Krishandevaraya

Quick Facts

Famous As: Emperor Of The Vijayanagara Empire

Nationality: Indian

Birthday: February 15, 1471

Died At Age: 57

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Born In: Hampi

Father: Tuluva Narasa Nayaka

Siblings: Achyuta Deva Raya

Religion: Hinduism

Died On: 1529

Krishnadevaraya was a prominent ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire of South India. As the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire, he extended the empire to most of South India, which included present-day Karnataka, Northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, stretching upwards in the northeast to Cuttack. He ascended the throne during the most critical stage of the empire and went on to consolidate it as a flourishing empire. He played a major role in defeating the Bahmani Sultans and Portuguese, forcing them to retreat their plans of expanding their empire beyond their boundaries. Along with his prime minister and mentor, Timmarusu, he defeated the Bahmani Sultans, thereby conquering their fortresses of Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, and Bijapur. He led a major campaign against the Gajapatis of Odisha, following which he seized and captured the fortresses of Udayagiri, Kondavalli and Kondavidu. He is often compared with the greatest emperors of Asia and Europe, due to his brilliant achievements and exceptional ability to maintain political stability in the Deccan. By ruling the three most powerful territories in the southern peninsula of India, he was known by different titles, earned as a mark of respect, such as ‘Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana’ (Lord of the Kannada empire) and ‘Andhra Bhoja and ‘Mooru Rayara Ganda’ (King of three Kings).

Childhood & Early Life

• Krishnadevaraya was born in 1471 in Hampi, Karnataka, to Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, an army commander under Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, and Nagala Devi.
• His father established the Tuluva Dynasty after the death of Saluva Narasimha to prevent it from splitting up.

Accession & Reign

• He ascended the throne in 1509 and developed a strong relationship with the empire’s Prime Minister, Timmarusu, whom he looked upon as a fatherly figure.
• He was crowned during the gloomiest period of the Vijayanagara Empire and hence, spent the first few years of his reign battling sieges and conquests to consolidate the kingdom.
• Since the Portuguese dominated the sea trade along the Indian coastline, he developed friendly relations with them, following which he traded Arabian horses and guns from the Portuguese merchants.
• He engaged Portuguese engineers in improving the supply of water in Vijayanagara City, apart from receiving arms and war materials for invading Raichur.
• Following the defeat of the Sultan of Bijapur, Sultan Mahmud, in 1509 at his hands, towns and villages in Vijayanagar saved from annual raids by the Deccan sultans.
• He annexed Raichur Doab and subsequently, raided Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur, thereby disintegrating the Bahmani Sultans, and took upon the title ‘establisher of the Yavana kingdom’.
• By suppressing the local rulers, Reddys of Kondavidu and Velamas of Bhuvanagiri, he managed to conquer lands reaching the Krishna River.

• In 1512, he defeated the Ummatur chief, Ganga Raja, to expand his empire – as a result of this defeat, the latter drowned in the waters of Cauvery River. The region was added to the Srirangapatna province.
• Following his homage to Sri Venkateswara at Tirupati after his successful invasion of the Udayagiri Fort, he defeated the Gajapati army at Kondavidu and captured the fort after a series of initial routs, compelling the army to surrender.
• While the fort was seized through a secret entrance discovered by Timmarusu, who was then appointed the governor of Kondavidu, the son of Prathapa Rudra, Prince Virabhadra, was captured and imprisoned.
• As part of his third campaign in South India, he conquered Bezwada, on the banks of Krishna River, followed by the invasion of Kondapalli and forts in Nalgonda and Warangal.
• Prathapa Rudra’s plan of crushing Krishnadevaraya and his army was crushed by his attack on the Gajapati Empire’s capital, Cuttack, forcing the former to surrender.
• A treaty was signed in 1518, according to which the territories in the Odisha kingdom on the north of Krishna River were returned to the Gajapati ruler while maintaining complete peace between the two empires.
• After completely thrashing the Bijapur army, he destroyed the fort of Gulbarga, the former Bahmani capital, though he reinstated the kingdom to Muhammad Shah.

• By invading and conquering the different territories in the Bahmani kingdom, he succeeded in expanding his empire to South India.
• Due to his high respect and support for art and Telugu literature, his reigning period came to be known as the golden age of Telugu literature, though Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil literates were also patronized.
• He appointed Ashtadiggajas, or eight poets, in his court – Pingali Surana, Nandi Thimmana, Dhurjati, Ramaraja Bhushanudu, Madayyagari Mallana, Tenali Rama Krishna, Ayyala-raju Rama-Bhadrudu, and most importantly Allasani Peddana.

