We remember the titans of the ancient world because of their legendary accomplishments; Alexander conquered Persia, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, Boudicca fought the invaders. Their names live on through the ages. Yet their contemporaries had stories worth telling, too: rulers of the ancient world whose stories were powerful and compelling, yet almost forgotten.
Read on to learn about 10 such ancient kings—the ones who were simply too dramatic for your history books.
1. Mursili of the Hittites (1620–1590 BCE)
Hattusa was the ancient capital of the Hittite Empire. Its ruins lie in present-day Turkey. Today, the drive from Hattusa to Babylon would take you about 20 hours in a Toyota, provided you didn’t mind crossing over some fairly strife-ridden territory. For Mursili I, king of the Hittites, the roughly 1050-mile march would have taken much longer (especially because he stopped to conquer the city of Aleppo on the way).
Mursili’s sack of Babylon was an impressive feat. It brought down the famed descendants of Hammurabi and guaranteed Mursili’s legacy among the people of Babylon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really a fruitful conquest for Mursili himself. Babylon was too far away for the Hittites to actually rule, and the glamor of the conquest did little to boost Mursili’s support at home.
2. Wu Yi of the Shang (1147–1114 BCE)
In the long recorded arc of Chinese history, the Xia dynasty comes first. The Xia may have truly existed, or they may have been mythical; history isn’t quite sure. But the second great Chinese dynasty was almost certainly real, as was one of its more colorful emperors. Emperor Wu Yi of the Shang Dynasty reigned (probably) from 1147 to 1112 BCE. Wu Yi wanted to move China away from a theocratic form of government and toward a more monarchical ruling structure.
Unfortunately, his methods for achieving this were perceived as a bit mad. Wu Yi tried to show his power over the Heavenly Spirit by beating it in fake games. Most notoriously, he had a leather pouch crafted and filled up with blood. Then, he strung the object up high, and in a particularly blasphemous form of pre-modern skeet shooting, shot arrows at it.
1. Mursili of the Hittites (1620–1590 BCE)
Hattusa was the ancient capital of the Hittite Empire. Its ruins lie in present-day Turkey. Today, the drive from Hattusa to Babylon would take you about 20 hours in a Toyota, provided you didn’t mind crossing over some fairly strife-ridden territory. For Mursili I, king of the Hittites, the roughly 1050-mile march would have taken much longer (especially because he stopped to conquer the city of Aleppo on the way).
Mursili’s sack of Babylon was an impressive feat. It brought down the famed descendants of Hammurabi and guaranteed Mursili’s legacy among the people of Babylon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really a fruitful conquest for Mursili himself. Babylon was too far away for the Hittites to actually rule, and the glamor of the conquest did little to boost Mursili’s support at home.
Instead, when Mursili returned to his palace, his raid was decried as an act of hubris and his brother-in-law staged a coup, abruptly ending his reign via assassination. The Hittites continued to feel rather embarrassed about the whole affair, giving it “scant attention” in their own history books.
2. Wu Yi of the Shang (1147–1114 BCE)
In the long recorded arc of Chinese history, the Xia dynasty comes first. The Xia may have truly existed, or they may have been mythical; history isn’t quite sure. But the second great Chinese dynasty was almost certainly real, as was one of its more colorful emperors. Emperor Wu Yi of the Shang Dynasty reigned (probably) from 1147 to 1112 BCE. Wu Yi wanted to move China away from a theocratic form of government and toward a more monarchical ruling structure.
Unfortunately, his methods for achieving this were perceived as a bit mad. Wu Yi tried to show his power over the Heavenly Spirit by beating it in fake games. Most notoriously, he had a leather pouch crafted and filled up with blood. Then, he strung the object up high, and in a particularly blasphemous form of pre-modern skeet shooting, shot arrows at it.
According to the Shang Dynasty’s Annals, the emperor called this game “Shooting at Heaven.” Apparently Heaven didn’t appreciate the Emperor’s game very much. Wu Yi died some time after this on a hunting trip, supposedly shaken to death by a thunderclap [PDF]. The Emperor who was quite literally smote down lives on in infamy. READ MORE...
