Archies History Blog

Airship entering the hangar in the military camp of Châlons, Champagne region of France

that way we know we’re from tumblr without revealing anything

I’m just going to say this to strangers until i find a tumblr person

must keep reblogering!! Im going to be so suspicious if any one tells me this now!

Remember the answer is: I stole them from the president.

King George V and Queen Mary on the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert

OP: Why couldn’t traditional Chinese Yinpiao银票/silver drafts be forged if they were merely slips of paper? (cr大明宝钞，渐越)

Traditional Chinese yinpiao/silver drafts were paper vouchers issued by private banks starting from the Song Dynasty(960–1279). People could exchange these slips for physical silver at bank branches across the country.

Silver drafts were made in multiple copies with matching serrated seal edges. One copy went to the customer and others stayed at the bank. All edges had to fit perfectly together to withdraw silver. The unique split edge marks were almost impossible to copy.

This mechanism is known as qifeng骑缝 (split-joint seal) in China. It first originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC). The Rites of Zhou records that contracts were written on bamboo or wooden slips in duplicate. Notches and marks were carved in the middle before splitting the slips, with each party keeping one half. The two halves would be matched by their notches for verification.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770–221 BC), this idea evolved into hufu虎符/tiger tally tokens. A military tally was split into two pieces with identical inscriptions carved along the split edge. Troops could only be deployed if the patterns and characters on both halves perfectly aligned, serving as a metal version of the split-joint anti-counterfeiting system.

The technology matured in the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Government documents and private contracts commonly used split-joint seals stamped across the dividing line. The Chinese character "hetong合同" (contract) was written across the middle before the paper was torn apart, so the complete characters would only appear when the two halves were put together. This split-coupon system was later adopted for Song Dynasty (960–1279) jiaozi paper money and yinpiao/silver drafts of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912).

Official Song dynasty paper money (Jiaozi交子) was abolished in 1107. Private silver drafts issued by Qing-era piaohao票行 (ancient exchange banks) vanished completely in 1951, hit hard by modern banks and currency reforms. Nowadays silver drafts no longer circulate as currency. Their collectible value depends on their rarity and physical condition.

First they were called "chirographs", but later the word "indenture" (in its earliest meaning as just a legal document of any kind between two people) came to be used, originating from the practice of a contract being written twice on a single piece of parchment and then cut in half with serrated edges (as in dent, "teeth" -> indents -> indenture) in order for each party to take one half, so they could later piece them together and verify that there had been no forgery -- same as the Chinese silver drafts!

(Charter of the Clerecía de Ledesma, 1252, showing the serrated indents at the top -- presumably they are cutting rather than tearing because they're using parchment, which I expect is much harder to tear than wood-pulp paper like the Chinese were using)

I think if filmmakers are going to spend many, many millions of dollars making a film, there should at least be a whole ass ship to show for it. No AI. No green screen. Just build a fucking ship and get hundreds of grubby men to run around on it, shouting and running each other through with swords.

While two idiots who love each other play duets.

Late on the night of July 16, 1918, one of the most tragic events in Russian history unfolded in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. Ipatiev House, where the former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children, and four loyal servants were being held by Bolshevik authorities. The family was awakened and ordered to dress quickly before being taken to the cellar. They were told that a photograph would be taken to prove they were still alive and to silence rumors that they had escaped. Once inside the room, the Romanovs and their servants were arranged in position. Moments later, a group of armed guards entered and opened fire.

Nicholas II was struck by multiple bullets and killed almost immediately. The small cellar quickly filled with smoke and dust as the gunmen fired wildly in the confusion, with many bullets striking the walls and ceiling rather than their intended targets. The poor visibility caused some of the attackers themselves to be injured. Alexandra was later shot and killed by military commissar Pyotr Ermakov, while the surviving members of the family were left wounded amid the chaos.

When the smoke cleared, the executioners discovered that several members of the imperial family were still alive. Maria Romanova attempted to escape through a rear door, but it had been nailed shut. The young Tsarevich Alexei, weakened by illness, and some of his sisters survived despite multiple gunshot wounds and bayonet attacks. The executioners returned to finish the killing, and two of the daughters were still alive minutes later before being beaten to death with rifle butts. Later investigations revealed that diamonds sewn into the children’s clothing had acted as armor, partially protecting them from bullets and bayonets.

After the massacre, the Bolsheviks attempted to hide the evidence by disposing of the bodies in secret. Their first plan to throw the remains into a mine shaft was abandoned after the location became known. Instead, they attempted to burn two of the bodies, but the process proved difficult, leading them to use acid to disfigure the remains. The other victims were buried in a hidden grave and also treated with acid in an effort to prevent identification.

Olavinlinna Castle – Finland 🇫🇮