Major Battles

• He attacked the unconquerable Udayagiri Fort, ruled by Gajapati Prathapa Rudra Dev, in 1512 and after a year of continuous battles, the Gajapati army surrendered and escaped to Kondavidu.
• The bloody battle of Raichur in 1520 saw over 703,000-foot soldiers, 32, 600 cavalry and 551 elephants fighting Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur for the capture of its fortress leading to his defeat, amidst the death of 16,000 Vijayanagar soldiers.

Personal Life & Legacy

• He was married to Tirumala Devi and Chinnama Devi.
• He married Prathapa Rudra’s daughter, Princess Annapurna Devi, who became his third queen, as part of the peace treaty signed by the two rulers to establish peace and harmony on both sides of the Krishna River.

• Being highly religious and devout follower of Lord Tirumala of Tirupati, he donated numerous precious objects to the Venkateswara Temple, including a jewel-studded golden sword and diamond-encrusted crowns.
• In 1524, he pronounced his son, Tirumala Raya as the Yuvaraja but the crown prince didn’t live long to continue his father’s legacy and died, probably due to poisoning.
• With Timmarusu’s son rumoured to have poisoned his son, he got both Timmarusu and his son blinded.
• He declared his half-brother Achyuta Deva Raya, as his successor and died in 1529, after falling ill critically.

Philip II Of Macedon

Quick Facts

Gender: Men

Famous As: King Of Ancient Greek Kingdom Of Macedon

Nationality: Greek

Born: 382 BC

Died At Age: 46

Born In: Pella, Greece

Father: Amyntas III

Mother: Eurydice I

Children: Alexander the great, Caranus, Cleopatra Of Macedon, Cynane, Europa Of Macedon, Philip III Of Macedon, Thessalonike Of Macedon

Died On: 336 BC

Philip II of Macedon was a king who ruled the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 to 336 B.C. He is often remembered as the father of Alexander the Great who became his successor after his assassination in 336 B.C. Philip II was a proficient king as well as an excellent military commander. During his youth, Philip was taken to Thebes where he was held a captive. Even in his captivity, Philip learned military and diplomatic strategies from Epaminondas. When he ascended to the Macedonian throne, the country’s economy was suffering and the nation was on the verge of collapse. Despite the pressures faced by the new king, he put his diplomatic skills to use and succeeded in defeating his enemies and obstacles. Philip attacked and captured the Greek cities of Potidaea, Pydna and Methone. He had defeated many of his enemies in northern Greece by 352 B.C. but failed to capture the pass of Thermopylae as it was guarded by the Greek forces of Achaeans, Spartans, and Athenians. Philip was assassinated in 336 B.C. in the ancient capital of the kingdom of Macedon. The reasons behind his murder are difficult to comprehend since there are many theories surrounding his assassination.

Childhood & Early Life

• Philip II was born in 382 B.C. to King Amyntas III and his wife Eurydice I. He was their youngest son and had two elder brothers, Alexander II and Perdiccas III.
• When Philip’s brother Alexander II took the throne, Philip was held a hostage in Thebes. During his time in captivity, Philip learned about different military strategies from Epaminondas, who was a great general of his era.

