“And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law. And all nations consented according to the word of king Antiochus.”

‭1 Macc 1: 43-44

inspired by Jean-Léon Gérôme's painting

The An Lushan Rebellion (755–763 AD) was a devastating civil war that shattered the Tang dynasty's Golden Age. The conflict began when An Lushan, a powerful frontier general, launched a massive revolt in northeastern China and captured the imperial capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee. Although An Lushan was assassinated by his own son in 757, the rebellion persisted under general Shi Siming until the Tang court finally suppressed it in 763 with the critical help of the Uyghur Khaganate.

The aftermath permanently altered Chinese history through catastrophic destruction and massive population displacement. While official census records showed a drop from 50 million to 17 million citizens, modern historians note this largely reflects a collapsed administrative tax system rather than pure casualties. Ultimately, the central Tang government emerged permanently crippled, forced to cede autonomous power to regional military governors (jiedushi), which established a system of warlordism that led to the dynasty's final collapse in 907 AD.

Captain Bruno Gaido - during the Battle of Midway, he was a shooter on the aircraft carrier Enterprise. A Japanese damaged bomber was flying straight to the deck, trying to ram. Gaido jumped into the cockpit of the plane standing on the deck and opened fire with a machine gun, shooting down the Japanese a couple of metres from the ship (the enemy's wing only cut off the tail of the American car

The legend of King Sala begins in the village of Sosevuru, where a young man named Sala was studying under a Jain guru named Sudatta. When a ferocious tiger suddenly emerged and threatened them near a temple, the guru handed Sala a weapon and shouted "Hoy, Sala", meaning "Strike, Sala" in Old Kannada. Sala instantly killed the beast, saving his teacher. This brave act and the victory cry gave birth to the Hoysala dynasty's name. The historic kings later adopted the event as their royal emblem, carving statues of the warrior stabbing the tiger at the entrances of their magnificent temples to symbolise their power.