History is Human

Müezzinzade Ali Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman fleet at Lepanto. He was killed in action during the battle when boarded. As depicted here, he was then beheaded to have his head placed on a pike. This German language paper printed after the battle heralds his death, as well as the liberation of approximately 15,000 of the Christian galley-slaves that the Ottomans relied on to row their fleet.

Togo the cat was a mascot of the HMS Dreadnought.

"Let Them In!"

Men of the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) run down fleeing rebel tribesmen in Sudan in 1884 at El Teb. Following the massacre of an Egyptian force at the hands of the Mahdist forces earlier in the month, a 4,500 man British contingent returned the favor at El Teb on February 29th.

The British Camel Corps marches towards Khartoum in 1885. Although the British would triumph at the Battle of Abu Klea, it was of little consequence, reaching the city too late to save Gen. Charles Gordon and the defenders.

Grenadier Guards in skirmish practice, c. 1880.

Kuniyoshi. Ichikawa Kadanji IV as the Ghost of Sakura Sagoro, 1851.

The Pazzi conspiracy

The Pazzi conspiraci was a plot to assassinate Lorenzo de’ Medici, ruler of Florence, and his brother Giuliano de’ Medici, in 1478. The objective was to remove the Medicis from power and place the Pazzi family, allies to the Pope, instead. The key members of the coup were Jacopo and Francesco de’ Pazzi, the Archbishop of Pisa Francesco Salviati, Federico da Montefeltro, Bernardo di Bandino, and Girolamo Riario, the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. The Pope himself was known to support the coup.

On Sunday, April 28th, the Medici brothers were assaulted during High Mass at Santa Maria del Fiore, in front of celebrants and attending Florentines. Giuliano de’ Medici was stabbed 19 times by Bernardo di Bandino and Francesco de’ Pazzi. The wounded Lorenzo was able to escape to safety in the Sagrestia delle Messe. At the same time, Archbishop Salviati attempted to take control of the Palazzo della Signoria and kill Gonfaloniere Petrucci, member of the Florentine government.

As the coup failed, the enraged Florentines began seizing those involved in the plot. Jacopo de’ Pazzi was tossed from a window, dragged naked through the streets of Florence and ultimately thrown into the Arno river. While attempting to take the Palazzo, Archbishop Salviati was trapped in a room, was arrested and soon hanged from a window. The remaining conspirators were hunted down through Italy. The disgraced Pazzis were barred fom Florence.

Soon after the failed plot, Sixtus IV placed Florence under interdict. Two years of war between Florence and the Papacy followed.

Lorenzo de’ Medici issued a commemorative medal, depicting the attempt on his life and the murder of his brother Giuliano at Santa Maria del Fiore.