Accession & Reign

• After the deaths of his elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, Philip took over the throne in 359 B.C. At first, he was appointed regent for his brother Perdiccas’ son, Amyntas IV, but later on, Philip succeeded in taking over the kingdom for himself.
• Following the death of his brother King Perdiccas, Philip had to deal with the defeat against the Illyrians who had not only killed his brother but had also worsened the economic and military situation of his country.
• In 358 B.C., Philip and his army invaded Paeonia and then Illyria, acquiring lost territories of Macedon. Philip’s army was powerful and equipped with sarissa, a pike which had greater reach than Greek weapons.
• In order to strengthen his relations with the Illyrians, Philip married princess Audata who was the great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king. In 357 B.C., he conquered Amphipolis. Following this, he tasted victory for over two decades in the region.
• In 356 B.C., Philip captured the northern Greek cities of Potidaea and Pydna. In the same year, he became involved in the Third Sacred War. Philip also helped the combined forces of Macedonian army and Thessalian League crush the Phocians and their commander in the Battle of Crocus Field in 352 B.C.
• He captured the city of Crenides and renamed it ‘Philippi’ in 356 B.C. He held control over the mines of the area which produced gold and later used the gold for his campaigns.
• Philip led battles in Methone in 354 B.C. and in Olynthus on the Chalcidice peninsula in 348 B.C. During these battles, he was seriously injured leaving some permanent scars on his face and body – a lost eye, a broken shoulder, and a crippled leg.
• With his power residing in most of the Greek cities, Philip sent a threatening message to the Spartans warning them of the perils if they failed to surrender before him. But the Spartans further challenged him and Philip decided to leave Sparta alone.
• Philip was injured and sustained a wound on his right leg when he led a campaign against the Ardiaioi in 345 B.C.
• He conducted a military expedition in 342 B.C. against the Scythians and conquered the Thracian settlement Eumolpia and renamed it by giving his name ‘Philippopolis’.
• In 340 B.C., Philip led two sieges. One of them was the siege of Perinthus and the other one was of the city of Byzantium. However, both the sieges were unsuccessful due to which his influence over Greece was compromised.
• In 338 B.C., he came back to power once again by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea. In addition, he destroyed Amfissa, a small Greek town, expelling large parts of its population.

Major Works

• When Philip inherited Macedon after his brother’s death, it was on the brink of collapse. It was a weak, backward country with an ineffective, undisciplined army. It was Philip who used his military skills and disciplined the army forces which eventually controlled the territories around Macedon and conquered most of Greece.
• In 337 B.C., Philip created a federation known as the League of Corinth wherein all the members agreed never to wage a war on each other. Henceforth, Philip was elected as the leader of the army for the attack on the Persian Empire. It was during this venture in 336 B.C. that Philip was assassinated and was succeeded by his son Alexander.

Personal Life

• Philip II of Macedon formed many alliances with the other powerful kingdoms not just through his military skills but also through a number of marriages. His first wife was the Illyrian princess Audata who helped him in forming an alliance with the Illyrians.
• His second wife was Phila, the princess of the Macedonian canton of Elimeia. His most memorable wife was the princess Olympias of the country of Epirus who gave him his successor, Alexander.
• Philip also married Cleopatra, daughter of Hippostratus and renamed her Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon and had two children with her.

Assassination

• Philip II of Macedon was assassinated in the spring of 336 B.C., the year he began his invasion of Persia. During the marriage celebrations of Philip’s daughter, Cleopatra of Macedon, and Alexander I of Epirus, Philip was killed by Pausanias of Orestis, who was one of his bodyguards.
• After murdering Philip with a dagger, Pausanias tried to escape but was caught by the bodyguards and eventually killed. Alexander the Great took over his father’s throne and went on to invade the Achaemenid Empire.

Legacy

• The cult statue of Philip had been erected in the heroon at Vergina in Macedon where the family of Philip is worshipped.
• The Macedonians honoured Philip and bestowed upon him different forms of recognition. At Eresos, an altar had been built for Zeus Philippians; his statue was placed in the temple of Artemis; and at Olympia, a memorial ‘Philippeion’ was made in 338 B.C.

• Hollywood has portrayed Philip in a few of the period dramas like ‘Alexander the Great’ and ‘Alexander’. Philip also appears in some video games like ‘Hegemony: Philip of Macedon’ and ‘Rome: Total War: Alexander’.
• Filippos Veria which is a successful handball team of Greece exhibits Philip’s name in their emblem. There is a sporting ground in Skopje named ‘Philip II Arena’.

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Quick Facts

Famous As: Former King Of Thailand

Nationality: Thai, American

Birthday: December 5, 1927

Died At Age: 88

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Height: 1.70 M

Born In: Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Father: Mahidol Adulyadej

Mother: Srinagarindra

Siblings: Prince Ananda Mahidol, Princess Galyani Vadhana

Spouse/Ex-Spouse: Sirikit (M. 1950–2016)

Died On: October 13, 2016

Place Of Death: Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok

Bhumibol Adulyadej was the longest reigning monarch of Thailand and the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty. Born in the U.S.A and educated in Switzerland, he was crowned to the throne of Thailand at the age of eighteen after the mysterious death of his elder brother, the eighth king of Thailand. Initially, he played only a ceremonial role; but over the time, he began to take up a more active part, attending public ceremonies and touring the far-flung parts of the country, working to improve the lives of the people there. Eventually, he began to take a more active role in the country’s politics, helping to defuse tension and at the same time remaining impartial. At a time when a military coup was the order of the day, he provided stability to the nation and represented the unity of the country. He was an immensely popular king and died in 2016, His death was mourned by thousands of his countrymen.

