Startling Saints – Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia

The conquering Ethiopian Emperor-King of Axum

A common mental-image of a Christian saint depicts a kind-hearted and charitable person who does good deeds all day long until he retires back to his cloister for the night. While people like this often make up the long list of saints, there are quite a few anomalous people that break the saintly mold. This is one startling saint that stands out among the saintly and may not be commonly known—Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia.

(St Elesbaan painting, [Public Domain] circa 1750 oil on canvas, 110 by 75 cm (original in Museu de Arte Sacra, Arouca, Portugal))

The Fascinating Life of Empress Dowager Cixi

 

Until recent times, men have held the highest offices of the land more often than women. Though countries and empires were historically ruled by emperors and kings, a few women rose to the top of society to be empresses and queens. Castile had Queen Isabella, Russia had Queen Catherine, England had Queen Elizabeth, and Austria had Queen Maria Theresa, among others. Though all of the queens mentioned had respectable and admirable rules, few of their life stories were as interesting, dramatic and odd as that of the last empress of China—Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908).

(Sketch of Empress Cixi as an Imperial concubine, by Noble Consort Yi c. mid-1800s, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

The Brutal 1014 Battle of Kleidion

This is how Basil II became known as the ‘Bulgar-Slayer’

(Basil II, painted by unknown artist c. 11th century [Public domain], via Creative Commons)

Emperor Basil II (976 – 1025 CE) of Constantinople is not remembered by most historians as a particularly cruel or ruthless leader. Actually, he is generally well received. He was a very successful emperor in many respects. After putting down a civil war with the help of his Rus neighbors, Basil II expanded his imperial territory outward from the Byzantine heartland in modern Greece and Turkey to push into Italy and the Middle East. During his rule, the Empire of Constantinople (otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire) was stable and ordered.

Startling Saints: Swordsman-Saint Bernard of Corleone

This Capuchin monk was once the greatest duelist in Sicily

(Saint Bernard Corleone, photograph by Fortunat Bergant [Public domain], via Creative Commons)

Strange, But Successful, War Tactics—The Wandering Soul of Vietnam

The Psyops successful failure in the Vietnam War

A Culture of Resistance

In the 19^th century, Vietnam was under French colonial rule, but the Vietnamese were never a country content with occupying powers. Vietnam has one of the most impressive military records of any country in existence—for hundreds of years, the powerful Chinese Empire ruled the Vietnamese lands in Southern Asia, but Vietnam broke free of China and even repelled the Mongols of Kublai Khan.

 

(Ho Chi Minh c.1946, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons (user Palosirkka))