4 Comments TIL In 1014, Byzantine Emperor Basil II captured several thousand Bulgarian soldiers, put them into groups of 100, and blinded 99 in every group. The last soldiers had only one eye gouged out and were ordered to lead their blind friends home. Upon seeing this, Tsar Samuel died of a heart attack. by whatilearned June 18, 2022, 1:07 am 12 Points Upvote Downvote
10 Comments TIL of “human swine”, a concubine of the deceased Chinese emperor Gaozou that was murdered by his wife, Empress Lü who chopped off her limbs, gouged out her eyes and sliced off her tongue, nose and ears. She was then forced to consume a potion that made her mute and thrown into a latrine. by whatilearned May 5, 2022, 8:35 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
4 Comments TIL Irene of Athens had her son’s eyes gouged out & had him imprisoned declaring herself as Empress. However, Pope Leo III declared no woman could rule the Roman Empire throne. Irene was exiled to the island of Lesbos and died. by whatilearned April 4, 2021, 6:34 pm 12 Points Upvote Downvote
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