Childhood & Early Life

• Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on 5 December 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father, Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla, the 69th child of King Chulalongkorn of Thailand, was a first-class prince born to a princess mother. He was regarded as the father of modern medicine in Thailand.
• Bhumibol’s mother, Mom Sangwan (later Princess Srinagarindra), was a commoner. He was born youngest of his parents’ three children, having an elder sister named Princess Galyani Vadhana, and an older brother named Prince Ananda Mahidol.
• At the time of his birth, his father was studying medicine at the Harvard University. His father obtained his degree, M.D. cum laude, in 1928, after which the family returned to Thailand. In the following year, his father died of kidney failure.
• Bhumibol Adulyadej began his elementary education at Mater Dei School in Bangkok. In 1933, the three siblings accompanied their mother to Switzerland. Here, Bhumibol was admitted to the École Nouvelles de la Suisse Romande in Lausanne. Sometimes now, he developed an interest in photography.
• In 1935, on the abdication of the throne by their childless uncle, Prajadhipok, Bhumibol’s elder brother, Prince Ananda Mahidol, was named the new king of Thailand. As he was still a minor, a regency council was formed to act in his name, allowing the family to remain in Switzerland.
• For his high school education, Bhumibol was enrolled at the Gymnase Classique Cantonal of Lausanne, receiving his baccalauréat des letters with a major in French literature, Latin, and Greek in 1945. Thereafter, he entered the University of Lausanne to study science.
• After the end of the Second War, the family returned to Thailand. There on 9 June 1946, Prince Ananda Mahidol, by then King Rama VIII, died of gunshot under the mysterious condition and Bhumibol was immediately declared the new King. However, the formal coronation did not take place until 1950.
• After his brother’s death, Bhumibol returned to the University of Lausanne and changed his stream, studying political science and law, hoping that they would help him to conduct his state duties. Meanwhile, his uncle, Prince Rangsit of Chainat, was appointed Prince Regent.
• On 4 October 1946, he met with a road accident, which injured his back and face, permanently damaging his right eye. Because of this incident as well as other circumstances back home, his official coronation was delayed till 1950.

Coronation

• On 5 May 1950, Bhumibol was crowned as the King of Thailand in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, becoming the first king to be crowned under the system of constitutional monarchy, enforced after 1932 revolution. The date is now a public holiday, celebrated as the Coronation Day across the country.
• After his coronation, Bhumibol began to be referred as King Rama IX in English. The Thais, however, refer to him as Nai Luang (the King), Phra Chao Yu Hua (Lord Upon our Heads) or Chao Chiwit (Lord of Life). He signed his name as Bhumibol Adulyadej Por Ror.

Reign

• Bhumibol Adulyadej started his reign during the rule of military dictator Plaek Phibunsongkhram. Since absolute monarchy was by then abolished, he played mostly a ceremonial role. Although officially he was the Head of the State and the Commander of the Armed Forces practically he wielded very little political power.
• As a king, he was the living symbol of the Thai society and its unity. All along, he maintained that the position of a king was above politics and he should remain impartial. Yet, he played a crucial role on several occasions, defusing or helping to avoid a political crisis.
• The first major crisis occurred in August 1957, when General Sarit Thanarat accused the government of Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram of lèse-majesté and corruption. Smelling a coup, Bhumibol advised Phibunsongkhram to resign; but the latter refused to do so.
• In the evening of 17 September 1957, General Sarit Thanarat, also known as Sarit Dhanarajata, seized power. Within two hours, Bhumibol proclaimed martial law, appointing Sarit, his close ally, as the ‘military defender of the capital’.
• Sarit ruled over Thailand until his sudden death in 1963. During this period, the monarchy was revitalized in Thailand. Bhumibol now began to attend public ceremonies. More importantly, he also made regular tours of the provinces, patronizing development projects, thus coming closer to the public.
• During these tours, he was always accompanied by a small army of doctors. As the royal couple interacted with the illiterate villagers, who had little contact with the officialdom, the doctors checked their health, mitigating their sufferings. Very often, the critically sick patients were transported to the city hospitals.
• He also personally oversaw the progress of irrigation projects, constructing dams to supply much-needed water to the country’s poor in far-flung hamlets. Although some of the projects failed, nobody could doubt his sincerity or diligence.
• He also revived many old ceremonies; the practice of crawling before the king, banned by King Chulalongkorn in 1873, being one of them. However, while earlier it was a general practice, it was now revived under specific circumstances.

