Alex > Recent Status Updates

At Nemecky Brod, Zizkas army breached the city while he was busy negotiating, and massacred the citizens.

Between 1946 and 1948, thousands of Greek children were stolen and forced into labor or indoctrinated.

Zelivsky turned Prague, de facto a republic under the Hussites, under a tyranny, with the rabble calling for Hvezda to rule them. He quickly instituted a reign of terror, and, ironically, executed at least one "traitor" after promising him safe conduct.

Two interesting bits about the Reformation under Edward VI: It was strongly influenced (although not dictated) by Bullinger, and it led to an increase in almsgiving in last will's, although no one seems to know why.

Zizka became more severe on heretics of all sorts after he became totally blinded, as he attributed that to divine punishment for his lack of zeal.

As for Zelivsky, the man was reproached for his military failure at Most, which contemporaries also saw as divine punishment for his cruelty at Bílina, the looting of his troops (mercenaries), and his not accepting the surrender of Most.

German mercenaries acting cut off the left hand and right foot (or the reverse) of fourty young boys in Náchod so that they would not become soldiers upon reaching adulthood. This happened just as Sigismund was negotiating with the factions of Bohemia, including the Hussites.

Interesting information on the Pikharts and their suppression by the Hussites. It's amazing how steadfast Houska and Prokop the One-Eyed were, even in the face of torture and the stake.

The other allies actively aided the USSR in abducting and persecuting Russians abroad. The kidnappers of Camp Beauregard, for example, were virtually granted immunity by the French, until the kidnapping of a child in 1947.

The narrative seems to jump back and forth in time.

Not enarmored with the style. Too cursory for indepth learning, too many obscure terms for a beginner. At least that's my impression now, I hope to be proven wrong.

Without calling it so, Brett brought up the cycle of justice.

This might be one of the most outstanding modern history books.

"The particularist variety of Islam in South Asia developed in reaction to Akbar’s universalism and did not receive official patronage until Aurangzeb’s time. Aurangzeb himself was far more flexible and less intolerant than his reputation suggests, but the image, not the reality, is his historical legacy."

"Urdu, literally meaning “language of the camp,” was vernacular Hindustani, linguistically similar to Hindi but transcribed in a form of Arabic script; it became a major literary language in the eighteenth century."

The Mughals were actually less intrusive than the other two empires, especially the Safavids.

Aurangzeb, it seems, was not as intolerant as is usually claimed. He mostly followed the standard positions for islamic rulers. Contrasted with Akbar, he seems like a fanatic to a modern audience, but I have very little sympathy for Akbars specific branch of ecumenism.

The Island of Dr. Otaku had one of the first openings I have ever read. It may be the first opening that ruins a work for me. It was that bad.