "The capacity of the legions to exercise extreme violence was the necessary precondition of the Pax Romana."

Yes, Rome's domination brought peace, but it was delivered by the bloody end of a sword.

🧵 Thread The Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, spanned roughly 200 years, beginning with Augustus in 27 BC and ending around 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius.

It wasn’t peace as we know it—it was dominance. A world forged in conquest and maintained through control.

What does it take to challenge an Empire?

Meet the mysterious seer whose visions inspired the tribes to unite and take up arms against Roman imperial might.

She became a symbol of defiance & ignited a savage rebellion that would shake the region to its very core.

🧵 (Thread) The year was 69 AD, and the Roman Empire was mired in chaos.

The death of Emperor Nero had plunged the empire into civil war, a turbulent period known as the Year of the Four Emperors.

The Mongol campaigns claimed the lives of an estimated 60 million people.

They mastered the art of mass depopulation and systematic culling.

Their inflicted death toll was so high that the world's carbon footprint was forever altered.

Here is how they did it. 🧵 (thread) Their campaigns were defined by speed, strategy, and an unparalleled ability to instill fear.

But what set them apart wasn’t just their mobility and battlefield brilliance—it was their calculated approach to depopulation and control.

Two ships and 129 men vanished without a trace.

An Arctic mission turned into a nightmare of ice, starvation, and cannibalisms.

A ghost ship and its crew, lost for a century.

Here's what really happened to the Franklin Expedition. 🧵 In 1845, the British Admiralty launched its most ambitious Arctic expedition yet.

Two state-of-the-art ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, set sail under the command of Sir John Franklin.

Their mission?

Sometimes, the fate of the world hinges on a series of chance events.

A sandwich, a wrong turn, and a teenager with a gun changed the course of history forever.

This is the tale of the shots that lit the world on fire. The date was June 28, 1914. The place: Sarajevo, a city in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was visiting the city with his wife, Sophie.

Built by emperors, shaped by wars, and maintained by millions, the Great Wall of China is a story of blood, sweat, and stones.

It seemed impenetrable, until the Mongols arrived on the scene.

And when the horde surpassed it they left a trail of destruction in their wake.

🧵 The year was 1211 AD. Genghis Khan, the leader of a nomadic confederation turned military juggernaut, stood before the northern defenses of the Jin dynasty.

The Great Wall loomed large, a symbol of defiance. For centuries, it had held invaders at bay.

What made an army of farmers, shopkeepers, and tradesmen challenge the most powerful empire of the time?

A story every American should know, on how their revolution took off and how armed conflict became inevitable.

🧵 The year is 1765 AD.

Colonists are bustling with activity in towns and cities across the thirteen colonies.

From Boston to Charleston, life is filled with the rhythms of trade, farming, and family. But beneath the surface, tensions are brewing.

Most people know that Fabergé eggs were exquisitely crafted jewelry masterpieces from Tsarist Russia.

But few realize that many of these treasures concealed surprises within their designs.

I’ve gathered some of the most fascinating ones for you. 🧵 1) The Rosebud Egg (1895)

This egg, given by Tsar Nicholas II to Tsarina Alexandra for Easter, contained a surprise—a miniature rosebud that could be opened to reveal a portrait of their son, Tsarevich Alexei.

He is the most legendary philosopher-king of all time.

Commanding armies and himself in turbulent times.

His treatise, "Meditations", has inspired leaders, thinkers, and entrepreneurs for centuries.

These timeless principles will guide you in the new year

Let's dive in. 🧵 On Self-Control

WWI's deadliest ace was a fighter pilot who hailed from an aristocratic family.

But why did he make himself an obvious target by flying a bright red plane?

The answer lies in the mind of the Red Baron.

A story stranger than fiction...🧵 During WWI, camouflage was the norm. Pilots painted their planes in muted colors to blend into the sky.

But Manfred von Richthofen chose the exact opposite—a vivid, unmistakable red. Why?

69 tons of steel & a cannon capable of destroying targets over 2 miles away.

The Tiger II wasn’t just a tank—it was a fortress on tracks.

Dubbed the Königstiger, it was a super-tank meant to dominate the battlefield.

Germany's desperate gamble to turn the tide of a losing war. By 1944, the Third Reich was crumbling.

The Allies pressed hard from the west, while the Soviet juggernaut advanced relentlessly from the east.

Germany’s once-mighty army was being ground down, its resources stretched to the breaking point.