Politically Active

• General Sarit Thanarat died on 8 December 1963 and was succeeded by his deputy, General Thanom Kittikachorn. Very soon, discontent grew against his dictatorship, leading to a popular uprising in 1973.
• In this 1973 uprising, the great majority of the protestors were students. Initially, Bhumibol asked them to disband and keep the peace. But when police opened fire on the students, Bhumibol had the door of his palace opened to provide them refuge.
• He also persuaded General Thanom Kittikachorn to resign and leave Thailand, paving the way for democracy. Thereafter, he decided to distance himself from the military; but very soon had to change his mind.
• From 1975, when the guerilla uprising in neighbouring countries began to pose a threat to the political establishment in Thailand, he once again started courting the military. He not only visited the military camps but also warned against an attempt to install a communist regime in Thailand.
• In 1976, Bhumibol allowed Thanom to return to Thailand, leading to a violent protest, which ended in a massacre of students inside the campus of the Thammasat University on 6 October 1976. In the same evening, the military seized power and placed three names as possible prime ministerial candidates before Bhumibol.
• Bhumibol chose royalist and an anti-communist Thanin Kraivichien as the next prime minister of the country. Thanin ruled for one year and was overthrown in a coup by General Kriangsak Chamanan, who in turn was succeeded by the popular Army Commander-in-Chief, General Prem Tinsulanonda in 1980.
• In 1981, there was an attempted coup against Prem Tinsulanonda’ government. But this time Bhumibol refused to endorse it; instead, he fled with his family and Prime Minister Prem to Koral province, thus making his support for Prem’s government clear. It saved the government.
• Bhumibol was once again forced to take a decisive role when in 1991, a coup returned Thailand to military dictatorship and Army Commander Suchinda Kraprayoon became the prime minister. In 1992, it led to violent large-scale protests, resulting in the death of at least fifty-two persons.
• On 20 May 1992, while the crisis was at its peak, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his sister, Princess Sirindhorn, appeared separately on television, with an appeal to keep calm. On 21 May, Bhumibol also appeared on television, accompanied by Suchinda Kraprayoon and leader of the pro-democracy faction, General Chamlong Srimuang.
• In the telecast, Suchinda Kraprayoon and Chamlong Srimuang were seen adhering to the Thai tradition of appearing on knees before the King. Bhumibol also urged them to resolve the crisis, making a strong impression on the nation.
• Soon after the telecast, Suchinda Kraprayoon resigned from his post, paving the way for the formation of a democratically formed government. Thus, Bhumibol’s direct intervention in the country’s politics reestablished democracy in Thailand.
• In 2003, Bhumibol emphasized on eradication of drug abuse in the country and at his initiation, the government led by Thaksin Shinawatra, started a war on drugs, killing many of drug dealers, imprisoning many more. Over the time, the use of drugs was drastically reduced, especially among the school children.
• In 2005, another crisis hit Thailand, leading to the overthrow of Thai Rack Thai government by a bloodless coup in September 2006. Although any discussion on the coup was banned by the new regime, it is believed that Bhumibol had prior knowledge of it and had implicitly endorsed it.
• The new regime declared loyalty to the King and started investigating into some frauds involving both the Thai Rack Thai and the Democratic Party. Bhumibol intervened before the ruling came, declaring that the nation needed a political system. If it was allowed to continue, both these parties would have been banned.
• From 2008, when a political crisis involving People’s Power Party and People’s Alliance for Democracy erupted, he remained silent, aware of his kingly dignity. In the same year, he appointed General Surayud Chulanont to the Privy Council of Thailand. By then, his health had begun to suffer.
• By 2014, his public appearance became few and far between. Yet, he continued with his royal duties, endorsing the military government that took over the administration after removing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Major Works

• Bhumibol was a very popular monarch and although he often endorsed military dictatorship, he took care to support only those dictators who had the public support. Ever sensitive to the needs and will of the people, he often used his wealth to support welfare projects that improved the lives of the people.
• Initiating the fight against drugs was another major achievement of his regime. While the international community criticized the government for human right abuse, the king stood by it, saying it was wrong only to count the dead bodies of drug dealers, not the corpse of the victims.