What is an interesting fact of history that most people don't know?

Tywin Lannister

That time two identical cities existed simultaneously.

A poor map of the two cities made by yours truly.

If you have ever read about ancient history, the name Antioch might have come up a few times. Antioch was a great city that served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire before the Roman conquest of Asia Minor. At its peak, the city rivaled Alexandria in Egypt as the chief city in the Middle East.

Fast forward a couple of centuries to the year 540 AD. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires are at war. They are both lead by capable men, Justinian I the Great and Khosrow I Anushiruwan, the trolling Shah of Persia. Due to Justinian focusing on the recapture of Italy from the Ostrogothic hands, Khosrow’s army moved like lightning through the Byzantine territory. Until they reached Antioch. Lucky for Khosrow, the city’s walls were damaged by an earthquake a couple of years back, and he promptly proceeded to sack the city and imprison its inhabitants.

But he didn’t stop there. Oh no. Khosrow didn’t earn the name “the trolling Shah” by just sacking cities and winning pretty much every war.

No sir, he didn’t. See, before he sacked Antioch, he told his architects to make a detailed layout of the city. Every street, every house, and every tiny brick were to be included in the layout.

After annoying Justinian some more, he decided that he has had enough fun for some time, made peace, and returned home. There, next to the city of Ctesiphon, he built an exact copy of Antioch, down to every little detail, and populated it with the people he captured in Antioch.

And how did he name it? Weh Antiok Khusrau, or literally, “Better Antioch, Khosrau built this”. That’s just class.

Antioch was quickly rebuilt by the Byzantines, so these two identical cities existed simultaneously for quite some time.

The whole Byzantine-Sassanian war of 540–545 AD is just filled with Khosrow pulling petty shit like this to troll Justinian, and from the Persian perspective it was hilarious.

Khosrow would later become one of the greatest Shahs Persia has ever seen.

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Edit: Thanks Ashley Jolliffe for pointing out the buy-off part that I forgot to mention. Khosrow originally intended for captives to be sold back to Justinian. He didn’t mean to populate the city with Antiochians, but rather to build it just for the lulz. When Justinian refused, Khosrow saw the trolling potential, and populated the city with Antiochians to show Justinian that his people are better off in Khosrow’s empire.

REF- NOA Galic

rkrishnay

Some of the facts from the History of India.

India never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history.
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India.
The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
The largest employer in India is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.
The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).
Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world
(Source: Gemological Institute of America).
The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
India exports software to 90 countries.
The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion.
There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively
The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.
Source: National Portal Content Management Team

Tywin Lannister

rkrishnay 23-4-2018 04:56 PM
Some of the facts from the History of India.

India never invaded any country in her last 100000 yea ...

The first "fact" is wrong. Please read "The Sceptical patriot" by Sidin vadukut

rkrishnay

Tywin Lannister 24-4-2018 02:29 PM
The first "fact" is wrong. Please read "The Sceptical patriot" by Sidin vadukut

Agreed. Missed the fact. I stand corrected. Thank you.